[SOLVED] pc upgrade time?

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brannonschmidt

Jul 5, 2018
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ive had my digital storm pc forabout 3 years now and its been a great experience. My question, is it time to upgrade or is it time for a new machine all together? i have the money saved up and was just curious your thoughts.

pc specs are:
I7 5930 k 4.0 ghz six core
ASUS X99 DELUX x99 chipset MB
16 gb ddr4 2666 mhz RAM
750 watt PS
ssd samsung 250 gb 840 evo
1 tb HD seagate
nvidia gtx 980 4gb
I also game on a acer preditor g sync monitor 144 hrtz

Whats everyones general thoughts and ideas. New pc or upgrade the graphics card?? I want to be able to play all the future games at high or ultra settings like i currently am doing. thanks!


 
Solution
Barty1884
If you're happy with the performance, then there's absolutely no need to upgrade anything at all.

If and when the time comes, I'd start out with a GPU upgrade and see how you fare. Whether you just "upgrade" or "rebuild", you'll need a new GPU anyway.
While a GPU upgrade might allow you to crank up the in-game eye-candy, anything a decent margin better than a 980 (1080+) is probably going to be a bit wasted at 1080p/144Hz unless you just want the option to max out (almost) every title in existence
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Ultimately OP, what do you intend to do with the system?



^^Agreed, on the face of it anyway. While a 4-5 year old CPU, it's still no slouch.

I can guarantee a full system upgrade will not net you gains remotely close to proportionate to the costs involved.

1080p/144Hz Predator? If so, a monitor upgrade would probably be a nice fit alongside a GPU upgrade.

You could drop any modern GPU in there (2060, 2070, 2080, 2080TI) without an issue.
However, a 980 performs a little better than a 1060, so probably 20% off a 1070 which = a 2060 +/-... So absolute minimum I'd look to would be a 2070



Any particular reason? Or just because? A "complete" upgrade to that system would be a horrendous waste of money for the performance gains.
 
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Dugimodo

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Surprised by the monitor upgrade suggestions, a 144hz gsync monitor is something I would upgrade to not from :)

Anyway my thoughts, a full upgrade would include a graphics card yes? so just buy the card now and see how you go. If you feel the system is holding you back and decide to upgrade you have lost nothing because you would have bought the card anyway, and if it performs good enough not to upgrade you've saved some money.

You say 4ghz which is a bit of an overclock yes? I think that should put you close to the stock performance of something like a 2600X which a lot of people are upgrading to currently so you are not far off a modern gaming PC in performance.
 
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WildCard999

WildCard999

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The RTX 2070 would be a solid upgrade GPU wise and you'd be able to utilize Ray Tracing if that's something your into.


One last think I can think of if you have money burning a hole in your pocket is to consider a VR system as your current specs will run VR. Skyrim (modded) is a incredible experience especially having a dragon come out of nowhere and attacking you is just amazing. I had the Oculus and it was very fun, From Other Suns is a game I'd also recommend to meet people. Great FPS space/action game that I've met a ton of people on but unfortunately I had to sell my VR but hoping to get back into it soon.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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The OP clearly has the itch to upgrade something @Dugimodo, so we're offering options.
The core platform does not need upgraded BUT, if they upgrade the GPU, then the 1080p/144Hz monitor is a bit underwhelming - hence the monitor upgrade suggestion.

Sure, most people would upgrade 'to' a 144Hz Gsync panel but, when you have one already, does that mean you can never upgrade again?

Trying to remember, but I think 144Hz/1080p GSync was first available to consumers in 2015, maybe early 2016
So ~3 years, maybe nearer 4 at this point.... That would fit roughly with the era of the rest of the build, so totally worth considering an upgrade there too..
 
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brannonschmidt

Jul 5, 2018
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Thanks for all the responses! I have noticed no real pc issues holding me back as of now. i do agree that a GPU upgrade makes the most sense. I guess im just trying to figure out when it is time to upgrade or get a new rig. Everything runs great and until it doesnt i guess ill just keep this current build. So many choices and decisions lol
 
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WildCard999

WildCard999

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When you want better performance or graphics.

