Question Upgrade Existing PC or Buy a New Budget Build

[Aegis91]

Hi everyone,

Here is my current budget build that I use for gaming and coding - it is about 4 years old. I was thinking of upgrading the RAM for ~100.00 CDN and buying a RTX 3070 TI for ~850.00 CDN.

However, for the ~1000.00 CDN, is it better to just build a significantly better PC that has future upgrade potential? I am not married to AMD either - The Intel Core i7-13700K looks phenomenal compared to what I have currently lol.

Thanks!

 

[Lafong]

I wouldn't expect much advantage out of going from 16 ram to 32, unless you've got some unmentioned requirement. Probably a better use for that money.

What can't you do now that you'd like to do? What disappoints you?

What specific games at what specific settings?

Just itching to upgrade generally and feel compelled to scratch something?

 

[Aegis91]

I wouldn't expect much advantage out of going from 16 ram to 32, unless you've got some unmentioned requirement. Probably a better use for that money.

What can't you do now that you'd like to do? What disappoints you?

What specific games at what specific settings?

Just itching to upgrade generally and feel compelled to scratch something?

I do programming as a hobby. I am getting fairly close to using my full RAM, but not yet. I could live without it.

I play MMORPGs at medium settings (e.g., BDO, GW2, FF14), Higher settings or even max settings would be preferred.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

You could also upgrade to a 5700x for example and get a good performance bump. DDR4 is dirt cheap now so going to 32gb is not a bad option. Going to a 3070ti would be good, but I’m not sure that a 2600 wouldn’t hold back a 3070ti.

 

[Why_Me]

https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=4_64_1969&item_id=216441
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 $174.00

or ...

https://www.shoprbc.com/ca/shop/product_details.php?pid=58006861
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X $283.95

https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_311_1326&item_id=188581
Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z DDR4 3600MHz 32GB (2x16GB) CL18 $104.99

 

[Lafong]

Single thread benchmark on 13700k is nearly double what you have now, but that wouldn't necessarily translate to your gaming and coding requirements.

Maybe price and post a link to a prospective new total rebuild rather than just RAM and video card, so we can judge better?

 

[geofelt]

Try this simple 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.

MMO types of games tend to be cpu limited and often single thread limited.
Run the cpu-Z bench on your 2600.
You should get a score around 475:
https://valid.x86.fr/bench/kgc6vd

 

[Aegis91]

You could also upgrade to a 5700x for example and get a good performance bump. DDR4 is dirt cheap now so going to 32gb is not a bad option. Going to a 3070ti would be good, but I’m not sure that a 2600 wouldn’t hold back a 3070ti.

https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=4_64_1969&item_id=216441
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 $174.00

or ...

https://www.shoprbc.com/ca/shop/product_details.php?pid=58006861
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X $283.95

https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_311_1326&item_id=188581
Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z DDR4 3600MHz 32GB (2x16GB) CL18 $104.99

Thank you both for the comments. I will address both.

The 3070-Ti is $800.00 CDN. I mean, it is a quality part though. So it becomes a "quality vs quantity" argument I suppose. I was looking at the following GPUs:

RX 6650 XT is $379.99 (after mail in rebate)
RX 6700 XT is $ 500.00
3060 TI is $ 580.00
* I can get them for cheaper if I did open box, but I don't know... Seems potentially risky?

The performance difference between each of the three seem pretty substantial (at least according to benchmarks). But is there any of the above list that you would recommend? (or others?)

The CPUs you both listed seem excellent. Are there any other CPUs that you would recommend that would further increase performance, at not much substantial increase in cost?

What I am trying to decide is to spend $800-$1000 upgrading components, or if it just makes sense to buy a brand new build for that price.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I have a 6700xt. It’s somewhere between the 3060ti and the 3070. You may see what the price is on the 6800xt as well. But the 6700xt does pretty well for me at 1440p.

You could go budget build as well but I suppose it depends what you are doing with the pc. Going with a budget build likely means you won’t get as good of a video card which probably means even though you have a faster cpu you may not have as good of a gaming experience without turning down settings so it’s up to you.

The 5600 isn’t a terrible cpu so you could do that route to save, but if you do programming you might appreciate the extra cores especially if you don’t get the full build. But again depends what you want to do with your pc and what you prioritize. In either event you may be able to resell your old parts to recoup some costs.

 

[Aegis91]

I have a 6700xt. It’s somewhere between the 3060ti and the 3070. You may see what the price is on the 6800xt as well. But the 6700xt does pretty well for me at 1440p.

You could go budget build as well but I suppose it depends what you are doing with the pc. Going with a budget build likely means you won’t get as good of a video card which probably means even though you have a faster cpu you may not have as good of a gaming experience without turning down settings so it’s up to you.

