Should I upgrade or start a fresh build?

[DeathsEye]

Hello! So I have had my current rig for about 4 years now and it has served me spectacularly. Since obtaining it i have put good money into it, upgrading the processor, graphics card, power supply and storage capacity. However, i think i am at a bit of a crossroad now, as i am unsure if i should continue to pump money into it.

So the current specs are: Gigabyte Z97-HD3, an i7-4770k OC to 4.2GHz, GTX 1070, 16GB Ballistic Sport 1600mhz 8x2, a 600 watt PSU, 2 SSDs totalling 2.5TB and 3 HDDs totalling an additional 3.5TB. Even went as far as to shove a Noctua NH-U14S 140mm into the case even though it doesnt really fit and the case is bulging a bit...

Anyway, i was doing some research on Star Citizens current performance status, and recent information has started to show some improvements, however RAM is a big issue. After hearing about that, and seeing some performance tests done with 16GB and 32GB capacities, i found SC was using 12GB of my RAM, almost maxing me out. So i was considering getting another 8x2 kit but started wondering if i should even bother pumping another $100+ into this rig. See i have taken pride over the years that my rig can run ANYTHING.. and i do mean ANYTHING, and it makes me happy knowing that next year or whenever when a new awesome title is released, i can be right there, ready to rock and roll without having to worry about it being too far ahead of my machine.

Its a good rig, its served me very well over the years, but is it worth putting more money into? Should i just sell it and use the funds to build a new rig with DDR4 support and a more modern socket? Should i wait for the next generation of sockets or DDR5 to be released? Or is this rig worth the time and money for what we have today?

[Allupyourfinger]

I would sell the current setup and build a new one.

[Jurrunio]

You could just add a pair of 4GB sticks instead, also overclock higher if needed

 

DDR5's expected to hit the consumer market in 2021, overclock further should help your system last that long in providing sufficient performance. In fact, I'm trying to pull this off with an older 2600k because as a student, I save up money slowly and couldn't afford to switch to DDR4 platforms.

[Starelementpoke]

10 minutes ago, DeathsEye said:

Hello! So I have had my current rig for about 4 years now and it has served me spectacularly. Since obtaining it i have put good money into it, upgrading the processor, graphics card, power supply and storage capacity. However, i think i am at a bit of a crossroad now, as i am unsure if i should continue to pump money into it.

So the current specs are: Gigabyte Z97-HD3, an i7-4770k OC to 4.2GHz, 16GB Ballistic Sport 1600mhz 8x2, a 600 watt PSU, 2 SSDs totalling 2.5TB and 3 HDDs totalling an additional 3.5TB. Even went as far as to shove a Noctua NH-U14S 140mm into the case even though it doesnt really fit and the case is bulging a bit...

Anyway, i was doing some research on Star Citizens current performance status, and recent information has started to show some improvements, however RAM is a big issue. After hearing about that, and seeing some performance tests done with 16GB and 32GB capacities, i found SC was using 12GB of my RAM, almost maxing me out. So i was considering getting another 8x2 kit but started wondering if i should even bother pumping another $100+ into this rig. See i have taken pride over the years that my rig can run ANYTHING.. and i do mean ANYTHING, and it makes me happy knowing that next year or whenever when a new awesome title is released, i can be right there, ready to rock and roll without having to worry about it being too far ahead of my machine.

Its a good rig, its served me very well over the years, but is it worth putting more money into? Should i just sell it and use the funds to build a new rig with DDR4 support and a more modern socket? Should i wait for the next generation of sockets or DDR5 to be released? Or is this rig worth the time and money for what we have today?

Just toss in the extra ram. Maybe try used.

[Brooksie359]

Honestly you could easily just spend the 100 bucks and still be good for awhile. That being said if you are like me and like building pcs then I would start from scratch other than the gpu. I have been contemplating doing the same mostly because I want a new case.

[DeathsEye]

Alright, thank you all so much for your input on this matter, i really do appreciate it!
I have decided to purchase a used 8x2 kit for $105 from ebay which will arrive in just over a week. Hopefully the cost will be worth it and i'll be able to use the extra ram beyond SC too, but regardless thank you all very much for your thoughts and opinions! 

[Serpius]

9 minutes ago, DeathsEye said:

Alright, thank you all so much for your input on this matter, i really do appreciate it!
I have decided to purchase a used 8x2 kit for $105 from ebay which will arrive in just over a week. Hopefully the cost will be worth it and i'll be able to use the extra ram beyond SC too, but regardless thank you all very much for your thoughts and opinions! 

Updating the RAM is your best option now. Since you are satisfied with everything else that is running, why fix something that isn't broken?

 

The only concern that I have is the case, you stated it's bulging a bit due to the new CPU cooler.

You may want to consider getting a new case that will accommodate the CPU cooler without the side case panel pushing too much stress on the cooler itself.

 

Aside from the case, keep everything as is and enjoy it while it lasts!

[BeepBoop.PC]

$100+ for a 16g kit of RAM? Try $200+, for real. Can you add another 4 x 2 kit? I'm really not sure. I'm also not sure who you would sell to if you wanted to, but at least a better cpu is recommended The other parts seem fine! 16g of RAM is fine for me, 600W PSU, GTX 1070. I'd be careful of that bulge from the cooler, though. If you can get a smaller one, do it. You don't want to strain th motherboard in one particular area.

 

CPU isn't really a big issue, though. If you can affordably upgrade the RAM, do it and wait for prices to drop before building a new system. Prices of RAM, GPU's, etc.

[DeathsEye]

Yea the bulge was a bit of an issue at first, it sticks out about half an inch... have had it for about 3 months now and haven't noticed any negative effects though; the back of the motherboard has supports that keep the mb flat so maybe thats why as opposed to normal? This is honestly my first real build and most of the original parts (most of which are gone except the case and RAM) were recommended to me by a friend.
At the rate that hardware is proceeding though, im probably just gonna hunker down with the ram as my last real upgrade until the next-gen stuff comes along, and from there i'll probably sell this as a budget rig (which im sure it will be in another 3 or 4 years)

@BeepBoop.PC i tried getting a better processor, unfortunatly i cant find much better for the LGA1150 socket other then the 4790k... which i would have gotten but i couldnt find any good deals for one at the time of shopping over the course of 2 months, so i settled on a 4770k

Also just discovered that i wasnt in dual-channel memory mode... took a bit of fiddling with my bios settings to make the thing actually boot correctly (doesnt seem to like memory fast-boot... but overclocking the 1600mhz to 2200mhz is fine) but now thats a thing Again i really appreciate all the help and pointers, hopefully i can look back on this knowledge i gain on these forums when i go to make a rig 100% alone <3