Help my friend upgrade her prebuild PC!

[acercon]

Budget (including currency): Around 600-800 USD

Country: US

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

Triple A titles gaming at 1440p 144hz  

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

 

Hey all! My friend bought her PC from IBUYPOWER back in 2020 and it is time for an upgrade. We are looking to upgrade storage and GPU first.

The current system specs are:
CPU -  Intel 9700F

GPU -  Nvidia 1660Ti

RAM - Apacer Panther Silver 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 CL16 Memory

MotherBoard - Asus TUF B365M-PLUS GAMING Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

PSU - CWT 500W 80 Plus Non Modular PSU Power Supply.

Case - Some Micro-ATX case

 

Here is what I suggested we upgrade first (Open to other ideas as well):
1. Storage - Add a NVME SSD and reinstall windows/games on it

2. GPU/PSU - I am not really familiar with what GPUs are good anymore and could use some help. Is the 4070 super okay? The system will need a new PSU as well

Here is the PC part picker list that I suggested but I told her to check this forum on what you all suggest - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6gvdt7

 

[PC HEROES]

1 hour ago, acercon said:

Budget (including currency): Around 600-800 USD

Country: US

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

Triple A titles gaming at 1440p 144hz  

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

 

Hey all! My friend bought her PC from IBUYPOWER back in 2020 and it is time for an upgrade. We are looking to upgrade storage and GPU first.

The current system specs are:
CPU -  Intel 9700F

GPU -  Nvidia 1660Ti

RAM - Apacer Panther Silver 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 CL16 Memory

MotherBoard - Asus TUF B365M-PLUS GAMING Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

PSU - CWT 500W 80 Plus Non Modular PSU Power Supply.

Case - Some Micro-ATX case

 

Here is what I suggested we upgrade first (Open to other ideas as well):
1. Storage - Add a NVME SSD and reinstall windows/games on it

2. GPU/PSU - I am not really familiar with what GPUs are good anymore and could use some help. Is the 4070 super okay? The system will need a new PSU as well

Here is the PC part picker list that I suggested but I told her to check this forum on what you all suggest - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6gvdt7

 

Hello... It looks like you might want a all White PC for your friend. I did just that and I made a Full Build List as well. There were some things that really needed to be changed like the RAM because it was WAY too SLOW and the M.2 Drive was only Gen3 and also really SLOW. The Parts that I picked are really great Quality and very Fast. I would not reuse anything from the old PC as everything is outdated. Please have a look at my List and let me know what you think, I can answer any questions you might have.

 

I have been building PCs for over 30 years so if you have any questions please ask. For future communication I use Discord for much faster response times as I have it open 24/7. Here is my Discord: Wizardsnapper#2772 I am also available if you need help before, during, or after the Build process on Discord through Voice or Video Chat. I can be with you while you build your new PC if you need me to be.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4k9wHG

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-13400 2.5 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($210.50 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Frozen Prism ARGB 70.4 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($46.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B760M Pro RS/D4 WiFi Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: TEAMGROUP MP44 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB Video Card  ($589.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Zalman P30 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1422.33

 

 

[8tg]

5 minutes ago, PC HEROES said:

Total: $1422.33

Bruh, $1400 “budget pc” as a response to “upgrade a prebuilt”

 

@acercon the route of nvme ssd + gpu + psu is the way to go here. The 9700F will still hold out for a decent while longer. Slower ddr4 isn’t the end of the world, it’s just not ideal.

The 4070 super is a valid choice though it’s at the far end of what’s reasonably paired with a 9th gen i7. It’s not awful to go overkill with a GPU either since you can carry it forward to a platform upgrade for them in the future, flip flop the changes. 
Anything around that performance target is a solid choice though a bit excessive, 4070 variants, RX 6800 xt, 7800 xt, a 3080, etc.

You could drop the psu down a bit in wattage. A 4070 super is sub 300 watts even with the higher end models with overclocks. With a stock 9700 you’d have no problems with a 550-650w psu.

 

A lot will depend on what the long term plans are. If this system will see a platform upgrade in the future or not, and will instead be replaced by a whole new build.

If it’s going to see a platform upgrade, go with the 4070 super and higher wattage psu.

If not, drop the GPU down to like a 4060 or RX 7700 xt and lower wattage psu. (Id replace the CWT unit regardless going with a higher wattage card)

No point in going overkill with parts which won’t be carried over.

But if parts will be carried over, go a bit overboard paired with the 9700.

[8tg]

1 hour ago, acercon said:

Is the 4070 super okay?

On a bit of a tangent though so disregard this in terms of the build.

The 4070 super is a bit questionable because it’s in a similar spot to how the 3070ti was, where only the 4070ti super has 16gb of vram and all the other 4070’s are 12gb. At their price point I and many others don’t see the justification of less than 16gb of vram on all models. It’s cost cutting, less product for a lot of money. Theyre $600 gpus and with 1440p becoming a new gaming norm these days, 12gb may not cut it for very long in what that GPU is otherwise capable of.

 

Like the 3070ti, it is bottlenecked by its own 8gb of vram. It’s a very capable card otherwise and can do a lot in 4k at high settings, except the vram made it obsolete within 2 years.

The writing is on the wall for the 12gb 4070 variants.

[QuantumSingularity]

i'd probably try a 5800X3D bundle from MicroCenter and a $379 RX 6800. This will require a better PSU though, so will have to upgrade to at least 750W. Micro Center is the only thing i envy you folks for over there. Absolutely mind blowing amazing deals. If i had these prices here, i would've probably already upgraded to their 7800X3D bundle, despite the 5800X3D still not needing an upgrade. The CPU alone in 50% more here.

 

1 hour ago, PC HEROES said:

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-13400 2.5 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($210.50 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Frozen Prism ARGB 70.4 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($46.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B760M Pro RS/D4 WiFi Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: TEAMGROUP MP44 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB Video Card  ($589.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Zalman P30 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1422.33

 

 

$1400 DDR4 build as a solution to $800 upgrade ?!?!?!? DAFUQ?

[podkall]

3 hours ago, 8tg said:

1440p becoming a new gaming norm

yeah nah, it's only a norm for those that actually have 1440p monitor