Any upgrade advice/ideas?

[Temuka]

Hello everyone,my last PC upgrade was about 5 years ago (except GPU + PSU which I bought last year). So now I'm interested if there would be any sense if I upgrade to something new,for e.g: new board,pcu,ddr4 etc...


My PC:



GPU - R9 390 Nitro
CPU - Intel 3570K + Corsair A70 cooler
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws 1600 X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)
HDD - 3TB + 1TB / SSD - Crucial MX100 256GB
PSU - EVGA 750 G2
Case - be quiet! - Silent Base 800 + NZXT Sentry Fan controller



I don't do editing or rendering,just gaming and full HD movie watching. I game on big 55 inch 60Hz monitor and getting 60-100fps in games with no problem (sometimes just tweaking anti-aliasing settings for smooth fps)

I suspect there is no need in upgrading now,since I have 60Hz monitor,but I just have these inexplicable feeling to upgrade once in several years + I think I need new cooler which will be much quiet that my current one (any advice here?) but if there would be NO noticeable sense,I'll wait... Just this upgrade itch became stronger with new ryzen pcu-s and gtx 1080 pricing politics...

Thanks everyone in advance

P.S Maybe first upgrading to 4K monitor and afterwards upgrading other tech ? (including GPU)....

 

[lehtv]

I'd wait until Ryzen 5 series (6 cores / 12 threads) comes out, should be a few months. By that time, AM4 motherboards should be mostly sorted out BIOS/drivers wise and you'll have a better idea of which boards are good and reliable and which ones to avoid.

6C/12T Ryzen will be quite a bit faster than the i5-3570K (especially with some OC), and will only continue to get faster in games in the future as game engines are optimized for Ryzen and developed with better multithreading in mind. And it will be cheaper than an i7.

But if you can't wait, Ryzen 7 1700 is an excellent buy as well.

 

[Valantar]

If your only use case is gaming, there's little sense in upgrading that PC. As you say, you're exceeding the refresh rate of your monitor in most cases. I'd keep it until you start seeing performance drops (I'd wager another year or two, minimum), then move to whatever platform is best suited for your needs at that time. While a Ryzen 5 (6-core) upgrade might give some gains down the line, they won't be tangible until you either upgrade your monitor and GPU or games start leaning heavily on more than 4 threads. And upgrading now without seeing any performance gains in 2+ years is ... well, rather silly.

 

[Temuka]

So as I understand,no sense in upgrading for 1080 gaming and only solution for me is to step-up to 4k gaming ? ..

 

[lehtv]

@Temuka I wouldn't say "no sense". @Valantar also said "little sense", meaning there's still some sense. 3570K may hold back fps in some games, and upgrading to a 6/8 core Ryzen or i7-7700K would ensure smoother fps with a suitably powerful graphics card.

But why 4K? Even 1080p 144Hz would be a nice upgrade over your current 60Hz monitor. You would need a GTX 1080 Ti to run 4K smoothly, and 4K monitors don't have such high refresh rates yet so they're not exactly optimal for gaming. For high end gaming, the sweet spot is 2560x1440 144Hz/165Hz (e.g. Acer XB271HU, BenQ XL2730Z) and 3840x1440 100Hz (e.g. Acer X34A). 2560x1440 runs well on GTX 1070/1080, 3440x1440 on GTX 1080/1080 Ti, and of course the upcoming AMD Vega wil probably run both of those pretty well.

 

[Temuka]

@Temuka I wouldn't say "no sense". @Valantar also said "little sense", meaning there's still some sense. 3570K may hold back fps in some games, and upgrading to a 6/8 core Ryzen or i7-7700K would ensure smoother fps with a suitably powerful graphics card.

But why 4K? Even 1080p 144Hz would be a nice upgrade over your current 60Hz monitor. You would need a GTX 1080 Ti to run 4K smoothly, and 4K monitors don't have such high refresh rates yet so they're not exactly optimal for gaming. For high end gaming, the sweet spot is 2560x1440 144Hz/165Hz (e.g. Acer XB271HU, BenQ XL2730Z) and 3840x1440 100Hz (e.g. Acer X34A). 2560x1440 runs well on GTX 1070/1080, 3440x1440 on GTX 1080/1080 Ti, and of course the upcoming AMD Vega wil probably run both of those pretty well.

The thing is that I play on huge 55 monitor,and they are not big sizes in 144hz monitor as far as I know...

