Upgrade path for old system

[orso7]

Budget (including currency): depends... not really limited but not going to blow out money on overpriced parts just to get them right now. (details below)

Country: Germany

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 

Games: 

Mainly modern tripple A games on high details like Cyberpunk, Dying Light 2 ...

Some Multiplayer games like CS, The Forest 1/2, 

Programs: 

Solidworks, Blender, Keyshot, Photoshop/Lightroom, Resolve (not often and mainly <4k)

Other details 

My current PC is getting a bit old now and won't run recent games great anymore, also I would really like a bit more "eyecandy" in game. For other applications it is alright (as long as I don't work with too big files in blender or Solidworks) but ofc could be quicker, only Resolve is making Problems from time to time because of the vram size.

Current Build:

- Intel Core i7 7700K

- Gigabyte Nvidia Geforce GTX 970

- 48Gb DDR4 Ram (2x8Gb + 2x16Gb)

- be quiet! Straight Power 10 700W

- Samsung 960 Evo M.2 500gb (bootdrive)

- Another 2 Sata SSDs think they are Samung and Crucial

- 2 HDDs

- Main Montior 3440x1440 60Hz (might be upgraded sooner or later for a Monitor with HDR support and better color accuracy, maybe 4K but not really my focus)

- Secondary 2560x1440 60Hz

 

My Idea for the last year or so was to just wait until the enormous prices for graphics cards come down a bit and go for a 3080 (yeah this might be a bit overkill for 1440p but I want to be able to max out most titles for some time) and upgrade CPU/Mainboard later this year, maybe wait for the new generation and for the prices to drop a bit. My guess is at least for gaming the bottleneck right now is the graphics card.

Part 1 (~1000-1100€ depending on how much the cards go down rn 3080s start at 999.-)

- RTX 3080

- be quiet! Straight Power 11 850W (my 700W might not be enough)

Part 2 (~500€):

Either waiting for new generation or a 5800X + whatever mainboard is sufficient (I don't really need a fancy MB)

 

Is this a clever way to do the Upgrade? I always like to go in portions when upgrading.

Would it be wise to maybe even go higher with the PSU wattage?

Is there maybe a better CPU Option or is waiting for the next gen the way to go?

Any other recommendations for Parts or upgrades I should do?

 

Thanks in advance for your help and tips!

 

 

 

[Jonathan Lee]

26 minutes ago, orso7 said:

Is there maybe a better CPU Option or is waiting for the next gen the way to go?

I think 12th gen intel i7-12700 is a better value at the moment, but that may change by the time you upgrade your CPU.

 

26 minutes ago, orso7 said:

Would it be wise to maybe even go higher with the PSU wattage?

Never hurts to have extra headroom for them power hungry GPU's

 

27 minutes ago, orso7 said:

Main Montior 3440x1440 60Hz

 

27 minutes ago, orso7 said:

3080 (yeah this might be a bit overkill for 1440p but I want to be able to max out most titles for some time)

Nah that's not overkill for ultra-wide. Might even be underpowered depending on the game (especially in vram department). I would say it's really good for 1440p standard.

 

Looks like a good plan to me though

[orso7]

Thank you two for giving your insight. 

20 minutes ago, 8tg said:

Gpu upgrade first, the 7700k will still hold its own for some time, there are people running current AAA titles on 4770/4790k’s right now.

After the gpu upgrade that’s when you should move platforms.

Your psu is enough currently.

I would wait for future cpu generations, only really upgrade to a different platform when you’re really seeing your 7700K hold you back, I imagine give it a few more years and you’ll see games start to take advantage even further of high core counts, much like what happened in the core2 era where it took 5+ years until the q6600 was ever viable over the e6700

You mean the 700W is enough for a 3080? I am just quite unsure because of all the horror stories of exploding PSUs that take other components with them (Linus stated that also in the last extreme tech upgrade for hoffman)
Regarding the CPU, you really think I can go on with that for some years still? that would be great, I don't care if photoshop filters apply a bit slower or RAW previews are rendered slower.

19 minutes ago, Jonathan Lee said:

I think 12th gen intel i7-12700 is a better value at the moment, but that may change by the time you upgrade your CPU.

 

Never hurts to have extra headroom for them power hungry GPU's

 

 

Nah that's not overkill for ultra-wide. Might even be underpowered depending on the game (especially in vram department). I would say it's really good for 1440p standard.

 

Looks like a good plan to me though

So you would consider going for 1000W instead of 850W? I mean, the price difference is ~150€ to 180€ so that is no limiting factor if I can be sure to keep the PSU for the coming generations (normally the PSU isn't changed for a long time in my PCs as long as the wattage is ok).

[Jonathan Lee]

1 minute ago, orso7 said:

You mean the 700W is enough for a 3080? I am just quite unsure because of all the horror stories of exploding PSUs that take other components with them (Linus stated that also in the last extreme tech upgrade for hoffman)

You have a good quality power supply shouldn't explode. You might get random shut downs if you are drawing too much power

 

1 minute ago, orso7 said:

So you would consider going for 1000W instead of 850W? I mean, the price difference is ~150€ to 180€ so that is no limiting factor if I can be sure to keep the PSU for the coming generations (normally the PSU isn't changed for a long time in my PCs as long as the wattage is ok).

Yea I'd go for it for only 30 euros diff. I hear there may be a new PSU standard in the near future though

[orso7]

11 hours ago, Jonathan Lee said:

I hear there may be a new PSU standard in the near future though

Yeah ATX12V but I am hoping for its release for years now. Would be so much easier for cable routing. Think the first time I heard about it was 5 years ago (think it was just an idea from a manufacturer then not a atx standard) guess it will be another 5 before this gets to mainstream.

