Upgrading from 2070 Super

[zidynnala]

Budget (including currency): $1000 to $1500-ish?

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Cyberpunk 2077, Microsoft Flight Sim, Borderlands 3/Tiny Tina, Destiny 2

Other details: 

I'm built my computer right around the time the pandemic started with the idea I'll upgrade the GPU later in the year when the nVidia 3000 series came out. Except then, as we all know, the chip crisis and the cryptocurrency bubble put a kibosh in that plan. 

 

So it's now 3 years old and I really want a nicer GPU. I do okay in Cyberpunk when dropping the visual settings down, but I really want to play it, and so many other games, with the high graphics settings they deserve. I've saved up a bit of money, putting aside $20-$30 each paycheck adds up over 3 years. I could drop it all on the GPU and get a 4080 or RX 7900, but I don't want to go from being limited by my GPU to being limited by my CPU if I can avoid it. After all, the rest of my computer parts are also 3 years old. 

 

My current part list:

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE X570 AORUS Elite Wi-Fi
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
• RAM: XPG SPECTRIX D60G DDR4 3600MHz 16G (8G*2)
• SSD: PNY XLR8 CS3030 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Gen3
• Monitor: ASUS TUF Gaming 27" 2K HDR Gaming Monitor as primary (I have a ViewSonic 27" also for a secondary monitor)
• GPU: ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER
• Power Supply: MAINGEAR 850W GD FULL ATX MG
• CPU Cooler: ROG Strix LC II 360 AIO
• Case: Thermaltake View 71

So suggestions on what would be the best path for upgrading, both now and/or maybe in a few months when I can save up a bit more?

 

Thanks!

[filpo]

1 minute ago, zidynnala said:

Budget (including currency): $1000 to $1500-ish?

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Cyberpunk 2077, Microsoft Flight Sim, Borderlands 3/Tiny Tina, Destiny 2

Other details: 

I'm built my computer right around the time the pandemic started with the idea I'll upgrade the GPU later in the year when the nVidia 3000 series came out. Except then, as we all know, the chip crisis and the cryptocurrency bubble put a kibosh in that plan. 

 

So it's now 3 years old and I really want a nicer GPU. I do okay in Cyberpunk when dropping the visual settings down, but I really want to play it, and so many other games, with the high graphics settings they deserve. I've saved up a bit of money, putting aside $20-$30 each paycheck adds up over 3 years. I could drop it all on the GPU and get a 4080 or RX 7900, but I don't want to go from being limited by my GPU to being limited by my CPU if I can avoid it. After all, the rest of my computer parts are also 3 years old. 

 

My current part list:

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE X570 AORUS Elite Wi-Fi
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
• RAM: XPG SPECTRIX D60G DDR4 3600MHz 16G (8G*2)
• SSD: PNY XLR8 CS3030 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Gen3
• Monitor: ASUS TUF Gaming 27" 2K HDR Gaming Monitor as primary (I have a ViewSonic 27" also for a secondary monitor)
• GPU: ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER
• Power Supply: MAINGEAR 850W GD FULL ATX MG
• CPU Cooler: ROG Strix LC II 360 AIO
• Case: Thermaltake View 71

So suggestions on what would be the best path for upgrading, both now and/or maybe in a few months when I can save up a bit more?

 

Thanks!

Upgrade your cpu to a 5800x3d, then get a 980 pro while your at it and with 1000 bucks left to spend get a 7900 xtx and maybe a new case (like the H7 flow) with your change

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8w2XKp

 

[Queen Chrysalis]

Cyberpunk is extremely GPU-heavy, so I'd start with whatever GPU upgrade you think you need, and reassess whether or noth any other components should be upgraded after testing the system with a new GPU.

 

A 6700xt is about twice as fast and can be had quite cheap on the used market.  3080s and 6800xts are also usually a pretty good deal used, an 6900xt/6950xt would be about the fastest new card I'd pair with a 3600 for cyberpunk, and those can be under $600 new if your GPU can support it.  A 4070 would be a little slower, but still WAYYY faster than the 2070 super and it'll be a little easier on the PSU.  They're about $600 enw, and someof them come with traditional 6+2 pin PSU connectors so you wouldn't need an adapter like the 4070ti.

 

I wouldn't bother upgrading anything else, the rest of the system is still very fast for what you're playing.

[Agall]

40 minutes ago, zidynnala said:

Budget (including currency): $1000 to $1500-ish?

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Cyberpunk 2077, Microsoft Flight Sim, Borderlands 3/Tiny Tina, Destiny 2

Other details: 

I'm built my computer right around the time the pandemic started with the idea I'll upgrade the GPU later in the year when the nVidia 3000 series came out. Except then, as we all know, the chip crisis and the cryptocurrency bubble put a kibosh in that plan. 

 

So it's now 3 years old and I really want a nicer GPU. I do okay in Cyberpunk when dropping the visual settings down, but I really want to play it, and so many other games, with the high graphics settings they deserve. I've saved up a bit of money, putting aside $20-$30 each paycheck adds up over 3 years. I could drop it all on the GPU and get a 4080 or RX 7900, but I don't want to go from being limited by my GPU to being limited by my CPU if I can avoid it. After all, the rest of my computer parts are also 3 years old. 

