Upgrade my CPU or GPU?

[Cupidly]

Hey LTTforum,

 

First post here, I need some help deciding on what is the most practical upgrade for me right now.

 

Current Build:

 

I7 2600K OC to 4.8

R9 390x

16gb DDR3 1600mhz

 

My two options so far are upgrading mobo, cpu and RAM, looking at an I7 8700/8086k

Or, getting a new GPU, RTX2070 or above.

 

Now I know my CPU/ram will be bottleneck for an RTX card, and playing at 1080p, I was wondering how much a performance gain I would actually see, versus just upgrading to a new CPU.

 

Has anyone else had a similar situation, or any good estimates as to performance gains for either option?

 

EDIT: looking to spend around £600, new parts, don't want to mess around with 2nd hand, what would you recommend?

Edited January 2, 2019 by Cupidly

[maxtch]

Or maybe take a step down and use RX 580? Those cards are extremely cheap now as miners are dumping them, and since most miners undervolt them and put them under an aggressive fan curve the wear from mining is lower than expected. Otherwise that is still a capable system.

[Cupidly]

Just now, maxtch said:

Or maybe take a step down and use RX 580? Those cards are extremely cheap now as miners are dumping them, and since most miners undervolt them and put them under an aggressive fan curve the wear from mining is lower than expected. Otherwise that is still a capable system.

To add, I won't be buying second hand stuff, want all sparkly new, plus the 2nd hand market in the UK is pretty trash, full of absolute jokers

[maxtch]

1 minute ago, Cupidly said:

To add, I won't be buying second hand stuff, want all sparkly new, plus the 2nd hand market in the UK is pretty trash, full of absolute jokers

Even new RX 580 shouldn't be that expensive.

[Cupidly]

2 minutes ago, maxtch said:

Even new RX 580 shouldn't be that expensive.

TBH I am kind of looking to upgrade rather significantly, a 580 isn't that much of a step up.

[jancc]

 

Just now, Cupidly said:

TBH I am kind of looking to upgrade rather significantly, a 580 isn't that much of a step up.

vega 64?

[maxtch]

Just now, Cupidly said:

TBH I am kind of looking to upgrade rather significantly, a 580 isn't that much of a step up.

If that is the case you might as well scrap the whole system and start from the ground up again, replacing CPU, RAM, motherboard and graphics card in one go. Otherwise I would consider a RX 580 and maybe a liquid cooler a better upgrade than upgrade CPU/RAM/MoBo but not graphics card. Liquid cooler for pushing higher overclocks.

1 minute ago, jancc said:

vega 64?

Works too, if you can find a decent price on it.

[Cupidly]

1 minute ago, jancc said:

 

vega 64?

Looking to move to the green team now also, done my time with AMD

[Cupidly]

Just now, maxtch said:

If that is the case you might as well scrap the whole system and start from the ground up again, replacing CPU, RAM, motherboard and graphics card in one go. Otherwise I would consider a RX 580 and maybe a liquid cooler a better upgrade than upgrade CPU/RAM/MoBo but not graphics card. Liquid cooler for pushing higher overclocks.

Works too, if you can find a decent price on it.

Actually liquid cooled already, pretty sure I just got a poorly binned CPU, cannot get anything stable over 4.8 for love nor money

[maxtch]

2 minutes ago, Cupidly said:

Actually liquid cooled already, pretty sure I just got a poorly binned CPU, cannot get anything stable over 4.8 for love nor money

If that is the case it might be a good idea to search the used market for an i7-3770K. Moth Sandy Bridge motherboards are at most one BIOS update away from being able to support Ivy Bridge chips, and i7-3770K is too overclockable but based on Ivy Bridge architecture.

[Dedayog]

26 minutes ago, Cupidly said:

Hey LTTforum,

 

First post here, I need some help deciding on what is the most practical upgrade for me right now.

 

Current Build:

 

I7 2600K OC to 4.8

R9 390x

16gb DDR3 1600mhz

 

My two options so far are upgrading mobo, cpu and RAM, looking at an I7 8700/8086k

Or, getting a new GPU, RTX2070 or above.

 

Now I know my CPU/ram will be bottleneck for an RTX card, and playing at 1080p, I was wondering how much a performance gain I would actually see, versus just upgrading to a new CPU.

 

Has anyone else had a similar situation, or any good estimates as to performance gains for either option?

With everything you've said, just open the wallet and upgrade.  

 

You need an entirely new system, not just a CPU or GPU upgrade.   

[Dedayog]

Just now, maxtch said:

If that is the case it might be a good idea to search the used market for an i7-3770K. Moth Sandy Bridge motherboards are at most one BIOS update away from being able to support Ivy Bridge chips, and i7-3770K is too overclockable but based on Ivy Bridge architecture.

Did you miss the post where he said he isn't buying anything second hand?  He wants new shiny.  

 

He needs a new system, his is lackluster at best and given to a younger sibling or friend's kid.

[Cupidly]

1 minute ago, jstudrawa said:

Did you miss the post where he said he isn't buying anything second hand?  He wants new shiny.  

 

He needs a new system, his is lackluster at best and given to a younger sibling or friend's kid.

"lackluster" ouch dude  That's my baby we're talking about

[Cupidly]

5 minutes ago, maxtch said:

If that is the case it might be a good idea to search the used market for an i7-3770K. Moth Sandy Bridge motherboards are at most one BIOS update away from being able to support Ivy Bridge chips, and i7-3770K is too overclockable but based on Ivy Bridge architecture.

looking at like £150 for like a 5% improvement at best with that, that really is just too marginal

[Dedayog]

Just now, Cupidly said:

"lackluster" ouch dude  That's my baby we're talking about

How about she was hot when she was younger but she's got a few wrinkles now and can't play tennis all that well due to her bum knee?

