Pondering whether to UPGRADE or just completely get a new PC?

[Anestis9400F1660]

Budget (including currency): 350-600 Euro (Depending of needing a CPU upgrade as well)

Country: Greece

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Far Cry 5, CRSED:Cuisine Royale, War Thunder, CS2, Just Cause 3, Doom Eternal, Cyberpunk2077, Battlefield 1, Forza Horizon 5.

Current Set Up: Gigabite B360M DS3H, Intel I5 9400F, MSI Geforce GTX 1660 Ventus 6GB, 1x 16gb Crucial Ram 2666 mhz, 1 TB Toshiba HDD, 300gb SSD
 

Question: I have recently been snooping around the web and through social media looking for if and how much to spend for a new system eventually down the line (1-2 years). Yesterday I stumbled across a video on how the 4060 Ti is 400 dollars but the 3070 is 350 and generally just outperforms the 4060 Ti in every way, so, I was thinking with the system I have right now, should I just upgrade my GPU to a 3070? Will I have to upgrade my CPU as to not have any bottlenecks, if so what to? And if anything else, is it just more worth to save up a bit more to get a better system later on?

Edit: Currently I get around 45-50 FPS in Far Cry 5 if I am lucky 
Edit 2: I would also like to state that I am a very novice builder with very limited building experience. Therefore I try to put emphasis on the fact that if it's too much of a hassle to upgrade, if it is just better to start from scratch since I lack faith in my abilities to properly swap out and build in my case...

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO RESPONDED, I AM VERY THANKFUL TO THE IN-DEPTH VIEW AND OPINIONS EVERYONE GAVE! IT SEEMS THAT THE SOLUTION IS PROBABLY A NEW SYSTEM ALL-TOGETHER. 

 

Edited July 12, 2024 by Anestis9400F1660
Solution found

[Why_Me]

Make, model and age of your power supply? btw 1x16GB DDR4-2666 isn't doing you any favors.

 

https://www.skroutz.gr/s/45715430/MSI-Pro-B760-P-DDR4-II-Motherboard-ATX-me-Intel-1700-Socket.html 

MSI PRO B760-P DDR4 II 

 

https://www.skroutz.gr/s/34275132/Intel-Core-i5-12400F-2-5GHz-Epexergastis-6-Pyrinon-gia-Socket-1700-Tray-H0.html 

Intel Core i5-12400F 

 

https://www.skroutz.gr/s/40755244/Endorfy-Spartan-5-PSyktra-Epexergasti-gia-Socket-AM4-AM5-1200-115x-1700.html 

Endorfy Spartan 5 

 

https://www.skroutz.gr/s/20497706/G-Skill-Aegis-32GB-DDR4-RAM-me-2-Modules-2x16GB-kai-Tachytita-3200-gia-Desktop-F4-3200C16D-32GIS.html  

G.Skill Aegis DDR4-3200 32GB (2x16GB) CL16

 

Total: €310,10 + shipping

[vanpuffelen]

I'd recommend upgrading your GPU and RAM. The i5-9400F is already decent, and outperforms the recommended i7-4770 according to the hardware requirements on FC5's Steam page. I recommend upgrading your RAM by either purchasing an exact duplicate model of your current RAM stick, or by replacing it all together with a 2x16GB kit. Any RTX xx60 card will work for a new GPU, too. The mentioned RTX 3070 is in itself a very decent GPU, and I recommend that over those 40-series cards.

[jaslion]

34 minutes ago, vanpuffelen said:

i5-9400F is already decent, and outperforms the recommended i7-4770 according to the hardware

There is a BIG issue with this. The i5 is a 6 core 6 thread. Whilst thr i7 is a 4c/8t and in modern games the i7 wins basically all thr time as it is FAR MORE STABLE and NOT STUTTERY whereas the i5 completly falls flat as it lacks enough threads.

 

Far cry 5 is very cpu itnensive and a 9400f doesnt stand a chance against that drm

[vanpuffelen]

23 minutes ago, jaslion said:

There is a BIG issue with this. The i5 is a 6 core 6 thread. Whilst thr i7 is a 4c/8t and in modern games the i7 wins basically all thr time as it is FAR MORE STABLE and NOT STUTTERY whereas the i5 completly falls flat as it lacks enough threads.

