Upgrade or just buy a new gaming pc

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fofuzzy

Jun 27, 2018
7
0
10
Hi, I custom built a gaming computer about 5-6 years ago. I’ve done a couple upgrades here and there. But I use it for gaming/streaming and I’m starting to see a serious decline in performance for both recently. Would it be better to upgrade parts or just flat out buy a new gaming pc (when I say buy, I mean I’ll custom buy, not one of those already built gaming PCs). Also I don’t have a huge budget. If I’m upgrading I don’t want to spend more then like $500, but if I’m buying I’m probably gonna do a 12 month payback program so my budgets like $1500ish total.

My specs are:
Case: super old and starting to break. Honestly don’t remember the brand.
GPU: GeForce GTX 1060
CPU: Intel i7-4770k
MB: don’t remember off the top of my head.
RAM: 16GB ddr3
HDD: 1TB
SSD: 128GB and runs out of space with like 1-2 games on it.

Sorry if you need more information to answer. I’m not near my computer at the moment. But if you respond needing more info I’ll try to respond as fast as I can.

Thank y’all for helping me out!
 
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F

fofuzzy

Jun 27, 2018
7
0
10


I’m having a hard time getting 60fps in almost very low settings for games like PUBG, WoW and I get a bit more then 60 in league. Also I the 1060 is my most recent upgrade.
 
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fofuzzy

Jun 27, 2018
7
0
10


I have a thunderv2 835w model Rx-835ap for a psu. My cpu cooler is just the stock fan it came with and some thermal paste. I’m getting less than 60 normally in more stressful game environments (early game PUBG, cities/raids in WoW) and I’m getting 70s ish without much going on in both.

 
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geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,274
4,130
174,240
My stock answer to your question:
Some games are graphics limited like fast action shooters.
Others are cpu core speed limited like strategy, sims, and mmo.
Multiplayer tends to like many threads.

You need to find out which.
------------------------------------------------------------
To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:

a) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
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.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.

You should also experiment with removing one or more cores/threads. You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option.
You will need to reboot for the change to take effect. Set the number of threads to less than you have.
This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many threads.
If you see little difference, your game does not need all the threads you have.



It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system,
and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.
-------------------------------------------------------------

If you have not yet overclocked your I7-4770K I would do at least a mild oc to see how much difference that makes.

For fast action shooters, a stronger GTX1080 class card might do the trick.

On the ssd, upgrading to 240gb or 500gb can be very easy if you buy a Samsung ssd.
Their free ssd migration app is very simple to use.

If your games tend to be sims, mmo or strategy games, they can be very single thread cpu limited.
I7-4770k is still a strong processor.
You would need to change to a z370 based motherboard and ddr4 ram.
Any of the 8th gen K suffix processors will oc to near 5.0.
Pick the number of threads you can use from 4/6/12
with i3-8350k/i5-6600k/i7-8700k respectively.


 
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F

fofuzzy

Jun 27, 2018
7
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10


a) there’s no FPS increase. I’ve tried multiple times with multiple games.

B) ill try tomorrow when I’m near my computer again.

If you say all these need upgrading would it just be easier/better to just start fresh?
 
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F

fofuzzy

Jun 27, 2018
7
0
10


a) there’s no FPS increase. I’ve tried multiple times with multiple games.

B) ill try tomorrow when I’m near my computer again.

If you say all these need upgrading would it just be easier/better to just start fresh?
 
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A

AntaresSQ01

Reputable
Oct 10, 2016
80
1
4,645


Looking at your answers it seriously looks like you ate some virus. If I start to see something not performing up to spec first thing I would do is get a completely clean install of windows, cos that 1060 and 4770k should easily run PUBG on high settings at like 90 fps on 1080
 
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fofuzzy

Jun 27, 2018
7
0
10


I've already done a complete reinstall of windows (I kept personal files) just the other day and testing PUBG right afterwards with basically only PUBG installed it was 30-40 early game, 70s-80s mid game, up to 90 late game with basically 4 people on the server, all VERY LOW settings on everything except textures. It stutters with fire, smoke, grenades, etc...
 
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gobroncostd

Jun 28, 2018
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10
Here is what I would do.
1. Open up the case and dust it and make sure all the fans are still working and you have good airflow. Look at hardware temps with HWMonitor. If not replace fans or get additional fans or a new case.
2. Get a new 500gb SSD as your OS drive. This helped my machine significantly when upgrading from a 128 drive.
3. Get a new gold PSU. For best bang for your buck I recommend Seasonic Focus or Focus +.
4. Reinstall windows and all programs.

If none of those work you are doing something wrong cause it is not your CPU or GPU.
 
