Research killin me for upgrading to 4K

[Auggiedog1969]

Would love some suggestions if anyone has the time. I'm a bit overwhelmed in my research. My current system was assembled in April of 2011 and still seems to work perfectly. Maybe I need to start over? Not sure.....

 

I want 4K which means a new graphics card and monitor. So that will cost a few bucks. I'm open to any suggestions as I research even more.

 

I'm not a big gamer, but suppose I would buy a game or two with a new setup. Last game I played was Portal 2.

I do some personal video editing with Adobe Premier Pro CC (2017), watch some streaming movies every once in a while, surf, write, Excel

 

I'm using an Intel i7 2600K 3.4 Ghz on an ASUS P8P67 Deluxe board, Corsair modular power supply. 8 GB of RAM.

(I don't think I need a new motherboard or CPU though I'm not completely opposed to a completely new build)

 

Part of this little upgrade project will be downsizing my crazy, insanely huge HAF X case. I have no idea why I got this monster case.

 

Thanks everyone. This can be overwhelming and a bit of a peeling onion. 

 

 

[ewitte]

Any of the current generation even a 1030 or rx550 will drive monitors at 4k.   Gaming will be slow.  Maybe decent 1080p medium.  The new Vega apu could handle it too. 

[xg32]

If all you want is 4k/60hz, all you need is a 1080 ti.

 

If you are aiming for 4k/120hz, I recommend building around the  Acer 4k 120hz hdr monitor (p27?) supposedly coming out in august. Gaming at 4k 120hz locks u into an 8700k+at least a 1080 ti. You might wanna wait til after the monitor comes out, ampere will be out by then, as a single 1080 ti can only do 4k 120hz on low, sometimes medium.

 

Personally I'm waiting for the next Ti, and maybe next gen cpu too to avoid Meltdown, i see an 8core/16thread 5ghz cpu, or even an 8700k+ the next ti lasting a long time and will be sufficient for 4k 120hz gaming.

[themctipers]

using a gtx 760 right now as a 4k monitor display adapter..

it works. just need new monitor probably.

[TheGlenlivet]

As stated above the 2600K is too long in he tooth to meet your needs.  An 8700K or possibly the Ryzen+ launching shortly, will be in your future.

[Auggiedog1969]

Just now, TheGlenlivet said:

As stated above the 2600K is too long in he tooth to meet your needs.  An 8700K or possibly the Ryzen+ launching shortly, will be in your future.

I'm getting to the point where drivers are no longer supported to Windows 10 so I'm probably going to have to let my current system die "as is". Looks like my power supply will live on though.

 

Long in the tooth is very nearly exactly how I would describe it though it functions perfectly. Now my peeling onion will involve shopping out:

 

new MB, CPU, GPU, Monitor....RAM, ugh.

[TheGlenlivet]

Just now, Auggiedog1969 said:

I'm getting to the point where drivers are no longer supported to Windows 10 so I'm probably going to have to let my current system die "as is". Looks like my power supply will live on though.

 

Long in the tooth is very nearly exactly how I would describe it though it functions perfectly. Now my peeling onion will involve shopping out:

 

new MB, CPU, GPU, Monitor....RAM, ugh.

Sadly, this is a VERY BAD time to buy RAM and GPUs....

[Auggiedog1969]

1 minute ago, TheGlenlivet said:

Sadly, this is a VERY BAD time to buy RAM and GPUs....

I see that......crypto currency idiots?

 

Just priced the Intel i7 8700K (Intel BX80684I78700 8th Gen Core i7-8700 Processor) at $312 on Amazon....and so starts the research?

[TheGlenlivet]

1 minute ago, Auggiedog1969 said:

I see that......crypto currency idiots?

 

Just priced the Intel i7 8700K (Intel BX80684I78700 8th Gen Core i7-8700 Processor) at $312 on Amazon....and so starts the research?

If you haven't tried it, use pcpartpicker.com

[Auggiedog1969]

1 minute ago, TheGlenlivet said:

If you haven't tried it, use pcpartpicker.com

Very helpful, thanks. It's a bit overwhelming to catch up on all this again for a build. 

 

I'm trying to figure out what the difference is between 8700 and 8700K......LOL!

[TheGlenlivet]

The K can be overclocked.  That's about it.

PCPARTPICKER is good because it will tell you if there is an incompatibility.

[Auggiedog1969]

2 minutes ago, TheGlenlivet said:

The K can be overclocked.  That's about it.

PCPARTPICKER is good because it will tell you if there is an incompatibility.

I'm on it now...trying to figure out a sample build. 

