Looking for upgrade advice

[nyty]

Budget (including currency): N/A

Country: France

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: MH Wilds / FFXIV

Other details: 

 

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti

CPU: i5-8600K 3.60Ghz

Motherboard: MSI Z370 PC PRO

RAM: 16 Gb DDR4

Monitors: 32" 165Hz MSI Optix G32 (primary) / 24" AOC C24G1 (secondary)

 

Hello, I have a config I've been using (almost 24/7) since 2018, and it's been fine for most games but I'm worried it's going to be utter shit for future AAA titles. It's probably enough for games like FFXIV or Lol but I intend to play MH Wilds and the benchmark does not look good. I'm into software, not hardware, so I haven't followed the news since 1XXX GPU series released.

 

- Should I upgrade GPU/CPU and call it a day? What are my compatible options?

or

- Should I start from scratch and make a good 2025 config, fresh motherboard, cooling and SSDs?

 

 

Thank you in advance for your precious advice

[Agall]

3 minutes ago, nyty said:

Budget (including currency): N/A

Country: France

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: MH Wilds / FFXIV

Other details: 

 

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti

CPU: i5-8600K 3.60Ghz

Motherboard: MSI Z370 PC PRO

RAM: 16 Gb DDR4

Monitors: 32" 165Hz MSI Optix G32 (primary) / 24" AOC C24G1 (secondary)

 

Hello, I have a config I've been using (almost 24/7) since 2018, and it's been fine for most games but I'm worried it's going to be utter shit for future AAA titles. It's probably enough for games like FFXIV or Lol but I intend to play MH Wilds and the benchmark does not look good. I'm into software, not hardware, so I haven't followed the news since 1XXX GPU series released.

 

- Should I upgrade GPU/CPU and call it a day? What are my compatible options?

or

- Should I start from scratch and make a good 2025 config, fresh motherboard, cooling and SSDs?

 

 

Thank you in advance for your precious advice

No matter what, you would want to modernize your CPU. Jumping onto a 3D v-cache CPU like the 5700x3D, 7800x3D, 9800x3D would be my recommendation.

 

Its quite possible you'll get a sufficient boost in performance by upgrading your CPU, even with a 1070ti, especially if we're talking 1080p. If you're buying a new CPU anyways, I would start there, transplant the 1070ti, and see how it feels.

 

Regarding GPU upgrades, its a minefield, and there's really no good time to upgrade. You'd want to spend at a minimum $300 on a GPU just to make it worth it over a 1070ti.

 

Your SSD is probably fine if its at least a PCIe 3.0 4x M.2 SSD.

[OddOod]

Welcome to the forums!
Given that you're still on 1080p, that 8600 is *killing* you. I don't notice my 8700k much with my 4k60 monitor, nor does my partner who games at DQHD144, but at 1080p, it'll drag. 

My rec would REALLY depend on what your budget is. If you're trying to save as much as possible and want to reuse old parts, an AM4 build would just require a cpu/mobo swap (I hope your ram is at least running 3000 if not 3600), but if you have the cash and are willing to spend it on the best long term bang for buck value, I'd recommend building a whole new rig and selling this one, or turning it into a lil server boi.

[nyty]

29 minutes ago, Agall said:

No matter what, you would want to modernize your CPU. Jumping onto a 3D v-cache CPU like the 5700x3D, 7800x3D, 9800x3D would be my recommendation.

 

Its quite possible you'll get a sufficient boost in performance by upgrading your CPU, even with a 1070ti, especially if we're talking 1080p. If you're buying a new CPU anyways, I would start there, transplant the 1070ti, and see how it feels.

 

Regarding GPU upgrades, its a minefield, and there's really no good time to upgrade. You'd want to spend at a minimum $300 on a GPU just to make it worth it over a 1070ti.

 

Your SSD is probably fine if its at least a PCIe 3.0 4x M.2 SSD.

I did some quick research and pcpartpicker is telling me I can't install those CPUs. All the ones I see are Intel, Coffee Lake architecture. Does that make sense? Would I have to switch motherboards, or is a BIOS upgrade sufficient?

Thanks for those details. It's good to know I need to spend at least $300 for a GPU upgrade, I had no idea how expensive it got. I only heard about the crazy prices of the high-end ones.

