[SOLVED] What options do I have?

[Neostarwcc]

Okay so I have a pretty old setup I've been out of the computer scene for a long time. I'd like to upgrade my PC into 2019 but I don't know much about what's currently out there.


My Current setup is:

I5 4440k
ASUS Maximus VIII Formula
ASUS ROG SWIFT PG278Q
16 GB G.SKILL Trident-X 2400mhz
Samsung 840 EVO -250 GB
Western Digital Caviar Black 4TB
Corsair HX-750
ASUS GTX 1060


And here's what I have picked out so far. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PYm8Ft


I was going to buy my upgrades in chunks because I am in rather large debt at the moment and cannot really afford $3,200 all at once. But, it appears that my system is so old that I cannot buy in chunks anymore. It seems that my old rig is so old that I cannot just buy the video card without buying the monitor first (Since the RTX 2080 only supports display port 1.4 and HDMI 2.0b) and spending at least $2,000. But would my rig even handle gaming at 4k 144hz? Let alone 60hz? It'd be awful slow right? So I pretty much have to spend the $3,200. But I guess the thing is, is that even if I do spend $3,200 I'm technically upgrading my wife's PC to 1440P 144 hz for free because I could just give her the parts that I have now. Idk... I'm just confused.

 

[Eximo]

Not quite correct.

RTX2080 will support your PG278Q, which is actually a very good monitor still. DP and HDMI are backwards compatible.

An RTX2080 to run a 4K 144hz display on the other hand, not good enough. Be a pair of RTX2080Ti if you wanted anywhere close to 100 FPS output. A single RTX2080Ti might get you in the high 50s and just edging into 60 FPS on some titles.

I would ditch the monitor upgrade. Great if you plan on really upgrading your system a lot, but not a great investment now, particularly if you are strapped for cash.

CPU cooler is undersized. Despite what Intel says, the 9900k consumes a lot of power, particularly when locking all the cores to boost speed or overclocking.

You don't have to go full 9900k for a good gaming experience either. The 9700k will get you about 95% of the same performance. In most titles the 9600k overclocked will also do the job.

To be honest, just dropping a new GPU into your existing system would be the cheapest option. You have a fine motherboard. Finding a used i7-4790k, getting a massive cooler, and overclocking it to 4.5-4.7Ghz or so will get you to about 80% the gaming performance of the latest CPUs. (Really you are only one generation behind, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th gen CPUs are all based on Skylake, which came after Haswell / Devil's Canyon)

I assume today you have an i5-4670k or i5-4690k, no such thing as a 4440k. If you have an i7-4770k, just overclock the crap out of it, it might do 4.3Ghz pretty easily, and 4.5Ghz with great cooling. Then get yourself a new GPU, the RTX2080 is a decent choice for 1440p@144hz.

 

[Neostarwcc]

So I don't have to upgrade to a 4k monitor? I was freaking out a little bit! I'm glad that the cables are backwards compatible! So if I use my 1.2 DP cable it will fit into the video cards 1.4 slot and work? That saves me $1,400-$1,800 so that's a little bit of a relief! And if I ever do decide to upgrade I can upgrade when the monitor is like $6-$800 like I paid for my PG278Q back in the day. Or get a much better monitor when it comes out .

I noticed that my GTX 1060 can run most games at max settings when I'm gaming. So the RTX 2080 should be a decent upgrade. I'd like to give that to my wife and keep the RTX 2080 for myself . I mean eventually I can give her all of my parts and she can have a good PC for gaming because right now, she can't really run games at even the lowest of settings.

We like to play World of Warcraft and she lags, a lot. And she can only run the game at a setting of like 3 or 4 getting like 20 FPS. So yeah, her computer is bad!

So I could in theory just buy the video card for now and buy the rest of the parts when winter is over or in a few months? They should be a couple hundred bucks cheaper then too if I wait.

 

[Neostarwcc]

I assume today you have an i5-4670k or i5-4690k, no such thing as a 4440k. If you have an i7-4770k, just overclock the crap out of it, it might do 4.3Ghz pretty easily, and 4.5Ghz with great cooling. Then get yourself a new GPU, the RTX2080 is a decent choice for 1440p@144hz.

Oh sorry, it's a 4440 not a 4400k. I remembered wrong and went into my device manager. It was a pretty cheap processor when it came out so I'd like to upgrade to something a lot more decent.

 

[Eximo]

Well, if you were willing to spend that much you can build something as fast as your current system for not much at all:

This plus a GTX1060 would make a decent WoW machine.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($64.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $264.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-04 16:37 EDT-0400

 

[Eximo]

Your motherboard has been underused a lot then (which you must have mis-listed, has to be an VI or VII for Haswell, VIII would Skylake.) Like I said, an i7-4790k or i7-4770k would drop in nicely if you have an i5-4440 now. That would gain you a lot of frequency plus hyperthreading, and some cache.

If you actually have a VIII, then you must have a 6th or 7th generation processor and DDR4, in that case the top CPU would be the i7-7700k.

You can pick up an i7-4790k on ebay for around $200 if you try bidding. $230+ if you want it immediately. Though you can shop around and possibly get it cheaper from places like reddit.com/r/hardwareswap

Or you can go full Ryzen and get a brand new R7-2700 or R5-3600/R7-3700X. More expensive than picking up a used processor since you would also need a motherboard, but it would be more than on par with an i5-4440. (Even a $90 R3-2200G is a decent match for an i5-4440)

 

[Neostarwcc]

Ughh! It's actually a VII sorry! It's a ASUS Maximus VII formula. It's been so long since I upgraded my computer I've basically had it for the last like 5 years or so. But once you mentioned that I should have DDR4 ram I figured something wasn't right. It's a VII formula, the processor that I bought is still under performing (I believe I paid like $80-$100 for it back in the day) so maybe I'll just take your advice and upgrade to a i7 4770k and just overclock it. It's $100 cheaper than the i9-9900k anyway.

But I was going to upgrade my motherboard and everything so that I could give my wife my old parts. But to have to spend over $2,000 is kinda... idk... I could build her something simple.

 

[Neostarwcc]

What would you recommend for a monitor for her if I keep my PG278Q? It doesn't have to be as good as my monitor and maybe something in the $2-$300 range?

 

[Eximo]

That was the purpose of the R5-2600 build. It is roughly as fast as an i7-4770k, and much cheaper. It is even a decent alternative to upgrading your existing CPU. But it comes with its own costs. New motherboard, new RAM, new OS (depending on your license)

How about a pair of these:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3.2 GHz 8-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard ($119.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $359.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-04 17:17 EDT-0400

RTX2080 Super is just under $700 and faster/cheaper than the RTX 2080 you had picked out.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fp...r-8-gb-black-gaming-video-card-08g-p4-3081-kr

 

[Eximo]

What would you recommend for a monitor for her if I keep my PG278Q? It doesn't have to be as good as my monitor and maybe something in the $2-$300 range?

Well, you can pick up a rough equivalent with G-Sync (FreeSync) and everything for about that:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/MXQG3C/dell-s2719dgf-270-2560x1440-155-hz-monitor-s2719dgf

Though, with a GTX1060 1440p is going to be a bit much for newer games. Perhaps a nice 75hz 1080p IPS display?

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/VT...miix-238-1920x1080-75-hz-monitor-vg240y-bmiix

Ultrawides might be worth a look:
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7Wzkcf/lg-29wk600-w-290-2560x1080-60hz-monitor-29wk600-w

Honestly a bit spoiled for choice in that price range. Also high 180-240hz 1080p displays to look at, even some 4K monitors (though that is not a recommendation)