I had good luck with my ASUS board, but I know people have good luck with MSI, Gigabyte, etc. Hard to know what to go with.

Not even sure I need to pay extra to be able to overclock. When I overclocked my current system I had hit or miss experience and again, I'm not trying to up frame rates. So I can probably easily get away with a budget build for what I need/want.

[ewitte]

I've been lucky not completely overpaying for gpus the last was in early Jan maybe $30 extra for a 1070ti but it got progressively worse since then. 

[xg32]

8 minutes ago, Auggiedog1969 said:

Very helpful, thanks. It's a bit overwhelming to catch up on all this again for a build. 

 

I'm trying to figure out what the difference is between 8700 and 8700K......LOL!

8700 can only be oc'd to like 4.4 with bclk overclock to 102, while the 8700k can go up to 5.2~ (you want to buy a binned delidded chip from silicon lottery for the 8700k), you will need a beefy cooler like a d15 with the 8700k even when delidded.

 

if you are getting the 8700, you can get a cheaper/sufficient cooler and save alot of money (100 for the cpu, 50 for the cooler) and still have a 6c/12t cpu at 4.4.

 

1 minute ago, Auggiedog1969 said:

I'm on it now...trying to figure out a sample build. 

I had good luck with my ASUS board, but I know people have good luck with MSI, Gigabyte, etc. Hard to know what to go with.

Not even sure I need to pay extra to be able to overclock. When I overclocked my current system I had hit or miss experience and again, I'm not trying to up frame rates. So I can probably easily get away with a budget build for what I need/want.

it depends on which cpu you decide on, for the 8700 i recommend asus prime-A. 8700k the Asrock taichi

[Auggiedog1969]

3 minutes ago, xg32 said:

8700 can only be oc'd to like 4.4 with bclk overclock to 102, while the 8700k can go up to 5.2~ (you want to buy a binned delidded chip from silicon lottery for the 8700k), you will need a beefy cooler like a d15 with the 8700k even when delidded.

 

if you are getting the 8700, you can get a cheaper/sufficient cooler and save alot of money (100 for the cpu, 50 for the cooler) and still have a 6c/12t cpu at 4.4.

 

it depends on which cpu you decide on, for the 8700 i recommend asus prime-A. 8700k the Asrock taichi

Nice, that's exactly what I have started. 8700 and asus prime-A....to start.

[Auggiedog1969]

Just a first stab....case is only a placeholder.

 

 

Component		Selection	Price
CPU		Intel - Core i7-8700 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor	$311.90	Buy
Motherboard		Asus - Prime Z370-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$159.89	Buy
Memory		Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$204.89	Buy
Storage		Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$159.89	Buy
Video Card		MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB GAMING X 4G Video Card	$244.98	Buy
Case		Phanteks - Enthoo Pro M Tempered Glass (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case	$99.99	Buy
Monitor		Samsung - U28E590D 28.0" 3840x2160 60Hz Monitor	$347.15	Buy
Total:			$1528.69

[TheKDub]

For very light gaming and general use, even Intel integrated graphics would be enough for 4K.

 

I'd avoid going heavy on RAM or GPUs right now with how high prices are.

[TheGlenlivet]

You should clarify 100% what you want to use this system for.  Just surfing the net and youtube?  What you have is overkill on the CPU and GPU.  As stated above the integrated GPU can do that.

If you want to play games in 4K you will need a better GPU than the 1050ti, or you will need to downscale the resolution to 1080p which can make thins look washed out and weird on a 4k monitor.

[ewitte]

I actually played 4k on a 4GB rx460 while waiting on a rma  once.   It handled the only game I was playing at the time (wow which isn't gpu intensive) on a 3 of 10 setting at around 25 fps.  A 570 or or 1050ti can handle low tier esports type games.   Just do not get 2GB I tried that before the 460 4GB and it was stuttery at 4k.  Ideally a 1060 6GB or better but I wouldn't recommend paying an insane price. 

[Tailmon1]

You can do 4k with several cards that are out there. Do not overlook the 980 card. After that I would look at for Nvidia cards in the 10 series starting with the 1060, 1070 and 1080.  For radon use a 580 or vega. The sad part is do to the current shortage and crypto miners. Most of the good 4k cards are more than double Retail pricing right now.

[Auggiedog1969]

5 hours ago, TheGlenlivet said:

You should clarify 100% what you want to use this system for.  Just surfing the net and youtube?  What you have is overkill on the CPU and GPU.  As stated above the integrated GPU can do that.

