Toms_Cat

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Hello Tom's Hardware !

I'm making this post because I need some advice on upgrading my PC.
Perhaps you kind folks could help me out ?

I do apologize in advance if this is not the correct community to post this question, and kindly ask to redirect me to the correct community.

A small disclaimer: This is a long post.

System Usage:
  • Gaming (Playing shooters, RPG's, RTS games, etc.)
  • Workstation Tasks (Developing, Running VM's, etc.)
  • Administrative tasks (internet browsing, text editing, etc.)
  • Entertainment (Watching movies, listening to music, etc.)
  • ...
I use my computer pretty much every day.

Why I want to upgrade - I want to:
  • Have the ability to play games on higher settings without problems.
  • Achieve higher & more consistent frame rates in games
  • Improve my overall "PC Experience"
For example: my system currently struggles with maintaining a frame rate of 60 fps in titles such as Apex Legends on low settings at 1080p.

What I want to upgrade:
  • GPU
  • Internal SSD and HDD
  • Monitor
I'm unsure about my CPU (see below)

Approximate time of upgrade:

This summer (2019), around July - August

Buying a monitor:

Yes, I will be buying a new monitor (more about my monitor below)

Overclocking:

Maybe.
I have no experience overclocking my hardware but would like to get into it if possible.
I am not planning on buying any watercooling equipment though.

SLI / Crossfire:

No. I am not interested in multiple GPU's.

Preferred Websites:

No real preferences here, although it seems that Amazon.de is cheapest in most cases.

Location:

Belgium, Europe

My budget:

This depends.
  • Without upgrading the CPU: max. € 900
  • With upgrading the CPU: max. € 1400
My Computer's current specifications:
  • Case: Cooler Master CM690II Advanced (Mid-Tower)
  • Power Supply: 720 Watt Cooler Master Silent Pro MII
  • Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-M Pro (LGA 1155 Socket)
  • CPU: Intel Core i7 3770K (3.5 Ghz, 4 Cores, 8 Threads)
  • CPU Cooler: CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo
  • GPU: Nvidia GTX680 (2 GB VRAM @ 1Ghz)
  • RAM: 16GB Corsair Vengeance (DDR3 Memory @ 1.6Ghz)
  • Internal SSD: 128 GB ADATA SP900
  • Internal HDD: 1 TB Seagate ST31000524AS (7200 RPM)
  • Optical Drive: DVD R/W+ Samsung SH-222BB
  • OS: Windows 10 Home 64-Bit
Build Year: September 2012

I haven't upgraded this system since it was built.
So all the hardware in this system is about 7 years old.

My Monitor:
  • 21.5 Inch Samsung S22B350 (1920x1080p @ 60Hz) - with some dead pixels

Additional Comments / My thoughts / Requested Advice:

I want to upgrade my GPU:


The Nvidia GTX 680 was a very nice graphics card back in 2012, but it's starting to struggle in modern games.
I'm not sure what GPU to choose as replacement though.

Both the RTX 2060 and RTX 2070 from Nvidia are graphics cards on my radar. They seem to be powerful cards, with the RTX 2060 (around € 400) seeminigly being great value for money. The RTX 2070 (around € 500) is more powerful, but also about € 100 more expensive. I don't know what cards from AMD stack up well against these from Nvidia ? I have seen the Radeon Vega 64 for around € 450 and also the new Radeon VII for around € 750.

I tried finding "previous gen" cards (such as the GTX 1080 or GTX 1080 TI) however they are simply just as expensive or even more pricey to buy as the new RTX cards from Nvidia. - if I can find them. Buying used might be an option, but I'm reluctant because you never know what you will get. Even used however they are still no bargain.

Currently I'm leaning towards the RTX 2070.

What do you think ? Which GPU would you reccommend ?

Unsure about CPU:

I'm not sure if I should upgrade my CPU, or not yet. If I upgrade the CPU, I will have to buy a new motherboard and RAM as well. Since the current generation of CPU's requries DDR4 memory and I still run DDR3 memory. Also, DDR4 memory is quite expensive.

I am worried however that my CPU might bottleneck my GPU when I don't upgarde. The upgrade would be kind of useless if the CPU is the limiting factor in the system and I cannot achieve the framerates I would if I had a better CPU.