 

13 minutes ago, OddOod said:

Welcome to the forums!
Given that you're still on 1080p, that 8600 is *killing* you. I don't notice my 8700k much with my 4k60 monitor, nor does my partner who games at DQHD144, but at 1080p, it'll drag. 

My rec would REALLY depend on what your budget is. If you're trying to save as much as possible and want to reuse old parts, an AM4 build would just require a cpu/mobo swap (I hope your ram is at least running 3000 if not 3600), but if you have the cash and are willing to spend it on the best long term bang for buck value, I'd recommend building a whole new rig and selling this one, or turning it into a lil server boi.

 

Thank you 

I'm not sure I understand. Are you saying if I had e.g a 4k60 primary monitor, it would be doing better? What about games?

 

I found my RAM reference from an old email: GSKILL DDR4 16GB (2*8) F4-2400C15D-16GVR

I'm guessing that's 2400, so, pretty bad compared to "modern" RAM?

I have no experience on upgrade vs new rig but if you're telling me buying is the best long term solution, I get it. Only expenses I had in almost 7 years are an additional SSD to replace the awful HDD I had, and a Wifi+Bluetooth network card. I could steal those two and put them in a new, clean setup.

Also I've been cleaning it regularly these last few years but the fans feel so noisy. I don't know what the lifespan of these fans are.

 

 

[venomtail]

Hard to upgrade that. In all cases a new CPU. Going intel 12-14th gen you can reuse your RAM that will keep costs down. Could reuse your storage and PSU if that's good enough.

 

I'd just get new, everything you have has crossed the threshold for being so old, upgrading it will cost more than just buying new for the performance gain for the money spent. 

 

Compiled a PC that you should use as a baseline for great performance for money spent. A sweetspot I guess. All new parts since the other usable ones you haven't expanded on:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor  (€212.99 @ Amazon France) 
CPU Cooler: ID-COOLING FROZN A410 BLACK 78.25 CFM CPU Cooler  (€39.99 @ Amazon France) 
Motherboard: ASRock B850M-X WiFi Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard  (€150.51 @ Amazon France) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory  (€94.99 @ Amazon France) 
Storage: Patriot P400 Lite 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (€57.99 @ Amazon France) 
Video Card: Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 7800 XT 16 GB Video Card  (€519.99 @ Amazon France) 
Case: Antec NX500M MicroATX Mini Tower Case  (€45.72 @ Amazon France) 
Power Supply: MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  (€102.00 @ Amazon France) 
Case Fan: Thermalright TL-C12C X5 66.17 CFM 120 mm Fans 5-Pack  (€19.89 @ Amazon France) 
Total: €1244.07
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-02-06 17:40 CET+0100

[DahPython]

1 hour ago, nyty said:

Budget (including currency): N/A

Country: France

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: MH Wilds / FFXIV

Other details: 

 

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti

CPU: i5-8600K 3.60Ghz

Motherboard: MSI Z370 PC PRO

RAM: 16 Gb DDR4

Monitors: 32" 165Hz MSI Optix G32 (primary) / 24" AOC C24G1 (secondary)

 

Hello, I have a config I've been using (almost 24/7) since 2018, and it's been fine for most games but I'm worried it's going to be utter shit for future AAA titles. It's probably enough for games like FFXIV or Lol but I intend to play MH Wilds and the benchmark does not look good. I'm into software, not hardware, so I haven't followed the news since 1XXX GPU series released.

 

- Should I upgrade GPU/CPU and call it a day? What are my compatible options?

or

- Should I start from scratch and make a good 2025 config, fresh motherboard, cooling and SSDs?

 

 

Thank you in advance for your precious advice

I would say start from scratch, the build is pretty old at this point. I recommend jumping on AMD Ryzen either the newest AM5 or slightly older but still very good AM4. A good budget GPU is a 6700xt, you can buy one used off ebay for a good price, that's my best recommendation. Unless you have money to spare, you could also go with a newer, higher end nvidia or amd gpu

[Agall]

1 hour ago, nyty said:

I did some quick research and pcpartpicker is telling me I can't install those CPUs. All the ones I see are Intel, Coffee Lake architecture. Does that make sense? Would I have to switch motherboards, or is a BIOS upgrade sufficient?

