Question Pc upgrade

[Aesjgreninja]

I am looking for advice for pc upgrades, Im looking to upgrade my cpu or gpu as both quickly go up to 100% when playing games, Im currently playing Elden Ring and TLOU part 1 (on medium/high settings) and want to upgrade for future playstation ports. I also play multiplayer games like OW, Valorant and LOL (gpu doesnt really suffer in these). I'll just list my specs and hope for some advice from someone with knowledge to help me (thx in advance)

(specs taken from speccy)
CPU: Intel Core i7 9700f 3.00ghz
RAM: 16.0 GB Single-Channel (18-18-18-43)
Motherboard: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. ROG STRIX B360-F GAMING (LGA1151)
Graphics: 4095MB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER (ASUStek Computer Inc)

thank you again in advance

 

[punkncat]

Your 9th gen platform doesn't have an upgrade path that would make sense price wise. Finding a 9900K is typically expensive and really doesn't offer a lot more than the 9700 you have on hand. IMO, the 'smart' choice this very moment is AM5. You could get in on the entry level in spite of the pricing, and have a really nice upgrade path for the next 3-5 years according to how far they stretch support.

The 2070 Super should still be a viable card for decent 1080 gaming. Given the current pricing on the 4xxx series I can't really recommend going that way. You could choose the AMD flavors, but also need to consider that many of them aren't much better than what you already have in the 2070 (outside of VRAM). Of course, any update/upgrade to your graphics card will bring your power supply age and output into question.

I guess the best question(s) would be, what is your budget and where are you located?

 

[geofelt]

To get a sense of what upgrade might be most effective, run this test:
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.

My guess is that your 9700 is the weak point.
You have no good upgrade available for your motherboard.
I7-9700K is only marginally better.
Your i7-9700 has 8 processing threads and a passmark rating of 13315.
That is when all threads are fully utilized.
Multiplayer with many participants can often use many threads.
The single thread performance is 2766.
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.
You can test your setup by running the CPU-Z bench test.
You should score about 497 In single thread.
http://valid.x86.fr/bench/qf0j97

Do you have a budget?
I might suggest a ($250) I5-13500 or a I5-13600K which will have 20 threads and a strong single thread capability.
A lga B660/B760 based DDR4 motherboard might be $150
And you can reuse your DDR4 ram.

What is the make/model of your psu?
If graphics is what needs the update, you are looking at a 3070 class upgrade and possibly a psu upgrade

 

[Aesjgreninja]

Your 9th gen platform doesn't have an upgrade path that would make sense price wise. Finding a 9900K is typically expensive and really doesn't offer a lot more than the 9700 you have on hand. IMO, the 'smart' choice this very moment is AM5. You could get in on the entry level in spite of the pricing, and have a really nice upgrade path for the next 3-5 years according to how far they stretch support.

The 2070 Super should still be a viable card for decent 1080 gaming. Given the current pricing on the 4xxx series I can't really recommend going that way. You could choose the AMD flavors, but also need to consider that many of them aren't much better than what you already have in the 2070 (outside of VRAM). Of course, any update/upgrade to your graphics card will bring your power supply age and output into question.

I guess the best question(s) would be, what is your budget and where are you located?

Im located in Norway, I'll be honest I dont have a budget yet, but was thinking maximum 500$/£/€, and as stated in the original I am lacking in knowledge, its my first pc and bought it secondhand so didnt build it myself. So after saying that I want a clarification on what AM5 is, when I searched I only found like a cpu socket type thing.
Ty again

 

[Bob.B]

I am looking for advice for pc upgrades, Im looking to upgrade my cpu or gpu as both quickly go up to 100% when playing games, Im currently playing Elden Ring and TLOU part 1 (on medium/high settings) and want to upgrade for future playstation ports. I also play multiplayer games like OW, Valorant and LOL (gpu doesnt really suffer in these). I'll just list my specs and hope for some advice from someone with knowledge to help me (thx in advance)

(specs taken from speccy)
CPU: Intel Core i7 9700f 3.00ghz
RAM: 16.0 GB Single-Channel (18-18-18-43)
Motherboard: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. ROG STRIX B360-F GAMING (LGA1151)
Graphics: 4095MB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER (ASUStek Computer Inc)

thank you again in advance

Try this.
UBM

Run ubm like this.
Reboot.
Wait a few mins.
Run ubm with the browser closed.
Post a LINK to the results page.

 

[Aesjgreninja]

Try this.
UBM

Run ubm like this.
Reboot.
Wait a few mins.
Run ubm with the browser closed.
Post a LINK to the results page.