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B

baflgv20

Honorable
Apr 19, 2018
19
1
10,520
I have 3770k and 1050 ti and it plays basically all games at a locked 60 fps with high to ultra settings at 1080p. The cpu might need a new cpu fan or thermal compound. There's def something not right. Even with hyperthreading disabled you should be cruisin through games. Something is failing. From what I can gather, one of the ram sticks could be faulty. That's the first thing that would limit frames on a system like that. The board or PSU would be the only other issue.
 
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L

lauwayland

Jun 28, 2018
1
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fofuzzy,

I would recommend staying on it to save some money. I'm also an ivy bridge-e user(former sandy bridge), right now isn't exactly the best time to be throwing down for a build in parts for lots of areas. However, if you must I would say go AMD and recycle some of your parts rather than tossing everything out. As for use case, I gaming now at 1440p well over 60fps, very few games hit even touches below 60fps at .1% at any point, and do some engineering work, plus my wife video edits and photo edits on my rig (enthusiast but not professionally). Ivy Bridge is still very viable, you won't get all the new features and but still keeps up very well with a mild OC as other users say. I've included my original stuff too back in 2012. But here's my build's specs new and old:

Case: Cooler Master HAF
MB: ASUS Rampage IV-E
CPU: 3960x==>4960x i got a used one for 250 off ebay about 6 months ago.
RAM: 64 gb g-skills @1866 from 16 gb of vengenace 8x2 gb 1333
GPU: 590GTX==>1080 ti when evga released that batch plus the 590 internal sli died and the working one's output was dying.
SSD: ocz vertex 4 480GB
HDD:2tb WB black
PSU: 1350W entermax gold
CPU Cooler: EVGA CLC 280
OS: Windows 7


What I got is much more than what you need for 1080p gaming, your current set up should at least run you in the avg 70-80 fps at high settings in 1080p. I would recommend getting MSI afterburner and open hardware monitor to see where your bottleneck is. Or better if your 1060 is an EVGA card their overclock tuner and display program is wonderful easy to figure out what you are looking at. I run it on my second screen while testing, you can see RAM useage, CPU,GPU, SSD, HD etc. I would recommend throwing your games on the HDD since your SSD is so small, it will only affect the load times mostly, once you are in game the SSD isn't that big of a factor very little data is put through it. Plus you may experience slow down since your SSD is so full especially if its one of the first ones. Also is your 1060 a 3gb or a 6 gb? The 3 gb should suffice for now but it doesn't have much breathing room.

But just for your sake I also took out the upgraded parts minus the 1080ti, and went down to 1080p in project cars 2 (with all the random weather and all set to ultra details and reflection), league, and SCII. All the games did not dip below 78fps at any point on a sandy bridge -e cpu.

So in big conclusion time, without there to look at your stuff in person. Bottomline, I would stick with the upgrade route but other than throwing in new gear there's other things you could tinker with. There's probably some system optimization stuff you can do in terms of tuning, plenty of OC guides on ivy bridge -e, most MB of that era has mild OC profiles in the BIOS. My CPU can hit the stock OC 4.5Ghz profile on the board easy and 4.8 once if i played around with it. For your case look at a new cooler 240mm CLC are a great choice for space and cooling capacity, I wouldn't recommend the 120mm. Also, change out your thermal paste that stuff deteriorates. You need a new case that promotes air flow other than it looks so cool with all that RGB. Once you are done with the physical and settings optimization then I would look at what parts you may actually need upgrading. Like a previous poster said your PSU may not be delivering enough power too or if its old some of the capacitors are dead which could lower output too, its typical in bronze power supplies or if you live in a place with dirty power. Next is maybe the GPU especially if its the 3gb version, then I would look at a 1170GTX whenever that it coming. Don't be afraid to buy top tier stuff it may not be a value now but it would be in the long run if you hold on to it and aren't distracted by shiny new things. This is a rule that I live by, especially things that are suppose to last a long time. Don't buy the cheapest thing you can afford, but buy the best thing can afford to. This build has served my professional and entertainment needs, monetarily it and took sometime to figure some of the kinks out but it was worth and proved to be great deal. Some friends were throwing down a few hundred to 2k every year or two to upgrade their laptops or buy new desktops but I've been rocking this for 7 years with only really the GPU as necessary replacement. So in the long run i've saved money and gotten what I need. I expect it to run at least another 3-5 for a 750 dollar GPU upgrade. Hope it helps. If you have ivy bridge questions I'll answer them as best I can.
 
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T

TheStig47

Commendable
Sep 6, 2016
51
0
1,660


A stronger graphics card would do better with fps and higher game settings. The GTX 1060 is a good mid-level card but a GTX 1070 and a GTX 1080 are much stronger. A GTX 1080 Ti is the best, of course. Those are pricey cards but should give you higher fps with higher game settings.

