- Apr 3, 2023
- 12
- 0
- 10
Hey guys this is my first post ever so my apologies in advance if this isn’t following an etiquette of some sort.
I want to upgrade my PC, I’ve built 2 custom rigs in the past but wouldn’t call myself a pro by any means. More recently I bought a gaming laptop that out performs my most recent rig by a landslide. So much so I can barely stand playing on the old girl, so, time to upgrade! I think I can get away with just upgrading the GPU, but I’m not totally sure what’s worth it, what’s compatible, and what’s worth doing within my budget.
For reference I’ll spit out all my rigs hardware and my current laptop specs so you can see why I’m struggling, and hopefully you guys can give me some good recommendations, or even a few and then I can pick which route would be best.
The laptop is pretty decent, at least I think so. Picture is great, runs everything (for the most part) in ultra settings at 60+ fps. I really love this little device.
My laptop is as follows:
HP OMEN 15-dc1052nr 15.6" Gaming Laptop Computer - Black
Intel Core i7-9750H Processor 2.6GHz
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6
16GB DDR4-2666 RAM
512GB Solid State Drive
Microsoft Windows 10 Home
Multi-format Digital Media Card Reader
10/100/1000 Network
2x2 Realtek WiFi 6+Bluetooth 5.0 Combo
15.6" Full HD 144Hz IPS Anti-Glare Micro-Edge WLED-backlit Display
My PC on the other hand is not so great, not terrible, but a bit dated. I think the CPU and ram are pretty good for todays standard, but I know the GPU can be beefed up.
I don’t have an exact list to pull from but I’ll give the specs and parts that I do know, basically just pulling the parts from my OLD Newegg order:
Motherboard:
ASRock Z170 Pro4S LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Power supply:
EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G1 120-G1-0650-XR 80+ GOLD 650W Fully Modular
Ram:
G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200) Desktop Memory Model F4-2400C15D-16GVR (two of these so 32gb ram total)
CPU:
Intel Core i7 6th Gen - Core i7-6700K 8M Skylake Quad-Core 4.0 GHz LGA 1151 91W BX80662I76700K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 530
GPU:
MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GD5 OCV1
Case:
Deepcool TESSERACT SW Red SPCC Plastic Rubber Coating ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Compatible with ATX 12V / EPS 12V Power Supply (Not Included)
I don’t have a super high end gaming monitor but it is a some $400ish labeled “gaming monitor” bought in 2015.
My HDD is 1 TB
Keep in mind my only focus is gaming, I’m not a streamer, and while I like to think I’m more versed than most at computers, I’m not a pro. I’d like to boot up and jump into my games. I’m not really into tweaking my settings or over clocking or messing with the bios.
So comparing the two, and looking to upgrade this PC to actually be better than the laptop, here’s some questions I have (as I’d like this to be a learning experience as well):
So what do you guys think? My budget is about $500-$800 right now (maybe a bit more if that gets in the 40 series range but not sure the motherboard makes that even a viable option). Is it even worth it for me? In a perfect world this upgrade will last me 5-7 more years. Should I go with an upgrade of sorts? Should I save my money for now and wait a year or so to churn out $2k-$3k on a brand new rig?
Any and all help is extremely valued and appreciated, thanks!
I want to upgrade my PC, I’ve built 2 custom rigs in the past but wouldn’t call myself a pro by any means. More recently I bought a gaming laptop that out performs my most recent rig by a landslide. So much so I can barely stand playing on the old girl, so, time to upgrade! I think I can get away with just upgrading the GPU, but I’m not totally sure what’s worth it, what’s compatible, and what’s worth doing within my budget.
For reference I’ll spit out all my rigs hardware and my current laptop specs so you can see why I’m struggling, and hopefully you guys can give me some good recommendations, or even a few and then I can pick which route would be best.
The laptop is pretty decent, at least I think so. Picture is great, runs everything (for the most part) in ultra settings at 60+ fps. I really love this little device.
My laptop is as follows:
HP OMEN 15-dc1052nr 15.6" Gaming Laptop Computer - Black
Intel Core i7-9750H Processor 2.6GHz
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6
16GB DDR4-2666 RAM
512GB Solid State Drive
Microsoft Windows 10 Home
Multi-format Digital Media Card Reader
10/100/1000 Network
2x2 Realtek WiFi 6+Bluetooth 5.0 Combo
15.6" Full HD 144Hz IPS Anti-Glare Micro-Edge WLED-backlit Display
My PC on the other hand is not so great, not terrible, but a bit dated. I think the CPU and ram are pretty good for todays standard, but I know the GPU can be beefed up.
I don’t have an exact list to pull from but I’ll give the specs and parts that I do know, basically just pulling the parts from my OLD Newegg order:
Motherboard:
ASRock Z170 Pro4S LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Power supply:
EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G1 120-G1-0650-XR 80+ GOLD 650W Fully Modular
Ram:
G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200) Desktop Memory Model F4-2400C15D-16GVR (two of these so 32gb ram total)
CPU:
Intel Core i7 6th Gen - Core i7-6700K 8M Skylake Quad-Core 4.0 GHz LGA 1151 91W BX80662I76700K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 530
GPU:
MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GD5 OCV1
Case:
Deepcool TESSERACT SW Red SPCC Plastic Rubber Coating ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Compatible with ATX 12V / EPS 12V Power Supply (Not Included)
I don’t have a super high end gaming monitor but it is a some $400ish labeled “gaming monitor” bought in 2015.
My HDD is 1 TB
Keep in mind my only focus is gaming, I’m not a streamer, and while I like to think I’m more versed than most at computers, I’m not a pro. I’d like to boot up and jump into my games. I’m not really into tweaking my settings or over clocking or messing with the bios.
So comparing the two, and looking to upgrade this PC to actually be better than the laptop, here’s some questions I have (as I’d like this to be a learning experience as well):
- How are my current specs across the board (on the pc)? What would be worth keeping and what’s worth upgrading?
- Is the ram itself ok? 32gb seems like alot to me but it’s also kind of older, not sure that makes a big difference?
- Is my CPU ok? A few months ago I think I checked the bench marks and it was still in the top 40, but again, not really sure.
- What GPU is a good bang for buck GPU upgrade? I think upgrading the GPU alone will give me the best return on investment, I can probably dish out quite a bit of dough on this, but really looking at best bang for buck here. Also not sure exactly what’s compatible with my motherboard.
- If I do an upgrade how will that work with my power supply?
So what do you guys think? My budget is about $500-$800 right now (maybe a bit more if that gets in the 40 series range but not sure the motherboard makes that even a viable option). Is it even worth it for me? In a perfect world this upgrade will last me 5-7 more years. Should I go with an upgrade of sorts? Should I save my money for now and wait a year or so to churn out $2k-$3k on a brand new rig?
Any and all help is extremely valued and appreciated, thanks!
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram