What to upgrade?

[kasgrieve]

I'm rewriting this now that I've got a part picker list and can make it a little easier to read the specs of my current PC, but I have a pre-built CyberPower PC, it's between 2-3 years old and the only thing I've upgraded is the RAM which I've recently learnt has a a higher speed of 3000mhz than my current motherboard's max of 2666mhz, which I don't know if that's a problem, when it comes to computer part compatibilities, overclocking and throttling, I know very little hence the pre-built (so any help/ tips there to get more out of my pc like if I should overclock or what I should overclock, would also be greatly appreciated). I want to find out the best thing(s) to upgrade first to get the most performance out of my pc or whether to start relatively fresh and buy almost a whole new pc, moving some parts over, or my outdated I5-9400f is the biggest issue and should upgrade before/instead of  my gpu from a 2060 to a 3070 or 3070ti or even a motherboard should be first to even be able to upgrade (if my current motherboard isn't compatible or something?) or to have higher max ram speeds to match my 3000mhz ram sticks, maybe my 500w psu isn't enough for my ultrawide 120hz PG349Q and that should be first? I honestly don't know so any help would be so appreciated, here's the partpicker list for my current build: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/xq7LQD

or 

Display(s): ASUS PG349Q, Ultrawide, 120hz

CPU: I5-9400F

Motherboard: MSI H310M PRO-VDH PLUS

RAM: 2xCorsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4-3000Mhz

GPU: Nvidia RTX 2060 6gb

Storage: Seagate BarraCuda 1TB HDD
              ADATA SU630 240GB SSD

PSU: EVGA 500W 80+

Cooling: 4 rgb fans and Intel stock cpu cooler

 

I also notice my CPU max out to 100% when on the desktop just browsing, with things like Chrome or Opera going from 60-80% alone, as well as other programs single-handedly taking up all the CPU and making things slow, which I don't know if that's normal and not to worry or means I need a more modern cpu or there's some other bottleneck or something causing it? In games currently I can usually run medium-high at 50 ish fps, I want more, I used to be able to get more but be it age of the parts or some other problem, it's not as good as it used to be. I seriously appreciate any help/ suggestions on what to upgrade/ focus on first and good parts to get for that.

[rice guru]

how much memory does your system have? generally these days if your not at 16 gigs of RAM yet that would be the first thing for me to upgrade considerign you already upgraded that. if you wanted to a GPu upgrade wouldn't' hurt especially if you got a 1440p monitor. @ 1080 p though I think your cpu and gpu is fine otherwise.

 

 

[YoungBlade]

Since you're on an H310 board, your RAM speed will be limited to 2666, which will limit CPU performance even if you upgrade. Also, those boards often don't have great VRMs, so it might not be able to handle an i7 or i9 CPU.

 

Here are my four thoughts:

 

1. Upgrade your monitor to 1440p high refresh rate. By going to 1440p, you'll make the system more GPU limited, so your slower CPU and RAM won't be the primary system bottleneck anymore. Yes, you won't be able to reach higher FPS, and in fact will probably lose FPS in some games, but you'll get to game at 1440p instead of 1080p. Plus, if you get a decent 1440p monitor, then you'll be happy to have it when you do upgrade to a new computer. This would cost around $300.

 

2. Upgrade your motherboard. If you go to a Z390 board, you'll be able to run your RAM at a more reasonable speed, which will help your CPU out while giving you the option of upgrading to a 9700K or 9900K later on. This would cost around $150-200.

 

3. Upgrade your motherboard and your CPU to 10th or 11th gen. You could get a B560, Z490, or Z590 board and put either a 10400 or 11400 on it, which would again let you take advantage of faster RAM, but also let you upgrade your CPU to something more modern. This would probably cost around $300.

 

4. Upgrade your motherboard and your CPU to AMD. You could get a B550 board and pair that with a 3700X or 5600X for around $420 total.

