[SOLVED] Questions regarding my build

[HUncowboy]

Hi,

I had an old base build from 2013 that was/is still working decent even with an ultra wide monitor. I was overdue for a solid build, but no games grabbed my attention until CP 2077. So finally I've decided it was time to build a new, high end rig that will work for the next 4-5 years as long I upgrade the GPU.

I have this at the moment:

• i7-3770K,
• Z77 ASROCK Extreme 4 board from 2013,
• 16GB DDR3
• GTX 980Ti 6GB
• EVO 850 plus other drives
• 750W Corsair PSU
• Old sniper tower that I like still

... and I just ordered this for around $1400:

• Intel Core i9-10900K
• Samsung 970 EVO Plus M.2 2TB
• ASUS ROG STRIX Z490-E
• G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 4400 (PC4 35200)

I will use my old sniper case and my 750W PSU ( if it will crack it). I never OC anything anymore so it should work. A quiet case would be nice but I just like this old sniper case, I cannot throw it out. What is missing is a high end GPU. If I can get my hands by luck on a 3090, I will get one. But that is unlikely.

I really wanted to play CP2077 maxed at release. I will have plenty of time right around mid November when it comes out. I just wanted to to go all out and play this game at max or close to. But since I play at 3840 x 1600, the 980Ti will not have a chance. I can still run all games on it, but medium settings mostly.

So I have two questions.

1. Any issues with the components I have selected? What would you change?
2. Is there a good bridge over GPU that I can pair with this system (even used), that will run 2077 at high? Can even the 2080ti run it high? I am definitely getting the 3090 when it becomes available, just to complete the build. Whatever I will get in the meantime will go on Ebay. On one hand it would be great to wait, but on the other I also would like to play the game maxed out.

Thanks!

 

[RTX 2080]

1. I personally like to run with 32 GB of RAM because sometimes I find 16 GB to not be enough for some of the latest games.

2. The 2080 Ti would be your best bet today, but with two caveats. First, no one knows how CP2077 will run on your hardware because it isn't out yet. It will have some presumably resource-intensive ray-tracing, so it's probably going to be hard to run. Second, big Navi might be available before CP2077 launches, so if AMD does a better job with their stock than Nvidia did with the 3080 and 3090, that might end up being a better option.

 

[HUncowboy]

1. I personally like to run with 32 GB of RAM because sometimes I find 16 GB to not be enough for some of the latest games.

2. The 2080 Ti would be your best bet today, but with two caveats. First, no one knows how CP2077 will run on your hardware because it isn't out yet. It will have some presumably resource-intensive ray-tracing, so it's probably going to be hard to run. Second, big Navi might be available before CP2077 launches, so if AMD does a better job with their stock than Nvidia did with the 3080 and 3090, that might end up being a better option.

Thanks! I was going to order 32GB but I kept reading everywhere that 16 is still more than enough. Can you give me some games where you needed more than 16? I can still order more RAM, and return the 2x8 sticks.

I have not had an AMD card for a very long time. I don't think I will go for it, though I am sure it will be a beast. I have been a bit of a intel/nvidia fan boy for too long ) . But it might help with the RTX shortage, as many will go for that instead of waiting. I guess I will sign up for a million nitifications and hope for the best.

Since I have posted this, I have been thinking about the release of Wildhunt. The PC version was dumbed down to match the console's, it looked nothing like the pre release videos. They might do the same thing again. It would be a shame. The videos look just amazing.

 

[RTX 2080]

Thanks! I was going to order 32GB but I kept reading everywhere that 16 is still more than enough. Can you give me some games where you needed more than 16? I can still order more RAM, and return the 2x8 sticks.

I have not had an AMD card for a very long time. I don't think I will go for it, though I am sure it will be a beast. I have been a bit of a intel/nvidia fan boy for too long ) . But it might help with the RTX shortage, as many will go for that instead of waiting. I guess I will sign up for a million nitifications and hope for the best.

Since I have posted this, I have been thinking about the release of Wildhunt. The PC version was dumbed down to match the console's, it looked nothing like the pre release videos. They might do the same thing again. It would be a shame. The videos look just amazing.

The only game right now that I have observed for myself going over 16 GB of RAM is Microsoft flight Simulator 2020; I've seen that use as much as 29.8 GB of RAM on my PC, and it consistently uses significantly more than 16 GB.

