What should I upgrade next?

[Venomriktus]

Budget (including currency): Around 20K (ZAR)

Country: South Africa

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: AAA Games (Assassins Creed, Watch Dogs etc)

Other details

Current Specs: 
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790
GPU: GTX 1070
RAM: 16GB DDR3 1600Mhz (2 x 8GB) - Running in Single-Channel Mode
Motherboard: MSI Z87-GD65
PSU: Antec 750W High-Current Gamer Gold-Rated

I have been thinking about upgrading my PC soon. As you can see, I am still running DDR3 memory and the CPU has a few years on it now. My original plan, due to GPU prices what they are and motherboard etc having a few years on it, was to use my budget to buy a new motherboard, CPU and RAM and hold onto my GTX 1070 for a while longer, and save up for a new GPU after that. But I was also thinking, buying a new GPU will still probably give me the absolute best performance boost, so I am a bit torn, as I can't do both immediately. I can either 1) Buy a new GPU and save up again for new board, RAM and CPU or 2) Buy a new motherboard, RAM and CPU and hold onto the GTX 1070 for a while, and save up again after that to buy a new GPU later. 

What should I do? What would you do in my position? Would you go for option 1, 2, or do something else entirely?

 

[aaradorn]

I'd invest in a new CPU, motherboard and memory, you have a non OC CPU so you could really be limited by your clock and core count in the future. If you want something budget friendly I would look at AMD, they have been using the same socket for a while now so you could buy an earlier model ryzen with the newest motherboard and still uprade in the future. (double check compatibility just to be sure) 

 

Overall if you are still running games in 1080P the 1070 is still more than capable enough, invest in a new CPU, Mobo and ram, it will still give a huge performance boost.

[ahmad13610]

sell all in

20K ZAR = 1251$

maybe can sold at 650-700$(gpu only reach 450-500$). let say you got 650$ new income

 

n now you've 1251+650 = 1901$

build new then,

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-11400F 2.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($189.00 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus PRIME B560-PLUS ATX LGA1200 Motherboard  ($119.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Silicon Power XPOWER Turbine 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($50.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($40.99 @ Lenovo) 
Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 3060 Ti LHR 8 GB KO GAMING OC V2 Video Card  ($935.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: DIYPC DIY-A1-W ATX Mid Tower Case  ($44.97 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: BitFenix Whisper M 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.90 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: AOC CU34G2X/BK 34.0" 3440x1440 144 Hz Monitor  ($459.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1901.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-12-16 05:51 EST-0500

 

[Venomriktus]

Thank you so much for both answers, I sincerely appreciate it! Would you guys say since DDR5 has basically come out, that it would be wiser to wait for AMD's rebuttal for Alder Lake rather than upgrade right now, at the end of DDR4's lifespan?  

[Jonathan Lee]

You might be waiting for 1-2 years for DDR5 prices, availability and performance to be reasonable. Current DDR5 doesn't have much real world difference from current DDR4