Edited July 4, 2021 by YoungBlade
OP edited to include monitor, so my first idea is irrelevant

[kasgrieve]

17 minutes ago, rice guru said:

how much memory does your system have? generally these days if your not at 16 gigs of RAM yet that would be the first thing for me to upgrade considerign you already upgraded that. if you wanted to a GPu upgrade wouldn't' hurt especially if you got a 1440p monitor. @ 1080 p though I think your cpu and gpu is fine otherwise.

 

 

Sorry forgot to put that, I have 2 sticks of 16gb ddr4 ram  and my monitor is also overkill to my setup, an Asus ROG SWIFT curved PG349Q, It only has 120hz but it's also an ultrawide curved monitor which I compromised the extra refresh rate for

[kasgrieve]

23 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

Since you're on an H310 board, your RAM speed will be limited to 2666, which will limit CPU performance even if you upgrade. Also, those boards often don't have great VRMs, so it might not be able to handle an i7 or i9 CPU.

 

Here are my four thoughts:

 

1. Upgrade your monitor to 1440p high refresh rate. By going to 1440p, you'll make the system more GPU limited, so your slower CPU and RAM won't be the primary system bottleneck anymore. Yes, you won't be able to reach higher FPS, and in fact will probably lose FPS in some games, but you'll get to game at 1440p instead of 1080p. Plus, if you get a decent 1440p monitor, then you'll be happy to have it when you do upgrade to a new computer. This would cost around $300.

 

2. Upgrade your motherboard. If you go to a Z390 board, you'll be able to run your RAM at a more reasonable speed, which will help your CPU out while giving you the option of upgrading to a 9700K or 9900K later on. This would cost around $150-200.

 

3. Upgrade your motherboard and your CPU to 10th or 11th gen. You could get a B560, Z490, or Z590 board and put either a 10400 or 11400 on it, which would again let you take advantage of faster RAM, but also let you upgrade your CPU to something more modern. This would probably cost around $300.

 

4. Upgrade your motherboard and your CPU to AMD. You could get a B550 board and pair that with a 3700X or 5600X for around $420 total.

Honestly don't think I can upgrade my monitor anymore, it's an Asus ROG SWIFT curved PG349Q, 120hz curved ultrawide, which I believe is another bottleneck to my system which is why I want to upgrade so I can more efficiently use this monitor to it's fullest, so you're saying motherboard first then cpu, and not to worry about swapping the 2060 to a 3070/3070ti?

And motherboard so something like a MSI B550M PRO-VDH?

[rice guru]

3 minutes ago, kasgrieve said:

Sorry forgot to put that, I have 2 sticks of 16gb ddr4 ram  and my monitor is also overkill to my setup, an Asus ROG SWIFT curved PG349Q, It only has 120hz but it's also an ultrawide curved monitor which I compromised the extra refresh rate for

cool then in that case the first thing I would upgrade on that is honenstly the gpu. the 2060 is a great card and with the gpu market normalizing i think you can take more advantage of your monitor with a better card. and your cpu should still be fine for the most part. but that could also need a upgrade soon if you felt like it. another thing of preference. is personally I like having more storage. than what you have but it would just add to overall quality of life is just having more storage. 1 tb +240gb is not exactly what I consider great in the 100 gb + game era

[kasgrieve]

Just now, rice guru said:

cool then in that case the first thing I would upgrade on that is honenstly the gpu. the 2060 is a great card and with the gpu market normalizing i think you can take more advantage of your monitor with a better card. and your cpu should still be fine for the most part. but that could also need a upgrade soon if you felt like it. another thing of preference. is personally I like having more storage. than what you have but it would just add to overall quality of life is just having more storage. 1 tb +240gb is not exactly what I consider great in the 100 gb + game era

I do agree with the storage, it is annoying espescially the SSD being only 240gb and it's on the agenda, just wanna work on getting the best performance first, then I will upgrade the storage especially the SSD so I can get load times super quick, I was looking at cards like the 3070/3070ti but it's whether they will run well with the rest of what i have atm, or it will be severely bottlenecked by cpu, motherboard or power and in fact it's better to upgrade one of the others first or not?

