Best Upgrade Option for 3440x1440 Gaming and Other Side Tasks (Coding, NAS/Server)

[MyRoomsKing]

Budget (including currency): $1300 CAD

Country: Canada

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Games (R6, OW, Valorant, Call of Duty), Coding/Development (including occasional VM use), Very light video editing, and using my PC as a NAS and Server (ex. Minecraft).

 

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): 

 

I currently game on/primarily use a 3440x1440 monitor 165Hz (and would like to get 165fps+ as often as possible), along with a secondary monitor which is 1920x1080 at 165Hz.

 

I am looking for good potential upgrades (primarily with regard to CPU, MOBO, RAM, and possibly a CPU fan). I was thinking of upgrading to a i7 14700k, 32 GB DDR5 and a compatible motherboard. Any suggestions on what would be the most worthwhile to upgrade? Also potentially interested in having more SSD space.

 

Current Specs

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600k

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO V2 62 CFM CPU Cooler

Motherboard: Gigabyte B660 GAMING X AX DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory

Storage: ADATA Premium SSD for PS5 2TB PCIe Gen 4 M.2 2280 Internal Gaming SSD (APSFG-2T-CSUS) + Western Digital Red Pro 18 TB 7200 RPM

GPU: MSI VENTUS 3X OC GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB Video Card

Case: NZXT H510 Flow ATX Mid Tower Case

PSU: Corsair RM1000e (2022) 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

 

Monitor: Alienware AW3423DWF 34.2" 3440 x 1440 165 Hz Curved Monitor + Acer XV240Y Pbmiiprx 23.8" 1920 x 1080 165 Hz Monitor

 

 

Edited April 15 by MyRoomsKing
Clarifying specs are current

[Queen Chrysalis]

IS the system you listed what you currently have?  A 14700k will not be much faster at all than that 12600k.  You'll rarely see any improvements, especially with DDR4.  14th gen and 13th gen are only faster than 12th gen with DDR5.

[MyRoomsKing]

5 minutes ago, Queen Chrysalis said:

IS the system you listed what you currently have?  A 14700k will not be much faster at all than that 12600k.  You'll rarely see any improvements, especially with DDR4.  14th gen and 13th gen are only faster than 12th gen with DDR5.

Hi, thanks. Yes, the system listed is my current system. I was thinking of upgrading to a 14700k + upgrading to DDR5, but not sure what kind of difference to expect.

 

I would say overall in most games and tasks my experience is fairly good. In games for example I would mostly be hoping to get a more consistent experience of 165fps or above, I know in some games. like Call of Duty, I usually get pretty good average FPS but the lows can be distracting.

[Queen Chrysalis]

9 minutes ago, MyRoomsKing said:

Hi, thanks. Yes, the system listed is my current system. I was thinking of upgrading to a 14700k + upgrading to DDR5, but not sure what kind of difference to expect.

 

I would say overall in most games and tasks my experience is fairly good. In games for example I would mostly be hoping to get a more consistent experience of 165fps or above, I know in some games. like Call of Duty, I usually get pretty good average FPS but the lows can be distracting.

If they're low enough to be distracting than a small upgrade like this is gonna cost a lot to get you barely anything.  I'd stick it out or find some other way to mitigate it.  A 7800x3d might be the only thing fast enough to make a difference, but again, it'll be small.  IMO the 12600k is too new to upgrade.

[Aleph256]

It should be mentioned that while wanting to have both in a single enclosure is the good idea budget-wise, you might want to have a discrete machine for a NAS. 24/7 operation with a 1kW PSU will be hefty on your power bill on the long-term.

 

I would say grab a reputable brand (Kingston/Samsung/WD) SSD, SATA or M2 at your discretion depending on your speed needs, for your rig.

Chug that 18TB Red in an external enclosure for cold backup.

And treat yourself to an off-the-shelf 4-bay NAS, populate it with 6TB drives in RAID 5/Z1 (which should leave you with 18TB usable).

 

 

 

Not sure how impactful DDR5 would be performance-wise, but I think 12th and 14th gen use the same architecture so gains would probably be 10% at best - not worth the upgrade cost.

Going AMD and an X3D chip might eke a bit more, but you'll also be replacing the mobo, still not a good value option.

Try lowering quality? I'm not a shooter guy but I've been led to understand that's the way to go for beeeeeg framerates in them. That or using DLSS (if you weren't already doing so).