Do I need an upgrade

OzDude · December 25, 2019

So, I have been having a look at seriously building a new computer box, to take advantage of the new tech available late 2019.

I play games casually, and not really the AAA titles, but do like the management games (TF2, Airport CEO ect..), that can lag my current system when having a large numbers of things happening when in late game. I do not do video or Photshop stuff, but use the computer for macros (excel, and some are quite complex), and I do some programming (basic as I am learning Python).

Reason I have been looking, is the computer is now starting to freeze in games like TF2 (enough to bug me, but not all the time).

Current setup is:

I5 6500 (skylake) 3.2GHZ

Asrock H170

GTX 970 (2014 version with the 4GB thats actually 3.5GB memory)

16GB DDR 4 2133MHZ

Old Sata SSD as a boot, and mechanical for storage

I have been looking at all the lovely new chips, Ryzen 5,7,9 and all the videos saying how great they are, and I am going yep really want a new computer, but not sure if I need to do it for what I use a computer for.

Would I get any benefit out of the Ryzen mutithreding, and if so what is best 3600 (x is $10 different in Aust), or should I spring for a 3700X at a price difference of ~$150 AUD?

Would I get better value from just upgrading the graphics card? Or for the game I play, do I even need to do that (I have old 60Hz monitors, that are fine for me)?

Do I even need a new setup, or could an old Intel CPU that fits the H170 give me a jump?

I haven't really put in a budget, but I am a value for money type person, and don't need to spend on a flash new toy if I can only use 20% of it. Looking to make whatever I do last a couple of years, and then maybe look at something then, if any issues start.

Any help welcome.

Daniel Z. · December 25, 2019

Maybe get a 1tb SSD. Those specs look good enough for what you do, but your storage is probably pretty slow.

Anjelllo · December 25, 2019

nah mate, you're fine. If you're lagging in team fortress with those specs it's a driver issue or something software related. Jumping to the ryzen platform really wouldn't do much for you

TetraSky · December 25, 2019

Specs wise, it looks fine to me. It's not that old yet.

You should only contemplate upgrading, when you can't do something that you want to do. Like play certain games.

If TF2 is freezing, maybe look into that first. Because that's a game with a fairly low barrier of entry as far as hardware goes and you shouldn't have any issues.

I would suggest doing a clean install of Windows first of all (with a fresh ISO straight from Microsoft, not by using the Reset feature, that's garbage and keeps the old drivers). That way you will know if the issue was Software or not.

If it wasn't software and the issue persist, diagnose which part might be faulty, be it RAM by running Memtest for 24 hours.

GPU by running Furmark or some other software like it for an hour or two.

CPU and RAM with Prime95 Blend with all the available RAM selected.

This way, if your issue is literally just a bad stick of RAM, it would be a lot cheaper to simply buy new RAM, than a whole new computer after all.

I would also suggest ditching the HDD altogether and going Solid State all around. It's what I did and I sure am the happier for it. So much quieter too.

OzDude · December 25, 2019

Thanks guys,

Was thinking that the upgrade may not do all that much. Will do the diagnostics you suggested TetraSky, and hopefully this will see me out another year or 2.

Just one other think I do use this setup for, is as a server for the houses TV's. We have a couple of TV's (cabled), so under max load conditions this computer would be serving both TV's (1080p content only), and maybe playing a game or doing some work applications. Or could I just set up a RPi server on the cheap to take some of the max load out?

Cheers

trevb0t · December 25, 2019

2 hours ago, OzDude said:

Thanks guys,

Was thinking that the upgrade may not do all that much. Will do the diagnostics you suggested TetraSky, and hopefully this will see me out another year or 2.

Just one other think I do use this setup for, is as a server for the houses TV's. We have a couple of TV's (cabled), so under max load conditions this computer would be serving both TV's (1080p content only), and maybe playing a game or doing some work applications. Or could I just set up a RPi server on the cheap to take some of the max load out?

Cheers

There is potential that your 4 cores could be maxing out on titles that benefit more from more threads. (Typically it's the grand strategy type games with tons of moving units.) Especially if you're running it as a media server in the background. It's hard to say if a CPU upgrade would do anything notable or not.

The 3700X you asked about is a significant upgrade to the i5-6500, especially if the i5 can't overclock to keep up. So -either way- yes. It will improve performance.

The question is just how badly do you need an improvement currently?