[YoungBlade]

9 minutes ago, kasgrieve said:

Honestly don't think I can upgrade my monitor anymore, it's an Asus ROG SWIFT curved PG349Q, 120hz curved ultrawide, which I believe is another bottleneck to my system which is why I want to upgrade so I can more efficiently use this monitor to it's fullest, so you're saying motherboard first then cpu, and not to worry about swapping the 2060 to a 3070/3070ti?

I didn't realize you were using a 1440p ultrawide. That should mean that the GPU is your primary system bottleneck. The 2060 is a decently capable 1440p card, but thats 16:9 1440p. 1440p ultrawide is much more GPU intensive.

 

I'm not sure why your CPU would be reaching 100% in games. At that resolution, almost any CPU from the last 4 years should be able to keep up with the 2060 easily.

[IkeaGnome]

29 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

You could get a B560, Z490, or Z590 board and put either a 10400 or 11400 on it

B560 would make most sense with either of those chips. It would allow for RAM XMP, but not be marked up because of Zx90 chipset. It's also likely to be cheaper than a 490 since they're more EOL.

[dizmo]

There isn't really anything you can upgrade in the current market that would really be worth it. Maybe look to see if you can find a used CPU with hyperthreading or more cores? Other than that, as mentioned, storage would be a worthwhile upgrade.

 

27 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

Since you're on an H310 board, your RAM speed will be limited to 2666, which will limit CPU performance even if you upgrade. Also, those boards often don't have great VRMs, so it might not be able to handle an i7 or i9 CPU.

 

Here are my four thoughts:

 

1. Upgrade your monitor to 1440p high refresh rate. By going to 1440p, you'll make the system more GPU limited, so your slower CPU and RAM won't be the primary system bottleneck anymore. Yes, you won't be able to reach higher FPS, and in fact will probably lose FPS in some games, but you'll get to game at 1440p instead of 1080p. Plus, if you get a decent 1440p monitor, then you'll be happy to have it when you do upgrade to a new computer. This would cost around $300.

 

2. Upgrade your motherboard. If you go to a Z390 board, you'll be able to run your RAM at a more reasonable speed, which will help your CPU out while giving you the option of upgrading to a 9700K or 9900K later on. This would cost around $150-200.

 

3. Upgrade your motherboard and your CPU to 10th or 11th gen. You could get a B560, Z490, or Z590 board and put either a 10400 or 11400 on it, which would again let you take advantage of faster RAM, but also let you upgrade your CPU to something more modern. This would probably cost around $300.

 

4. Upgrade your motherboard and your CPU to AMD. You could get a B550 board and pair that with a 3700X or 5600X for around $420 total.

He already has a monitor that requires more power than a 2560x1440 unit. His motherboard can also probably run RAM at a pretty high speed; my H310 board runs RAM at 3466.

[rice guru]

12 minutes ago, kasgrieve said:

I do agree with the storage, it is annoying espescially the SSD being only 240gb and it's on the agenda, just wanna work on getting the best performance first, then I will upgrade the storage especially the SSD so I can get load times super quick, I was looking at cards like the 3070/3070ti but it's whether they will run well with the rest of what i have atm, or it will be severely bottlenecked by cpu, motherboard or power and in fact it's better to upgrade one of the others first or not?

1440p your risk of bottleneck is pretty low. You should be fine with that cpu .

[YoungBlade]

3 minutes ago, dizmo said:

He already has a monitor that requires more power than a 2560x1440 unit. His motherboard can also probably run RAM at a pretty high speed; my H310 board runs RAM at 3466.

He edited the OP after the fact to include the monitor; it didn't used to say that.

 

And H310 boards are not supposed to allow memory overclocking. At the very least, the OPs board does not.

