Question PC Built years ago need REC on whether any of it is still viable.

[ki4lzd]

Hello all and thank you in advance for any and all recommendations. Per the sticky here in the forum list I'll fill in the blanks first then get to the pieces for review.
Approximate Purchase Date: 3-4 years ago APX
Budget Range: Dependent on factors resulting from this post
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming/Productivity
Are you buying a monitor: Have one.
Parts to Upgrade: See title
Do you need to buy OS: No
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg/Amazon/ETC
Location: Marion VA (HAHA)
Parts Preferences: Best bang for buck/I do have a predilection towards MSI as you will see.
Overclocking: No
SLI or Crossfire: No
Your Monitor Resolution: 3840x2160 Preferably 2048 × 1080 Minimum
Additional Comments: N/A
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: To Hopefully push into 4k gaming with a PC

Ok like the title says I did this years ago and only played for very little before life happened and eventually switched to console gaming. From what hardware I'm going to list here is there anything still viable in todays gaming world? With add on cards upgraded components etc. Or are all of these pieces just so old it isn't worth the time/money to bother with and just go scorched earth (sell them or bin them) and start anew. Appreciate any and all knowledge bestowed hereafter. I have very little hope for any of this stuff sadly being so old. Edit forgot CPU Sorry.

CPU:
AMD FX 8370
8 Core 4.3 GHz

Mother Board:
MSI 990 FXA Gaming

Video Card:
MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G
s/n: 602-V316-130B1602003972

Ram:
G- Skill
F3-1866C8Q-32GTX
TridentX
DDR3-1866 CL8-9-9 1.60V

Power Supply:
OCZ Technology
OCZ700MXSP

HDD:
Samsung V-Nand SSD
870 QVO 1 TB

 

[Eximo]

You missed CPU, but regardless, no FX CPU is going to be viable today. DDR5 is the current new stuff, DDR4 for budget builds. That PSU is not rated for anything close to a 4K GPU.


GTX970 is an entry level eSports GPU these days. With the right game, still plenty good, but no recent games at more than 1080p low/medium. 4GB VRAM is quite limiting.

Your chassis might still be okay, depending on exactly what you have. 4K gaming takes a monster GPU, and they are quite large. 3.5-4 slots thick and very long.

You could keep the SSD for low priority storage, which is what QLC NAND is really for anyway.

Basically assume you are buying new everything.

 

[Eximo]

Something like this for a 2560x1440 144hz build, or 4K 60hz if you compromise a few settings.

Swap in an AMD 7900 XT / 7900 XTX or Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti Super or 4080 Super to push that into 2560x1440 240hz or 4K 120hz territory.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor ($356.83 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($35.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 EAGLE AX ATX AM5 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($100.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital WD_Black SN850X 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($144.88 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY VERTO OC GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12 GB Video Card ($579.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($92.15 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS GX-1000 ATX 3.0 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1610.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-08-07 16:34 EDT-0400

 

[ki4lzd]

You missed CPU, but regardless, no FX CPU is going to be viable today. DDR5 is the current new stuff, DDR4 for budget builds. That PSU is not rated for anything close to a 4K GPU.


GTX970 is an entry level eSports GPU these days. With the right game, still plenty good, but no recent games at more than 1080p low/medium. 4GB VRAM is quite limiting.

Your chassis might still be okay, depending on exactly what you have. 4K gaming takes a monster GPU, and they are quite large. 3.5-4 slots thick and very long.

You could keep the SSD for low priority storage, which is what QLC NAND is really for anyway.

Basically assume you are buying new everything.

That is basically what I was figuring honestly. Stuff started moving so fast it was hard to keep up and with family, life, work, hobbies beyond gaming it was all a bit too much to keep up with. Well poo.

 

[ki4lzd]

Ok so no go on 4k so would this be viable for 1080p?

 

[artk2219]

Ok so no go on 4k so would this be viable for 1080p?

Probably 720 medium to 1080p low for most games, some games may run decently, others will be stutter fests. Also fsr is your friend in a setup like that, it may help with performance. Unfortunately you're looking at pretty much a full rebuild for better performance.

 

[ki4lzd]

Ok figured out another route maybe through my workplace. So I've got a couple combos to list.
1: iBuypower Tracemesh $2,543.81
AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT with 16GB GDDR6
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 8 Core Processor (3.8GHz) with Max Boost Clock up to 5.3GHz; 32GB Memory

2: iBUYPOWER Y40WA9N46T01 $2,594.78
Processor & Memory: AMD Ryzen 9 7900x 12 Core Processor (4.7 GHz) with Max Boost Clock up to 5.6GHz
Video/Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti with 8GB GDDR6

3: MSI Codex R2 $1,629.02
Intel Core i5-14400F 10 Core Processor (2.5GHz) with Max Turbo Frequency up to 4.7GHz; 16GB Memory
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 with 8GB GDDR6

4: iBUYPOWER TraceMesh $1,541.25
AMD Ryzen 7 5700 8-Core Processor (3.7GHz) with Max Boost Clock up to 4.6GHz
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 with 8GB GDDR6

5: iBUYPOWER TraceMesh $1,578.96
Intel Core i5-13400F 10-Core Processor (2.5GHz) with Max Turbo Frequency up to 4.6GHz
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 with 8GB GDDR6

I've cut out a lot of the individual pieces but I can add them if necessary. Are these going to allow 4k mid gaming? I can get these prebuilds at 20% off this month through my work.

