[SOLVED] Upgrade or build?

[D4b]

Hello,

Been stalking the site for years but decided it was time to join. Admittedly getting older and out of touch with what's available and coming out so I hope I can ask for your assistance. I built my computer 5 years ago and am currently contemplating if it makes sense to temporarily upgrade or just build a new one. It still surprisingly runs well and can tackle most games at pretty high settings yet but I hope you can help me with some recommendations? Give this one a little more life? If so, what makes sense? Or... start new? If so is there anything I shouldn't waste my money on yet? Prefer not to spend more than $1000-$1500 if I don't have to,and with times as they are, preferably less.

Current build (5yrs old)
OS: Windows 10 home 64
Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 7
CPU: Intel i7-4790k Quad core 4.0 ghz LGA 1150
GPU: MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4g
RAM: G.Skill Trident X 16GB DDR3-2400
Power: EVGA Supernova 750W 80 plus Gold
SSD: Samsung 850 pro 256 SataIII
HHD: WD black 2TB 7200


Thanks so much!

 

[Frag Maniac]

Well, to be honest the 970 still holds it's own even today, with a near 10,000 score on Passmark. It really comes down to the games you play, especially any you have your eye on but haven't bought yet due to performance worries.

If you can go as high as $1500, that's definitely enough for an entire build, especially since you already have a decent PSU, HDD, SSD, and OS to use. DDR4 RAM is also pretty cheap right now. If you have a decent case, you really only need worry about CPU, MB, and GPU as far as expensive parts go, which could easily be done for $1000 with pretty high end parts.

That said, I would wait at least until Nvidia's new 3000 series GPUs launch this year. Ryzen 4 will also be launching soon, but I tend to prefer Intel CPUs.

 

[D4b]

Thank you Frag Maniac,

I really had no idea how the new hardware stacked up anymore so this helps a great deal. I was originally thinking about maybe getting a second 970 to crossfire but was amazed to see they seem more expensive now then the one I bought 5 yrs ago. Then I started to question just what made the new processors better than the 4.0GHZ 4790 Devils Canyon I have currently? Before long I just confused the hell out of myself. I appreciate your guidance on waiting for the new series to come out. I had seen info on the 2070 Super and 2080 Super but didn't know the next series was coming out so soon, I like the idea of saving a little money on these then. I have a Corsair case I am happy to reuse so your suggestion of doing the MB, CPU, and GPU only sounds interesting.

Decision sort of driven by spending more time at home playing (like many of us now), curiosity about Cyberpunk 2077 (like many of us now), and thinking of upgrading my 40" 1080p tv I use for a monitor to a new higher resolution model.

Thanks a ton, I really appreciate it!

 

[Frag Maniac]

Actually Crossfire is AMD's word for multi GPU, Nvidia calls it SLI, but don't bother with SLI, it's really not supported much anymore.

Keep in mind with Nvidia's latest GPUs the main new feature is Ray Tracing support, hence the RT in RTX. Ray Tracing uses actual light paths to create shadows and reflections, vs estimating them, which is called rasterization. The thing is though, RT was so inefficiently done in the 2000 series that very little of what you see is actual RT, it's mostly rasterized.

With hardware improvements in the new GPUs, and a lot of new advances in software on the game development end, the 3000 series should theoretically make MUCH better use of RT. That's one of the main reason to wait to see how it performs, other than the die shrink to thinner silicon, which makes the processor do more work on the same amount of power due to requiring far less wattage.

 

[D4b]

Ahhh ok. That's very good to know, super glad I didn't go the multi gpu route then.

That is a great way of explaining the difference on the new technology, I thought it was just a performance increase originally. I will concentrate on researching motherboards and cpu's now and wait on the gpu then.


Thanks again!

 

[hang-the-9]

Hello,

Been stalking the site for years but decided it was time to join. Admittedly getting older and out of touch with what's available and coming out so I hope I can ask for your assistance. I built my computer 5 years ago and am currently contemplating if it makes sense to temporarily upgrade or just build a new one. It still surprisingly runs well and can tackle most games at pretty high settings yet but I hope you can help me with some recommendations? Give this one a little more life? If so, what makes sense? Or... start new? If so is there anything I shouldn't waste my money on yet? Prefer not to spend more than $1000-$1500 if I don't have to,and with times as they are, preferably less.