 

Far cry 5 is very cpu itnensive and a 9400f doesnt stand a chance against that drm

So, OP has to upgrade to an i7-9700F or similar? It still doesn't explain why FC5's hardware requirements on Steam recommends an i7-4770, which is outperformed by the i5-9400F, though. Might be because I use Userbenchmark for that information, but it was the first thing that popped up on Google.

[venomtail]

17 minutes ago, vanpuffelen said:

Might be because I use Userbenchmark for that information

We might have our first clue, "Userbenchmark"

[Poinkachu]

43 minutes ago, vanpuffelen said:

So, OP has to upgrade to an i7-9700F or similar? It still doesn't explain why FC5's hardware requirements on Steam recommends an i7-4770, which is outperformed by the i5-9400F, though. Might be because I use Userbenchmark for that information, but it was the first thing that popped up on Google.

Honestly, game's official min req often crazy low

 

Although to run the game in an "acceptable" perf its often requires much more than the min req

 

Example: See Final Fantasy 15 min req on Steam. It's nuts, even the recommended req is somewhat bonker.

 

It can run it sure, but i highly doubt it's enjoyable

 

This coming from someone who ran it on a i7-870, 8gb ram, hdd, and gtx 660, with potato pc mods long long ago.

 

Even now with 5900x, 32gb ram, and 3080 it still struggle sometimes and in some areas

[jaslion]

1 hour ago, vanpuffelen said:

So, OP has to upgrade to an i7-9700F or similar? It still doesn't explain why FC5's hardware requirements on Steam recommends an i7-4770, which is outperformed by the i5-9400F, though. Might be because I use Userbenchmark for that information, but it was the first thing that popped up on Google.

Very much so userbencmark issue. On average framerates the 9400f will sometimes appear better but on 1% and 0.1% lows it will be absolute garbage and in games like far cry 5 with super aggresive drm its behind the i7.

 

Also system requirements mean basically nothing these days except the game may launch.

 

Also 8 threads ARE THE MINIMUM needed right now and we are already beyond that for new games. thr only good cpu's on that platform that have stood the test of time were the 8700 and 9900 the 9700 is falling off now. Investing money in VERY expensive used cpu's beaten by todays budget options is not a wise choice and I advicd against it.

[PDifolco]

3 hours ago, Anestis9400F1660 said:

Budget (including currency): 350-600 Euro (Depending of needing a CPU upgrade as well)

Country: Greece

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Far Cry 5, CRSED:Cuisine Royale, War Thunder, CS2, Just Cause 3, Doom Eternal, Cyberpunk2077, Battlefield 1, Forza Horizon 5.

Current Set Up: Gigabite B360M DS3H, Intel I5 9400F, MSI Geforce GTX 1660 Ventus 6GB, 1x 16gb Crucial Ram 2666 mhz, 1 TB Toshiba HDD, 300gb SSD
 

Question: I have recently been snooping around the web and through social media looking for if and how much to spend for a new system eventually down the line (1-2 years). Yesterday I stumbled across a video on how the 4060 Ti is 400 dollars but the 3070 is 350 and generally just outperforms the 4060 Ti in every way, so, I was thinking with the system I have right now, should I just upgrade my GPU to a 3070? Will I have to upgrade my CPU as to not have any bottlenecks, if so what to? And if anything else, is it just more worth to save up a bit more to get a better system later on?

Edit: Currently I get around 45-50 FPS in Far Cry 5 if I am lucky 

Upgrade your platform, a recent GPU will just bottleneck your poor CPU, and it makes no sense to upgarde to a 9700, plus your 1 RAM stick is a disgrace

 

This would be a nice foundation, ready for GPU and later CPU upgrades

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor  (€178.80 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650M D3HP Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard  (€113.68 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory  (€98.98 @ notebooksbilliger.de)
Total: €391.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-07-12 13:53 CEST+0200

 

[vanpuffelen]

41 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Very much so userbencmark issue. On average framerates the 9400f will sometimes appear better but on 1% and 0.1% lows it will be absolute garbage and in games like far cry 5 with super aggresive drm its behind the i7.

 

Also system requirements mean basically nothing these days except the game may launch.

 

Also 8 threads ARE THE MINIMUM needed right now and we are already beyond that for new games. thr only good cpu's on that platform that have stood the test of time were the 8700 and 9900 the 9700 is falling off now. Investing money in VERY expensive used cpu's beaten by todays budget options is not a wise choice and I advicd against it.