The 5600 isn’t a terrible cpu so you could do that route to save, but if you do programming you might appreciate the extra cores especially if you don’t get the full build. But again depends what you want to do with your pc and what you prioritize. In either event you may be able to resell your old parts to recoup some costs.

All good points. It seems my mobo is limiting in the sense that there are very good Intel cpus for cheap and out perform potential options listed here lol

It might make more sense to just buy another budget pc ($800-$1000) that is better than my current build, with possible up-gradable components (e.g., DDR5 compatible) so in the future so I don't end up in this situation.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

I would suggest an upgrade to a 5xxx CPU and 6650XT or 6700XT. GPU.

For the CPU, if you can swing it the 5800X3D is teh best gaming CPU around right now, has 8 core/16 threads and absolutely massive cache for your programming, If you cant quite get that, then a 5700 or 5600 will also be an excellent improvement

Upgrading to 32 GB will also be fine (and not that much extra), It gives you a lot more breathing room for Chrome tabs, and some games (especially CP2077) benefit from the extra legroom

The other thing I'd upgrade or add is a bigger NVMe SSD (1 TBs are in the US$55-60 range now)

 

[Aegis91]

I would suggest an upgrade to a 5xxx CPU and 6650XT or 6700XT. GPU.

For the CPU, if you can swing it the 5800X3D is teh best gaming CPU around right now, has 8 core/16 threads and absolutely massive cache for your programming, If you cant quite get that, then a 5700 or 5600 will also be an excellent improvement

Upgrading to 32 GB will also be fine (and not that much extra), It gives you a lot more breathing room for Chrome tabs, and some games (especially CP2077) benefit from the extra legroom

The other thing I'd upgrade or add is a bigger NVMe SSD (1 TBs are in the US$55-60 range now)

Thanks for the advice. A couple of follow-up points:

1) Am I to assume that for the ~800.00 CDN these upgrades would cost me, there's not a budget build I could build for the same price that would vastly out perform my existing build AND have future upgrade potential (e.g., DDR5 comes to mind)?

2) If upgrade the CPU, RAM, GPU, and add another SSD, do I need to grab a cooler for the CPU or upgrade the PSU?

 

[logainofhades]

Anything higher than a 6650xt is going to require a new PSU. You definitely want a cooler, for the CPU.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.00 @ Canada Computers)
CPU Cooler: Vetroo V5 52 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($124.65 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: TEAMGROUP MP33 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Gigabyte EAGLE Radeon RX 6650 XT 8 GB Video Card ($389.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $818.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-10-26 08:03 EDT-0400

 

[Aegis91]

Anything higher than a 6650xt is going to require a new PSU. You definitely want a cooler, for the CPU.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.00 @ Canada Computers)
CPU Cooler: Vetroo V5 52 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($124.65 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: TEAMGROUP MP33 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Gigabyte EAGLE Radeon RX 6650 XT 8 GB Video Card ($389.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $818.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-10-26 08:03 EDT-0400

I can hold off on an additional SSD at the moment. Although, that is a very good price lol.

Here is the pc upgraded build with the best upgrade components discussed in this thread so far. Apparently the PSU is still passable. (Cost of upgrades is $938.81 CDN)

Here is the pc upgraded build (cheaper) with the cheaper upgrade components discussed in this thread. (cost of upgrades is $708.97 CDN)

So the difference is about $230.00 CDN. I guess I need to decide if the extra performance is worth the extra money.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

Thanks for the advice. A couple of follow-up points:

1) Am I to assume that for the ~800.00 CDN these upgrades would cost me, there's not a budget build I could build for the same price that would vastly out perform my existing build AND have future upgrade potential (e.g., DDR5 comes to mind)?

2) If upgrade the CPU, RAM, GPU, and add another SSD, do I need to grab a cooler for the CPU or upgrade the PSU?

pricing out a R5-7600 or i5-13600KF build exceeds CA$1000 easily, mostly due to the costs of high speed ddr5 and $200 plus motherboards.

you might not need a cooler for a 5600 or 5700X, both come with adequate coolers. (teh 5700X is $110 more expensive though), teh Vetroo V5 listed above is a great inexpensive cooler though.

 

[Aegis91]

pricing out a R5-7600 or i5-13600KF build exceeds CA$1000 easily, mostly due to the costs of high speed ddr5 and $200 plus motherboards.

you might not need a cooler for a 5600 or 5700X, both come with adequate coolers. (teh 5700X is $110 more expensive though), teh Vetroo V5 listed above is a great inexpensive cooler though.

Good point. It does seem that if i were to make a new build from scratch that I should wait for the ddr5 prices (and mobo) to come down in a few years.

Hmm. Maybe just a few minor upgrades in the meantime. Thanks