[SOLVED] Upgrade 8 year old gaming rig

gplayersv

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Feb 24, 2010
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I have an 8 year old gaming rig which I'm satisfied with mostly, but I'd like to upgrade it so I can play on higher quality.
Here are the parts of the current rig: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PdG8tg
I want to keep what can be kept and replace as few parts as possible while aiming for the new rig to also last me as much (maybe with just a video card upgrade down the road as was the case with my current system which initially had a Geforce 570).
Right now I can pretty much play any game on medium (QHD resolution) but I feel that lately I had to go under medium. I play on the highest settings that yield >60 fps, I can't play with less than that.
Basically I'm interested in maximizing my bang for the buck and I haven't been keeping up with gaming hardware so please help.
Budget would be about $1500, I only need this PC for gaming.
Also, does it make sense to wait for the next gen CPU's/GPU's?
 
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Solution
I'd reuse the SSD/HDD/Case/Monitor/OS and peripherals.

Went with the 8700K over Ryzen to keep FPS high for 1440P/155hz monitor.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($379.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Scythe - Mugen 5 PCGH Edition 43.03 CFM CPU Cooler ($68.44 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z390-E GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($238.89 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($105.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston - SSDNow V300 Series 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($0.00)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Black 1 TB 3.5"...

WildCard999

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Moderator
I'd reuse the SSD/HDD/Case/Monitor/OS and peripherals.

Went with the 8700K over Ryzen to keep FPS high for 1440P/155hz monitor.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($379.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Scythe - Mugen 5 PCGH Edition 43.03 CFM CPU Cooler ($68.44 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z390-E GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($238.89 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($105.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston - SSDNow V300 Series 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($0.00)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Black 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($0.00)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB Black Video Card ($489.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Antec - THREE-HUNDRED-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($0.00)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($0.00)
Monitor: Dell - S2719DGF 27.0" 2560x1440 155 Hz Monitor ($0.00)
Mouse: Logitech - MX518 Wired Optical Mouse ($0.00)
Total: $1373.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-03-22 15:44 EDT-0400



Although if you can wait until July apparently Ryzen 3rd gen should be out and the specs look impressive.
 
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Solution
Feb 15, 2019
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$1500 is plenty but by the time you've upgraded the cpu (hence motherboard, hence windows), gpu and memory you're not keeping many components. The ssd and case are fine and the power supply and hard drive can be argued either way. Given $1500 to spend I'd sell / hand down / keep as a spare your existing machine and buy all new.
The correct time to buy pc hardware is always next year.
 

gplayersv

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Feb 24, 2010
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Thank you for the suggestions @WildCard999, it looks great. Do you think the CPU will last me several years before bettlenecking a GPU upgrade? Would an M2 ssd make a significant speed upgrade or it's not that big a deal? Tbh I think my current setup is pretty snappy.
@Andrew Harding agreed with the best time to buy gaming hardware, I've been postponing this for a couple of years :)
 
If you are pretty happy with the speed of the system but want to get more FPS from newer games, get a new video card and maybe a better power supply.

1660 Ti is pretty good for the price. If you do the swap and you are still not happy, then look into a full system swap. CPU is not the best for higher end games but past a certain point, the FPS and resolution you can play at is all video card.

I am not a fan of going past med-high parts, in many cases you are better spending less money and then replacing in 3 years vs more money and holding on to it for longer since you get new warranty and faster parts for same money. You will be a lot sadder if your $400 video card dies after warranty is out vs a $250 one. Plus I'm frugal ;)
 

WildCard999

Titan
Moderator
The 8700K @5ghz should last awhile, at least 3-5 years but it comes down to resolution/refresh rate. A M.2 (NVMe) would be an improvement over your current SSD speed wise.

NVMe (M.2)
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($149.99 @ Samsung)
Total: $149.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-03-22 17:08 EDT-0400


SATA (M.2)
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($69.85 @ OutletPC)
Total: $69.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-03-22 17:09 EDT-0400


The Samsung is a bit faster however for general use and gaming I doubt you'd really notice the difference.
 

Centurion1479

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Jul 13, 2017
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I'd reuse the SSD/HDD/Case/Monitor/OS and peripherals.

Went with the 8700K over Ryzen to keep FPS high for 1440P/155hz monitor.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($379.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Scythe - Mugen 5 PCGH Edition 43.03 CFM CPU Cooler ($68.44 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z390-E GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($238.89 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($105.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston - SSDNow V300 Series 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($0.00)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Black 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($0.00)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB Black Video Card ($489.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Antec - THREE-HUNDRED-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($0.00)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($0.00)
Monitor: Dell - S2719DGF 27.0" 2560x1440 155 Hz Monitor ($0.00)
Mouse: Logitech - MX518 Wired Optical Mouse ($0.00)
Total: $1373.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-03-22 15:44 EDT-0400



Although if you can wait until July apparently Ryzen 3rd gen should be out and the specs look impressive.
Personally, for gaming I would go with the RTX 2060 and i5 9600k because the rtx 2060 provides some of the best "bang for buck" rating out there right now especially in its price range, while most games arent taking more than 6 threads for the i7 8700k to make use of (8700k has 6 cores 12 threads, 9600k has 6 cores 6 threads) and the 9600k is like $100 cheaper. the 70 series cards have never been great value propositions...
 

gplayersv

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Feb 24, 2010
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Thanks for all the input, a lot to consider. I will try to sell it if I can get a good price for the whole desktop, otherwise I'll keep the suggested parts and go from there with a i7-8700k/ i5-9600k, and a geforce 2060/2070.