...Right.

[jaslion]

15 minutes ago, vanpuffelen said:

...Right.

Feel free to go look it up back in 2020 we already saw the pure 6 core i5's experience stuttering which has only gotten far worse. In extreme cases the much older i7 4770 does better in all ways. Whats usually very dissapointing for people is that a 7700k tends to outmatch them these days or a ryzen 1400/1600

[vanpuffelen]

5 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Feel free to go look it up back in 2020 we already saw the pure 6 core i5's experience stuttering which has only gotten far worse. In extreme cases the much older i7 4770 does better in all ways. Whats usually very dissapointing for people is that a 7700k tends to outmatch them these days or a ryzen 1400/1600

Even though OP should get off of that CPU, can't he save some cash by upgrading to a 9700F, instead of completely switching platforms? Been through that hassle when upgrading from an i7-3770K to an R5 2600. My Optiplex 3020 Sleeper is still rolling with an i5-4590, so I doubt I can say much.

[Anestis9400F1660]

4 hours ago, Why_Me said:

Make, model and age of your power supply? btw 1x16GB DDR4-2666 isn't doing you any favors.

 

https://www.skroutz.gr/s/45715430/MSI-Pro-B760-P-DDR4-II-Motherboard-ATX-me-Intel-1700-Socket.html 

MSI PRO B760-P DDR4 II 

 

https://www.skroutz.gr/s/34275132/Intel-Core-i5-12400F-2-5GHz-Epexergastis-6-Pyrinon-gia-Socket-1700-Tray-H0.html 

Intel Core i5-12400F 

 

https://www.skroutz.gr/s/40755244/Endorfy-Spartan-5-PSyktra-Epexergasti-gia-Socket-AM4-AM5-1200-115x-1700.html 

Endorfy Spartan 5 

 

https://www.skroutz.gr/s/20497706/G-Skill-Aegis-32GB-DDR4-RAM-me-2-Modules-2x16GB-kai-Tachytita-3200-gia-Desktop-F4-3200C16D-32GIS.html  

G.Skill Aegis DDR4-3200 32GB (2x16GB) CL16

 

Total: €310,10 + shipping

Well, I am currently unaware of how to check my power supply.. It's not a very ergonomic case to be fair, it is made by a local store chain and I am unsure how to get to the power supply without completely tearing the PC apart. I am also a very novice builder with limited experience, I have only changed ram and reseated my GPU so far.

[jaslion]

6 minutes ago, vanpuffelen said:

Even though OP should get off of that CPU, can't he save some cash by upgrading to a 9700F, instead of completely switching platforms? Been through that hassle when upgrading from an i7-3770K to an R5 2600. My Optiplex 3020 Sleeper is still rolling with an i5-4590, so I doubt I can say much.

Considering a 9700 is between 100-150 and a NEW components only platform swap to a ryzen 5500 + board would be about 200 (they REALLY should get another stick of ram that can lose up to 50% of performance in games running single channel) Id say its a very poor investment as the 9700 is already showing signs in new games that it cant keep up. Which is normal consoles run at more threads than that cpu and optimization wise for porting its easier to just keep the console task scheduling in the game as is. So the only options left would be a 8700 and 9900. One is old and not cheap and the other is a totally ok cpu but stupid expensive.

[Anestis9400F1660]

9 minutes ago, vanpuffelen said:

Even though OP should get off of that CPU, can't he save some cash by upgrading to a 9700F, instead of completely switching platforms? Been through that hassle when upgrading from an i7-3770K to an R5 2600. My Optiplex 3020 Sleeper is still rolling with an i5-4590, so I doubt I can say much.

So then what would be a better alternative since I have limited PC building experience and if it is a hastle for someone who knows their stuff then I am kind of lacking in confidence when you say it is a struggle and a hassle it makes me feel like it would be very overwhelming. 

Is there a specific CPU that I should go for 100% with the budget I have and later upgrade my GPU to the 3070 I want?

[Anestis9400F1660]

37 minutes ago, PDifolco said:

Upgrade your platform, a recent GPU will just bottleneck your poor CPU, and it makes no sense to upgarde to a 9700, plus your 1 RAM stick is a disgrace

 

This would be a nice foundation, ready for GPU and later CPU upgrades

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor  (€178.80 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650M D3HP Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard  (€113.68 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory  (€98.98 @ notebooksbilliger.de)
Total: €391.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-07-12 13:53 CEST+0200

 

If I may also ask, what would be a good GPU to pair with this? Is this good for a 3070 because to me it seems a bit overkill? I do not know. 

