[SOLVED] Upgrading a build from 2014

[FunStorm]

Hello,

I am looking into an upgrade of my old PC now that the GPU prices are slowly coming down. The upgrade basically consists of slapping a new 3060 and 32GB of memory in the case... What would you think of such a change? Does it make sense, or should I rather just get a new PC overall (or wait)?

Thank you for any feedback

Current PC:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-K/CSM ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1600 CL10 Memory
Storage: SanDisk Ultra Plus 128 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2 GB TWIN FROZR Video Card
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Corsair)
Power Supply: OCZ ZS 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

After upgrade:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-K/CSM ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3-1866 CL11 Memory ($388.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3-1866 CL11 Memory ($388.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: SanDisk Ultra Plus 128 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB GAMING X Video Card ($447.14 @ Adorama)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Corsair)
Power Supply: OCZ ZS 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

 

[Lafong]

Quite an old platform.

I'd be reluctant to add 24 GB of DDR 3 RAM to anything at any price......let alone nearly 800 dollars.

I don't know what your expectations are from spending that amount of money on DDR 3.

That would buy a new motherboard, a new very strong CPU, with money to spare for DDR 4 RAM.

What is your reasoning?

Maybe I have completely misread your post.

 

[Karadjgne]

You don't need 32Gb of ram, especially not one that cost almost $400 per 16Gb kit. That's outrageous. You can get the same ram from ebay for $40.

The biggest issue with me is the 10yr old Sirfa group regulated OCZ psu. That 3060 and it stand a good chance of having screaming matches with each other. It's old, well past the 1yr warranty, mediocre performance when it was new and now it's old, worn in, a heavy draw load will most likely break it.

 

[FunStorm]

Apologies, the 400usd ram is a mistake... It's available her in Czechia for 120usd. Maybe I would get just one pair and leave the current 8gb in for total of 24gb?

Regarding PSU: I guess getting a new one would be safer indeed.

 

[Lafong]

Apologies, the 400usd ram is a mistake... It's available her in Czechia for 120usd. Maybe I would get just one pair and leave the current 8gb in for total of 24gb?

Regarding PSU: I guess getting a new one would be safer indeed.

What problem are you trying to solve by spending 120 dollars?

 

[FunStorm]

The current system is really slow in loading resources in (changing running programs/browser tabs) or even loading into a game (in rocket League I always need at least 2 matches for the game to start running comfortably). Maybe I could also get a second hand ram sticks instead...

 

[Lafong]

How high are your expectations of going to 24 GB RAM?

What would disappoint you?

Without more information, I'd guess your CPU is a bigger problem.

A new motherboard, RAM, and CPU combination that would be much faster might cost as little as 350 dollars in the US. I don't know about prices where you are.

 

[Ralston18]

This:

"The current system is really slow in loading resources in (changing running programs/browser tabs) ......"

Use Task Manager and Resource Monitor (use both tools but only one tool at a time) to discover when/why the system becomes really slow.

Run as Admin.

Watch what resources are being used, to what extent (%), and what is using any given resource when slowing occurs. Or something that changes and then performance improves. Maybe some background app trying to update, backup, or simply"phone home". (Meaning attempting to connect to its' respective manufacturer's website for some purpose.)

Another tool that can prove useful is Process Explorer (Microsoft, free).

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

Objective being to discover the cause.

Also:

One "match" versus two "matches"? I do not understand that part.....

 

[Karadjgne]

The current system is really slow in loading resources in (changing running programs/browser tabs) or even loading into a game (in rocket League I always need at least 2 matches for the game to start running comfortably). Maybe I could also get a second hand ram sticks instead...

A larger ssd would help with that. Or small things like turning off hibernation totally (it allocates 75% of your ram size directly from C drive, so you just lost 6Gb and having 16Gb you'll loose another for total of 12Gb), try to keep C at @ 80Gb used or less. Turn off Xbox DVR, game helper, and try and keep trash and other files to an absolute minimum. (ccleaner). I'd also use winaero tweaker to disable Cortana (unless you like using it) and Windows Store as they eat up resources as well.

 

[FunStorm]

Thank you for the feedback. I will further research the bottleneck - you are right that I did not really pay enough attention to that.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hello,

I am looking into an upgrade of my old PC now that the GPU prices are slowly coming down. The upgrade basically consists of slapping a new 3060 and 32GB of memory in the case... What would you think of such a change? Does it make sense, or should I rather just get a new PC overall (or wait)?

Thank you for any feedback

Current PC:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-K/CSM ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1600 CL10 Memory
Storage: SanDisk Ultra Plus 128 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2 GB TWIN FROZR Video Card
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Corsair)
Power Supply: OCZ ZS 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

After upgrade:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-K/CSM ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3-1866 CL11 Memory ($388.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3-1866 CL11 Memory ($388.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: SanDisk Ultra Plus 128 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB GAMING X Video Card ($447.14 @ Adorama)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Corsair)
Power Supply: OCZ ZS 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

I agree with the other posters for the most part.

TBH though, I wouldn't put any more money into that system. Certainly not additional ram, as it will not help you in gaming. 16gb is fine.

Your main issue is your limited 4c/4t CPU. Even if you put in a stronger GPU, your current CPU will give underwhelming improvements, as it's not strong enough to game on modern AAA titles without maxing out the CPU. This will cause stuttering.

 

[Karadjgne]

Your main issue is your limited 4c/4t CPU. Even if you put in a stronger GPU, your current CPU will give underwhelming improvements, as it's not strong enough to game on modern AAA titles without maxing out the CPU. This will cause stuttering.

Not really. Just low fps to start with. Stuttering mostly happens right at fps/Hz match, in Op's case this would be around 60fps. It's when the prior frame isn't fully gone before the new one appears and there's a transitional gap. Below Hz, that can be absorbed by vsync, it'll drop Hz if the fps doesn't quite reach 60 so the frame is fully buffered before hand. Nvidia adaptive is better, it's a much smaller Hz drop, so is more seemless.

It's the 4/4 that's going to hurt in AAA titles that beg to use 6-8 threads at high IPC and the old cpu isnt high on single thread performance to start with. For games like LoL or CSGO, Skyrim or even most minecraft mods, it'll do just fine. It'll suffer with any high drop multi-player, like Fortnite or WoW or SWtOR with high ish details and lots of Ai or physX/particle use.

A stronger gpu will allow use of higher graphics details, picture will look better, especially in open world type games such as skyrim or fallout or civ, as long as Op doesn't just use the generic presets like medium or ultra as those also raise cpu dependant settings. Not everyone needs to play CoD at 200fps at Ultra. A swap to a 4790/k would be decent results.