[SOLVED] upgrading to go back to 60fps, or buy completely new pc?

Jun 22, 2021
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Hello everyone!

I would like to ask for advice on my possibilities in upgrading my PC. More specifically: I would like to know if there is a particular piece of my rig that is the bottleneck in my performance.

I'm also trying to start a streaming gaming channel so the requisites just became a bit higher than what I'm used to: playing videogames just below 60 fps on a 1920x1080 screen, with everything almost at very high. (not ultra usually)
I have a monitor already but upgrading that to something bigger (as it seems I've been left behind in the sizing of the new screen as well) is the next step, but surely something I'll be looking into.

This was my PC when I first built it something like 10 years ago.
Since then I've upgraded the GPU to Nvidia GTX960 4GB Strix
and the RAM is now at 24 GB DDR3 ( increased around 5 years ago ) ( 8+8+4+4 )


HD for Games 1TB - Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200rpm 64MB SATA3 WD1002FAEX
DVD READER- Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD/CD SATA Bulk
CPU I5 - CPU Intel Core i5-2500 3.30GHz Socket 1155 95W with GPU Sandy Bridge Boxed BX80623I52500
HEATSINK - CPU Corsair Air Series A70 Socket Intel AMD
RAM - RAM DDR3 G.Skill ECO F3-12800CL8D-8GBECO 1600MHz 8GB (2x4GB) CL8-8-8-24 1.35v
MOBO - Motherboard Asrock Z68 Pro3 Socket 1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 SATA3 USB3 HDMI ATX
SSD - SSD OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" Read 525MB/s Write 475MB/s SATA3 AGT3-25SAT3-60G
GPU - VGA Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 Ti OC Core 900MHz Memory GDDR5 4000MHz 1GB 2xDVI miniHDMI
POWER - PC Cooler Master GX 650 80plus ATX
CASE - Case Midi MS-Tech CA-0270BL Black

I can usually run the latest game at medium/high quality ( probably due to the low resolution of the screen? ) but I cannot make 60fps anymore.
Loading time is quite slow, but I bet it's because I keep the game files on the HDD, that's why I bought yesterday a Samsung SSD 870 EVO, 2 TB, to move my games over there.

I would like to jump back to 60fps every setting at maximum, and eventually increase the screen size - now I'm also playing on the television 55'' at 1080p - I would like to buy the 3060 Nvidia GPU but I gather that those are not, and will not be available for some time.
I'm fine in waiting and then building a PC entirely from 0 or also upgrading various parts of this PC to be able to allocate the latest GPU I can find.
Only thing is that I'm not sure this is an actual possibility as in 10 years things might have changed.

So my question is: Is there something particularly bad/slow that I can think of upgrading to give this rig a new life?
Since I would like to buy a 3060 eventually would I actually need to buy everything else new too ?

Just rephrasing for my own good:
There are 2 different scenarios:
Wait for the newest GPU availability and meanwhile give this PC a tiny upgrade to keep it running smoothly and then buy everything anew.
or upgrade this one with different new pieces and then allocate the new GPU in this setup.

Clearly, I'm confused because of my lack of knowledge here, as my experience comes all from building this very PC.

I was thinking of buying a new PC around 1500€ ( I'm from Italy ) but I might be getting something better if I spend on upgrading instead of rebuying everything.


Gosh, I hope I was clear, cuz now I'm the one feeling confused.

Thanks for reading
 
Solution
60gb is terrible for a C drive.
Once it gets to 90% full you lose performance and endurance.
Good move on the samsung 2tb.
Use the samsung ssd migration app to move your c drive to the samsung.
Instructions and app here:

Then, move whatever games you want to the ssd.

For a temporary fix, see if you can buy a i7-3700K.(I had a typo of 7700k)
That gets you more processing threads for your streaming as well as more performance per thread.
That may be hard to do since 3770K is still a good processor and sells well used.

Your psu is not one of the best, but 650w will be fine for even a 3070:

In...

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
A rather old system at this point. Not much worth keeping.

If you could pick up an i7-3770 on the cheap, that might be worth it for the short term. You already made a good decision on a large SATA SSD.

You could consider a new power supply, ten years is a long while for a PSU.

As for 1500 for 60FPS at 1080p. That should work, but to get a GPU in a timely manner your best bet is to buy an off the shelf computer. You should shop around your local e-tailers and see what they have. Post for opinions on it, and suggestions.
 
60gb is terrible for a C drive.
Once it gets to 90% full you lose performance and endurance.
Good move on the samsung 2tb.
Use the samsung ssd migration app to move your c drive to the samsung.
Instructions and app here:

Then, move whatever games you want to the ssd.