I tested this a bit in Apex legends for example, but in that game my CPU is under about 45% load, while the GPU is running at 100% load. So (in that game at least) there is no bottleneck. I have no clue how well this will translate to a newer card though.

If I had to upgrade, I was thinking about the Ryzen 7 2700X (€ 300) - This seems to be good value for money.
The i7 9700K from intel is more expensive (€ 420) - Which is quite steep. Perhaps the i5 9600K (€250) is a better fit ?

Also, do sockets always change ? It seems that every generation of CPU's uses a different socket so you always have to change out your motherboard as well ?

What do you think ? Should I upgrade my CPU ?
If so, which CPU would you reccomend for me ?

I want to upgrade my monitor:

The monitor I have right now is mediocre. It's a 1080p screen, but only has a refresh rate of 60Hz. On top of that, it suffered some dead pixels last year (10+ pixels are lifeless). The dead pixels are quite distracting and I would like to have a higher refresh rate on my screen. I don't know which resolution to go for however:
  • 1080p (1920x1080)
  • 1440p (2650x1440)
The main questions are:
  • Will the graphics card be able to drive this resolution at higher framerates (FPS > 60) in modern games ?
  • Will my CPU be a bottleneck in games at higher framerates ?
I heard that the CPU can be a bottleneck on higher refresh rate monitors, when the CPU cannot keep up with the GPU.

In short, which screen resolution and refresh rate would you reccomend for my upgraded system ?

Additional Internal drives:

I plan on upgrading my 128 GB Adata SSD to a 500 GB SSD and add another 2 TB drive to my system.


Thank you for reading my long post !

Feel free to point out another component that I forgot / needs upgrading / replacing.
I hope I provided enough information. If not, please let me know.

I'm looking forward to your feedback and suggestions !

Toms Cat.
 
You really could have typed one paragraph here, what you have now, and ask for suggestion for what you want to use system for. Everyone that would reply already knows what's out there and the cost vs performance vs long term use vs price.

First pick a resolution, monitor size and quality settings you are OK with so you can pick a video card range. A 24" is great for 1080 and you can get a higher refresh rate monitor pretty cheap, if you want a larger 27" then going to 1440 is good but not really needed. Some people don't like how large the pixels seem on larger monitors at 1080, others don't mind. Personal preference. Same thing for TN vs IPS, IPS is great colors but for fast paced games even a 75hz one may not be good for you, and the response time for the pixel changes are longer than a gaming TN screen. For gaming grade IPS you will be paying a lot, which your budget does not allow, unless the 1,000 is only for system not monitor. No one can tell you what you want to work with, everything has compromise unless you have a huge amount to spend and just buy a high end $500-600 monitor. Smaller screen and lower resolution to get high refresh rates and keep cost lower for video card, or big screen but lower spec, or mid range large screen that is OK but not great for any single thing, colors vs smoothness in twitchy games, cost vs compromise somewhere. It's your decisions.

Once you picked the monitor, get the monitor, get a larger SSD, a video card for the monitor you want (say 1660 Ti for 1080 or a 2070 for 1440), install the latest BIOS, install Windows clean on the current system along with the video card upgrade. See how things run. If you are still not happy then you can look into changing the full setup for something else. Even though it's older, for many games your 3rd gen i7 CPU is fine.
 
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Toms_Cat

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You really could have typed one paragraph here, what you have now, and ask for suggestion for what you want to use system for. Everyone that would reply already knows what's out there and the cost vs performance vs long term use vs price.

First pick a resolution, monitor size and quality settings you are OK with so you can pick a video card range. A 24" is great for 1080 and you can get a higher refresh rate monitor pretty cheap, if you want a larger 27" then going to 1440 is good but not really needed. Some people don't like how large the pixels seem on larger monitors at 1080, others don't mind. Personal preference. Same thing for TN vs IPS, IPS is great colors but for fast paced games even a 75hz one may not be good for you, and the response time for the pixel changes are longer than a gaming TN screen. For gaming grade IPS you will be paying a lot, which your budget does not allow, unless the 1,000 is only for system not monitor. No one can tell you what you want to work with, everything has compromise unless you have a huge amount to spend and just buy a high end $500-600 monitor. Smaller screen and lower resolution to get high refresh rates and keep cost lower for video card, or big screen but lower spec, or mid range large screen that is OK but not great for any single thing, colors vs smoothness in twitchy games, cost vs compromise somewhere. It's your decisions.