 

Like any good politician, go younger and newer

[maxtch]

1 minute ago, jstudrawa said:

Did you miss the post where he said he isn't buying anything second hand?  He wants new shiny.  

 

He needs a new system, his is lackluster at best and given to a younger sibling or friend's kid.

I am intentionally ignoring the exclusion of the used market here, since the first hand market is still suffering from inflated prices somewhat (not GPU now, but RAM still) so buying new platforms does mean he will be forced to overpay.

 

Also that upgrade CPU is well covered by the water block anyway.

Just now, Cupidly said:

"lackluster" ouch dude  That's my baby we're talking about

That is why I am suggesting new RX 580/Vega 64 + BIOS upgrade + used i7-3770K. It will make a visible improvement while not breaking the bank.

[Cupidly]

Let's add then, I'm looking at about £600 to spend, what would you think?

 

What would be best bang for my buck spending around that?

[maxtch]

6 minutes ago, Cupidly said:

looking at like £150 for like a 5% improvement at best with that, that really is just too marginal

You get to re-roll the silicon lottery, and if you are willing to pay a little premium you can have the seller to pre-test the chip.

3 minutes ago, Cupidly said:

Let's add then, I'm looking at about £600 to spend, what would you think?

 

What would be best bang for my buck spending around that?

That is a tight budget...

[Cupidly]

Just now, maxtch said:

You get to re-roll the silicon lottery, and if you are willing to pay a little premium you can have the seller to pre-test the chip.

That is a tight budget...

£600 to find the best part upgrade for my particular rig?

 

I'm not looking to get a full build for the price of course.

[Settlerteo]

5 minutes ago, Cupidly said:

Let's add then, I'm looking at about £600 to spend, what would you think?

 

What would be best bang for my buck spending around that?

Do not upgrade your GPU yet. 390 is just fine for 1080p gaming. Upgrade your cpu to a ryzen 2600x or squeeze for a 2700x(if not overclocking just 2600/2700), a solid b450 or a x470 motherboard and 16 gigs of ram and you re good to go. Then hold on to the 390 for one more year before upgrading so you can save some money. That's my advice. 

[maxtch]

4 minutes ago, Cupidly said:

£600 to find the best part upgrade for my particular rig?

 

I'm not looking to get a full build for the price of course.

Maybe £300 here for a spot upgrade like a new GPU and a pre-tested CPU, and pocket the rest of the money.

[Cupidly]

1 minute ago, Settlerteo said:

Do not upgrade your GPU yet. 390 is just fine for 1080p gaming. Upgrade your cpu to a ryzen 2600x or squeeze for a 2700x(if not overclocking just 2600/2700), a solid b450 or a x470 motherboard and 16 gigs of ram and you re good to go. Then hold on to the 390 for one more year before upgrading so you can save some money. That's my advice. 

Any reason you'd recommend a Ryzen even if I could get an i7 8700k?

 

And yeah, I agree, holding onto the GPU for a year or so would be the idea if I decide to go down the new CPU route.

[Settlerteo]

12 minutes ago, Cupidly said:

Let's add then, I'm looking at about £600 to spend, what would you think?

 

What would be best bang for my buck spending around that?

 

3 minutes ago, Settlerteo said:

Do not upgrade your GPU yet. 390 is just fine for 1080p gaming. Upgrade your cpu to a ryzen 2600x or squeeze for a 2700x(if not overclocking just 2600/2700), a solid b450 or a x470 motherboard and 16 gigs of ram and you re good to go. Then hold on to the 390 for one more year before upgrading so you can save some money. That's my advice. 

CPU		AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor	£289.99				£289.99	Amazon UK
Motherboard		ASRock - X470 Taichi ATX AM4 Motherboard	£184.90		£14.50		£199.40	Alza
Memory		Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	£119.94		FREE		£119.94	CCL Computers

[Settlerteo]

1 minute ago, Cupidly said:

Any reason you'd recommend a Ryzen even if I could get an i7 8700k?

 

And yeah, I agree, holding onto the GPU for a year or so would be the idea if I decide to go down the new CPU route.

Brand preference, better value per money and less heat. Don't get me wrong i7 8700 is a great cpu, hell even an i5 8400 is good and would be a nice improvement for what you want to do.

[grss1982]

11 hours ago, Cupidly said:

Hey LTTforum,

 

First post here, I need some help deciding on what is the most practical upgrade for me right now.

 

Current Build:

 

I7 2600K OC to 4.8

R9 390x

16gb DDR3 1600mhz

 

My two options so far are upgrading mobo, cpu and RAM, looking at an I7 8700/8086k

Or, getting a new GPU, RTX2070 or above.

 

Now I know my CPU/ram will be bottleneck for an RTX card, and playing at 1080p, I was wondering how much a performance gain I would actually see, versus just upgrading to a new CPU.

 

Has anyone else had a similar situation, or any good estimates as to performance gains for either option?

 

EDIT: looking to spend around £600, new parts, don't want to mess around with 2nd hand, what would you recommend?

The video below may still be relevant for you in making a decision. It's the Hardware Canucks review with performance numbers on going from an i7-2600k to an i7-8700k while while using a 1080ti on both.