Question Upgrading older gaming rig to be able to play high 1440/or medium 4k potentially

[anotheregostar]

Hi everyone, thanks in advance for any advice you can give me - Please see the below =)

Approximate Purchase Date: Flexible - between now and boxing day

Budget Range: Ideally under $1000 CAD after shipping/tax, but would prefer to upgrade as little as possible to save for a larger upgrade in the future if reasonable.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Are you buying a monitor: No, have a 4K tv set up as a monitor

Parts to Upgrade: This is the area that I am not sure about.
Currently have the following:
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 970
Mobo: Gigabyte Z97X-SLI
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K
RAM: G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR
PSU: Antec HCG 750M


Do you need to buy OS: Maybe?
Please note that if you're using an OEM license of Windows, you will need a new one when buying a new motherboard.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Somewhere Canadian ideally.

Location: Victoria BC, Canada

Parts Preferences: I'm open to suggestions

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Your Monitor Resolution: Monitor is 4k, but I would likely play most things in 1440 windowed

Additional Comments: I'm thinking of this as somewhat of a stopgap before a big upgrade in the future. I would like to be able to keep as much of my current system as possible. I would also be interested in potentially just upgrading the GPU to something that can do 1440 if it is cheaper and I would need to upgrade too many components for anything better.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Mainly I am having trouble doing anything past medium with my current system in newer games like BG3 and would like to be able to have better performance.

Thanks very much for your help!

 

[JeffreyP55]

Hi everyone, thanks in advance for any advice you can give me - Please see the below =)

Approximate Purchase Date: Flexible - between now and boxing day

Budget Range: Ideally under $1000 CAD after shipping/tax, but would prefer to upgrade as little as possible to save for a larger upgrade in the future if reasonable.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Are you buying a monitor: No, have a 4K tv set up as a monitor

Parts to Upgrade: This is the area that I am not sure about.
Currently have the following:
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 970
Mobo: Gigabyte Z97X-SLI
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K
RAM: G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR
PSU: Antec HCG 750M


Do you need to buy OS: Maybe?
Please note that if you're using an OEM license of Windows, you will need a new one when buying a new motherboard.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Somewhere Canadian ideally.

Location: Victoria BC, Canada

Parts Preferences: I'm open to suggestions

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Your Monitor Resolution: Monitor is 4k, but I would likely play most things in 1440 windowed

Additional Comments: I'm thinking of this as somewhat of a stopgap before a big upgrade in the future. I would like to be able to keep as much of my current system as possible. I would also be interested in potentially just upgrading the GPU to something that can do 1440 if it is cheaper and I would need to upgrade too many components for anything better.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Mainly I am having trouble doing anything past medium with my current system in newer games like BG3 and would like to be able to have better performance.

Thanks very much for your help!

Your rig has been dead end for awhile. 4th gen i5 is mid 20xx. Video card? Forget it. Save your pennies and start fresh with a much more modern rig.

 

[hotaru.hino]

Agree that you'll be better served with an overhaul of the system. And if your goal is 1440p or 4K at at least 30 FPS, you're probably looking at around 1800 CAD in parts assuming you're recycling any storage drives.

 

[Tac 25]

OP

save and buy an entirely new pc. Just use the old one as a backup.

 

[anotheregostar]

Well, that's pretty definitive! Are there any pieces from my current rig outside of hard drives that I can salvage? Or is it basically just time to get rid of it all and start again?

Is it better to buy individual parts these days, or to buy something pre-built? I know the last few times I've built it myself.

 

[Math Geek]

to stay with the 4690k for the time being, i'd suggest more ram as 8 gb is not enough these days. 16gb is the minimum with many going to 32 gb on a new build.

second is a new much stronger gpu. the 970 is just not strong enough for new AAA games. for 1440p you're looking at a 7800xt from amd or a 4070 range from nvidia.

the cpu is still going to hold the game back a good bit but you should still be able to play it.

but as others have noted, you really need a new system for modern gaming

 

[hotaru.hino]

Well, that's pretty definitive! Are there any pieces from my current rig outside of hard drives that I can salvage? Or is it basically just time to get rid of it all and start again?