Once you picked the monitor, get the monitor, get a larger SSD, a video card for the monitor you want (say 1660 Ti for 1080 or a 2070 for 1440), install the latest BIOS, install Windows clean on the current system along with the video card upgrade. See how things run. If you are still not happy then you can look into changing the full setup for something else. Even though it's older, for many games your 3rd gen i7 CPU is fine.

Hello !

As you pointed out, I don't have to replace all components at once. Getting a monitor will be top priority however.
I will figure out if I want to get a 1080p or 1440p screen and choose an appropriate GPU as a first upgrade and go from there.

A small question about the new RTX GPU's:
If I choose a 1440p monitor, would the RTX 2070 be a good card for this resolution ? (Capable of achieving more than 60 fps in games) ?
If I choose a 1080p monitor, would the RTX 2060 be able to push higher framerates in games (around 100 fps) ?

And indeed, I may have made this post unnecessarily long. Apologies !

Thanks again for your feedback !

Toms Cat
 
Hello !

As you pointed out, I don't have to replace all components at once. Getting a monitor will be top priority however.
I will figure out if I want to get a 1080p or 1440p screen and choose an appropriate GPU as a first upgrade and go from there.

A small question about the new RTX GPU's:
If I choose a 1440p monitor, would the RTX 2070 be a good card for this resolution ? (Capable of achieving more than 60 fps in games) ?
If I choose a 1080p monitor, would the RTX 2060 be able to push higher framerates in games (around 100 fps) ?

And indeed, I may have made this post unnecessarily long. Apologies !

Thanks again for your feedback !

Toms Cat

Yes 2060 is good for 1080 and 2070 is good for 1440. That will also depend on the game, how high you want the settings to be and the refresh rate. 144hz will need more power than 60 or 120 to make full use of the monitor. You can find benchmarks for video cards easily for many games at different resolutions, see what matches what you want.
 
I think games already look amazing at 'only' 1080P even on a 48" TV, so something like the 9700K/R5-2600X or 2700X and a GTX1660Ti or RTX2060 class GPU should do nicely, save money over much higher priced alternatives, yet still look awesome...

FInd a 3200 MHz 32 GB RAM kit (16 GB x 2)
 

Toms_Cat

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Yes 2060 is good for 1080 and 2070 is good for 1440. That will also depend on the game, how high you want the settings to be and the refresh rate. 144hz will need more power than 60 or 120 to make full use of the monitor. You can find benchmarks for video cards easily for many games at different resolutions, see what matches what you want.

Thank you for the info !
 

Toms_Cat

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I think games already look amazing at 'only' 1080P even on a 48" TV, so something like the 9700K/R5-2600X or 2700X and a GTX1660Ti or RTX2060 class GPU should do nicely, save money over much higher priced alternatives, yet still look awesome...

FInd a 3200 MHz 32 GB RAM kit (16 GB x 2)

Hello !

So you would pick a 1080p screen at higher refresh rates ?
Something like a 24 Inch 1920x1080 @ 144 Hz - 1ms monitor ?

I think such a monitor paired up with a RTX 2060 would make a nice combo.
I might go for that.

But do you think I need more RAM ? Is 16 GB not enough ?
Also does the frequency of the RAM have a big impact on its performance in games ?

Thanks again for your reply !

Toms Cat
 

Toms_Cat

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If you're waiting to build later this summer, that's perfect timing because Ryzen third gen will be releasing and 8 core / 16 thread chips will be the new R5.
I'd wait until then to make a decision on hardware.

Hello !

Currently I have a i7 3770K CPU.
Would you reccommend me to ugrade my processor once the new gen Ryzen chips release ?
Do we know something about the price points of these new chips ?

Thanks !

Toms Cat
 
Here's what I would suggest for now.

All from Amazon.de

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (€154.63 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (€75.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€87.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (€62.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€61.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: XFX - Radeon RX 580 8 GB GTS XXX ED Video Card (€189.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox E300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case (€33.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 620 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (€56.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Monitor: ViewSonic - VX2458-mhd 23.6" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor (€160.93 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €884.23
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-21 22:32 CEST+0200


The monitor is a 144hz 1080p monitor with Freesync to match with the AMD 580 graphics card, which should be able to run most games at 75-144 FPS.
If you wait to July, the CPU and Mobo should be a r5-3600 and B550 instead, but price will be similar.

there is enough left to get a decent set of speakers or headphones, a mechanical keyboard and a gaming multi-button mouse, upgrad to the 2700/3700 CPU or a fancier case.