 

My current part list:

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE X570 AORUS Elite Wi-Fi
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
• RAM: XPG SPECTRIX D60G DDR4 3600MHz 16G (8G*2)
• SSD: PNY XLR8 CS3030 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Gen3
• Monitor: ASUS TUF Gaming 27" 2K HDR Gaming Monitor as primary (I have a ViewSonic 27" also for a secondary monitor)
• GPU: ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER
• Power Supply: MAINGEAR 850W GD FULL ATX MG
• CPU Cooler: ROG Strix LC II 360 AIO
• Case: Thermaltake View 71

So suggestions on what would be the best path for upgrading, both now and/or maybe in a few months when I can save up a bit more?

 

Thanks!

My buddy recently went from a R7 2700 to a 7600 and saw massive improvements in most games while still using a 2070S. I'd say the R5 3600 is the most limiting component here and you should upgrade either way. In that scenario, I'd CPU swap for a 5800x3D first, then see if you still want more GPU performance after.

 

If you threw a 7900 XT or w/e in this sytem with a R5 3600, I think you'd be disappointed.

 

I also recently did this upgrade for my brother from an R5 3600 to my 5800x3D (replaced with a 7950x3D). He saw HUGE upgrades, especially in multiplayer games, mind you with an RTX 3070 and 1440p UW.

[PC HEROES]

53 minutes ago, zidynnala said:

Budget (including currency): $1000 to $1500-ish?

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Cyberpunk 2077, Microsoft Flight Sim, Borderlands 3/Tiny Tina, Destiny 2

Other details: 

I'm built my computer right around the time the pandemic started with the idea I'll upgrade the GPU later in the year when the nVidia 3000 series came out. Except then, as we all know, the chip crisis and the cryptocurrency bubble put a kibosh in that plan. 

 

So it's now 3 years old and I really want a nicer GPU. I do okay in Cyberpunk when dropping the visual settings down, but I really want to play it, and so many other games, with the high graphics settings they deserve. I've saved up a bit of money, putting aside $20-$30 each paycheck adds up over 3 years. I could drop it all on the GPU and get a 4080 or RX 7900, but I don't want to go from being limited by my GPU to being limited by my CPU if I can avoid it. After all, the rest of my computer parts are also 3 years old. 

 

My current part list:

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE X570 AORUS Elite Wi-Fi
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
• RAM: XPG SPECTRIX D60G DDR4 3600MHz 16G (8G*2)
• SSD: PNY XLR8 CS3030 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Gen3
• Monitor: ASUS TUF Gaming 27" 2K HDR Gaming Monitor as primary (I have a ViewSonic 27" also for a secondary monitor)
• GPU: ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER
• Power Supply: MAINGEAR 850W GD FULL ATX MG
• CPU Cooler: ROG Strix LC II 360 AIO
• Case: Thermaltake View 71

So suggestions on what would be the best path for upgrading, both now and/or maybe in a few months when I can save up a bit more?

 

Thanks!

Hello, I have made you a new build list. it features the Ryzen 7 5800x3D. I also upgraded the Motherboard because the non "S" X570 boards have a fan in them on the chip set that often fail and there is no telling on when they will stop working. The AIO you have can still be used. I added another kit of RAM of the same ones you already have to get you to 32GB which is becoming the new norm. Your M.2 drive is good as is and I added another one, a 2TB w/ 2GB Cache for your games and other storage so that it loads much faster as a Gen 4 drive would. I was able to get you a RX 6800XT in the budget. Your Power Supply will have to be reused. Lastly I had to throw in a new PC Case, the View 71 you have is so bad for Airflow and this is crucial so that your PC doesn't overheat and fry.

 

I have been building PCs for 30 years so if you have any questions please ask.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/D36CNc

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($325.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MPG X570S CARBON MAX WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($269.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: ADATA XPG SPECTRIX D60G 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Acer Predator GM7000 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Speedster MERC 319 CORE Radeon RX 6800 XT 16 GB Video Card  ($559.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 205 Mesh C ATX Mid Tower Case  ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1460.94

[Queen Chrysalis]

45 minutes ago, Agall said:

2700 to a 7600

The 3600 is a quite a bit faster than the 2700.  Your friend went from being GPu-bound to not being GPU-bound.  They would have had about the same result switching from a 2700 to a 3600.  It also HEAVILY depends on what they were playing and at what resolution.  Cyberpunk 2077 would have likely been nearly unchanged.

[Agall]

1 hour ago, Queen Chrysalis said:

The 3600 is a quite a bit faster than the 2700.  Your friend went from being GPu-bound to not being GPU-bound.  They would have had about the same result switching from a 2700 to a 3600.  It also HEAVILY depends on what they were playing and at what resolution.  Cyberpunk 2077 would have likely been nearly unchanged.

There's exceptions, in both scenarios they went from CPU bound to GPU bound. My brother seeing the biggest result since from a 3600 to 5800x3D, this minimum framerates in games like WoW doubled. So he went from a cinematic experience in cities/raids to a smooth +60 fps experience. Most the games people play on PC in 2023 are decades old poorly optimized games that highly benefit from the best IPC/frequency/architecture.

