Build upgrade thoughts?

[Galadra]

Budget (including currency): $200-500

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Helldivers 2, War thunder, Fornite

This is the first time I'm going to be upgrading my PC and I just want to know if there's anything I can get that's better. I'm coming from a pre built IBuyPower which consists of a Rtx 3060 12gb, i7 11700f, 80gb ddr4 and I've had it for 6 years. I've already chosen which mother board to use, as I still want to carry on using my 80gb ram. I don't want to switch yet. An asus rog strix z790-a and I'm already locked in into using an Intel cpu. Just wanted to know what GPU and CPU combo seem to be good right now. I mostly play Fornite, Roblox, War thunder, Helldivers, and Armored core. Sometimes minecraft with shaders. But I do want to be able to play most games. My budget is around $200-500, just want something that will play games at good graphics without being top of the line. Thank you!

EDIT: sorry if I confused anyone, the motherboard is already chosen for as I got it around a year back for free and it is the ddr4 version, I want to keep using my ram. I used to do a lot of blender so I upgraded the ram like 3 years back and I got too lazy to take out the 16gb.  I am focusing on gaming, but I still use blender. However I did make sure they matched and they run at 3200 with xmp enabled. I game at 1080p 200hz monitor and have a 650 watt PSU. I understand that I'll have to upgrade the PSU as well if my current one can't handle any upgrades  but I'm willing to splurge. The air cooler is some thermalright thing. I think it's the assassin. If anything I just want to upgrade the CPU and GPU. I apologize, this is really my first time. 

 

Edited April 15 by Galadra

[dizmo]

RTX 4070 Super is probably what I'd aim for. Maybe a 5060 Ti 16GB if you can get a good deal on a used one. I wouldn't get an ARC card, they're not super strong and have a higher potential for driver issues.

[dark_globe]

your current graphics card is as good as A770 in rasterization and it also has better drivers ,
so this would be a downgrade even in a sense .
avoid ARC video cards altogether (even their best video card is barely faster than the RTX 5050) .

when it comes to CPU even 11700f is still a very decent processor for gaming (comparable to ryzens 5600x/ 5700x) -
you should have invested your money into GPU and not into a new cpu + mobo (it´s best to consult and ask for advice before buying not after) ...
you will not see much FPS gains if you keep your rtx 3060 (your 0,1 and 1% lows would improve with the 14th gen cpu but thats about it) ,
you would need at least rtx 4070 to see any meaningful uplift overall .

also mismatched memory is not the best for gaming ...
if you now have 2x24gb and 2x16gb memory sticks i suggest you leave only one of those kits in your PC for optimal gaming performance .
so either game with 2x24gb or 2x16gb kit only (both are fine - whichever kit is faster that´s the one you should be using)

you can even sell one of them and use the extra money to get a better video card .

also i hope that you have bought the DDR4 version of asus rog strix Z790-A motherboard ...
if you want to go ahead and replace your 11700f you should be looking at either i5 14600K(F) or i7 14700K(F) 
or simply return the mobo if you can and get a better video card to go with your 11700f instead .

for $500 + returned cash for the motherboard you can have either rtx 5070 or radeon 9070(xt)

it would also be helpful to know what power supply , case and cpu cooling you currently have .

[PDifolco]

Can't understand why you first decide on a board, then some undefined "Intel CPU" ?? It makes more sense to first set a global budget, choose a CPU/GPU combo and finally a compatible board

Then for $200-$500 on a GPU I'd say get a 9060XT

[y0ur5h4d0w]

sell your current GPU and buy a 40 series like a 4070 super/ti used. then save money for a new build in the future, there's no point to change the rest of the setup if you're not going to upgrade to a new tech

 

also 80gb of RAM? just sell the mismatched sticks, you're more then fine with 32, 64 would be already overkill

[Dedayog]

34 minutes ago, y0ur5h4d0w said:

sell your current GPU and buy a 40 series like a 4070 super/ti used. then save money for a new build in the future, there's no point to change the rest of the setup if you're not going to upgrade to a new tech

 

also 80gb of RAM? just sell the mismatched sticks, you're more then fine with 32, 64 would be already overkill

Yeah, 32 + 16 + 16 + 16 isn't the best setup but shouldn't have downsides.  Unless the 32 + 16 pairing is rough for the controller.

 

Curious on speeds.

[OddOod]

Welcome to the forums!
What resolution and refresh rate do you game at?
You say you have locked in on a mobo, is that already in hand and not part of the budget?
You've got 80GB of RAM, that could be several different mixes, what sticks do you have? What speed can you get it to run? What specifically do you use all that RAM for? If it's a pair of 8s and a pair of 32s, I'd be VERY tempted to sell that pair of 32s and get another 250 for the budget. 16GB is definitely enough. Or sell the 8s for a solid bump up in GPU tier. 
There's a LOT of open questions here and we just want you to get the best bang for your buck

[Galadra]

3 hours ago, OddOod said:

Welcome to the forums!
What resolution and refresh rate do you game at?
You say you have locked in on a mobo, is that already in hand and not part of the budget?
You've got 80GB of RAM, that could be several different mixes, what sticks do you have? What speed can you get it to run? What specifically do you use all that RAM for? If it's a pair of 8s and a pair of 32s, I'd be VERY tempted to sell that pair of 32s and get another 250 for the budget. 16GB is definitely enough. Or sell the 8s for a solid bump up in GPU tier. 
There's a LOT of open questions here and we just want you to get the best bang for your buck

Ah I'm sorry! This is my first time reaching out to hear suggestions. I'll be updating my post soon to include the other specs

[Galadra]

15 hours ago, dizmo said:

RTX 4070 Super is probably what I'd aim for. Maybe a 5060 Ti 16GB if you can get a good deal on a used one. I wouldn't get an ARC card, they're not super strong and have a higher potential for driver issues.

Thank you! what intel cpu would be a good combo with those cards?

[dizmo]

1 hour ago, Galadra said:

Thank you! what intel cpu would be a good combo with those cards?

Personally I'd find a used AMD system with a 5700x or some form of X3D CPU. Intel CPUs between I think 12th and 14th Gen had some serious issues. There's workarounds and fixes but I just wouldn't personally take the risk. 

[dark_globe]

7 hours ago, dizmo said:

Personally I'd find a used AMD system with a 5700x or some form of X3D CPU. Intel CPUs between I think 12th and 14th Gen had some serious issues. There's workarounds and fixes but I just wouldn't personally take the risk. 

5700x is not a true upgrade though ...
it is barely faster than his current processor .
X3D chips would be better and they would offer noticeable improvement for gaming especially in terms of 0,1 and 1% lows in multiplayer titles.
but 5700x3d and 5800x3d are kinda hard to come by and they are way too expensive even on a second hand market .

personally i would return that Z790 mobo (if it is possible to refund it) and keep the 11700f for the time being -
just get a rtx 4070/5070 , fix your memory setup 
(lose/sell the mismatched modules and only keep 2 fastest matched sticks in your system for gaming)
and call it a day .

this budget is not good enough for a meaningful platform overhaul
as it is you will get the most immediate performance boost by simply replacing the video card and fixing your memory configuration

[dizmo]

8 minutes ago, dark_globe said:

5700x is not a true upgrade though ...
it is barely faster than his current processor .
X3D chips would be better and they would offer noticeable improvemnt for gaming epsecially in terms of 0,1 and 1% lows .
but 5700x3d and 5800x3d are kinda hard to come by and they are way too expensive even on a second hand market .

personally i would return that Z790 mobo (if it is possible to refund it) and keep the 11700f for the time being -
just get a rtx 4070/5070 , fix your memory setup
(lose the mismatched modules and only keep 2 fastest matched sticks in your system for gaming)
and call it a day .

True, you can find good deals if you hunt though. 

 

I wouldn't get a base 4070, and depending on how long he keeps his cards, I wouldn't get a 5070 either. I'd aim for 16GB at a minimum. 

[dark_globe]

5 minutes ago, dizmo said:

True, you can find good deals if you hunt though. 

 

I wouldn't get a base 4070, and depending on how long he keeps his cards, I wouldn't get a 5070 either. I'd aim for 16GB at a minimum. 

