Question PC Upgrade/Overclock

Paneaplepen

Honorable
Mar 26, 2017
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10,515
Hello friends,

I have build myself this pc 5 years ago and it might be a time to upgrade/overclock or build a new PC.
Please help me understand what my options are and how much a good upgrade would cost me.

My current pc parts are:
MB: ASROCK Z270 PRO4 S1151 ATX Intel DDR4 Elegant Motherboard - Grey; https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01NCEGBY5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
CPU: Inter I7 7700K
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 SC Gaming 8GB
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 850 P2, 80+ PLATINUM 850W; https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B011RGX5MU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Cooler: EVGA SuperNOVA 850 P2, 80+ PLATINUM 850WNoctua NH-D15S, Premium Dual-Tower CPU Cooler with NF-A15; https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00Y7928CS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Case: NZXT CA-S340MB-GR Source 340 Midi Tower Case; https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00RN3SJW8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
RAM: 16gb: Corsair CMK16GX4M2B3000C15R Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4 3000 MHz C15 XMP 2.0 High Performance Desktop Memory Kit; https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B013GZ5PD2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
SSD: Samsung 860 QVO 1 TB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (MZ-76Q1T0); https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07KSHCG3R/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Is overclocking reasonable?
What is my weakers part? Is there meaningful upgrade worth investing in or getting new pc?
I enjoy playing the AAA single player games and they are demanding recently.

Thank you!
 
Yes, overclocking is reasonable.
Most 7700K chips will reach 4.90GHz.
https://siliconlottery.com/pages/statistics

Your cooler is one of the best.
Read up on the process and give overclocking a try.

Games are limited by either cpu or gpu.
Try this test to see if a stronger gpu could help you:

Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

Do you have a budget for an upgrade?
 
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Yes, overclocking is reasonable.
Most 7700K chips will reach 4.90GHz.
https://siliconlottery.com/pages/statistics

Your cooler is one of the best.
Read up on the process and give overclocking a try.

Games are limited by either cpu or gpu.
Try this test to see if a stronger gpu could help you:

Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

Do you have a budget for an upgrade?

Hi, I don't have specific budget bth.
My original plan was to wait a bit and get 4070ti with decent processor pair. But i am wooried that i have to change pretty much everything. Would this motherboard support good processor with 4070ti?
I am willing to get new processor now and buy GPU later on as i don`t have the money for good GPU

Also is the ram outdated? i can get 16gb more if needed.
 
What kinds of games do you play?
Your psu is a good one, and should handle a card like the 4070ti
Fast action games do need a strong graphics card.
Games like sims, MMO and strategy games like fast single thread processors.
Run the cpu-Z bench on your 7700K.
Look at the single thread rating.
It should be something like 543:
http://valid.x86.fr/bench/k4gzh7
Many of the submissions will have come from overclocked systems.
If you play multiplayer with many participants, you may want more than the 8 threads you now have.
If you go with a current intel 13th gen processor, your 16gb of DDR4 ram is fine.
At least try it out first.
If you are short of ram, you can always buy a 32gb kit later.

There is no real performance difference between DDR4 and DDR5.

A processor like a I5-13600K would be a very nice upgrade.
You will need a lga1700 motherboard.
Any chipset would be ok, excepting the very basic ones.
Your cooler is fine; Noctua will send you a free lga1700 mounting kit.
 
Last edited:
What kinds of games do you play?
Do you have a budget?
fast action games do need a strong graphics card.
Games like sims, MMO and strategy games like fast single thread processors.
Run the cpu-Z bench on your 7700K.
Look at the single thread rating.
It should be something like 543:
http://valid.x86.fr/bench/k4gzh7
Many of the submissions will have come from overclocked systems.
If you play multiplayer with many participants, you may want more than the 8 threads you now have.
If you go with a current intel 13th gen processor, your 16gb of DDR4 ram is fine.
At least try it out first.
If you are short of ram, you can always buy a 32gb kit later.

There is no real performance difference between DDR4 and DDR5.
I will play D4 and want to play that on max if possible.
Played Last of Us and it was ising 100% processor for a while, Elder ring. So mostly arpg, mmo and single player AAA games.
I don`t mind spending around 300 pounds for processor like i5 13 or i7 12, not sure which ones are the best for gaming for the price but i would like the new processor to last me for 4-5 years and upgrade the GPU later on.
 
I3/I5/I7/I9 no longer designate how many cores and hyperthreading.
Today, they designate a class of processor.
Overclocking today is no longer a way to get something for nothing.
Processor chips are binned so there is no overclocking headroom.
For any processor of interest, use google to search for the processor name plus passmark.
For example 7700k :
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-7700K+@+4.20GHz&id=2874
or 13600k:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-13600K&id=5008
 
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I will play D4 and want to play that on max if possible.
Played Last of Us and it was ising 100% processor for a while, Elder ring. So mostly arpg, mmo and single player AAA games.
I don`t mind spending around 300 pounds for processor like i5 13 or i7 12, not sure which ones are the best for gaming for the price but i would like the new processor to last me for 4-5 years and upgrade the GPU later on.
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product...r4-atx-lga1700-motherboard-b760-gaming-x-ddr4
Gigabyte B760 GAMING X DDR4 £158.47

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B760-GAMING-X-DDR4-rev-10

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product...-12400f-25-ghz-6-core-processor-bx8071512400f
Intel Core i5-12400F £158.99

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...2400f-processor-18m-cache-up-to-4-40-ghz.html

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product...2-x-16-gb-ddr4-3200-memory-cmk32gx4m2e3200c16
Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 32GB (2x16GB) CL16 £64.98

Total: £382.44 inc VAT
 
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I3/I5/I7/I9 no longer designate how many cores and hyperthreading.
Today, they designate a class of processor.
Overclocking today is no longer a way to get something for nothing.
Processor chips are binned so there is no overclocking headroom.
For any processor of interest, use google to search for the processor name plus passmark.
For example 7700k :
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-7700K+@+4.20GHz&id=2874
or 13600k:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-13600K&id=5008
Yes, and Intel's new hybrid core structure can be misleading since their performance and efficiency cores are not the same.

We've also expanded pretty far past the usable number of cores by games available today. If you're keen-eyed looking at CPU reviews, you'll notice that the majority of FPS gains that happen on CPUs with >8 threads is due to core frequency, IPC, and cache size and not purely # of cores.