Current build (5yrs old)
OS: Windows 10 home 64
Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 7
CPU: Intel i7-4790k Quad core 4.0 ghz LGA 1150
GPU: MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4g
RAM: G.Skill Trident X 16GB DDR3-2400
Power: EVGA Supernova 750W 80 plus Gold
SSD: Samsung 850 pro 256 SataIII
HHD: WD black 2TB 7200


Thanks so much!

If things are running fine for you, no need to spend money just to upgrade. If you are looking at new games you can test them out on your system and if something does not run well then look at upgrading. With your CPU you may just need a video card swap to get to higher settings and resolutions.

Of course there is also upgrades to your overall setup that are as good to make as to the core hardware, monitor/keyboard/mouse/audio/chair, etc... That is the only things you actually interact with and improvements in those for a system that runs fine are better to do. If your car is already fast enough, if you want to spend money on it then better seats and a nice stereo are good upgrades, same thing for a computer.

 

[D4b]

Thanks hang-the-9, I appreciate it.

Funny you mention the extras because that is actually what started this whole thing. Ended up getting a great deal on a new keyboard. Which led to a new mouse. Spending more time now has me waiting for the chair I want to get back in stock. My screen is starting to show signs of burn-in so i started to think about upgrading to a 4k model which ultimately led me here to ask for everyone's help. I have started to make a few decisions but am now just debating if I wait, buy pieces a little at a time, or just jump in now so I don't keep thinking about it everyday.

Budget wise this is what I am currently thinking based on everyone's advise so far considering my future needs for gaming are as well as what I want it to do for my job.
- Reuse
Corsair 330R Titanium Case, EVGA 750 Supernova 80+ plus gold PSU, Samsung 850 Pro 256 SATA SSD, & WD Black 2TB HHD
- New (still doing a little research yet on a few things but I am liking this set up more and more.)
Intel i7-10700K
Gigabyte GA-Z490 Aorus Elite
Scythe Mugen 5 rev-b CPU Cooler
Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 - 3200 C16 2x16
Adata XPG SX8200 PRO NVMe PCIe M.2 1TB SSD (New C: drive, then I can use the 850 pro for overflow.)

Still deciding;
Currently have a friend who is also building a new computer and it is possible that he may be able to use my GTX 4790 for his needs. If so I may grab a 1660ti to tide me over for awhile. Still thinking on this one yet.

Cheers!

 

[hang-the-9]

Thanks hang-the-9, I appreciate it.

Funny you mention the extras because that is actually what started this whole thing. Ended up getting a great deal on a new keyboard. Which led to a new mouse. Spending more time now has me waiting for the chair I want to get back in stock.

Take a look at this one https://www.amazon.com/Staples-Hyke...t=&hvlocphy=9001834&hvtargid=pla-598050829604

WalMart has it a bit cheaper in red https://www.walmart.com/ip/Staples-...QiH1f_fKY9vsr2jebFYsljzenYTLTAnRoCW7UQAvD_BwE

Best chair I remember ever using. Long term comfort, reclines very well with the headrest for relaxing and watching a movie or something.

 

[D4b]

Take a look at this one https://www.amazon.com/Staples-Hyke...t=&hvlocphy=9001834&hvtargid=pla-598050829604

WalMart has it a bit cheaper in red https://www.walmart.com/ip/Staples-...QiH1f_fKY9vsr2jebFYsljzenYTLTAnRoCW7UQAvD_BwE

Best chair I remember ever using. Long term comfort, reclines very well with the headrest for relaxing and watching a movie or something.

Thanks! I'll check this out.

Also, correction from my last one message ... meant my buddy can use my old GTX 970. I actually just got the 1660ti and put it in this rig for the time being. Haven't even had a chance to check it out yet so that should be fun.