 

Another quick question that got to me.... what is the advantage of the be quiet straight power platinum over the normal straight power? The platinum has a full bridge rectifier which they state should be more efficient but from the datasheet they have the same efficiency (and everything else) only the platinum has a higher standby power draw.

[Jonathan Lee]

8 hours ago, orso7 said:

Yeah ATX12V but I am hoping for its release for years now. Would be so much easier for cable routing. Think the first time I heard about it was 5 years ago (think it was just an idea from a manufacturer then not a atx standard) guess it will be another 5 before this gets to mainstream.

 

Another quick question that got to me.... what is the advantage of the be quiet straight power platinum over the normal straight power? The platinum has a full bridge rectifier which they state should be more efficient but from the datasheet they have the same efficiency (and everything else) only the platinum has a higher standby power draw.

Not super familiar with the build difference between the two. The only difference is that it has a higher efficiency rating and typically is bought if people want to save some money on power. It's relatively negligible unless you have high power cost or run your PC 24/7

[Fraya]

the title to this topic says "upgrade" so if your thinking of maxing out your current system without renewing all the parts, then look into a used or reconditioned 20 series RTX GPU, maybe you can find another 2X 16GB memory kit the same manufacture as you have currently and then go to 64 gb overall. 

upgrade bigger m.2 nvme drives (clone drive tool so you don't have to reinstall and so it keeps all your current files and data. 

there is also now lots of reasonable used CPU's on the market, so you could max out your motherboard and go for a used i9.

not sure what motherboard you currently use? sometimes you can update the bios and be able to fit a newer gen CPU to that board. 

myself i still have a Z370 i Gaming ROG m-itx m/board (8th Gen) and was able to fit a i9 9900 CPU.  i match it up to a 2070 Super RTX and can run AAA games no problem. 

look for a 2080 Super or Ti if possible and make other upgrades if possible then in a few years you can do a full new build. 

[orso7]

7 hours ago, Fraya said:

the title to this topic says "upgrade" so if your thinking of maxing out your current system without renewing all the parts, then look into a used or reconditioned 20 series RTX GPU, maybe you can find another 2X 16GB memory kit the same manufacture as you have currently and then go to 64 gb overall. 

upgrade bigger m.2 nvme drives (clone drive tool so you don't have to reinstall and so it keeps all your current files and data. 

there is also now lots of reasonable used CPU's on the market, so you could max out your motherboard and go for a used i9.

not sure what motherboard you currently use? sometimes you can update the bios and be able to fit a newer gen CPU to that board. 

myself i still have a Z370 i Gaming ROG m-itx m/board (8th Gen) and was able to fit a i9 9900 CPU.  i match it up to a 2070 Super RTX and can run AAA games no problem. 

look for a 2080 Super or Ti if possible and make other upgrades if possible then in a few years you can do a full new build. 

Does the RAM Size difference make a performance difference? I originally built the system with 32Gb and happened to get a kit from the same brand/type from work (just different capacity). Switching to a bigger nvme was something I was thinking about but when I moved from a 256Gb sata ssd to this 512Gb one it was a HUGE pain in the ass to get it running (system would not boot without the original drive connected as far as I remember) can you recommend a guide for that procedure, I'd jump for a 1 or 2 Tb 980 pro if I come around a good deal.

 

My Mainboard is a Gigabyte GA-Z270X-Gaming 5 afaik this is only for 6th/7th gen Intel.

 

Regarding the graphics card, this isn't really an option just checked again and used 2080 ti's go for 850€, compared to a3080 for 999€ new.

 

Like I said in the first post, I could do a full system anytime if needed. I like to use my stuff as long as possible and therefore try to only change the part that is really limiting my needs. Also having the money doesn't mean I want to spend it all at once, who knows, maybe in the mean time something better/cheaper comes along. 

[Fraya]

If you don't want to reinstall the OS and keep all your old files etc then you would most likely have to stay with the same motherboard,  for the ram obviously more is better but not really need more than 64GB for most people, even a good 32GB kit is fine right now. 

if you get a Samsung m.2 drive you will most likely get there "disc clone" software with it.   i use a Seagate software that i got with a m.2 drive a few years ago and it still works well today and is easy to use. 

right now i have all "Team Group, T-Force" m.2 nvme SSD drives and never had any problems.  

its still not the end of the world if you want to get a new motherboard, don't even have to be the latest gen, as you can maybe find a good deal on a board in a sale and fit a last gen or so CPU also.  even though most people always want the latest and greatest new components, its not always affordable for others.  you can still build a good system with a mix of new but older gen components, then some used / reconditioned components, like a GPU as there so expensive and hard to get nowadays, but the used market has some decent ones. 

i would always review products before buying them and check out the sellers source, see if genuine and good feedback. 

 

so many options, if you do go for new motherboard then back up all our important files, pics, music, videos, documents etc onto an external drive first then later with a fresh install you can at least get back your important files and stuff. 

I live in Canada so hard for me to look at products, components in your area.  if you look hard enough there is sellers that do have refurbished and last gen components that are much lower pricing than new stuff. 

 

as for clone a drive, always back up first, then the new drive has to be formatted first before it can be used for cloning, most clone software has smart wizard programme that will allow you to format the new drive and then move your old data onto the new drive leaving lots of extra space if you increased the capacity of the drive.  

i usually will double the size of more.   if you run something like Microsoft flight sim, get a 2TB drive.