i5 2500k @4.5GHz vs R7 1700 @ 3.9Ghz 1440p gaming?

craptakular

craptakular

craptakular

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Hello good people of OCUK,

I have been undecided for months on what to do here, I have an older PC and still like to game and a bsic LG1080p monitor from a decade ago when I had no money at all.

My current specs:

2500k @4.5Ghz
Gigabyte mainboard
Gigabyte GTX970
1 TB SSD
760W Seasonic X-Series (Gold or better standard I think, at least gold).
Lain Li Micro ATX case
Lg 1080P monitor around 10 yrs old
G5 Mouse - it is so old I have work away the grey colour and it is white where my finers have been for over a decade :p
Microsoft Keyboard - very old, some keys now don't work

So aside from the SSD and GTX970 I haven't touched my PC in nearly 6 years. I really want to get a 34" 21:9 monitor but worried it will then snow ball into a whole new PC.

So, what I am trying to work out the following:

1. Do I need to replace anything?
2. If so, is it just CPU, ram, mainboard, case, keyboard and mouse?
3. or can I just get away with graphics card, keyboard and mouse?

Essentially I want to play/get into the following current pool of games:

1. PUBG
2. Overwatch
3. DCS World
4. Squad
5. Arma 3
6. Battlefield 1
7. CoD 2017 (The WW2 one)
8. Star Citizen

I don't know what else is on coming out...

I would consider AMD Vega, just concerned that drivers will be dire, but it would mean a £350 - £400 saving on a 21:9 34" monitor. Assuming Vega is cheaper or the same as GTX1080/Ti
 
Yes, I own them, just don't have a 1440p monitor. So I am wondering how much of a hit will the jump from 1080p to 1440p be on my current system?
 
By 1440p do you mean 3440x1440 which is the resolution of the 34" 21:9 1440p monitors? If so then the 970 will struggle immensely unfortunately.

However if you are just upgrading the resolution, and not going from 60Hz to 100Hz, then a GPU upgrade will be pretty much all you need.
 
Yes it would be 3440x1440.

I could give up on the 21:9 dream and go 27inch Dell G Sync for £520 and GTX1070/1080.

How much more immersive is 21:9? Is it really worth an additional £1500 for a total system rebuild?
 
I think it is one of those things you have to try to know if it is worth it for you.

If you start looking at higher refresh rate monitors then a CPU upgrade would need to be considered. I had a 2550K/3570K/2600K with a GTX 1080 and they all seriously struggled with delivering more than 60FPS. Now on a 5820K and it's much better (however I wouldn't recommend the 5820K now that Ryzen exists).
 
What specs would you build that results in ultra settings and good minimum fps?

Ryzen seems ok budget wise but concerned it isnt much of an upgrade for gaming, do I wait for coffelake?
 
I am in a similar position. I have a 3570k @ 4.5 with a 980 card. I have a Ryzen 1700X arriving next week. :)

Though I dont actually have any of those games to do a comparison with and I currently only have a 1080p monitor(that and a gpu the next upgrade).
 
Recently been playing Mass Effect Andromeda(dont think it has a benchmark) and a little bit of WOW(though quit that for now). Other things currently installed....Ashes of the Singularity, Dying Light, GTAV, Shadow of Mordor.

Have benched a few things so I can do a comparison. I am not expecting much difference gaming wise but hopefully productivity stuff is much better(software developer).

I also looked into a 34" widescreen as we got one at work and its excellent but my 980 is not upto it so decided to upgrade the other bits first. :)
 
Yeah we play very different games, I've got GTA5 and wanted to try that ashes one, its an RTS isn't it? Looks like a rebooted Total Annihilation or Z to me.
 
You'd be better buying a decent monitor and GPU first and leaving the CPU/Mobo/RAM till later, my 3570k chews into all games decently with my 1070.
 
With an SB CPU @ 4.5ghz don't worry about your CPU at all for now. Once you increase your res your GPU will probably struggle but any other upgrades will really will be incremental increases rather than something massive.
 
FrenchTart said:
With an SB CPU @ 4.5ghz don't worry about your CPU at all for now. Once you increase your res your GPU will probably struggle but any other upgrades will really will be incremental increases rather than something massive.
Click to expand...
Hi there FrenchTart,

If I go 3440x1440 (i think that is right) what graphics card is best bang for buck interms of price v performance, I can go 1080Ti, but if its not needed I don't need to have the fastest card for the sake of it.
 
I'm a bit out of date in terms of knowledge on that front I'm afraid :) I'm sure someone else will chime in with something though.

I think an important point is what refresh rate/FPS you'll be looking for too (which similarly the whole VR question factors in to). Based on your game list I'd imagine you'll want high frame rates as responsiveness in FPS games is pretty important. That will increase requirements somewhat.

edit: Assuming you take what I say at face value /re your CPU and such you may get better answers in the graphics card forum?
 
Yeah, I'll ask in there, but they will say 1080Ti :)

It is kind sad PC gaming has gone this way, I remember paying £132 for 2500k and £260 for my GTX680. Now its at least £300 for a CPU and £500 -£700 for a single graphics card, ouch.
 
True :p

I know what you mean. To be honest I've done fine with a similar setup which I also bought quite cheaply. I'm also running a secondhand 290x (water cooled) which I think cost me about ~£120.

That said, I don't really play PC games anywhere near as much these days so I absolutely don't need the latest and greatest.
 
craptakular said:
Yeah, I'll ask in there, but they will say 1080Ti :)

It is kind sad PC gaming has gone this way, I remember paying £132 for 2500k and £260 for my GTX680. Now its at least £300 for a CPU and £500 -£700 for a single graphics card, ouch.
Click to expand...

The CPU market is fairly decent now AMD released the 1600, but to drop prices in the graphics card department we need them to release something to compete with nVidia.
 
Imho you should really go for a 2560x1440 144Hz screen if anything rather than 3440x1440 for the games you have listed.

ARMA and PUBG are very pretty on the ultrawides but it isn't worth it for the performance trade-off.

Your specs are fine and any i5 at 4.5GHz is capable for the next couple of years too.
 
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