It's basically time to get something new. Assuming you got the computer around when the CPU launched, a nearly 10 year run is pretty good for a computer

Is it better to buy individual parts these days, or to buy something pre-built? I know the last few times I've built it myself.

At the price point I was thinking, it can be more cost effective to build it yourself.

 

[Lucky_SLS]

Something like this:

you can upgrade to i7 14700 later.

the 6650XT wont do 4k. maybe 1440p ultra 60 fps.

GPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy 2023: Graphics Cards Ranked

We've run hundreds of GPU benchmarks on Nvidia, AMD, and Intel graphics cards and ranked them in our comprehensive hierarchy.

www.tomshardware.com

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($186.95 @ shopRBC)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B760 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($199.98 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: TEAMGROUP Vulcan Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($42.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Intel 670p 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($69.97 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: MSI MECH 2X OC Radeon RX 6650 XT 8 GB Video Card ($299.99 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Deepcool CC560 ATX Mid Tower Case ($52.44 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $982.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-10-05 03:17 EDT-0400

 

[Tac 25]

Well, that's pretty definitive! Are there any pieces from my current rig outside of hard drives that I can salvage? Or is it basically just time to get rid of it all and start again?

Is it better to buy individual parts these days, or to buy something pre-built? I know the last few times I've built it myself.

I'd advise to just buy something entirely new, and start fresh. Including the SSD's. Well, in my forum sig, you see a 10600K which is the rig I built last year, and a 2600k which is the older one. Wanted the old to be still usable, so I have something to keep gaming with the people on discord even if the new one blows up.

well, build it yourself or buy a pre-built? Depends really what choices you have. Hmm, I see you want something for 1440p... get a 12th gen intel or higher for that.

 

[anotheregostar]

Something like this:

you can upgrade to i7 14700 later.

the 6650XT wont do 4k. maybe 1440p ultra 60 fps.

GPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy 2023: Graphics Cards Ranked

We've run hundreds of GPU benchmarks on Nvidia, AMD, and Intel graphics cards and ranked them in our comprehensive hierarchy.

www.tomshardware.com

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($186.95 @ shopRBC)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B760 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($199.98 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: TEAMGROUP Vulcan Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($42.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Intel 670p 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($69.97 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: MSI MECH 2X OC Radeon RX 6650 XT 8 GB Video Card ($299.99 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Deepcool CC560 ATX Mid Tower Case ($52.44 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $982.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-10-05 03:17 EDT-0400

Thanks very much for this!
For the CPU, is the i7 going to make a significant difference? If I am expecting to need to upgrade to it later, would I be better off going with it to start?
For GPU, that one seems to be a really reasonable price - If I wanted to have something that ran 1440p ultra for newer games, and 4k medium/high for older games, is there a different one that you would recommend?
For the PSU, is it necessary to upgrade it if I already have a Antec HCG 750M? Is there a big difference between the two?

Also, would that RX 6650 XT work with my current crapbox as a stop gap until I build the rest of the rig? Or does it require the other upgrades too?

I'd advise to just buy something entirely new, and start fresh. Including the SSD's. Well, in my forum sig, you see a 10600K which is the rig I built last year, and a 2600k which is the older one. Wanted the old to be still usable, so I have something to keep gaming with the people on discord even if the new one blows up.

well, build it yourself or buy a pre-built? Depends really what choices you have. Hmm, I see you want something for 1440p... get a 12th gen intel or higher for that.

Both of you recommended new SSDs - What is the reason for replacing them?
Thanks again everyone for the advice, I really appreciate it!

 

[Lucky_SLS]

The Antec HCG 750 is not really a high end PSU. if its 5 years old, i would suggest replacing it.

The 6650XT would be bottlenecked by the cpu. latest pcie 4.0 platforms has smart access memory to boost the performace even more. So i would suggest getting a new pc.

The 14700 might very well be 450 CAD when it launches this month or in november. So might still wait and see if the 12th gen gets some price drop.

the 6650XT as you can see from the benchmarks, can only give 60fps in 1440p ultra. the 12400 can also do the same in any latest games. so depending on the performance, you might not even feel the need to upgrade to 14700...

