Upgrading A Build

[Just_Wyvern]

Budget (including currency): $850
 

Country: USA
 

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for:
large scale building, High-detail, streaming, minor rendering (ex. War Thunder, DCS, Halo: Master Chief Collection, ARK: Survival Evolved)
 

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

My current parts list is here (excluding my thrustmaster control kit): https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cx9PTC

I'm asking for opinions on how to upgrade this system. For sure I want to stay Ryzen, and I can't afford to replace the GPU unless someone magically buys my current one off my hands. I am thinking about getting a Samsung 970 1 TB PCI-E SSD, but not sure if I really need it unless that 860 is actually bottlenecking my system. I am also considering grabbing a 3700X since the market right now for them is pretty good. Lastly I am also concerned about my current ram being the bottleneck that I'm feeling, due to the high CAS latency? Or maybe it's just the CPU not being able to handle higher bus speeds?

Overall I just need help deciding what to do, and what would improve it the most. From what I understand the 2080 ti is overkill for a 1080p screen so it's honestly just ironing out what is limiting it on some more demanding games.

(Sidenote-question-thing: I am currently running my RAM in XMP mode from a suggestion given to me in the past.From what I understand the mode is unstable? And if so, should I just set it to the max my CPU is capable of dealing with or no?)

[5x5]

The only possible upgrade is a 3700X. And even then I'd say wait for Zen 3 in 3-4 months and just get a 4700X. Really, that's not a build that needs upgrading.

[Just_Wyvern]

2 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

The only possible upgrade is a 3700X. And even then I'd say wait for Zen 3 in 3-4 months and just get a 4700X. Really, that's not a build that needs upgrading.

Would that mean some of the fps issues I'm having would be more tied to software (whether game or on pc)? 

[DailyProcrastinator]

Welcome to the forum!

 

32 minutes ago, Just_Wyvern said:

I'm asking for opinions on how to upgrade this system. For sure I want to stay Ryzen, and I can't afford to replace the GPU unless someone magically buys my current one off my hands.

There is no GPU to upgrade to from a 2080Ti.

33 minutes ago, Just_Wyvern said:

I am thinking about getting a Samsung 970 1 TB PCI-E SSD, but not sure if I really need it unless that 860 is actually bottlenecking my system. 

Going NVME will make ZERO difference. Waste of money.

 

36 minutes ago, Just_Wyvern said:

I am also considering grabbing a 3700X since the market right now for them is pretty good. 

I'd wait for next gen Ryzen 4000, much better investment, single generational upgrades are not worth it in my opinion.

 

39 minutes ago, Just_Wyvern said:

Lastly I am also concerned about my current ram being the bottleneck that I'm feeling, due to the high CAS latency? Or maybe it's just the CPU not being able to handle higher bus speeds?

(Sidenote-question-thing: I am currently running my RAM in XMP mode from a suggestion given to me in the past.From what I understand the mode is unstable? And if so, should I just set it to the max my CPU is capable of dealing with or no?)

While a CL16 kit would be "better" it does not warrant an upgrade if running with XMP mode on at 3600MHz that is good enough. And if you want to spend the time you can manually clock your memory and tighten up your timings to make up for this. If you are running with XMP mode on though there is no stability issues here so nothing to worry about.

 

43 minutes ago, Just_Wyvern said:

Budget (including currency): $850

Overall I just need help deciding what to do, and what would improve it the most. From what I understand the 2080 ti is overkill for a 1080p screen so it's honestly just ironing out what is limiting it on some more demanding games.

This is the only thing you should upgrade, a 2080 Ti is going to 'bottleneck' your CPU at 1080p gaming nor do you fully utilize your GPU. Get a high refresh rate 1440p G-sync display. I would go 27" or 34" ultrawide.

I recommend:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ttnG3C/acer-monitor-xb271hubmiprz

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/XvfmP6/asus-monitor-pg279q

OR:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/gwzFf7/asus-rog-swift-pg349q-340-3440x1440-120-hz-monitor-pg349q

[5x5]

1 hour ago, Just_Wyvern said:

Would that mean some of the fps issues I'm having would be more tied to software (whether game or on pc)? 

Most likely yes. Either GPU drivers or the game being broken

[Just_Wyvern]

31 minutes ago, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

Welcome to the forum!

Thank you!
 

Quote

There is no GPU to upgrade to from a 2080Ti.

Going NVME will make ZERO difference. Waste of money.

Alright, thank you on the suggestion to avoid upgrading the SSD, I was skeptical of keeping the 860 evo just because it's not considered top of the line for its' time. It's the same story with me considering replacing the 2080 ti with a better one (as the dual is not that great in terms of 2080 ti's either)
 

Quote

I'd wait for next gen Ryzen 4000, much better investment, single generational upgrades are not worth it in my opinion.

Yeah after some consideration I'd be inclined to agree. Some research lead me to understanding that the 3700x would fare barely better than my current one due to having similar (and described by linus at one point I believe) limitations on bus speed. The 4k series from what I understand does away with that a bit?
 

Quote

While a CL16 kit would be "better" it does not warrant an upgrade if running with XMP mode on at 3600MHz that is good enough. And if you want to spend the time you can manually clock your memory and tighten up your timings to make up for this. If you are running with XMP mode on though there is no stability issues here so nothing to worry about.

I might have to get ahold of someone to help me understand how to (relatively safely) overclock my RAM then, as I have a strong feeling my limitations are tied to that CAS latency (either that or my RAM might be bad(!!)).
 

Quote

This is the only thing you should upgrade, a 2080 Ti is going to 'bottleneck' your CPU at 1080p gaming nor do you fully utilize your GPU. Get a high refresh rate 1440p G-sync display. I would go 27" or 34" ultrawide.