 

I saw the same habits before that when going from a 3950x to 5800x3D. Its just the way it is with two fat generational increases and both Intel and AMD drastically upping the amount of cache on the CPU.

 

Still waiting for a major benchmarker to do these kinds of tests so I don't have to explain this dozens of times across the three examples I've gotten to replicate this behavior. CPU upgrades for anything equal or greater than a GTX 1070ti is still viable in 2023, especially if you've got anything but Ryzen 5000,7000 or Intel 12th/13th generations.

 

Its especially beneficial in multiplayer games, something that benchmarkers don't touch because they just don't have the time to properly control for it. You don't see the same behavior in those games that you get from CPU benchmarks done at 720p on a suite of maybe 12 games no one actually plays all day like the latter option.

[zidynnala]

@PC HEROES 

 

Thanks for the detailed list! I have a few questions if you don't mind. You mentioned you're suggesting upgrading the MBD since the  non-S version of the 570x have a fan on them that can go out at any time. If the fan is currently working - and I'll double check that because I hadn't even considered that it might have gone out - I'd be good using the old MBD for the short while with the rest of the build, correct? Additionally, if you're suggesting I should replace my MBD and processor anyway, would it be better to look at the AM5 socket processors instead of replacing with another AM4 MBD and processor? Or even one of the Intel chips? I just trying to understand spending. Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but I put in an AM5 socket Ryzen 5 7600 and a similar x670 motherboard, even replacing the ram entirely with 32 gb gets me to a fairly similar price point.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/CNVMjZ

 

@filpo 

@Agall

@Queen Chrysalis

Thank you all for all the detailed information. I think, regardless of which order I go, the two biggest bottlenecks in the system at the moment are the GPU and the CPU, so I should plan on upgrading them both long term. With the price difference between Radeon and nVidia, I can get a high performing one RX 7800 and also upgrade the CPU for the same price I would in getting a similar nVidia card. So, I really appreciate you all looking this over for me! 

 

[PC HEROES]

21 minutes ago, zidynnala said:

@PC HEROES 

 

Thanks for the detailed list! I have a few questions if you don't mind. You mentioned you're suggesting upgrading the MBD since the  non-S version of the 570x have a fan on them that can go out at any time. If the fan is currently working - and I'll double check that because I hadn't even considered that it might have gone out - I'd be good using the old MBD for the short while with the rest of the build, correct? Additionally, if you're suggesting I should replace my MBD and processor anyway, would it be better to look at the AM5 socket processors instead of replacing with another AM4 MBD and processor? Or even one of the Intel chips? I just trying to understand spending. Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but I put in an AM5 socket Ryzen 5 7600 and a similar x670 motherboard, even replacing the ram entirely with 32 gb gets me to a fairly similar price point.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/CNVMjZ

 

@filpo 

@Agall

@Queen Chrysalis

Thank you all for all the detailed information. I think, regardless of which order I go, the two biggest bottlenecks in the system at the moment are the GPU and the CPU, so I should plan on upgrading them both long term. With the price difference between Radeon and nVidia, I can get a high performing one RX 7800 and also upgrade the CPU for the same price I would in getting a similar nVidia card. So, I really appreciate you all looking this over for me! 

 

If your Chipset Fan is still working then that is good, I think if it wasn't then you would know and it would be severely overheating. For the short while yes, continue to use it and if you are lucky you might even be able to recover some money from it by selling it, heavily discounted of course.

 

Your new list looks good except one thing, the RAM. The kit you had was CL36, not something you want to pair with Ryzen because it's too slow. If it was Intel then it wouldn't matter as much. I changed it to a much faster speed and it's actually a bit cheaper too. This new PC will be so fast compared to the old one that it will make your head spin.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/nvMLMb

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING X670E-PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($307.88 @ Amazon)
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Acer Predator GM7000 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Speedster MERC 319 CORE Radeon RX 6800 XT 16 GB Video Card  ($559.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 205 Mesh C ATX Mid Tower Case  ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1467.83

 

[zidynnala]

6 hours ago, PC HEROES said:

If your Chipset Fan is still working then that is good, I think if it wasn't then you would know and it would be severely overheating. For the short while yes, continue to use it and if you are lucky you might even be able to recover some money from it by selling it, heavily discounted of course.

 

Your new list looks good except one thing, the RAM. The kit you had was CL36, not something you want to pair with Ryzen because it's too slow. If it was Intel then it wouldn't matter as much. I changed it to a much faster speed and it's actually a bit cheaper too. This new PC will be so fast compared to the old one that it will make your head spin.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/nvMLMb

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING X670E-PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($307.88 @ Amazon)
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Acer Predator GM7000 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Speedster MERC 319 CORE Radeon RX 6800 XT 16 GB Video Card  ($559.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 205 Mesh C ATX Mid Tower Case  ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1467.83

 

That does look pretty good, thanks! And yeah, I just randomly selected a RAM around 32 GB that pcpartpicker said was compatible - I didn't do any research in what would be best at all.