Getting back to the monitor there is still more options above 1080P/1440P and with Nvidia rolling out drivers to be able to use Freesync with Nvidia GPU's that opens a whole new area of lower cost monitors. So if brannonschmidt is using 1080P/144hz/Gsync currently then he may want to look into 3440x1440P/100hz/Freesync depending on the types of games he plays.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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If you're happy with the performance, then there's absolutely no need to upgrade anything at all.

If and when the time comes, I'd start out with a GPU upgrade and see how you fare. Whether you just "upgrade" or "rebuild", you'll need a new GPU anyway.
While a GPU upgrade might allow you to crank up the in-game eye-candy, anything a decent margin better than a 980 (1080+) is probably going to be a bit wasted at 1080p/144Hz unless you just want the option to max out (almost) every title in existence
 
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Dugimodo

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I never follow my own advice to be fair, I just built a new gaming PC because I wanted to and as much as I love the new machine it doesn't actually game noticeably better. And also, of all the upgrades I've ever done - the monitors have always been the ones I got the most enjoyment from.

But the sensible answer is what I was trying for, graphics card first allows you to hit those high fps numbers at max quality and take full advantage of what sounds like a very nice monitor allready. But I'm just jealous, I only have a cheap 75hz freesync 2560 x 1080 ultrawide :)
 
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WildCard999

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Those are the best! I have a LG 34" 2560x1080P/75hz 2018 model and the thing is a beast, use it for my PC & PS4 (16:9 mode with black bars). Games look great and text looks fine.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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It's much easier to give advice to others - and I'll say, I'm in the same boat!
I upgrade, because I want to - not because it makes sense, nor because it'll definitively improve performance. I wish I had a stronger mindset for myself, so I try to ensure others know what they're getting into & where they can get the best value for their money.

I have a dramatically overkill setup for what I actually do with it.... but at Xmas, I decided to buy a 32" 1440p/144Hz Samsung monitor (no Gsync or Freesync) as it was on a great sale. Sure, it's a nice step up from my old 27" 1080p/60Hz monitor, but I don't play shooters etc, so I don't 'feel' the benefit.
 
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King_V

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I'm personally fond of ultrawide screens, so, unless by 1080p you mean that the monitor is a 2560x1080, then I'd suggest going the ultrawide route.

Other than that, your CPU and GPU have plenty of kick. Maybe upgrade the GPU to hit those upper refresh rates if that's what you're looking for.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Yeah, contemplated a 1080p ultrawide too.... but for the two games I play, one is a glorified spreadsheet from 2011, with no Ultrawide support & the other (Friday the 13th) removed the ultrawide "hack" that used to be available in UE4, so it just zooms instead, so made no sense.

Would've been nice for work too though...

Anyway, too off topic :lol:
 
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Dugimodo

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Yeah kind of off topic, but also has some relevance. I've made a deliberate choice to stick with 1080P and then 2560 x 1080 because it means I don't have to spend so much on graphics cards to be able to max out games settings and get good framerates. It's a tradeoff, go for higher res and enjoy sharper graphics at a higher cost or save money on graphics cards and still get a very good gaming experience at a lower res.

My Monitor is also a 34" LG BTW @Wildcard. but I chose it mainly because I was uncertain about ultrawide and didn't want to spend too much initially.

So back to the OP, in support of the full upgrade Idea you should still be able to get a good price for the old machine which might cover a good chunk of the price anyway. It's one of the ways I justify some of my upgrades to myself, upgrade now while my old system still has resale value. For my current Ryzen 2700X beast I sold my 6700K machine complete and covered more than half the cost. I did already have the graphics card though and kept that.
 
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andrewsasseman

Apr 11, 2018
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The GPU and monitor work well like mentioned earlier in this thread
 
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