Thanks for those details. It's good to know I need to spend at least $300 for a GPU upgrade, I had no idea how expensive it got. I only heard about the crazy prices of the high-end ones.

Yeah you're replacing your whole platform, motherboard and likely RAM since the latest platforms use DDR5. 5700x3D still uses DDR4, but I'd still recommend a 32GB kit with how cheap they are for both DDR4 and DDR5.

 

Anything <$300 for a 1070ti is either such a small upgrade or none at all, especially since cards in that tier are also 8GB of VRAM and 1080p really wants 12GB of VRAM. 1070ti is the minimum of what's considered still good from that generation.

 

I never jumped on the pcpartpicker train when it became popular a decade ago, but I'd figure out how much you're willing to spend total and what's available in your region. The 5700x3D/5800x3D would be the cheapest option since you can still use your RAM, and B550 motherboards are incredibly cheap and available still. Could come out of the upgrade for ~$400 USD for a new CPU+motherboard+RAM.

[jaslion]

1 hour ago, Agall said:

even with a 1070ti, especially if we're talking 1080p.

Ehhhh wilds is HEAVY so gpu wise id say up it too

[KidKid]

2 hours ago, nyty said:

Budget (including currency): N/A

Country: France

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: MH Wilds / FFXIV

Other details: 

 

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti

CPU: i5-8600K 3.60Ghz

Motherboard: MSI Z370 PC PRO

RAM: 16 Gb DDR4

Monitors: 32" 165Hz MSI Optix G32 (primary) / 24" AOC C24G1 (secondary)

 

Hello, I have a config I've been using (almost 24/7) since 2018, and it's been fine for most games but I'm worried it's going to be utter shit for future AAA titles. It's probably enough for games like FFXIV or Lol but I intend to play MH Wilds and the benchmark does not look good. I'm into software, not hardware, so I haven't followed the news since 1XXX GPU series released.

 

- Should I upgrade GPU/CPU and call it a day? What are my compatible options?

or

- Should I start from scratch and make a good 2025 config, fresh motherboard, cooling and SSDs?

 

 

Thank you in advance for your precious advice

New GPU and maybe an i7 CPU

[Why_Me]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  (€121.46 @ Amazon France) 
CPU Cooler: *ID-COOLING SE-214-XT PLUS 76.16 CFM CPU Cooler  (€28.12 @ Amazon France) 
Motherboard: *MSI PRO B760-P WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  (€139.99 @ Amazon France) 
Memory: *Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  (€62.56 @ Amazon France) 
Total: €352.13
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-02-06 19:13 CET+0100

[OddOod]

2 hours ago, nyty said:

you're telling me buying is the best long term solution

Buying is definitely best long term. And I'd buy ~everything new. And I'd recommend doing a clean install of Windows on top of that given that your current install is probably pretty old

What's your budget? Are you interested in upgrading the monitor?

[nyty]

Thank you for your answers and part choices, I'm looking at all of them!

12 hours ago, OddOod said:

What's your budget? Are you interested in upgrading the monitor?

 

My budget is around 3K for this. I probably don't have to spend that much, but I spent a decent chunk in 2018 and it turned pretty solid since it never failed me to this day, so I'd rather take high-end components than make compromises for 50 bucks. I know that past 2.5/3K it's either 4K rendering/streaming/esthetic stuff and I don't need that. I could sneak a monitor upgrade though, looks like 4K monitors don't cost as much as they used to.

 

My Windows (10) install is definitely old, I love W10 compared to 11 but I don't think I have a choice anymore. W10 dies this year.

[OddOod]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/THhLFZ
This is my prospective list for my upgrade this year. I'm planning on a 5090FE whenever those become obtainable, but I think it would best pair with a used 3080 ti like this
https://www.ebay.com/itm/226592212810
to save a buck. In a few years when these god tier cards come down in price you can upgrade
Should be ~2.5k all in, tack an extra 100 on if you want to max out the case with noctua 140mm redux fans

Note: I like to pay extra to not have to ever think about things like PSU or fans or storage space