Upgrade of older PC (2014) with a new GPU

[FunStorm]

Hello everybody,

I come back to this forum for an advice. I've got some great tips for the original build back in 2014 (https://shar.es/anyS2X) and I am now thinking of an upgrade.

Until now the PC was running great and, with some compromises, I was able to get all desired games running at 60FPS... Seems that those days are now over since I was not able to achieve this in the Doom 2016, which prompted me to start looking for an upgrade. The straightforward approach (IMO) would be to get a new GPU, so I am thinking about getting the GTX 1060. It seems to provide a good price/performance balance and fits within the current build.

Specifically, I am looking at the ASUS produced 1060: Asus - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB Dual Video Card .

What do you guys think about this upgrade path?

This is currently my rig:
CPU: Intel - Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($420.00 @ Newegg Marketplace)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus - Z97-K/CSM ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston - HyperX Fury Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: SanDisk - Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 770 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card
Case: Corsair - 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: OCZ - ZS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Amazon)

 

[feelinfroggy777]

The 1060 6gb is a great midrange card and will pair nicely with your system. The Asus dual is also a good price. It does not have a back plate that more expensive models have, but that is really more for looks than anything else as the cooling system on the dual is not bad.

According to Tomshardware's GPU hierarchy, the 1060 is only 1 tier above the 770. A good rule of thumb is to move up 3 tiers. However, the 1060 6gb model is much better than the 3gb and should not be on the same tier. So I think it will be a worthy upgrade.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

The only other thing to think about would be a RX 580. The 580 prices have dropped and they have very similar performance as a 1060. If you have a free sync monitor, the 580 would be a much better choice.

 

[jacobweaver800]

Hello everybody,

I come back to this forum for an advice. I've got some great tips for the original build back in 2014 (https://shar.es/anyS2X) and I am now thinking of an upgrade.

Until now the PC was running great and, with some compromises, I was able to get all desired games running at 60FPS... Seems that those days are now over since I was not able to achieve this in the Doom 2016, which prompted me to start looking for an upgrade. The straightforward approach (IMO) would be to get a new GPU, so I am thinking about getting the GTX 1060. It seems to provide a good price/performance balance and fits within the current build.

Specifically, I am looking at the ASUS produced 1060: Asus - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB Dual Video Card .

What do you guys think about this upgrade path?

This is currently my rig:
CPU: Intel - Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($420.00 @ Newegg Marketplace)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus - Z97-K/CSM ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston - HyperX Fury Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: SanDisk - Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 770 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card
Case: Corsair - 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: OCZ - ZS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Amazon)

You might want to consider an overall system upgrade instead of just the GPU, and if budget doesn't allow that I would consider 16 gb's of 1866 or 1600mhz DDR3 along with the 1060. Don' get me wrong, you still have a pretty decent PC, better than my own, but it is starting to get a bit old now and a 1060 might be a bit powerful for that PC and could potentially introduce a bottleneck.

 

[jacobweaver800]

The 1060 6gb is a great midrange card and will pair nicely with your system. The Asus dual is also a good price. It does not have a back plate that more expensive models have, but that is really more for looks than anything else as the cooling system on the dual is not bad.

According to Tomshardware's GPU hierarchy, the 1060 is only 1 tier above the 770. A good rule of thumb is to move up 3 tiers. However, the 1060 6gb model is much better than the 3gb and should not be on the same tier. So I think it will be a worthy upgrade.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

The only other thing to think about would be a RX 580. The 580 prices have dropped and they have very similar performance as a 1060. If you have a free sync monitor, the 580 would be a much better choice.

I don't really trust the GPU hierarchy thing, the 770 is similar to a GTX 960 and the 960 is similar to the 1050 ti/ 1050. Also, a 1060 6gb is actually a different card than the 3gb, the 6gb has more cores than a 3gb model.

 

[rolli59]

That machine is perfect for the GTX 1060 6GB which is a little more powerful than the GTX970 that people used to pair with that CPU then.

 

[Dooop805]

Grab a used 980ti (1070 performance) for like 300 dollars. I just got a zotac amp extreme 980ti for $280 ...

 

[Rogue Leader]

You might want to consider an overall system upgrade instead of just the GPU, and if budget doesn't allow that I would consider 16 gb's of 1866 or 1600mhz DDR3 along with the 1060. Don' get me wrong, you still have a pretty decent PC, better than my own, but it is starting to get a bit old now and a 1060 might be a bit powerful for that PC and could potentially introduce a bottleneck.

Unless the PC magically gets slower I don't understand how a GPU thats just a little faster than a GTX 970 would somehow bottleneck. The guy is looking for midrange performance on a system that is more than capable of even more.

Everything bottlenecks somehow, but you are crazy to think that this system would cause a playability issue with anything. Or you have decided you need a bazillion fps on everything. Thats when a full hardware upgrade should be considered.

 

[FunStorm]

Thanks a lot everyone for suggestions.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

That tier system makes me feel like maybe I should not be upgrading yet... Upgrade of 3 tiers would at the moment be very pricy.

You might want to consider an overall system upgrade instead of just the GPU, and if budget doesn't allow that I would consider 16 gb's of 1866 or 1600mhz DDR3 along with the 1060. Don' get me wrong, you still have a pretty decent PC, better than my own, but it is starting to get a bit old now and a 1060 might be a bit powerful for that PC and could potentially introduce a bottleneck.

I will not go for an overall upgrade, I hope to get a bit more life out of the current system before I invest in a new one. You are right on the RAM, since I purchased the setup I was planning to add further 8GBs, but never got to it. On the other hand, from what I was reading, this would not have much of an impact on gaming performance.

Grab a used 980ti (1070 performance) for like 300 dollars. I just got a zotac amp extreme 980ti for $280 ...

Good point, I would probably be able to get a used 980ti for a price similar to a new 1060. On the other hand, I am not sure I want to invest 300USD to a used item without warranty.

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Overall I am thinking that I might try to wait a bit longer and see if prices of GPUs go further down with the passing of cryptocurrency mining boom.