I went with the AMD GPU because both the 2060 and the G-Sync 144hz monitor to go with it were 400+ euros each, compared to less than 400 for both here.
 
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Toms_Cat

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Here's what I would suggest for now.

All from Amazon.de

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (€154.63 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (€75.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€87.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (€62.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€61.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: XFX - Radeon RX 580 8 GB GTS XXX ED Video Card (€189.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox E300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case (€33.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 620 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (€56.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Monitor: ViewSonic - VX2458-mhd 23.6" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor (€160.93 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €884.23
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-21 22:32 CEST+0200


The monitor is a 144hz 1080p monitor with Freesync to match with the AMD 580 graphics card, which should be able to run most games at 75-144 FPS.
If you wait to July, the CPU and Mobo should be a r5-3600 and B550 instead, but price will be similar.

there is enough left to get a decent set of speakers or headphones, a mechanical keyboard and a gaming multi-button mouse, upgrad to the 2700/3700 CPU or a fancier case.

I went with the AMD GPU because both the 2060 and the G-Sync 144hz monitor to go with it were 400+ euros each, compared to less than 400 for both here.

Hello !

Thank you for your reply.

I do have some questions about the build if you don't mind:
  • Is it necessary to upgrade my CPU right now ? I thought of keeping my i7 3770K for a while (max a year or so) until the new Ryzen 3000 series of processors releases (I read some rumors) and decide for a CPU then ?
  • I thought of buying an RTX 2060 as my new graphics card. This card is about € 400 from Amazon. How does the AMD RX 580 compare to this card ? How about the RX 590 ? I will buy a 1080p @ 144Hz monitor - I was actually thinking about buying the "AOC G2590PX" monitor.
  • I currently have the Cooler Master CM 690 II case and a 720 Cooler Master power supply. I didn't intent on upgrading these, since I thought to keep using them. Is there a reason to upgrade these components ?
  • For peripherals, I indeed would like to buy a mechanical keyboard and a better mouse. I was thinking about the CoolerMaster CK550 keyboard and a not-too-fancy mouse. I already have a headset.
I will look more into the AMD Graphics cards & their performance.

Thank you for your suggestion & feedback !

Toms Cat
 
If you don't want to spend much money, then I would suggest simply upgrading to an RTX-2060 with a 1080p monitor. The RTX-2060 should be able to handle up to 144hz 1080p monitors for your faster pased FPS shooter needs. As for AMD graphics cards in the performance bracket you are looking for, they are mostly of an older generation that is significantly more power hungry for more or less the same performance and price. I would recommend an Nvidia GPU at this price bracket. The RX-580 should be cheaper than the RTX-2060, but also less powerful. The RTX-2060 is more expensive, but also because it is reasonably more powerful.

Ultimately, I don't think that you really need to upgrade the CPU at this point in time, unless you really felt a need for increased CPU cores in your Workstation tasks. If you feel the need to upgrade your CPU, it would essentially require a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM, so it would be quite expensive. I would recommend waiting for a week since new AMD processors are rumored to be announced around then, only if you want to also upgrade CPU.

Best step would be to buy a new GPU (RTX-2060) and a new monitor based on your preference first, then evaluate how well that does. If after you have upgraded and used the new hardware and are not satisfied, only then consider CPU upgrades.

As for peripherals, they are mostly subjective, as difference people have different preferences. If you can go to a physical store and try out certain keyboards/mice, that would be the best way to determine which ones are better for you than others. If you can't do that, try to determine the keyboard switch type and also decide what kind of mechanical switch suites you the best. For mice, determine what kind of grip you have and make a decision based on what is most comfortable and aesthetically appealing to you (if you are left handed, you might need to look into mice that are more ambidextrous than just focusing on right-handed users).
 