4070 is a cheap second hand option if he wants to save money (it will still be much faster than rtx 3060 and 12gb is good enough for now)
he can also re-sell it for (probably) almost the same value in a year or two .

16gb nvidia video cards are overpriced at the moment .
and i would not recommend buying older radeon cards either
that leaves us with 9070/9070xt for 16gb of VRAM ...

[dizmo]

6 minutes ago, dark_globe said:

4070 is a cheap second hand option if he wants to save money (it will still be much faster than rtx 3060 and 12gb is good enough for now)
he can also re-sell it for (probably) almost the same value in a year or two .

16gb nvidia video cards are overpriced at the moment .
and i would not recommend buying older radeon cards either
that leaves us with 9070/9070xt for 16gb of VRAM ...

No, you can find good deals on 4070 Ti Supers if you look. I picked one up in a complete PC for $600. Might take a few weeks, but deals pop up all the time. 

The 4070Ti Super is basically as good as the 9070 XT.

I highly doubt the 4070 will hold its value that well.

[dark_globe]

18 minutes ago, dizmo said:

No, you can find good deals on 4070 Ti Supers if you look. I picked one up in a complete PC for $600. Might take a few weeks, but deals pop up all the time. 

The 4070Ti Super is basically as good as the 9070 XT.

I highly doubt the 4070 will hold its value that well.

well  $600 for a used Ti super - it´s acceptable in a current market conditions but still not that great
(it also depends on the region
in the EU for example the second hand market situation is a bit different and 4070Ti supers are even pricier down here - most guys are asking 700) .

whereas i can find and pick up rtx 4070 for €350 right now -
i can game on it for 2 years and then still re-sell it 2 years later for  €250 easily (maybe even close to €300 still) .
and that´s exactly what i did with gtx 1080 and later also with rtx 2070 super
(in fact i bought this card in early 2022 for €250 and sold it in late 2023 for €220) .

these days nvidia cards with 10+ gb of VRAM hold their value pretty well in general (better than old AMD cards for sure)

[dizmo]

5 minutes ago, dark_globe said:

well  $600 for a used Ti super - it´s acceptable in a current market conditions but still not that great
(it also depends on the region
in the EU for example the second hand market situation is a bit different and 4070Ti supers are even pricier down here - most guys are asking 700) .

whereas i can find and pick up rtx 4070 for €350 right now -
i can game on it for 2 years and then still re-sell it 2 years later for  €250 easily (maybe even close to €300 still) .
and that´s exactly what i did with gtx 1080 and later also with rtx 2070 super
(in fact i bought this card in 2021 for €250 and sold it in 2023 for €220) .

these days nvidia cards with 10+ gb of VRAM hold their value pretty well in general (better than old AMD cards for sure)

It was a complete PC with the video card in it. A little better than an acceptable deal

 

He's not in Europe, so I'm not sure why you're quoting EU prices. 

[dark_globe]

3 hours ago, dizmo said:

It was a complete PC with the video card in it. A little better than an acceptable deal

 

He's not in Europe, so I'm not sure why you're quoting EU prices. 

Ok i though that was the price for the card alone
but then that's an off chance 1 in a 1000 kinda deal and not reflecting the standard market price.
So it is also kinda irrelevant to mention in this case.
You just got lucky or bought it from a friend maybe 

[dizmo]

7 hours ago, dark_globe said:

Ok i though that was the price for the card alone
but then that's an off chance 1 in a 1000 kinda deal and not reflecting the standard market price.
So it is also kinda irrelevant to mention in this case.
You just got lucky or bought it from a friend maybe 

No, you just have to keep an eye on eBay. It's really not hard. By the time I'm done building the PC I'm working on, I'll have made money instead of spent it. Deals pop up constantly. I bought 3 similar steals over the course of a month. 

[dark_globe]

2 hours ago, dizmo said:

No, you just have to keep an eye on eBay. It's really not hard. By the time I'm done building the PC I'm working on, I'll have made money instead of spent it. Deals pop up constantly. I bought 3 similar steals over the course of a month. 

well good for you then .
i´m also trying to hunt for pc part deals , but i must say it is not that great down here .
of course many people are kinda affraid to take deals that sound "too good to be true" from places like e-bay or amazon
especially if they have little experience with buying second hand stuff .