 

[anotheregostar]

The Antec HCG 750 is not really a high end PSU. if its 5 years old, i would suggest replacing it.

The 6650XT would be bottlenecked by the cpu. latest pcie 4.0 platforms has smart access memory to boost the performace even more. So i would suggest getting a new pc.

The 14700 might very well be 450 CAD when it launches this month or in november. So might still wait and see if the 12th gen gets some price drop.

the 6650XT as you can see from the benchmarks, can only give 60fps in 1440p ultra. the 12400 can also do the same in any latest games. so depending on the performance, you might not even feel the need to upgrade to 14700...

Okay that all makes sense - If I was going to get a GPU that was a bit more powerful and could do some low level 4K (ie games that were a couple years old or more at medium settings with ~60fps) is there another card you might recommend that isn't a huge jump in price?

Or am I better to just buy a good cheaper 1440p card and then buy a 4k card in a few years?

 

[Lucky_SLS]

a good starting level 4k card would be the 7800XT. its almost double the price of 6650XT.

refer the gpu heirarchy chart i linked above.

 

[anotheregostar]

a good starting level 4k card would be the 7800XT. its almost double the price of 6650XT.

refer the gpu heirarchy chart i linked above.

Thanks Lucky_SLS, that hierarchy guide is definitely helpful, I just wasn't sure where things land on it if you're not looking at ultra specs for each resolution. I suppose that anything that did midlevel 4k today would be pretty outdated in a few years for trying to keep up midlevel 4k with future releases.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Or am I better to just buy a good cheaper 1440p card and then buy a 4k card in a few years?

For 1440p gaming you're looking at RX 7800 XT / RTX 4070 class cards. Not really 4k capable without upscaling.
For 4k - RX 7900XTX / RTX 4080 / RTX 4090. Those do not fit into your budget.

 

[anotheregostar]

Storage: Intel 670p 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($69.97 @ Newegg Canada)

Another question for you, and thanks again for your patience and advice.
Is there significant benefits to using PCIe SSDs over others? I have a Samsung 870 EVO 1TB and a Samsung SSD 840 PRO Series currently. Not that it is particularly expensive to use the PCIe, but the 870 EVO is pretty new (I bought it last year) so might be a place I can save some money if there isn't a large performance boost?

Amazon.ca

Amazon.ca

 

[Lucky_SLS]

^ with OP's context, the 7800XT with 60fps 4k ultra is being considered as a starting point into 4k gaming.

i am hoping FSR3 would assist in prolonging the life of the gpu by however much it can...

 

[Lucky_SLS]

Another question for you, and thanks again for your patience and advice.
Is there significant benefits to using PCIe SSDs over others? I have a Samsung 870 EVO 1TB and a Samsung SSD 840 PRO Series currently. Not that it is particularly expensive to use the PCIe, but the 870 EVO is pretty new (I bought it last year) so might be a place I can save some money if there isn't a large performance boost?

Amazon.ca

Amazon.ca

look for random read and write speeds. the product advertisements quote sequential read/write speeds which rarely happens/are ideal case scenarios.

the 670p is a good starting point. 970 evo plus is the best for pcie 3.0
crucial p5 plus, kingston kc3000, wd sn850, samsung 980pro/990 for high end pcie 4.0 drives

 

[anotheregostar]

look for random read and write speeds. the product advertisements quote sequential read/write speeds which rarely happens/are ideal case scenarios.

the 670p is a good starting point. 970 evo plus is the best for pcie 3.0
crucial p5 plus, kingston kc3000, wd sn850, samsung 980pro/990 for high end pcie 4.0 drives

Would you say that it is worth replacing them now, or am I fine to keep what I have until they begin to fail/I feel the need for improvement in load times?

 

[Lucky_SLS]

they should be perfectly fine to use. you would just have to wait for 10 sec instead of 2 sec in loading screen i guess.

adding a M.2 card is ez. just have to remove GPU to have access to the slot. So i guess you can buy them as and when you need them.

 

[anotheregostar]

Oh wow, the difference between my SSDs and the M.2 card is that significant? Maybe worthwhile. I do feel like loads are fairly long on my current SSDs for newer games like BG3.