If you want to play games in 4K you will need a better GPU than the 1050ti, or you will need to downscale the resolution to 1080p which can make thins look washed out and weird on a 4k monitor.

Definitely agreed.

 

1) general use PC, so that's surfing the 'net, word processing, spreadsheet, scanning.

2) video editing of personal video, future quadcopter perhaps.

3) video watching, streaming, YouTube

4) super light gaming. So I totally agree that downconverting to 1080p on a 4K monitor would look like crap. I'm pretty sure I would actually have a 4K system for primary use and if, and only if I did any gaming I'd get a separate HD monitor. 

 

I'm a 48 year old father of 3 so I'm not really spending any time gaming, though I'm not opposed to some "light" gaming. I doubt I'd be spending hours with a first person shooter though over any other time killer.

 

I realize this is a little bit disjointed. The possible combinations here are endless. 4K appealed to me as a huge upgrade over what I have and the amount of screen real estate is what attracted me (video editing is painful on what I have: I'm using a Dell Ultrasharp 1280 x 1024 for really anything will be an improvement at this point.)

[TheGlenlivet]

19 minutes ago, Auggiedog1969 said:

Definitely agreed.

 

1) general use PC, so that's surfing the 'net, word processing, spreadsheet, scanning.

2) video editing of personal video, future quadcopter perhaps.

3) video watching, streaming, YouTube

4) super light gaming. So I totally agree that downconverting to 1080p on a 4K monitor would look like crap. I'm pretty sure I would actually have a 4K system for primary use and if, and only if I did any gaming I'd get a separate HD monitor. 

 

I'm a 48 year old father of 3 so I'm not really spending any time gaming, though I'm not opposed to some "light" gaming. I doubt I'd be spending hours with a first person shooter though over any other time killer.

 

I realize this is a little bit disjointed. The possible combinations here are endless. 4K appealed to me as a huge upgrade over what I have and the amount of screen real estate is what attracted me (video editing is painful on what I have: I'm using a Dell Ultrasharp 1280 x 1024 for really anything will be an improvement at this point.)

How about splitting the difference?

My situation is a lot like yours, and I wanted an upgrade from a 1080p monitor without rebuilding my whole system, so I went with a 3440x1440 widescreen.  Plenty of real estate and a big jump in resolution compared to the 1080p monitor, especially since it was 24 inches.

A 1070 or 980ti would be as much GPU as you need and a ryzen 1600 would be enough CPU to do everything and edit your videos.

If you wanted to stay intel then a z170/6700 set up would be about the same money with a slight dip in editing performance but equivalent gaming performance, although the ryzen platform will have available upgrades for a few more years and z170/270 is DEAD.  No new CPUs.

Good hunting!

[Auggiedog1969]

2 hours ago, TheGlenlivet said:

How about splitting the difference?

My situation is a lot like yours, and I wanted an upgrade from a 1080p monitor without rebuilding my whole system, so I went with a 3440x1440 widescreen.  Plenty of real estate and a big jump in resolution compared to the 1080p monitor, especially since it was 24 inches.

A 1070 or 980ti would be as much GPU as you need and a ryzen 1600 would be enough CPU to do everything and edit your videos.

If you wanted to stay intel then a z170/6700 set up would be about the same money with a slight dip in editing performance but equivalent gaming performance, although the ryzen platform will have available upgrades for a few more years and z170/270 is DEAD.  No new CPUs.

Good hunting!

Hey, thanks a bunch. Lots to consider. Reading about this stuff falls very heavily to the gaming commentary so it's hard to know which CPU's, Motherboards, and GPU's you can purchase to save huge on money. Honestly, the next $1,500 I drop probably isn't on a new build though I certainly could do that. My 7 year old Intel i7 2600k, blah blah blah is still completely fast. I use a hybrid SSD boot and 7200 rpm data drives and this thing never keeps me waiting. I have an MSI Twin FROZR GPU that was pretty decent in its day, can pull off much these days. 

I'll take a look at all your suggestions. Thanks. I was looking at Ryzen which I'm to understand makes great use of the cores for multi tasking. Maybe watching a stream as I render a video edit? It's not a production machine so even that won't matter a lot to me.

 

Thanks again.

[KarathKasun]

At 4k the CPU is mostly unimportant.  Performance will be 100% limited by ANY current GPU.

 

Even the old AMD FX CPUs would be OK for 4k.

[ewitte]

That is a good plan even with a 1080ti I have two monitors and can choose which best fits the game. 

4k 60hz ips

1440p 144hz ips

Personally I don't like 1080p on a 27 inch monitor