This is the first run (with the browser open): https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/60461264
This is the second run (i messed up a bit i think, cuz I restarted the pc which might affect the results, idk I have negative pc knowledge): https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/60461565

 

[Why_Me]

Im located in Norway, I'll be honest I dont have a budget yet, but was thinking maximum 500$/£/€, and as stated in the original I am lacking in knowledge, its my first pc and bought it secondhand so didnt build it myself. So after saying that I want a clarification on what AM5 is, when I searched I only found like a cpu socket type thing.
Ty again

https://no.pcpartpicker.com/product...atx-lga1700-motherboard-pro-b660m-a-wifi-ddr4
MSI PRO B660M-A WIFI DDR4

https://no.pcpartpicker.com/product...-12400f-25-ghz-6-core-processor-bx8071512400f
Intel Core i5-12400F

https://no.pcpartpicker.com/product/LQt9TW/deepcool-ag400-7589-cfm-cpu-cooler-r-ag400-bknnmn-g-1
Deepcool AG400 CPU Cooler

https://no.pcpartpicker.com/product...2-x-16-gb-ddr4-3200-memory-cmk32gx4m2e3200c16
Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 32GB (2x16GB) CL16

 

[punkncat]

Im located in Norway, I'll be honest I dont have a budget yet, but was thinking maximum 500$/£/€, and as stated in the original I am lacking in knowledge, its my first pc and bought it secondhand so didnt build it myself. So after saying that I want a clarification on what AM5 is, when I searched I only found like a cpu socket type thing.
Ty again

I am not at all familiar with the market there, so I will defer to others in that regard. (like above)

AM5 is the socket type for the new generation of AMD Ryzen processors. I recommend that at this point due to expected compatibility with newer generation CPU for the next several years as they also did with AM4 socket which was the Ryzen 1xxx-5xxx.

 

[Aesjgreninja]

To get a sense of what upgrade might be most effective, run this test:
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.

My guess is that your 9700 is the weak point.
You have no good upgrade available for your motherboard.
I7-9700K is only marginally better.
Your i7-9700 has 8 processing threads and a passmark rating of 13315.
That is when all threads are fully utilized.
Multiplayer with many participants can often use many threads.
The single thread performance is 2766.
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.
You can test your setup by running the CPU-Z bench test.
You should score about 497 In single thread.
http://valid.x86.fr/bench/qf0j97

Do you have a budget?
I might suggest a ($250) I5-13500 or a I5-13600K which will have 20 threads and a strong single thread capability.
A lga B660/B760 based DDR4 motherboard might be $150
And you can reuse your DDR4 ram.

What is the make/model of your psu?
If graphics is what needs the update, you are looking at a 3070 class upgrade and possibly a psu upgrade

I did some tests and found a 50% increase, give or take in fps on OW and Valorant and a 20% increase give or take on TLOU, dont know if that really helps

 

[Aesjgreninja]

Just in general so u know, im thinking of making these upgrades in the summer, since I will be getting a summer job

 

[punkncat]

Something to consider about this is that with some mildly reduced settings and tempered expectations this system is FAR from obsolete.

 

[Bob.B]

This is the first run (with the browser open): https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/60461264
This is the second run (i messed up a bit i think, cuz I restarted the pc which might affect the results, idk I have negative pc knowledge): https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/60461565

Do you have the ram in the proper slots?......see the manual.

Clean off 50GB of stuff from the OS disk.

Your way behind with the bios and maybe the chipset driver.....upgrade time.

 

[Aesjgreninja]

Do you have the ram in the proper slots?......see the manual.

Clean off 50GB of stuff from the OS disk.

Your way behind with the bios and maybe the chipset driver.....upgrade time.

why do you suspect my ram being in incorrect slots? (when I tried swapping slots it wouldnt start, they are right next to eachother when it works, and when I check task manager it shows me 15.9 gb)
why should I need to delete data on my drives?
and could the reason for being behind on the bios be a bad power supply?

 

[Aesjgreninja]

why do you suspect my ram being in incorrect slots? (when I tried swapping slots it wouldnt start, they are right next to eachother when it works, and when I check task manager it shows me 15.9 gb)
why should I need to delete data on my drives?
and could the reason for being behind on the bios be a bad power supply?

fixed the ram problem
https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/60466460

 

[geofelt]

I did some tests and found a 50% increase, give or take in fps on OW and Valorant and a 20% increase give or take on TLOU, dont know if that really helps

Your test suggests to me that a graphics card upgrade is the more effective upgrade.
What is the make/model of your power supply?
A stronger graphics card may well require a psu upgrade.
Here is a handy chart to size that:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

However if you play multiplayer, a cpu upgrade adding more processing threads may well be the most important.
Unfortunately multiplayer benchmarks, at least valid ones are difficult to do because of the difficulty on consistent inputs from many players.
The benefit may be a bit more of a guess.

FWIW: I would not put too much credence on UBM.
Some consider it junk science.

If your upgrade time frame is in the summer, look around, but make no decisions now. There is a constant flow of new and better price/performing products becoming available.
There is a learning curve when switching to/from amd/nvidia/ intel products.
it is easier for you to stick with nvidia graphics upgrades and Intel processor upgrades.

 

[Bob.B]

fixed the ram problem
https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/60466460

OK that got you a nice bump.
Next step is the OS disk.
Ssd's don't work very well when they get too full so you want to have at least 10% free space.
Look at what ubm is showing for free space on your OS ssd.