Did not see in your original post what power supply you have but a good 600-watt one should be enough to run any of the above cards as long as it has the minimum amps required, which it should. The GTX 1000 series are not only great graphics cards but they require less power than some older models.

It might be a good idea to replace the thermal paste on your CPU since it's been several years. It drys out and loses the ability to keep your CPU cool after several years. That could affect your gaming performance some, too. Also, make sure you have good airflow in your case for keeping your system cool. Too much heat can lower performance of both your CPU and GPU.

Those are my suggestions for improving your current computer but looks like you want to buy new. You can get some pre-built systems for around $1500 or less with the latest Core i7-8700k and maybe a GTX 1070 graphics card. May or may not come with an SSD. But since you've built your own before you could add one later.

Building your own for around $1500 is going to depend a lot on your components, of course, and how strong you want your computer to be with the tasks you use it for. Good luck.
 
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K

kwendal

Jun 28, 2018
1
0
10


Hello! I have done some research lately to see if I would benefit, in any real way, upgrading from my Asrock K6 Z170 MB, I7 6700k, and EVGA GTX 1070OC 8gb gpu system. I use a 512GB m.2 SSD, and 32 gb of GSkill Trident Z Ram. Based on my research, I have decided not to upgrade my system currently, as the gain would be minimal at a very high cost. I do not game competitively, just for fun. I use my PC to game, do light streaming, some word processing, and surfing the net.

You will not benefit much at all upgrading to a I7-4970K, which is the better (not by much) cpu for your MB type. The 4770K is a great cpu.

I do not know what monitor you are using and what resolutions you use, so I can not factor that in. I run at WQHD (1440p). If you are not running 4k then this is not much of an issue, if you plan on it, then it is a very big issue. If you are running 2k (WQHD/1440p), or plan on it, then this must be considered too.

I also do not know what Power Supply you have.

Ram pricing is extremely high currently, so upgrading to DDR4 on a new system would be expensive. Graphic card pricing is dropping currently, as crypto mining demand is declining.

My first thought, not knowing everything, is to Upgrade your Graphics card and Case first. If you plan on gaming at 1k to 2k in the future I would get a gtx 1080, if you plan on doing 2k or above then get the 1080TI. A 1060 can struggle running at 1k (1080p) in many games at max settings. I prefer cards with at least 8gb ram. If you are deciding on getting the 1080TI, make sure the card you plan on getting will fit in the case. Also the next Gen of Nvidia cards I think will come out before Christmas (IMO), maybe wait on one of them.

Whatever path you choose, you are needing a new case, so get a good one with plenty of fans that can allow for a good airflow and all future parts will fit. If you are not going to overclock much, then air cooling is fine (In fact I use air cooling when overclocking my 6700k (Noctua cpu cooler fan unit). Make sure the case will allow the CPU cooler to fit as well. Getting a larger case than I think I will need has always worked well for me.

I prefer to do the upgrade all at once to make sure I can return something if needed. Maybe you can Get the New Case, MB, CPU, CPU cooler, Ram, Power Supply if need, etc now. Use the gtx 1060 and get the next Gen GPU in a few months.

A good site to use for planning a build is pcpartpicker.com. This site also lets you look at what others have planned, and provides pricing for parts.

A Case and a 1080 are going to cost 500 to 600 U.S. Dollars. More if you get a 1080TI or wait for the next Gen card.

If you use the Case you buy and the Graphics card you choose, for approximately 675.00 U.S. Dollars you can add the following later or all now:

Z370 Gaming Mother Board
Intel 8th Gen CPU Core I7 8700k (save $100 if you use a Core I5-8600)
CPU Cooler (the stock one will not be adequate)
16 GB DDR4 3200 (IMO you benefit very little above 3200)

You will most likely need a power supply. I use an EVGA 1000 Watt Gold for future proofing and low power consumption.

Also research what an M.2 SSD is if you don't know. If you want this, make sure the MB has slots for them.

Good Luck!




