Debating on upgrading, advice? [$250 budget]

[jeffmeyer5295]

Hello All,

 

Just real quick, here's my build log: Computer build

 

I am thinking about doing an upgrade and just wanted to see what peoples thoughts are, I only really want to spend 200-250 bucks USD, I play games and just use my machine for daily stuff. I am okay with used parts, I'd prefer new but its whatever. 

Specs: 

Spoiler

Core I7-4770k Paired with a Cooler 212

RAM: 16 GBs Corsair Vengence 1600 Mhz ddr3

Storage: 1tb HDD + 500 GB Samsung 850 evo

GPU: EVGA 970 4gb(3.5 gb looool)

Mobo: ASrock Fatality z97 killer

PSU: Corsair Hx650w Semi Modular

Case: Corsair Carbide I think

I'd like some advice, I play basic games like Rust, and stream when I can. I don't really ever have too many performance issues but would like to get something a little nicer/newer, and curious of your thoughts. 

[Jurrunio]

A much better cooler. 

[Dedayog]

Aye, cooler.

 

Maybe  the RX590 if you can find one for a good price?

 

Grr, I hate when I miss things

[jeffmeyer5295]

10 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

A much better cooler. 

 

9 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

Aye, cooler.

 

Maybe  the RX590 if you can find one for a good price?

 

Grr, I hate when I miss things

I know people have their reservations about this cooler, But as far as performance for cost I'm not sure. I don't ever have issues with heat and it's OC'd to 4.2 GHz.

To add to the above statement, I monitor my temps the whole time I use the PC. I don't have temp issues  I do appreciate the feedback, if it was coming, though. 

RX590 is a good option, I was wondering if I'd get a huge gain from a decent card upgrade, I was considering looking for a 1070 or something used, get a good deal? Idk

[Dedayog]

Just now, jeffmeyer5295 said:

 

I know people have their reservations about this cooler, But as far as performance for cost I'm not sure. I don't ever have issues with heat and it's OC'd to 4.2 GHz.

 

RX590 is a good option, I was wondering if I'd get a huge gain from a decent card upgrade, I was considering looking for a 1070 or something used, get a good deal? Idk

I think you can hit 4.4 or 4.5GHz with better cooling, but probably minimal gains.

 

A used 1070 would be a nice upgrade, but I never really recommend used cards since I wouldn't use them.  If you're comfortable with them, then yes iit's something to look into.

 

[Zando_]

2 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

I think you can hit 4.4 or 4.5GHz with better cooling, but probably minimal gains.

 

A used 1070 would be a nice upgrade, but I never really recommend used cards since I wouldn't use them.  If you're comfortable with them, then yes iit's something to look into.

 

I've got 2 used 1080s, a B-Stock (refurb) 980 Ti, a 1050 Ti, and 1050 used, all EVGA ones. Also had a used MSI 980 Ti but just traded that for a used RX480 8GB (Sapphire Nitro+), and I also have a used Vega Frontier Edition I scored for $405. Had 0 issues with any of them, used GPUs are fine so long as you don't fall for a scam and make sure they were taken care of properly. 

[jeffmeyer5295]

Just now, jstudrawa said:

I think you can hit 4.4 or 4.5GHz with better cooling, but probably minimal gains.

 

A used 1070 would be a nice upgrade, but I never really recommend used cards since I wouldn't use them.  If you're comfortable with them, then yes iit's something to look into.

 

Haha used cards definitely make me shake in my boots, only local and that I can test first. My current 970 was used and has absolutely taken a beating XD Got lucky. 

 

I was wondering if a Ryzen 5 kit(mobo, ram, cpu) would be a huge gain over my i7-4770k? I have issues finding decent comparisons and am not sure if I'd net a decent gain for the money. I def cannot afford to upgrade to an intel setup post DDR4 for what I use the PC for, but I might be able to justify 350-450 for a full change. I game maybe like 2-3 hours a week if that, so it's hard to justify choking too much down

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, jeffmeyer5295 said:

Haha used cards definitely make me shake in my boots, only local and that I can test first. My current 970 was used and has absolutely taken a beating XD Got lucky. 

 

I was wondering if a Ryzen 5 kit(mobo, ram, cpu) would be a huge gain over my i7-4770k? I have issues finding decent comparisons and am not sure if I'd net a decent gain for the money. I def cannot afford to upgrade to an intel setup post DDR4 for what I use the PC for, but I might be able to justify 350-450 for a full change. I game maybe like 2-3 hours a week if that, so it's hard to justify choking too much down

It'll definetly beat the i7 in anything multithreaded, in gaming it'd probs be about the same, maybe slightly worse. The 4770K is still a beast for gaming AFAIK. 

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

New case and a real f**king cooler

[jeffmeyer5295]

7 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

It'll definetly beat the i7 in anything multithreaded, in gaming it'd probs be about the same, maybe slightly worse. The 4770K is still a beast for gaming AFAIK. 

Yeah I literally never have issues running games, I just find it hard to believe that this setup is still relevant as I only paid 350 bucks for it. Maybe I should just wait till something better comes along or I am willing to spend. 