 

[artk2219]

Ok figured out another route maybe through my workplace. So I've got a couple combos to list.
1: iBuypower Tracemesh $2,543.81
AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT with 16GB GDDR6
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 8 Core Processor (3.8GHz) with Max Boost Clock up to 5.3GHz; 32GB Memory

2: iBUYPOWER Y40WA9N46T01 $2,594.78
Processor & Memory: AMD Ryzen 9 7900x 12 Core Processor (4.7 GHz) with Max Boost Clock up to 5.6GHz
Video/Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti with 8GB GDDR6

3: MSI Codex R2 $1,629.02
Intel Core i5-14400F 10 Core Processor (2.5GHz) with Max Turbo Frequency up to 4.7GHz; 16GB Memory
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 with 8GB GDDR6

4: iBUYPOWER TraceMesh $1,541.25
AMD Ryzen 7 5700 8-Core Processor (3.7GHz) with Max Boost Clock up to 4.6GHz
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 with 8GB GDDR6

5: iBUYPOWER TraceMesh $1,578.96
Intel Core i5-13400F 10-Core Processor (2.5GHz) with Max Turbo Frequency up to 4.6GHz
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 with 8GB GDDR6

I've cut out a lot of the individual pieces but I can add them if necessary. Are these going to allow 4k mid gaming? I can get these prebuilds at 20% off this month through my work.

So, those builds aren't amazingly well priced for what they are. I would also avoid Intel for the time being, they are having some quality issues with their CPUs currently. The chances of one having an issue is small, and there is a beta bios that's supposed to rectify the issue so long as your CPU isn't already damaged. But the chance it still there, and it's going to take a few months for that solution to be vetted out. I've put together a build that's a pretty good all arounder that can game at 4k for around 1500. Some games you may need to tweak the settings for 4k but most should run with no issues, even the RTX 4090 can still have issues with some games at 4k. We are just about at the point where you don't necessarily need the absolute fastest GPU to get 4k 60fps on most games, but there are still some outliers. The 7800X3D is the fastest gaming CPU around currently, and the 7900GRE is one of the better GPU deals around. If you like to tinker with your hardware, and if you get one that will let you overclock it a bit, you can get right around 7900 xt / RTX 4070 ti super performance out of it. It is still well priced and it gives great performance even without the overclock though.

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/asus-radeon-rx-7900-gre-tuf/41.html

PCPartPicker Part List
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/64DvPF

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3hyH99/amd-ryzen-7-7800x3d-42-ghz-8-core-processor-100-100000910wof) | $366.01 @ Amazon
**CPU Cooler** | [Thermalright Assassin King SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/RkC48d/thermalright-assassin-king-se-6617-cfm-cpu-cooler-ak120-se-d6) | $19.89 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** | [MSI B650 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/szfxFT/msi-b650-gaming-plus-wifi-atx-am5-motherboard-b650-gaming-plus-wifi) | $149.99 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [Corsair Vengeance 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6400 CL36 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/TGGhP6/corsair-vengeance-32-gb-2-x-16-gb-ddr5-6400-cl36-memory-cmk32gx5m2b6400c36) | $99.99 @ Corsair
**Storage** | [Crucial P3 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/yGZ9TW/crucial-p3-plus-2-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-ct2000p3pssd8) | $117.99 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [ASRock Challenger OC Radeon RX 7900 GRE 16 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Ln4Zxr/asrock-challenger-oc-radeon-rx-7900-gre-16-gb-video-card-rx7900gre-cl-16go) | $529.99 @ Newegg
**Case** | [Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/kKcgXL/montech-air-903-base-atx-mid-tower-case-air-903-base-b) | $65.00 @ B&H
**Power Supply** | [Cooler Master MWE Gold 850 - V2 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/tWMTwP/cooler-master-mwe-gold-850-v2-850-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-mpe-8501-afaag-us) | $94.99 @ Amazon
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| **Total** | **$1443.85**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2024-08-10 11:34 EDT-0400 |

 

[ki4lzd]

That looks great thank you for your time and energy into this void I've created ha! That way at least I wouldn't be getting ripped price wise like the ones I linked. I just can't go out and plunk down whatever grands this is going to take, so either payment option(credit through my work thats pulled from my paycheck), bestbuy credit card (which from what research I've done is still cheaper than my work), or Amazon payment over 5 months if i can find one that it comes up on or 1 piece at a time over so many months. A lot to think about indeed.

 

[ki4lzd]

You missed CPU, but regardless, no FX CPU is going to be viable today. DDR5 is the current new stuff, DDR4 for budget builds. That PSU is not rated for anything close to a 4K GPU.