I recommend:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ttnG3C/acer-monitor-xb271hubmiprz

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/XvfmP6/asus-monitor-pg279q

OR:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/gwzFf7/asus-rog-swift-pg349q-340-3440x1440-120-hz-monitor-pg349q

Alright I'll look into that, although I am fond of the feel of my current curved screen display (gives an artificial feel of field of view). I went ahead and found another Samsung display that fits more what i like, while staying within what you reccomend (https://pcpartpicker.com/product/z6YWGX/samsung-c27hg70-269-2560x1440-144-hz-monitor-lc27hg70qqnxza). I also do like VA panels, a bit of the best of both worlds (assuming there is no blur, as I had with my old old monitor before this one). Comments are still appreciated though.

Thanks for the help both you and 5x5!

[DailyProcrastinator]

52 minutes ago, Just_Wyvern said:

 

Alright, thank you on the suggestion to avoid upgrading the SSD, I was skeptical of keeping the 860 evo just because it's not considered top of the line for its' time. It's the same story with me considering replacing the 2080 ti with a better one (as the dual is not that great in terms of 2080 ti's either)

Yeah but the physical GPU comes from Nvida so other than different cooler designs and better VRM limits (IF you were to OC), there is not much difference between these cards. The Asus dual is fine, getting a better 2080Ti is going to yield virtually no distinguishable performance boost. 

53 minutes ago, Just_Wyvern said:

Yeah after some consideration I'd be inclined to agree. Some research lead me to understanding that the 3700x would fare barely better than my current one due to having similar (and described by linus at one point I believe) limitations on bus speed. The 4k series from what I understand does away with that a bit?

Well at this point all this info is not yet concrete, so I won't ad to speculation. We need to wait a few more months to get more info from AMD themselves.

1 hour ago, Just_Wyvern said:

I might have to get ahold of someone to help me understand how to (relatively safely) overclock my RAM then, as I have a strong feeling my limitations are tied to that CAS latency (either that or my RAM might be bad(!!)).

Manually overclocking memory is actually pretty easy. Go into Bios and disable XMP, (excuse the Asus terminology, it is the only bios I know well), then go to advanced settings, then AI tweaker. 

 

From there you are going to want to adjust your memory frequency, I generally recommend single incremental jumps, starting at 3000MHz you would go to 3066Mhz, then go down to DRAM Voltage and set it to 1.3500V. Save and exit Bios. As mentioned earlier if you get caught it a boot loop and the settings reset to default you know the memory OC was not stable. 

 

If stable enough to post into Windows then run a quick stress test, I recommend Cinebench R15 (runs faster than R20) and if stable restart and post boot into Bios. Also, keep in mind stable in a quick stress test is not the same as stable during a gaming session. Windows stop codes related to memory will let you know that your memory OC is not stable.

 

If you hit instability along the way start upping the DRAM voltage by increments of 0.010V (so 1.360V, 1.370V, 1.380V... etc) until stable, I would not recommend exceeding 1.450V though. 

 

So once stable at 3066MHz you can push further, 3133MHz, 3200MHz, 3266MHz, 3333MHz, and so forth, each time testing stability, possibly adjusting voltage and this is how you OC your memory, eventually you will hit a wall.

 

For me this 'wall' was 3466MHz at 1.3750V, but at 3533MHz even at 1.450V I was not stable. As said before mileage may vary. Even at 3033MHz you may not be stable at all. But it is fun to try!
 

Tightening memory timings is a little more involved, you can spend more time researching this. Here are some good sources:

 

1 hour ago, Just_Wyvern said:

I also do like VA panels, a bit of the best of both worlds (assuming there is no blur, as I had with my old old monitor before this one). 

Monitors are a preference thing for sure, get what you like, but I think this is the best addition to your gaming rig, a high refresh rate 1440p monitor will go a long way. 

 

1 hour ago, Just_Wyvern said:

Thanks for the help both you and 5x5!

No problem!

[Just_Wyvern]

16 minutes ago, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

Manually overclocking memory is actually pretty easy. Go into Bios and disable XMP, (excuse the Asus terminology, it is the only bios I know well), then go to advanced settings, then AI tweaker. 

 

From there you are going to want to adjust your memory frequency, I generally recommend single incremental jumps, starting at 3000MHz you would go to 3066Mhz, then go down to DRAM Voltage and set it to 1.3500V. Save and exit Bios. As mentioned earlier if you get caught it a boot loop and the settings reset to default you know the memory OC was not stable. 

 

If stable enough to post into Windows then run a quick stress test, I recommend Cinebench R15 (runs faster than R20) and if stable restart and post boot into Bios. Also, keep in mind stable in a quick stress test is not the same as stable during a gaming session. Windows stop codes related to memory will let you know that your memory OC is not stable.

 

If you hit instability along the way start upping the DRAM voltage by increments of 0.010V (so 1.360V, 1.370V, 1.380V... etc) until stable, I would not recommend exceeding 1.450V though. 

 

So once stable at 3066MHz you can push further, 3133MHz, 3200MHz, 3266MHz, 3333MHz, and so forth, each time testing stability, possibly adjusting voltage and this is how you OC your memory, eventually you will hit a wall.

 

For me this 'wall' was 3466MHz at 1.3750V, but at 3533MHz even at 1.450V I was not stable. As said before mileage may vary. Even at 3033MHz you may not be stable at all. But it is fun to try!

Alright, I'll go try this later. Thanks for the help!

[DailyProcrastinator]

2 hours ago, Just_Wyvern said:

Alright, I'll go try this later. Thanks for the help!

No prob!