[jaslion]

4 minutes ago, Anestis9400F1660 said:

Well, I am currently unaware of how to check my power supply.. It's not a very ergonomic case to be fair, it is made by a local store chain and I am unsure how to get to the power supply without completely tearing the PC apart. I am also a very novice builder with limited experience, I have only changed ram and reseated my GPU so far.

Without knowing the psu we cant advice an upgrsde as for all we know the psu is a bad unit and upgrsding could mean it fails and kills the system.

 

Got pics of your pc? Since you say its a more custom case it will also be importsnt to know what potential limits are

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, Anestis9400F1660 said:

If I may also ask, what would be a good GPU to pair with this? Is this good for a 3070 because to me it seems a bit overkill? I do not know. 

Could do a 4080 in here and it would do pretty good. Really this upgrade is quite cost effective whislt giving you plenty of room to go with the gpu.

 

However a 3070 is not something I would get long term as 8gb of vrak isnt a lot. A 6700xt would be a better buy if still available

[vanpuffelen]

3 minutes ago, Anestis9400F1660 said:

So then what would be a better alternative since I have limited PC building experience and if it is a hastle for someone who knows their stuff then I am kind of lacking in confidence when you say it is a struggle and a hassle it makes me feel like it would be very overwhelming. 

Is there a specific CPU that I should go for 100% with the budget I have and later upgrade my GPU to the 3070 I want?

If you want to stay on LGA 1151, I'd recommend getting a 9700, 9900, or its variants. They shouldn't bottleneck a 3070, but as some of the others have advised; if you've got the time to replace the whole motherboard kit, do it.

[vanpuffelen]

1 minute ago, jaslion said:

Could do a 4080 in here and it would do pretty good. Really this upgrade is quite cost effective whislt giving you plenty of room to go with the gpu.

 

However a 3070 is not something I would get long term as 8gb of vrak isnt a lot. A 6700xt would be a better buy if still available

Isn't it a hassle when switching GPUs from Nvidia to AMD, or does Windows have that feature where it's mostly automated by Windows Update in terms of drivers?

[Anestis9400F1660]

5 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Without knowing the psu we cant advice an upgrsde as for all we know the psu is a bad unit and upgrsding could mean it fails and kills the system.

 

Got pics of your pc? Since you say its a more custom case it will also be importsnt to know what potential limits are

Yes, here are some pictures with the side panel off and with (what I hope is) optimal lighting..  Apologies for the dust..

[Anestis9400F1660]

Apologies for the poor pixel quality, I couldn't easily transfer the pics from my phone to my PC. Hope this works!

 

[vanpuffelen]

3 minutes ago, Anestis9400F1660 said:

Yes, here are some pictures with the side panel off and with (what I hope is) optimal lighting..  Apologies for the dust..

You can fit up to a full ATX motherboard in there, so that's nice. I don't know how those PSU basements work, as I've never worked with one, but I believe the PSU is somewhat accessable through the back sidepanel.

[Anestis9400F1660]

5 minutes ago, vanpuffelen said:

If you want to stay on LGA 1151, I'd recommend getting a 9700, 9900, or its variants. They shouldn't bottleneck a 3070, but as some of the others have advised; if you've got the time to replace the whole motherboard kit, do it.

So would this be considered an entirely new build in that case? I would pretty much have to nearly replace every important component of the computer. I am not OPPOSED to the idea of building a new PC in this case, I just don't think if the hassle at this point is worth it and just sell this one and save up for a new build entirely? I have no clue on pricing to be fair so all I really know is that, if I could i'd like to spend 300-400 on a GPU fix now and later down the road I would like to get a new PC with an AMD graphics card as I've heard they are better bang for the buck.

[Anestis9400F1660]

1 minute ago, vanpuffelen said:

You can fit up to a full ATX motherboard in there, so that's nice. I don't know how those PSU basements work, as I've never worked with one, but I believe the PSU is somewhat accessable through the back sidepanel.

This is what the back panel looks like. I can see there are bolts attached to the PSU and the WHOLE back panel so if I'd have to get to it, presumably I'd need to take it all apart? I also saw this sticker on it, unaware of what it means, "input:220 vac"..