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Toms_Cat

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If you don't want to spend much money, then I would suggest simply upgrading to an RTX-2060 with a 1080p monitor. The RTX-2060 should be able to handle up to 144hz 1080p monitors for your faster pased FPS shooter needs. As for AMD graphics cards in the performance bracket you are looking for, they are mostly of an older generation that is significantly more power hungry for more or less the same performance and price. I would recommend an Nvidia GPU at this price bracket. The RX-580 should be cheaper than the RTX-2060, but also less powerful. The RTX-2060 is more expensive, but also because it is reasonably more powerful.

Ultimately, I don't think that you really need to upgrade the CPU at this point in time, unless you really felt a need for increased CPU cores in your Workstation tasks. If you feel the need to upgrade your CPU, it would essentially require a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM, so it would be quite expensive. I would recommend waiting for a week since new AMD processors are rumored to be announced around then, only if you want to also upgrade CPU.

Best step would be to buy a new GPU (RTX-2060) and a new monitor based on your preference first, then evaluate how well that does. If after you have upgraded and used the new hardware and are not satisfied, only then consider CPU upgrades.

As for peripherals, they are mostly subjective, as difference people have different preferences. If you can go to a physical store and try out certain keyboards/mice, that would be the best way to determine which ones are better for you than others. If you can't do that, try to determine the keyboard switch type and also decide what kind of mechanical switch suites you the best. For mice, determine what kind of grip you have and make a decision based on what is most comfortable and aesthetically appealing to you (if you are left handed, you might need to look into mice that are more ambidextrous than just focusing on right-handed users).

Hello !

Thank you for the very sound advice.

I think you are right: It's best to upgrade my machine step by step and evalutate the necessity of changing out the CPU.
I will first get a new graphics card and monitor and then evaluate if my CPU also needs replacement (depending if it becomes a bottleneck) or not.
It seems that the RTX 2060 is one of the better deals at the moment.
I will certainly also keep an eye on the new Ryzen 3000 processors that were announced not so long ago.

About the mechanical keyboard: It might indeed be a good idea to try them in person, since I never typed on one before.
About the mouse: The main reason I want a better mouse is to have a good optical sensor and thumb-buttons. I am right handed.
I don't need an expensive mouse - just a bit better than a € 10 standard mouse that I have now.

Thank you for your help !

Toms Cat
 
The i7 3770k is still an amazing processor. I still use a locked i7 4790 which is only one generation newer and I have no problems playing at 1080p high refresh rate. If you had a 3rd gen i5, id say you should upgrade the processor. You should hold onto the i7 for a 1-2 more years to see how AMD/Intel competition "pans out". You can do a mild overclock on your i7 to bring it almost "up to par" with current gen chips, provided you have adequate cooling.
 

Toms_Cat

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The i7 3770k is still an amazing processor. I still use a locked i7 4790 which is only one generation newer and I have no problems playing at 1080p high refresh rate. If you had a 3rd gen i5, id say you should upgrade the processor. You should hold onto the i7 for a 1-2 more years to see how AMD/Intel competition "pans out". You can do a mild overclock on your i7 to bring it almost "up to par" with current gen chips, provided you have adequate cooling.

Hello !

Yes, I haven't upgraded my CPU yet because I thought the new chips - while faster - do not offer a significant enough performance increase to warrant the cost of a brand new CPU, motherboard and RAM.

I will certainly wait some months to see what Ryzen 3000 is all about, and how Intel will respond. Currently, I think my i7 3770K is adequite for the games I play so I will not upgrade my CPU for the time being.

Thank you for your feedback !

Toms Cat
 

Toms_Cat

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yes, the RX 580 is less powerful than the RTX 2060. It's also only 40% of the price (E189 vs E429), its still plenty for 1080p gaming.

Hello !

That's very true. The RX 580 is more than helf the price of the new RTX 2060. The only concern I have is that the RTX 2060 will be more futureproof: I think I will have to upgrade the GPU faster when I go with the RX 580 - for example that card might begin to struggle with newer games in the coming years ?

Thanks again for your help !

Toms Cat
 
I think if you want to play games at max settings 1080p 144hz, then an RTX-2060 or a GTX-1660ti would possibly be a little better options than an RX-580. If you don't want to spend too much money, then the RX-580 is a fantastic deal still and will still get you great results at 1080p. Its with the RTX-2060, you have the option of also playing in 1440p later with decent settings. What ScrewySqrl says about the RX-580 is very important though. You can buy a decent card now (RX-580), and by the time you have to upgrade again, there might be significantly better cards that are out. Otherwise, get the latest cutting edge stuff (RTX-2060).
 