 

[lehtv]

@Temuka So you play on a TV, not a PC monitor. I guess that can work, depending on how far you're sitting and what sort of input lag the TV has. Some TV's are more suitable for gaming than others. None can touch a 144Hz gaming monitor in motion clarity and responsiveness. Personally, I wouldn't trade 144Hz for larger screen size, even if I had the room for a larger screen.

In any case, 4K gaming requires a GTX 1080 Ti for smooth framerates on high settings in demanding AAA games. The cost of a GTX 1080 Ti vs GTX 1080 shouldn't bother too much given what you have to pay for a good >50 inch 4K TV. But you might also find that 1080p is still perfectly fine for now...

 

[Insomniator]

There is no reason right now to upgrade your CPU if its overclocked, especially not to Ryzen. Wait a year and see how games look like then. Don't waste your money on a side grade.

 

[Temuka]

@Temuka So you play on a TV, not a PC monitor. I guess that can work, depending on how far you're sitting and what sort of input lag the TV has. Some TV's are more suitable for gaming than others. None can touch a 144Hz gaming monitor in motion clarity and responsiveness. Personally, I wouldn't trade 144Hz for larger screen size, even if I had the room for a larger screen.

In any case, 4K gaming requires a GTX 1080 Ti for smooth framerates on high settings in demanding AAA games. The cost of a GTX 1080 Ti vs GTX 1080 shouldn't bother too much given what you have to pay for a good >50 inch 4K TV. But you might also find that 1080p is still perfectly fine for now...

Yeah I understand Personally,I wouldn't trade all the joy and experience from huge high response TV for 23-27 monitor,but it's personal choice.

I play from almost 10 feet away.. The itch of upgrading is coming stronger every day

 

[corkyg]

... The itch of upgrading is coming stronger every day

That is the perfect description of technolust. Only one way to cure it.

 

[Valantar]

I play from almost 10 feet away.. The itch of upgrading is coming stronger every day

What kind of TV do you game on? Is it just any old TV, or a good one? If I were you, that's where I'd look first. Even great quality, low input lag 4k TVs can be had for "reasonable" prices these days. Look through some reviews, find one that combines fast response time/low input lag with good image quality (I'd also look for as few "smart" gimmicks as possible, but that's more personal preference). A TV like that would still look amazing at 1080p with your current hardware, and it would give you an excuse to go for a full platform upgrade (CPU, GPU, the works) the next time the itch strikes.

With your current TV, upgrading your PC is just a waste.

 

[XSoldier77X]

Hello everyone,my last PC upgrade was about 5 years ago (except GPU + PSU which I bought last year). So now I'm interested if there would be any sense if I upgrade to something new,for e.g: new board,pcu,ddr4 etc...


My PC:



GPU - R9 390 Nitro
CPU - Intel 3570K + Corsair A70 cooler
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws 1600 X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)
HDD - 3TB + 1TB / SSD - Crucial MX100 256GB
PSU - EVGA 750 G2
Case - be quiet! - Silent Base 800 + NZXT Sentry Fan controller



I don't do editing or rendering,just gaming and full HD movie watching. I game on big 55 inch 60Hz monitor and getting 60-100fps in games with no problem (sometimes just tweaking anti-aliasing settings for smooth fps)
5 year mark,
I suspect there is no need in upgrading now,since I have 60Hz monitor,but I just have these inexplicable feeling to upgrade once in several years + I think I need new cooler which will be much quiet that my current one (any advice here?) but if there would be NO noticeable sense,I'll wait... Just this upgrade itch became stronger with new ryzen pcu-s and gtx 1080 pricing politics...

Thanks everyone in advance

P.S Maybe first upgrading to 4K monitor and afterwards upgrading other tech ? (including GPU)....

Wait a bit. Going for Ryzen 5 might be a decent option atm but ifthe urge becomes prominent around 5 year mark, guess you should rather wait a year or two and then upgrade to whatever feels most sensible at that time.

 

[Temuka]

So 4 months later.. The question is the same,I just didn't wanted to open new thread
Any help would be appreciated

 

[dave_the_nerd]

So 4 months later.. The question is the same,I just didn't wanted to open new thread
Any help would be appreciated

If you've got that rig but no application or use case that would benefit from an upgrade, and money burning a hole in your pocket, you may just need an additional hobby.

Do you own a 3D printer? What kind of car do you drive and how shiny are the wheels? Have you ever replaced your own valve cover gaskets? What about repairing the dented drywall and repainting the living room?