 

I do have hickups when trying to stream(frame dips) but I'm wondering if that's network related as I only get 5 mb/s upload. I figured that'd be okay for 720p streaming

 

My CPU usage in Stream labs is nowhere near taxed when these frame dips happen, not even over 50%

4 minutes ago, OrbitalBuzzsaw said:

New case and a real f**king cooler

Why a new case? And why a new cooler? 

[Zando_]

Just now, jeffmeyer5295 said:

Yeah I literally never have issues running games, I just find it hard to believe that this setup is still relevant as I only paid 350 bucks for it. Maybe I should just wait till something better comes along or I am willing to spend. 

 

I do have hickups when trying to stream(frame dips) but I'm wondering if that's network related as I only get 5 mb/s upload. I figured that'd be okay for 720p streaming

Why a new case? And why a new cooler? 

What are you encoding on? The CPU or GPU?

 

Also yeah, why a new case? They don't effect performance in any what unless your current one is total crap and has such bad airflow everything throttles...

[jeffmeyer5295]

1 minute ago, Zando Bob said:

What are you encoding on? The CPU or GPU?

 

Also yeah, why a new case? They don't effect performance in any what unless your current one is total crap and has such bad airflow everything throttles...

Currently running CPU encoding, I have never tried GPU as mine is rather weak. 

 

My case is fine. Good open airflow and I am extremely meticulous about cable management, nothing blocking airflow in any way. 

[Zando_]

Just now, jeffmeyer5295 said:

Currently running CPU encoding, I have never tried GPU as mine is rather weak. 

 

My case is fine. Good open airflow and I am extremely meticulous about cable management, nothing blocking airflow in any way. 

IIRC the 970 can compete with a 1060, so for 1080p 60fps it's not weak at all. NVENC encoding on the GPU is usually super light too, much less of a resource hog than CPU rendering, for only a slight drop in quality. You won't notice it when streaming though, as the quality fluctuates anyways, so I'd give it a try and see how it performs. 

[jeffmeyer5295]

1 minute ago, Zando Bob said:

IIRC the 970 can compete with a 1060, so for 1080p 60fps it's not weak at all. NVENC encoding on the GPU is usually super light too, much less of a resource hog than CPU rendering, for only a slight drop in quality. You won't notice it when streaming though, as the quality fluctuates anyways, so I'd give it a try and see how it performs. 

Yeah my thinking my 970 was weak was mostly a self created thought lmao. I will try NVENC tonight and see how it handles it.

 

I would buy EKWB's Fluid gaming kit to assist with cooling if they had a gpu block for it, just for something to do, as that's mostly why I want to upgrade. I like to work on computers and need something to do XD

 

I do not like the look of AIO's

 

 

[Zando_]

6 minutes ago, jeffmeyer5295 said:

Yeah my thinking my 970 was weak was mostly a self created thought lmao. I will try NVENC tonight and see how it handles it.

 

I would buy EKWB's Fluid gaming kit to assist with cooling if they had a gpu block for it, just for something to do, as that's mostly why I want to upgrade. I like to work on computers and need something to do XD

 

I do not like the look of AIO's

 

 

I think they have kits with GPU blocks, but for 10 series cards. You could always do a full custom loop with soft tubing, it's much cheaper and you can get waterblocks and fittings and such used. I did a watercooled build for a friend last year on a $700-800 budget or so (already had the mobo and RAM, then got an i7 6700K, R9 290/390X, I forget which one, PSU, SSD, HDD, and all the watercooling parts and a case in that budget, as well as a $99 1080p screen and such). 

[jeffmeyer5295]

4 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

I think they have kits with GPU blocks, but for 10 series cards. You could always do a full custom loop with soft tubing, it's much cheaper and you can get waterblocks and fittings and such used. I did a watercooled build for a friend last year on a $700-800 budget or so (already had the mobo and RAM, then got an i7 6700K, R9 290/390X, I forget which one, PSU, SSD, HDD, and all the watercooling parts and a case in that budget, as well as a $99 1080p screen and such). 

I've considered doing the custom loop option, I am fine with used parts but have a hard time sourcing them(especially water cooling). Do you think a loop can be had for less than $300 total? EKWB's was mostly good looking because of its cost. I'd just throw in a gpu block on top of their kit but it being copper based makes things tough. 

[Jurrunio]

54 minutes ago, jeffmeyer5295 said:

 

I know people have their reservations about this cooler, But as far as performance for cost I'm not sure. I don't ever have issues with heat and it's OC'd to 4.2 GHz.

To add to the above statement, I monitor my temps the whole time I use the PC. I don't have temp issues  I do appreciate the feedback, if it was coming, though. 

RX590 is a good option, I was wondering if I'd get a huge gain from a decent card upgrade, I was considering looking for a 1070 or something used, get a good deal? Idk

I've seen people hit 4.7GHz on the 4770k, with much better cooling of course. You can reuse the cooling for the CPU even after platform upgrades.