Question Time to Upgrade or Rebuild?

[McFlannel]

Hello, I’m back again with yet another question.
I built this pc maybe 4 years ago - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/GrnpNq
This list is still pretty accurate but I have added new memory in the for of a Samsung M.2.
I am now debating if it’s time to upgrade or maybe even start a new build. If I upgrade I’d probably stay under $500 but if I build a new pc I’d budget about 3k. Thanks

 

[Lafong]

Hello, I’m back again with yet another question.
I built this pc maybe 4 years ago - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/GrnpNq
This list is still pretty accurate but I have added new memory in the for of a Samsung M.2.
I am now debating if it’s time to upgrade or maybe even start a new build. If I upgrade I’d probably stay under $500 but if I build a new pc I’d budget about 3k. Thanks

Why would you upgrade?

Where specifically are you disappointed in what you have now?

Or are you upgrading mostly because you are just itching to do it and can afford to do it right now?

 

[McFlannel]

Why would you upgrade?

Where specifically are you disappointed in what you have now?

Or are you upgrading mostly because you are just itching to do it and can afford to do it right now?

If I were to build new I’d like to switch to 1440p and the budget would be for the pc alone and not the monitors/peripherals. I feel as though my current build can’t support it at a level I want. For upgrading I would say just general speed is my end goal.

 

[Lafong]

If I were to build new I’d like to switch to 1440p and the budget would be for the pc alone and not the monitors/peripherals. I feel as though my current build can’t support it at a level I want. For upgrading I would say just general speed is my end goal.

Not entirely clear on your distinction between "upgrade" and "rebuild", but............

For a significant change in "general speed", you'd need to change motherboards and CPU. You could do a good job on that for 400 to 600 for just those 2 parts, re-using all others.

But.....for your specific purposes (gaming at 1440?) I don't know if that 400 to 600 is best spent on motherboard and CPU rather than elsewhere (video card, monitor, etc).

I'd certainly spend the first 600 on CPU and motherboard....but I don't game at all. Your situation is different.

If budget is not a particular concern, I'd probably re-build from the ground up, changing some of the other parts.

I'd keep the Noctua cooler. You'd need a Noctua adapter to install it on a new motherboard.

Quite possibly keep existing RAM

Maybe change case if it annoys you for whatever reason.

Keep Samsung 860 EVO if it has enough capacity.

Ditch the spinning hard drive.

 

[Eximo]

Honestly a new GPU will get you well on your way. You have what would be considered a mid-range chip today, Ryzen 3600 or thereabouts. So not too far behind.

For gaming, GPU is more important, but it also depends on the games you want to play. Since you are after a higher resolution, then CPU matters less. If you wanted to maximize FPS, say for something like Counterstrike, then you would want the fastest CPU possible to get the frame count higher.

With your PSU, you could look into something like an RX6800 ($480) or 6800XT ($535) or an RTX 3070 ($500) RTX 3070Ti ($630).