Looking to upgrade & optimize my Franken-system

[Halixis]

REASON FOR UPGRADE / BACKGROUND INFO:

I'm looking to give my aging system a much-needed refresh, focused primarily on gaming and secondarily on personal projects as a 2D/3D digital artist. I call it a Franken-system because it was originally an off-the-shelf Lenovo, but has since been upgraded in piecemeal fashion as parts have died, been replaced, or chugged too much over the years. I'm not a complete beginner at troubleshooting/maintaining PCs and I have a decent handle on part terminology, but when it comes to choosing the best parts to upgrade my current setup without either A.) breaking the bank, or B.) letting individual components bottleneck others too much, I don't really know where to start. I'm hoping y'all can help!

 

BUDGET / LOCATION:

I'm located in the US and I'd like to keep the budget under $1,000 USD.

 

AIM / USAGE:

Primarily gaming, but no competitive multiplayer, so I don't have crazy FPS or or refresh rate requirements. Think more along the lines of Baldur's Gate 3, Skyrim with 200+ mods, modded Minecraft with shaders/volumetric lighting.

I'd also like it to handle my off-clock digital art better than it does now. I use Maya, Blender, Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.

 

MONITORS:

Primary Monitor: ASUS VS24A 1920 x 1200 59.950 Hz

Secondary Monitor: ASUS VS229 1920 x 1080 59.940 Hz

Tertiary Monitor: Cintiq 22HDT 1920 x 1080 60 Hz (graphics tablet)

 

CURRENT PC:
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 CPU @ 3.60GHz, 3601 Mhz

Motherboard: ASUS B85M-G R2.0

RAM: Samsung M378B1G73DB0-CK0 4 x 8GB DDR3

Bulk Drive: Seagate ST2000DX001 2TB

Boot Drive: Samsung 860 EVO 1TB

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB

PSU: Corsair CX750M

 

WHAT I NEED HELP WITH:

I'm know I definitely need to upgrade my case and cooling first and foremost, the original case wasn't workable (proprietary hunk of plastic, boo) and the case I moved the guts to when the original PSU died got dropped down some stairs by a mover, so it's currently in a secondhand case a friend gave me in a pinch. Some old gigantic Corsair one, dented, no front bay covers, front IO doesn't work. Similarly, I'm sure the cooling I have is crap so I'm assuming I'm getting a new CPU cooler and case fans, but I've never contended with trying to set up airflow properly so I'd like advice on a compatible case/some guidance on getting good cooling. Cable management as well, I want to do it right. Beyond those obvious starting points, I'd like to bring my PC up to a more modern standard of performance in general, but I don't know which parts I'd get the most boost for my buck out of upgrading.

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

[Boombi]

If I were you I would buy a whole new PC and keep the graphics card. It still gets the job down (I have one and play games on a 1440p monitor I reach 144hz in casual games but obviously triple A does go much further than 60 with medium settings). And with the current GPU pricing I would still wait to buy a new one, I think you probably were in that optic too.

 

Do you want to stay on Intel, do you have a favourite or do you just not care ?

[Energycore]

Welcome to the forums!

 

There is tons of upgrade room for your system for sure. Your GPU can continue to work fine for a while and I recommend that you look at other things because graphics cards are still at inflated prices recently. With that said, your budget is really good and accommodates for quite a bit of upgrading, so let's get started with the rest of the system and then see if we can fit a good GPU in there.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($289.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright TRUE Spirit 140 Direct 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler  ($42.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B550 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Team T-Create Classic 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL22 Memory  ($136.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Lian Li Lancool II Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case  ($109.99 @ B&H)
Total: $694.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-07-13 17:55 EDT-0400

 

 

Ok so, this is $700. I would save up a bit more while you wait for a new GPU, but if you think this is too much money for the non-GPU upgrades, we can downgrade the motherboard to save $30 and the case to save up to $50. I chose a really nice case that will be super comfortable to work in and has very nice build quality.

 

If you're interested in a video card upgrade, you can get used GTX 1080s for around $400US (technically a bit below launch price, but consider that this is a 2017 card). There is basically no worthwhile new GPU available outside of the entry level market right now.

[Boombi]

5 minutes ago, Energycore said:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($289.99 @ Amazon)

Maybe change that to a 3800x or even 5800x as he said he liked to work on 3d digital art.

I mean yeah he's coming from a 4790 so the change will already be quiet big, but I found a 5800 on amazon for $397.99 which is quiet a lot more obviously

but he can probably find one cheaper or go for the 3800x which still is quiet good.

[Energycore]

Just now, Boombi said:

Maybe change that to a 3800x or even 5800x as he said he liked to work on 3d digital art.

I mean yeah he's coming from a 4790 so the change will already be quiet big, but I found a 5800 on amazon for $397.99 which is quiet a lot more obviously

but he can probably find one cheaper or go for the 3800x which still is quiet good.

I disagree. For one, the Ryzen 5600X has similar multicore performance to the 3800X, despite being only 6 cores. This is because the single core performance improved very significantly compared to Ryzen 3000.

 

In the case of the 5800X, I think if you're not someone who already owns a business and is already making money with their computer, the $120 price difference does not justify the jump from 6 to 8 cores in my opinion. A Ryzen 5600X is the only CPU you need for consumer or prosumer workloads.

