5 Year upgrade

[Sassquash]

Budget (including currency): 

800-1300 USD

Country: USA

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

 General AAA gaming, heavily modded RTS games, high/ultra settings.

Other details 

 I generally upgrade my PC every 5 years or so. I don't have any real performance issues with my rig right now but I'm starting to get the itch to upgrade. 

 

     My current specs are: 6700K, Z170A MB, 240mm AIO, 16GB 3000 mhz C18, 2070S, 256GB Gen 3 m.2 SSD, 1TB Sata SSD, 850W PSU, 144HZ 27 INCH 1080P monitor.

 

    With my current GPU I don't feel it's worth upgrading until 1-2 more GPU generations. 

 

   CPU wise, I've been eyeing the 12700k. I know it's overkill but with the next 5 years in mind I don't mind going a little overboard in this area.

 

    If I go with a 12700K will I be leaving any noticeable performance on the table if I go with a cheaper 660 series motherboard over a 690? I've read the power delivery is better on the higher end series boards but is that even an issue if I don't plan to overclock?

 

   DDR5 pricing has started to come down to earth now and I can see several different 32GB kits in the 300$ range. Over the next 5 or so years will the difference between a 5600MHZ DDR5 kit and a higher end, higher capacity, lower latency set of DDR4 be all that noticeable in my use case?

 

 The same goes for Gen 4 M.2. Will I even notice the performance increase over my current Gen 3 M.2 and SATA drive?

 

    Would I be better served just upgrading CPU, 32GB DDR4, and a nicer 1440P or 4K monitor? 

 

    I appreciate any feedback you can provide.

 

 

 

[191x7]

Let's first consider the elephant in the room. You need a 1440p monitor. Get that first.

 

The rest - wait for the new CPU generation this fall/winter.

[dizmo]

I wouldn't bother getting DDR5 honestly. It's in it's infancy, and won't mature for quite a few years.

Highly unlikely you'll notice the difference with Gen4 either.

Honestly? If it was me? Just get something like a 5700x, B550 motherboard and call it a day. Or if you're open to used, you can easily find a Ryzen 9 5900, 5800x, etc for superb prices with a little hunting.

 

5 years is a long time, and no one has a crystal ball. What with the advent of DirectStorage, you might be pushing it in a few years. None of us can tell if that will be the case or not, but it is a possibility you should be aware of.

 

1 hour ago, 191x7 said:

Let's first consider the elephant in the room. You need a 1440p monitor. Get that first.

 

The rest - wait for the new CPU generation this fall/winter.

Eh his rig is still in the realm of 144hz 1080p ultra across all titles. He's not looking to get a new GPU.

[Jonathan Lee]

11 hours ago, Sassquash said:

CPU wise, I've been eyeing the 12700k. I know it's overkill but with the next 5 years in mind I don't mind going a little overboard in this area.

That's a great choice for a 5 year CPU imo

 

11 hours ago, Sassquash said:

If I go with a 12700K will I be leaving any noticeable performance on the table if I go with a cheaper 660 series motherboard over a 690? I've read the power delivery is better on the higher end series boards but is that even an issue if I don't plan to overclock?

 

Current price difference between Z690 and B660 is not too different (at least the good ones), so I would go with Z690

 

11 hours ago, Sassquash said:

 DDR5 pricing has started to come down to earth now and I can see several different 32GB kits in the 300$ range. Over the next 5 or so years will the difference between a 5600MHZ DDR5 kit and a higher end, higher capacity, lower latency set of DDR4 be all that noticeable in my use case?

I would stick with your current ram kit and add a 2nd 2x8 or 2x16. You can get Z690 DDR4 boards

 

11 hours ago, Sassquash said:

DDR5 pricing has started to come down to earth now and I can see several different 32GB kits in the 300$ range. Over the next 5 or so years will the difference between a 5600MHZ DDR5 kit and a higher end, higher capacity, lower latency set of DDR4 be all that noticeable in my use case?

In the next 5 years, DDR5 would probably be significantly cheaper and actually have a performance difference over DDR4. Current kits of DDR5 aren't much better than latest DDR4

 

11 hours ago, Sassquash said:

The same goes for Gen 4 M.2. Will I even notice the performance increase over my current Gen 3 M.2 and SATA drive?

No real world performance difference. Gen 3 NVME is plenty for most people, but at the current prices, I would go for gen 4 if you have the budget.

 

11 hours ago, Sassquash said:

Would I be better served just upgrading CPU, 32GB DDR4, and a nicer 1440P or 4K monitor? 

Yes 1440p monitor would be really nice upgrade over 1080p. I wouldn't recommend 4K because you would struggle to keep up with AAA games unless you always get the best GPU every gen. 

 

What I would go with for upgrading:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor  ($374.99 @ Best Buy) 
CPU Cooler: Deepcool AK620 68.99 CFM CPU Cooler  ($64.98 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 GAMING X DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($209.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: ADATA XPG GAMMIX D20 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($56.99 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: ViewSonic VX2768-2KP-MHD 27.0" 2560x1440 144 Hz Monitor  ($279.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $986.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-04-06 11:49 EDT-0400

 

Alternatively, you could sell your current CPU, Mobo, ram and cooler as a set on ebay and get a new 2x16 GB ram kit