[kasgrieve]

4 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

I didn't realize you were using a 1440p ultrawide. That should mean that the GPU is your primary system bottleneck. The 2060 is a decently capable 1440p card, but thats 16:9 1440p. 1440p ultrawide is much more GPU intensive.

 

I'm not sure why your CPU would be reaching 100% in games. At that resolution, almost any CPU from the last 4 years should be able to keep up with the 2060 easily.

It's not in games, it's on the desktop when browsing when it can be slow and seems to throttle/ reach that steady 100% from doing almost nothing with one or two processes, games I can't tell if it's the cpu or gpu that's the problem, I always assumed it was the gpu as it's a 2060 and I've got this ott monitor but then I have limited knowledge to thermal throttling, cpus and motherboards so maybe something else is more important to upgrade first to get the most out of performance

[YoungBlade]

4 minutes ago, kasgrieve said:

It's not in games, it's on the desktop when browsing when it can be slow and seems to throttle/ reach that steady 100% from doing almost nothing with one or two processes, games I can't tell if it's the cpu or gpu that's the problem, I always assumed it was the gpu as it's a 2060 and I've got this ott monitor but then I have limited knowledge to thermal throttling, cpus and motherboards so maybe something else is more important to upgrade first to get the most out of performance

Do you have any background applications, like anti-virus software, that might spontaneously use the whole CPU?

[kasgrieve]

2 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

Do you have any background applications, like anti-virus software, that might spontaneously use the whole CPU?

Nope I have very little running constantly, under task manager, basic things like having 1 or 2 tabs open on either opera or chrome end up equalling 60+% and that often goes for most programs, which I don't know is normal and not to worry, I need an upgrade or there's something else that could be causing that

[dizmo]

16 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

He edited the OP after the fact to include the monitor; it didn't used to say that.

 

And H310 boards are not supposed to allow memory overclocking. At the very least, the OPs board does not.

Ah, I see. However, even if the board doesn't state it supports it, it might. Mine does.

[kasgrieve]

20 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

He edited the OP after the fact to include the monitor; it didn't used to say that.

 

And H310 boards are not supposed to allow memory overclocking. At the very least, the OPs board does not.

The board suggested, the b550m seems like a great swap to make with the increased ram speeds and increased max ram of 128gb from my current 2 slot max of 32gb, I also have just learnt my current ram is 3000mhz which is higher than my current board's max of 2666mhz, which could of also been causing problems.

Also would the AMD over the current intel chipset on the board make that much of a difference?

[kasgrieve]

I also noticed my ram clock speeds are around 1066mhz when they're both ddr 3000mhz, which I don't know if that's a problem and/or if it's caused by my motherboard having a max ram speed of 2666mhz and that's an indicator to upgrade my motherboard before both gpu and cpu or that I should overclock which I also don't know how to overclock to get the most out of my machine and whether I should?

[YoungBlade]

12 hours ago, kasgrieve said:

I also noticed my ram clock speeds are around 1066mhz when they're both ddr 3000mhz, which I don't know if that's a problem and/or if it's caused by my motherboard having a max ram speed of 2666mhz and that's an indicator to upgrade my motherboard before both gpu and cpu or that I should overclock which I also don't know how to overclock to get the most out of my machine and whether I should?

DDR stands for "double data rate" because it sends data twice per clock cycle. If your RAM is running at 1066MHz, that means its speed is 2133, which is the default for DDR4 and what most RAM will run out-of-box.

 

You can get some free performance by turning it up to 1333MHz (2666) in your BIOS. That should be a decent performance gain.

[kasgrieve]

13 hours ago, YoungBlade said:

DDR stands for "double data rate" because it sends data twice per clock cycle. If your RAM is running at 1066MHz, that means its speed is 2133, which is the default for DDR4 and what most RAM will run out-of-box.

 

You can get some free performance by turning it up to 1333MHz (2666) in your BIOS. That should be a decent performance gain.

Oh wow thank you! I just changed it over to 2666 in my bios, is there anything else I should change in my bios to get more out of my machine?