[Halixis]

5 minutes ago, Energycore said:

Welcome to the forums!

 

There is tons of upgrade room for your system for sure. Your GPU can continue to work fine for a while and I recommend that you look at other things because graphics cards are still at inflated prices recently. With that said, your budget is really good and accommodates for quite a bit of upgrading, so let's get started with the rest of the system and then see if we can fit a good GPU in there.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($289.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright TRUE Spirit 140 Direct 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler  ($42.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B550 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Team T-Create Classic 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL22 Memory  ($136.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Lian Li Lancool II Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case  ($109.99 @ B&H)
Total: $694.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-07-13 17:55 EDT-0400

 

 

Ok so, this is $700. I would save up a bit more while you wait for a new GPU, but if you think this is too much money for the non-GPU upgrades, we can downgrade the motherboard to save $30 and the case to save up to $50. I chose a really nice case that will be super comfortable to work in and has very nice build quality.

 

If you're interested in a video card upgrade, you can get used GTX 1080s for around $400US (technically a bit below launch price, but consider that this is a 2017 card). There is basically no worthwhile new GPU available outside of the entry level market right now.

Thanks for the welcome, wow you guys are fast! Hope to be able to learn and pay my knowledge forward like that someday, I really appreciate it.

But yes, I know how crazy GPU prices/availability are right now and I was fully prepared to stick with my old one for the time being. It's nothing amazing but it gets the job done, and I'm not trying to do anything too ambitious with it anyway. It's secondhand like the case is (I benefit from a brother who's always chasing the new hotness, so I get his hardware hand-me-downs from time to time lol.)

The RAM upgrade makes perfect sense as well, these sticks were original to the Lenovo (I think the only remaining original part?) but to my relatively-uneducated eye your picks look super solid and well within my budget.

Thanks so much for your reply!

[Boombi]

Yep, I know the price difference is quiet a lot he that will more likely not make a huge performance leap compared to the one he will get from his I7-4790.

But in any case this will be way below his budget which will allow him to spare the rest until the GPU's get back to their normal price. Blowing the rest of the budget on

a GPU right now seems like a poor choice.

[Halixis]

2 minutes ago, Energycore said:

I disagree. For one, the Ryzen 5600X has similar multicore performance to the 3800X, despite being only 6 cores. This is because the single core performance improved very significantly compared to Ryzen 3000.

 

In the case of the 5800X, I think if you're not someone who already owns a business and is already making money with their computer, the $120 price difference does not justify the jump from 6 to 8 cores in my opinion. A Ryzen 5600X is the only CPU you need for consumer or prosumer workloads.

If it helps clarify, I am a professional artist but I have a workstation provided by my employer, so this system is only for personal work, gaming and the occasional commission. I don't animate on it, I'm strictly a 3D modeller and texture artist, and my 2D graphics work tends to only tax my system because of the sheer file size high-res digital paintings can reach when you have tons of layers.

The perspective here is valuable, if an upgrade is a matter of diminishing returns for the investment I might opt for the more cost-effective option.

[Halixis]

5 minutes ago, Boombi said:

Yep, I know the price difference is quiet a lot he that will more likely not make a huge performance leap compared to the one he will get from his I7-4790.

But in any case this will be way below his budget which will allow him to spare the rest until the GPU's get back to their normal price. Blowing the rest of the budget on

a GPU right now seems like a poor choice.

I agree, for sure. I don't have any real issues with my current GPU, and if I'd end up overpaying for even a modest upgrade right now, I'd much rather wait and save the remainder for something better when (if? hopefully when lol) the market regains some sanity.

[Energycore]

Just now, Halixis said:

sheer file size high-res digital paintings can reach when you have tons of layers.

I am going to recommend you a 64GB RAM Kit then. It'll remove the limitation of working with huge 50mpixel + images and tons of layers. If you consider the additional $100 or so to be worth it, 64GB is more than you'll ever need for the next decade, probably.

 

Just now, Halixis said:

The perspective here is valuable, if an upgrade is a matter of diminishing returns for the investment I might opt for the more cost-effective option.

I would say if you're looking for cost efficiency, it doesn't get better than the Ryzen 5600X right now. You could downgrade for even more efficiency to a $210 last gen Ryzen 3600, but you can afford the 25% faster single core CPU.

[Halixis]

1 minute ago, Energycore said:

I am going to recommend you a 64GB RAM Kit then. It'll remove the limitation of working with huge 50mpixel + images and tons of layers. If you consider the additional $100 or so to be worth it, 64GB is more than you'll ever need for the next decade, probably.

 

I would say if you're looking for cost efficiency, it doesn't get better than the Ryzen 5600X right now. You could downgrade for even more efficiency to a $210 last gen Ryzen 3600, but you can afford the 25% faster single core CPU.

Okay, here's a big question in my mind then, although it might get a bit niche. I love the sound of beating Photoshop into submission with massive quantities of RAM... but Adobe programs are also notorious for being badly optimized and not taking advantage of the resources they're given, or in some cases even knowing how to address them. The extra ~$100 would be well worth it to me for Photoshop to stop pitching fits and lagging my brushstrokes, but not if it's likely that extra RAM will just get ignored. (If there's a software-based way around this issue as well, I'd also be all ears.)