 
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A

alisamenna

Jun 9, 2018
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0
10
The number one problem is you're using a stock fan with that K sku processor.
- i'm still using a case purchased in 2009 and it's serving me well.
It's a Silverstone Fortress II, i'm also using the core i7 4790k, which is the refresh version of yours.
i'm using a Noctua NH-U14S cooler on it and have OverClocked it just under 4700 mhz, mostly base clock.
Noctua coolers are pricier, but their quality is 2nd to none and very easy to install.
The NH-U14S is offset to leave more room for large graphic cards and also allows taller RAM modules.
i believe i'm running core voltage around 1.35 and core temperatures usually top out around 70 C, during Handbrake conversions.
my mainboard is the Z97 Sabertooth Mark S, though i've taken all of plastic off of it; there's plenty airflow in my case.
Anyways.. Get you a better cpu cooler and unleash that beast.
Someone mentioned looking into an M.2 ssd, the only performance benefit of using that is if you go with an nvme version and i'm quite sure you'd need at least a Z97 chipset for nvme to be compatible.
Even if your board is Z97, check the manufacturer's website first, to make sure.
If you don't have an M.2 slot, you can use an adapter card with any available x4 pcie slot.
But, while nvme drives are faster, a lot faster, you won't see any benefit within games, compared to SATA 3 ssd's.
There are SATA3 M.2 drives too, the only benefit there is leaving more room for regular SATA3 drives.
Any ssd is faster than a hdd and the best deal going, especially if endurance appeals, is Samsung's 860 EVO with MLC nand.. Five hundred Gigabytes for under $150 or get a Terabyte for about $250..
 
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Tinstaafl

Tinstaafl

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Jul 29, 2015
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Get a better CPU cooler, and make sure your power settings are not allowing your CPU to throttle down. Set minimum = 100%.

And then drop a 500GB Samsung SSD in and call it a day.
 
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P

powerhouse32

Honorable
Jun 3, 2012
129
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10,710
Since you mentioned that your SSD is full, replace the SSD by a larger one, preferably Samsung.You should not fill it up completely as performance can drop dramatically.
As others said, check your CPU temperatures and replace the stock cooler for something decent, if necessary. Don't make big investments if you can't carry that investment over into a new build.
 
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Max_x2

Max_x2

Distinguished
Mar 26, 2013
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Boy, how Tom's gone downhill in the last couple years.

Anyway, as some have mentioned, there clearly is a problem somewhere. The i7 4770k is still very much a competent CPU, and the gtx 1060 is enough to run pretty much every game at high@1080p at least. Since you already re-installed Windows:

Step 0: Clean your system and make sure every fan works and is unobstructed. At Idle, the CPU shouldn't go over 50C (which is high IMHO, but you are still on the poorly made, stock Intel HSF), and I'd say even less for the GPU. I use HWmonitor but some prefer other utilities.
Step 1: Repeatedly mash F2 on your keyboard like your life depends on it when powering on your PC. That'll take you to the BIOS (you might need to use a utility from your MB manufacturer if doing this doesn't take you to the BIOS). You should put everything back to optimized settings (there's usually an "F" key for that too, which one probably depends on the MB manufacturer but it should be displayed bottom right or something like that).
Step 2: Remove the heatsink/fan and apply a pea-sized dot of thermal paste right in the middle of the CPU. Put the HSF back, trying to put it as leveled as possible so the thermal paste spreads correctly.
Step 3: Replace that god awful raidmax PSU with something from a reliable brand such as EVGA, Seasonic or Corsair. No need to get 850W either, as your system will never ever consume more than 400W if you overclock everything to the max. Having a buffer is wanted here, so go for 500-600W, 80+ Bronze PSU. There are good ones from the brands mentioned for ~60-80$ that will normally get you 5+ years of reliable, stable power. If you think you might upgrade to a 1080ti in the near future, making sure that the PSU has the correct amount of PCI-E connectors is important. 600W ones should have them, and it's enough for your system with a 1080ti.
Step 4: Profit?

You will need to test and monitor after each step, so how far you'll go depends on what works. A better HSF such as the CM Hyper 212 evo would be a great addition that would enable you to overclock (and overclock higher), but not necessary in solving your problem. Note that you shouldn't be overclocking on the stock HSF. As for the PSU, I'd replace it anyway, but not before doing the previous steps.
 
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Danra

Danra

Distinguished
May 25, 2005
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I may have missed it, however, what operating system are you using?

Starting primarily with Vista Microsoft began putting a lot of bloatware and spyware in their OS.

I always do free things first. Get rid of OS bloatware. Download Spybot Anti-Beacon and install it https://www.safer-networking.org/spybot-anti-beacon/ Block everything on the first tab, Protection. In the window for the second tab, Optional, click apply for everything to block them, except for something you are using, such as Bing IPs.

If you download Spybot-Search&Destroy go to Blocked telemetry options and turn off everything except what you absolutely know you will use by clicking in the "blocked" side of the option, on the right side of the page.

Windows has a great deal of garbage and spyware built in and will make your system run slower unless you clean it up. I could tell you how to turn everything off manually, however, that is a lot of work.

If you get an improvement in game play it will be the result of saving internet bandwidth that Windows uses.

If the above does not resolve your problem please make a comment so I can determine the next step
 
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