GTX970 is an entry level eSports GPU these days. With the right game, still plenty good, but no recent games at more than 1080p low/medium. 4GB VRAM is quite limiting.

Your chassis might still be okay, depending on exactly what you have. 4K gaming takes a monster GPU, and they are quite large. 3.5-4 slots thick and very long.

You could keep the SSD for low priority storage, which is what QLC NAND is really for anyway.

Basically assume you are buying new everything.

Ok so I've decided to stick with my current machine for the time being. I want to get a new case since my old one is in such bad shape so I'm going to start there. Eximo you pointed out my storage was low priority storage, so that would be my next thing to tackle. Any recommendations based on my current machine for storage? As far as I know this mobo isn't cabable of M2 SSD's so I'm looking at a standard SSD.

 

[Eximo]

The regular Samsung TLC drives are usually chart topping, but that isn't sayin much. Pretty much any SATA SSD with a dram cache basically saturates a SATA 6Gbps connection. There is no immediate need to replace it if you are happy with it.

QLC drives just go a bit slower for writing. If most of your storage is game installations, that is actually fine. It might take longer than usual to do the install, but once installed it behaves pretty much like any other SATA SSD.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/15887/the-samsung-870-qvo-1tb-4tb-ssd-review-qlc-refreshed/2

 

[ki4lzd]

Roger that thank you. I'm running an old BenQ EL2870U monitor I bought back in 2019 which I'm looking to upgrade at some point which was why the unsightly chase for 4k which I'll stick to my console for that and down res for PC gaming right now.

 

[Eximo]

The consoles get away with it through upscaling, which is an option, though not necessarily with the GTX970, would have to check, FSR probably works.

FSR from AMD, DLSS from Nvidia, and XeSS from Intel are all solutions to that very problem. Render at 1080p and then upscale to 4K maintain performance with only minimal loss in visual quality. Or even render at 720p and upscale to 1080p.

But you do need the later model GPUs for frame generation which is the next step up, but also adds a lot of latency (good for single player games, not so much for multiplayer)

Conceivably if you bought something like an RTX4060 or RX7600 you could get a decent increase in gaming performance on more recent titles. Just be fully aware that the FPS limit in some games will be directly due to the older CPU. Though some titles are fine with FX processors, Doom and Doom Eternal come to mind.

4K native will still take an $800+ GPU, new PSU, and preferably a new system to handle it.

 

[ki4lzd]

Eximo you assuredly earned that Ambassador title I greatly appreciate all your time and effort into this hole I'm digging. I've just rounded 50 years of age and with work and family and running and real life out here it's wonderful people take the time from their days to help others out. I really enjoy gaming and I'd like to get back into pc gaming while I can still enjoy it. Maybe I should scale back to a really high end 1080p or 1440p monitor hmmm.

 

[Eximo]

This is how I keep up with my hobby so it is no trouble at all. As much as I would like to, I really can't justify upgrading or building computers constantly. So helping out people with component advice is great way to stay informed.

1440p is where I have been at for a good while now. Recently picked up an 1440p 240hz LG OLED. Expensive, but my last monitor I had for about 8 years. Aiming for 4K always seemed a bit too much. And the way GPUs have been getting more expensive and power hungry, also makes the appeal less in my view. When I was much younger I didn't mind heating a room up to 90F to play games, these days, not so much.

 

[ki4lzd]

This is how I keep up with my hobby so it is no trouble at all. As much as I would like to, I really can't justify upgrading or building computers constantly. So helping out people with component advice is great way to stay informed.

1440p is where I have been at for a good while now. Recently picked up an 1440p 240hz LG OLED. Expensive, but my last monitor I had for about 8 years. Aiming for 4K always seemed a bit too much. And the way GPUs have been getting more expensive and power hungry, also makes the appeal less in my view. When I was much younger I didn't mind heating a room up to 90F to play games, these days, not so much.

Sooo gonna resurrect this with an update. Ordered a Zalman case and got everything transplanted and up and running. The only thing I really want to do now is get rid of the old old platter drives. So 2.5 inch SSDs are really my only option correct? I've been looking at those PCIe 16x M.2 adapters and wondering if that would be viable. The motherboard supports PCIe 2.0 and from what little reading I've done it's really hit or miss. There are 2 PCIe 16x slots available could I get one of those adapters and slot in an m.2 hdd on it just for game installs? Or that isn't feasible? Thank you!

 

[Eximo]

Generally only the main x16 slot is wired for x16. Typical on AMD boards to have only 4x or 8x wired to a secondary slot.

You might be able to get an NVMe drive to work in PCIe, but it really isn't worth it. For game storage a SATA SSD is plenty.

 

[ki4lzd]

Thank you!

 

[ki4lzd]

Ok got a Samsung Evo 870 4tb drive and made it my primary reinstalled Windows fresh and new wiped the 2tb other SSD for storage and got rid of the platter drives. Everything new and fresh. Are there any souls around with knowledge of this bios (MSI 990fxa gaming) and settings I should and shouldn't change?