For a temporary fix, see if you can buy a i7-3700K.(I had a typo of 7700k)
That gets you more processing threads for your streaming as well as more performance per thread.
That may be hard to do since 3770K is still a good processor and sells well used.

Your psu is not one of the best, but 650w will be fine for even a 3070:

In a year, we will see new processors and motherboards from amd and intel.
That may also entail ddr5.
If a temporary fix is enough, I would be inclined to wait for a major upgrade.

If you need more now, look to current gen intel 11th gen or amd 5000 series.
Intel i5-11400 is a particularly good budget processor.
Here is a review:

 
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Solution
Jun 22, 2021
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Hello Eximo and geofelt, thank you both for the answers!

I'll keep an eye for a premade PC but I'm not in a rush and the idea of waiting for new motherboards does sound fine to me.
Speaking of which, Might my ASrock be the slowest "part" in this config? or second to the processor. trying to clarify the path of improvements.

Re: the power supply. it is true this PC has 10 years but it has been used for 3 years , then 2 years of sitting still, 1 year of usage, and nothing until 6 months ago.
(also the first year I was using another one much less reliable). making it a 3-4 years usage time.

Indeed 60gb on main drive is a problem, I should have fixed that on day 1. :)

Also, Thanks for the instruction for migration, I'll surely move all the stuff over the new SSD.

Thanks also for this headsup on the processor possibilities , I'll spend time to understand the difference for sure and most probably upgrade that this weekend.
would you reckon that these processor will be good also for my next build? or would you consider these only good for the hotfix I'm trying to achieve? (so to buy something that i'll use in the next rig too )
i7-3770
i7-7700K
i5-11400
gen intel 11th gen or amd 5000 series.



Thanks vm again! very brightening.
 

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
Not sure where a 7700k comes into things. That would mean a new motherboard and ram, and if you are buying, might as well get the recent models.

11400 / 11400F are excellent choices that are much faster than an i7-3770 / 3770k, but you do need a new motherboard and ram.

3770 are actually quite cheap at about $50 on ebay. 3770k sometimes go for that as well, buy it now is more like $80. Best CPUs you can drop in a Z68 board.

You can also harvest them from OEM desktops.

https://www.newegg.com/dell-optiple...-workstations/p/1VK-0001-51TY0?quicklink=true

Buy that, swap the CPUs, and you get a 3770 and you have a functional computer with a 2500 in it, rather than a CPU sitting on your desk. Slap linux or windows, give it to a family member, or donate it to charity.
 
https://www.amazon.it/Fractal-Design-FD-CA-FOCUS-BK-W-Case-Desktop/dp/B06XQ5JSRR/
Fractal Design Focus G - Mid Tower 65,45 €

Exhaust fan for that case.

https://www.amazon.it/SilverStone-SST-FN121-P-Ventola-regolabile-Airflow/dp/B009MDBIHU/
SilverStone 120mm Case Fan 4,80 €

https://www.amazon.it/Stagionale-FOCUS-GX-550-Alimentatore-completamente/dp/B07WQYM74W/
Seasonic FOCUS GX-550 550W 80+ Gold Modular Power Supply 88,90 €

https://www.amazon.it/MSI-B560M-BAZOOKA-Scheda-Gaming/dp/B08X7DBHS1/
MSI MAG B560M BAZOOKA 139,48 €

Intel Core i5-11400F 198,92 €

Gelid Phantom CPU Cooler 39,99 €

https://www.amazon.it/Crucial-Ballistix-BL2K8G30C15U4B-Memoria-Computer/dp/B083TRRT16/
Crucial Ballistix DDR4 3200MHz 16GB (8GB x2) CL16 89,05 €

https://www.ebay.it/itm/313575029839
EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 XC Gaming 12gb 699,00 €

Total: 1325,59 €

https://www.amazon.it/Windows-10-Home-bit-Italiano/dp/B07Z4S4YM6/
Windows 10 Home 64 bit Italian - USB Flash Drive 43,99 €

Review of that cpu. Look for Core i5 11400F + Opt on the benchmarks.

https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/intel-core-i5-11400f-processor-review,1.html

A better look at that board.


A better look at that case.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l0hHr6FpVc
 
Last edited:
Jun 22, 2021
3
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Thanks vm everyone and thanks also for the build :)

I've switched the SSD cloning the drive, then after a couple of hours everything broke down and I had to reinstall windows from 0 (as I stupidly already erased the old ssd)

Really helpful inspiration points on the next step, Thanks!