I also did a bit of digging and there was a article from two years ago that tested a few games with different amounts of RAM, and they found a few that ran better at 4k with a 2080 Ti with 32 GB of RAM vs 16 GB. I believe it was Battlefield V and Hitman 2. It wasn't a huge difference, and it was done 2 years ago, but still, here it is if you're interested: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.techspot.com/amp/article/1770-how-much-ram-pc-gaming/

The 32 GB of RAM is a personal preference of mine; it would feel off for me to have a RTX 3090 with more GPU memory than my entire computer has system RAM. Also, RAM is cheap compared to a 3090, a 10900k or a 2080 Ti and I like to have more than what I need when it comes to computer hardware, just in case I do need it.

I personally prefer Intel and Nvidia myself; I like AMD, not because I usually buy their products or because their products are best for my use cases, but because they keep Intel and Nvidia honest, forcing them to work harder to stay on top lol

 

[RTX 2080]

I forgot to mention; Cyberpunk 2077 will have Nvidia DLSS support (which you should absolutely use) so a 2080 Ti should be able to provide you with acceptable performance even with ray tracing so long as you set DLSS to the 'balanced' or 'performance' setting.

 

[HUncowboy]

The only game right now that I have observed for myself going over 16 GB of RAM is Microsoft flight Simulator 2020; I've seen that use as much as 29.8 GB of RAM on my PC, and it consistently uses significantly more than 16 GB.

I also did a bit of digging and there was a article from two years ago that tested a few games with different amounts of RAM, and they found a few that ran better at 4k with a 2080 Ti with 32 GB of RAM vs 16 GB. I believe it was Battlefield V and Hitman 2. It wasn't a huge difference, and it was done 2 years ago, but still, here it is if you're interested: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.techspot.com/amp/article/1770-how-much-ram-pc-gaming/

The 32 GB of RAM is a personal preference of mine; it would feel off for me to have a RTX 3090 with more GPU memory than my entire computer has system RAM. Also, RAM is cheap compared to a 3090, a 10900k or a 2080 Ti and I like to have more than what I need when it comes to computer hardware, just in case I do need it.

I personally prefer Intel and Nvidia myself; I like AMD, not because I usually buy their products or because their products are best for my use cases, but because they keep Intel and Nvidia honest, forcing them to work harder to stay on top lol

Thanks for the link! I just read through it. 32GB does make sense. I guess most games in the article are at 10 or so today, but if I want this to last 4-5 years, by then we will go over 16. I would rather have 2x16 now, then having to deal with 4x8 later, finding matching parts, etc. Plus I did buy the new MSFS 2020.

 

[RTX 2080]

Thanks for the link! I just read through it. 32GB does make sense. I guess most games in the article are at 10 or so today, but if I want this to last 4-5 years, by then we will go over 16. I would rather have 2x16 now, then having to deal with 4x8 later, finding matching parts, etc. Plus I did buy the new MSFS 2020.

True, people are sometimes like "I'll just add 2 more of the same 8 GB sticks of RAM later" but it might be difficult or impossible to find to exact same RAM a couple years later. I'd rather invest the money now and not have to worry about it.

MSFS 2020 is a huge resource hog let me tell you, my RTX 2080 is begging for mercy. I also want a RTX 3090; I'm curious to see not only how much better MSFS runs on a 3090 (I hope to no longer have to use 80% resolution scaling just to stay above 30 fps on high settings over populated areas) but I'm also curious as to how much GPU memory it'll use. I'm guessing that MSFS is the kind of game that'll use quite a bit of GPU memory if you make it available for it to use.

 

[HUncowboy]

True, people are sometimes like "I'll just add 2 more of the same 8 GB sticks of RAM later" but it might be difficult or impossible to find to exact same RAM a couple years later. I'd rather invest the money now and not have to worry about it.

Not to mention that I've just realized that the CPU I've picked is still dual channel only. So 2 sticks. I have not been upgrading/building for years now. Out of the game totally.

So now I am looking at 2x16s but I don't see any DDR4 4400 in that config. This motherboard supports up to 4600. But not many sticks like that and the prices are high. I was just watching some comparisons, and learned 4400 has no advantage at the moment. Hmmm... they do have a 4266

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820374050?&quicklink=true

... scratching my head.

 

[RTX 2080]

Not to mention that I've just realized that the CPU I've picked is still dual channel only. So 2 sticks. I have not been upgrading/building for years now. Out of the game totally.

So now I am looking at 2x16s but I don't see any DDR4 4400 in that config. This motherboard supports up to 4600. But not many sticks like that and the prices are high. I was just watching some comparisons, and learned 4400 has no advantage at the moment. Hmmm... they do have a 4266

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820374050?&quicklink=true

... scratching my head.

Current PC building wisdom says that:

1. AMD systems benefit from faster RAM speeds more than Intel systems do

2. Anything above 3600 MHz RAM is considered as having very little returns

4266 MHz RAM should be more than enough for your needs