Upgrading PC Questions

[benjcao8]

Two years ago, I bought a prebuilt PC that was on sale (about $600 don't know whether if I was worth it not). It's been serving its purpose, but I want to upgrade my rig for a smoother experience on more demanding games.

Here are my specs:

Here is the inside of the computer:

I'm considering purchasing a GTX 1070 TI, and I have a few questions.

1. Will my processor hinder the card's capabilities?
2. Will it fit in my computer?
3. Is it difficult to take out a graphics card and install a new one (assuming no prior experience)?

Thank you for your time.

 

[Lucky_SLS]

First of all, why the upgrade? Are you getting less than 40fps in the latest games at ultra settings?

Are you using a 1080p 60hz monitor and want to game at 60fps?

If so, I would say that the rx480 is more than enough for 1080p 60fps. It's probably the 6400 that's holding down the gpu. But that shouldn't be the case.

And even before all this, tell me which psu is in there in the rig right now. Make and model of the psu. Cuz u don't want a high end component like the 1070ti running in a crappy psu.

Tell us more about ur expectation of smoother experience.

 

[benjcao8]

First of all, why the upgrade? Are you getting less than 40fps in the latest games at ultra settings?

Are you using a 1080p 60hz monitor and want to game at 60fps?

If so, I would say that the rx480 is more than enough for 1080p 60fps. It's probably the 6400 that's holding down the gpu. But that shouldn't be the case.

And even before all this, tell me which psu is in there in the rig right now. Make and model of the psu. Cuz u don't want a high end component like the 1070ti running in a crappy psu.

Tell us more about ur expectation of smoother experience.

How do I check the psu?

 

[Lucky_SLS]

Check as in physically look and note down the make and model.

The psu sits below adata ssd. Ur case has a psu shroud and it covers it. U have to remove the other side panel and take a look.

 

[benjcao8]

Check as in physically look and note down the make and model.

The psu sits below adata ssd. Ur case has a psu shroud and it covers it. U have to remove the other side panel and take a look.

How is 600 watts?

 

[Lucky_SLS]

600w is fine. But the quality of the psu also matters. That's why I asked the make and model of the psu.

You should look at tier 2 or tier 1 psu if you wanna game with a 1070ti.

Moreover, like I asked before, what made you decide on the 1070ti upgrade? If your monitor is 1080p 60hz, u r just underutilizing and over paid for your new gpu.

 

[benjcao8]

600w is fine. But the quality of the psu also matters. That's why I asked the make and model of the psu.

You should look at tier 2 or tier 1 psu if you wanna game with a 1070ti.

Moreover, like I asked before, what made you decide on the 1070ti upgrade? If your monitor is 1080p 60hz, u r just underutilizing and over paid for your new gpu.

I have a monitor that can display 60hz, 100hz, 120hz, or 144hz. I want to make use of the 100-144hz refresh rates. Would purchasing the graphics card be the right decision?

 

[Lucky_SLS]

Yes! The 1070ti would be perfect for 1080p 144hz.

But your 6400 would hold the 1070ti back or would bottleneck it. A 7700 upgrade in that h110 mobo would give better performance, but you are basically investing in a dead platform. A 4c/8t cpu is becoming the bare minimum nowadays. Softwares will utilize that cpu 100% easily.

I would suggest waiting till q1 of 2019 and get the ryzen 3600X. Or wait till ryzen 3000 releases and decide on the upgrade entirely.

 

[dcvikes]

Agree with above. If you trawl ebay correctly you could nab a non K i7 7700 on the cheap. 4c_8t actually isn't bare minimum quite yet although it's pretty close to that. I7 7700, I7 6700, I7 4790 (and K versions) still offer very nice performance as long as you are not doing super intensive editing or streaming simultaneously while you're gaming. Additionally if you invest in a 1440p or 4K display it takes even more load off of your CPU - to GPU, and thus can prolong the life of an older platform (that being older I7 2600k, 3770k, 4790k, 6700k, 7700k etc.).