Looking to upgrade, where should I start?

[arj1124]

I bought a pre-built pc at the beginning of this year, and while I am happy with how it is performing, watching build videos and such has given me the desire to upgrade my system. However, I do not know where I should start and need your help with what to upgrade first.

 

My PC:

Mobo: MSI B360-M Bazooka

CPU: i7-8700

GPU: ASUS RTX 2070

Memory: DDR4 2666

 

My initial thought is to get a more future proof Motherboard, but I'm extremely inexperienced and not sure if it's the right move. Thanks for the help.

 

P.S. Not sure on formatting or if this is even where to put this. If it's not please let me know. Thanks again!

[Bombastinator]

Conventional wisdom is to wait until the equipment you have no longer suits your needs which apparently has not happened yet.

 

Is convincing you to wait until that happens out of the question?

[LIGISTX]

Definitely don't replace the motherboard. That is just wasted money. Motherboards do nothing for performance, and by the time you upgrade its extremely likely the current socket will be outdated anyways.

CPU is still top tier, sure a k overclockable version would be fun, but its certainly not worth the money... a 8700 is totally fine.

 

Same applies to the RX 2070. That is a fantastic GPU.

 

RAM is fine. Sure, 2666 is not 3200, but, really, it makes a few % difference. Not worth changing.

 

If you have an itch to upgrade something, get a quality monitor. Freesync, 144 Hz, 3440x1440 or 2560x1440 would be great resolutions. 

[arj1124]

On 12/6/2019 at 10:25 PM, Bombastinator said:

Conventional wisdom is to wait until the equipment you have no longer suits your needs which apparently has not happened yet.

 

Is convincing you to wait until that happens out of the question?

No for sure not out of the question. I just thought I could get ahead of the curve on upgrading a little bit. 
 

thanks for the input

[Bombastinator]

14 minutes ago, arj1124 said:

No for sure not out of the question. I just thought I could get ahead of the curve on upgrading a little bit. 
 

thanks for the input

The 8700 is 4/8.  That is the issue.  4/8 still works.  I’m not sure for how much longer though. 6/12 is popular atm.  I personally suspect it’s because most current games are written for 6/6.  A curve jump would be 8/16.  So a 3700 or a 9900k.  There’s also 12/24 but that’s getting really pricey.

[Queen Chrysalis]

54 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

The 8700 is 4/8.  That is the issue.  4/8 still works.  I’m not sure for how much longer though. 6/12 is popular atm.  I personally suspect it’s because most current games are written for 6/6.  A curve jump would be 8/16.  So a 3700 or a 9900k.  There’s also 12/24 but that’s getting really pricey.

8700 is 6/12.  7700 is 4/8.  No upgrades are needed or warranted at this time.  This is still a very high performance system.  Hell, I know plenty of people still using 4/8 and even 4/4 systems quite swimmingly.  The computer I have at my parents house still has an i3 3240 and a GTX 970, and it still handily outperforms my PS4.  

 

OP, save your money.  In a few years maybe something worth upgrading to will be out.  But for now, upgrading will not improve your gaming experience at all.  The idea of being ahead of the curve is a surefire way to waste money.  Cutting edge parts are sold at a huge premium, and they lose value quickly.  Think about it.  A 980ti was the pinnacle of performance back in 2015 and it cost a hefty premium to have one.  Nowadays, its still a high performance GPU that will run whatever you want it to, but it costs a fraction of what it did then, and there is newer stuff out that is cheaper and performs better.  That is why 'future proofing' is a bad idea.

[Bombastinator]

3 hours ago, Queen Chrysalis said:

8700 is 6/12.  7700 is 4/8.  No upgrades are needed or warranted at this time.  This is still a very high performance system.  Hell, I know plenty of people still using 4/8 and even 4/4 systems quite swimmingly.  The computer I have at my parents house still has an i3 3240 and a GTX 970, and it still handily outperforms my PS4.  

 

OP, save your money.  In a few years maybe something worth upgrading to will be out.  But for now, upgrading will not improve your gaming experience at all.  The idea of being ahead of the curve is a surefire way to waste money.  Cutting edge parts are sold at a huge premium, and they lose value quickly.  Think about it.  A 980ti was the pinnacle of performance back in 2015 and it cost a hefty premium to have one.  Nowadays, its still a high performance GPU that will run whatever you want it to, but it costs a fraction of what it did then, and there is newer stuff out that is cheaper and performs better.  That is why 'future proofing' is a bad idea.

Right you are.  Somehow I was getting i5 6600. Might have conflatedbit with a previous post.