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Toms_Cat

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possibly (I just upgraded to a 580 myself last year) While a 2060 might last a little longer than the 580, you could buy the 580 now, and its replacement in 3 years and still spend less than you would for a 2060. It becomes a question of 'is it good enough to do what I want it to do' vs 'latest cutting edge stuff'

Hello !

I agree with you that the RX 580 provides very good value for money.
I looked at some benchmarks however and it seems that the card has trouble getting 60 fps in modern AAA titles ?
my GTX 680 struggles to get 60 fps as well, but I fear that the rx 580 in this case won't be much of an upgrade (I could be wrong) ? Apart from the RX 580, what about the Vega 56 and Vega 64 cards ?

Thanks again for your comment,

Toms Cat
 
For a decent approximation of performance, the RTX-2060 sits roughly between a Vega 56 and Vega 64, although this can vary depending on the specific game. Just keep in mind that Both Vega cards will draw more power and potentially be hotter and/or louder in use (depending on specific model). Whether that matters is up to you. The general prices seem to also put the RTX-2060 (~350USD) between a decently price Vega 56 (~300USD) and Vega 64 (~400USD +). Of course this is not taking into account special deals, sales, and bundles.

Regarding the RX-580 vs your current GTX-680, its most definitely will be a noticeable upgrade. Just taking Tom's own benchmarks with the RX-580, on most games with ultra settings at 1080p, it should be able to reach or exceed 60FPS, and if you can afford to drop certain settings, definitely hits 60FPS. A very basic comparison on userbenchmark (not the best source but easily accessible and found) finds that the RX-580 benchmarks roughly 50% higher and in GTAV, CS-GO, and Overwatch, offer roughly 30% or higher average FPS compared to the GTX-680.
 
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For a decent approximation of performance, the RTX-2060 sits roughly between a Vega 56 and Vega 64, although this can vary depending on the specific game. Just keep in mind that Both Vega cards will draw more power and potentially be hotter and/or louder in use (depending on specific model). Whether that matters is up to you. The general prices seem to also put the RTX-2060 (~350USD) between a decently price Vega 56 (~300USD) and Vega 64 (~400USD +). Of course this is not taking into account special deals, sales, and bundles.

Regarding the RX-580 vs your current GTX-680, its most definitely will be a noticeable upgrade. Just taking Tom's own benchmarks with the RX-580, on most games with ultra settings at 1080p, it should be able to reach or exceed 60FPS, and if you can afford to drop certain settings, definitely hits 60FPS. A very basic comparison on userbenchmark (not the best source but easily accessible and found) finds that the RX-580 benchmarks roughly 50% higher and in GTAV, CS-GO, and Overwatch, offer roughly 30% or higher average FPS compared to the GTX-680.

Hello !

Thank you for your advice.

I was thinking about buying a RTX 2060 to be a bit more "safe" if that makes sense. (It might just be my perception)
I have noticed however that there are many RTX 2060 cards available from Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, EVEA, etc.
Some of these cards cost € 360 while others can be as much as € 450 or more. The only difference I can see from the pictures is the size of the heatsink and the amount of fans.
This is a trend for any card it seems (Nvidia, AMD)

Is buying a card with a beefier heatsink or more fans necessary ? Does this provide better performance - aka are the pricier cards faster ?
I find that the price difference (up to € 100) is quite a lot between some of these cards.

Thank you !

With Kind Regards,

Toms Cat
 
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Hello !

Thank you for your advice.

I was thinking about buying a RTX 2060 to be a bit more "safe" if that makes sense. (It might just be my perception)
I have noticed however that there are many RTX 2060 cards available from Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, EVEA, etc.
Some of these cards cost € 360 while others can be as much as € 450 or more. The only difference I can see from the pictures is the size of the heatsink and the amount of fans.
This is a trend for any card it seems (Nvidia, AMD)

Is buying a card with a beefier heatsink or more fans necessary ? Does this provide better performance - aka are the pricier cards faster ?
I find that the price difference (up to € 100) is quite a lot between some of these cards.

Thank you !

With Kind Regards,

Toms Cat

For the best price to performance, no it's not really worth it. The 360 euro cards should be no problem. The most expensive Rtx 2060 cards shouldn't be more than 5 percent higher performance than a cheaper one.
 
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