Ooh, ooh, buy a boat!

That said, 16GB of RAM and replacing your 1TB HDD with an SSD (then refactoring your storage situation accordingly) wouldn't be a bad idea. Do you have a NAS? How are you set up for backups? HTPC?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, the price of the Ryzen 5 1600X on ebay has been trending downward (see, "refurbforless" prices), to $219.99 FS. (Previously, the 1600 non-X had been that price.)

For gaming purposes, the 1600X is basically the "Sweet spot". Only 6C/12T, rather than the 8C/16T of the 1800X, but the same clock speeds as the 1800X, and like $200+ cheaper, for only two less cores (that few games utilize, most games run great with six cores).

I would recommend an X370 ASRock TaiChi ATX mobo to go with it, or if you want to stick to a lower budget, my favorite current board is the ASRock AB350M Pro4, which has both a PCI-E and a SATA M.2 slot. But expansion is limited, and if you use both PCI-E x16 (physical, second slot is x4 electrically), then I believe that you have to give up the PCI-E x4 M.2 slot. They can't be used together.

For a single GPU though, and an M.2 PCI-E for OS, and a cheaper, bigger, SATA M.2 for game storage (like an 850 EVO M.2 SATA, or a Crucial MX300 M.2 SATA), that board would be just about perfect.

 

[Temuka]

If you've got that rig but no application or use case that would benefit from an upgrade, and money burning a hole in your pocket, you may just need an additional hobby.

Do you own a 3D printer? What kind of car do you drive and how shiny are the wheels? Have you ever replaced your own valve cover gaskets? What about repairing the dented drywall and repainting the living room?

Ooh, ooh, buy a boat!

That said, 16GB of RAM and replacing your 1TB HDD with an SSD (then refactoring your storage situation accordingly) wouldn't be a bad idea. Do you have a NAS? How are you set up for backups? HTPC?

I drive BMW X5 53 and rims are super shiny Gaskets were changed about 5-6 months ago and I repainted living room 2 weeks ago (nice try nostradamus )

I need bigger and better monitor and some parts I can upgrade... I mean I have 3570k,mobo and RAM which I bought 5 years ago,there should be something I can benefit from upgrading to....

I guess some 4k tv with nice response time and 1080 with new cpu,mobo and RAM would be nice upgrade or it's better to wait again (for what?) ?

 

[bononos]

If you're sitting 10 ft away, a 4k TV is not going to look significantly different from lower resolutions. Unless the size of the screen is really big.
https://d18oqavmcmo3u.cloudfront.net/resolution_chart.html

 

[SMOGZINN]

Do you have a good sound system to go with that TV? Maybe that would be a good place to look for an upgrade.

But really, this is what PC gaming has come to. Since we are limited to console ports for the most part every game has to run well on a 1.7 GHz CPU, 5 gig of ram, and the equivalent of a Radeon HD 6850.

 

[l1amrob]

Well, the price of the Ryzen 5 1600X on ebay has been trending downward (see, "refurbforless" prices), to $219.99 FS. (Previously, the 1600 non-X had been that price.)

For gaming purposes, the 1600X is basically the "Sweet spot". Only 6C/12T, rather than the 8C/16T of the 1800X, but the same clock speeds as the 1800X, and like $200+ cheaper, for only two less cores (that few games utilize, most games run great with six cores).

I would recommend an X370 ASRock TaiChi ATX mobo to go with it, or if you want to stick to a lower budget, my favorite current board is the ASRock AB350M Pro4, which has both a PCI-E and a SATA M.2 slot. But expansion is limited, and if you use both PCI-E x16 (physical, second slot is x4 electrically), then I believe that you have to give up the PCI-E x4 M.2 slot. They can't be used together.

For a single GPU though, and an M.2 PCI-E for OS, and a cheaper, bigger, SATA M.2 for game storage (like an 850 EVO M.2 SATA, or a Crucial MX300 M.2 SATA), that board would be just about perfect.

Pretty much spot on.
The only thing I would say is that intel CPUs still perform better than AMD, but overall Ryzen is superior and more future proof.

 

[Temuka]

Do you have a good sound system to go with that TV? Maybe that would be a good place to look for an upgrade.

But really, this is what PC gaming has come to. Since we are limited to console ports for the most part every game has to run well on a 1.7 GHz CPU, 5 gig of ram, and the equivalent of a Radeon HD 6850.

Actually I don't have any good sound system... maybe will look into that too