Which parts are okay to keep and which should I upgrade?

Vanch · 26 Jul 2019 at 22:16

I'm looking to build a new gaming PC (1920x1080 resolution. Not too bothered about 4K right now). My budget is around £700-800, although I'm trying to ideally not spend ALL of that, so if I'm able to buy cheaper parts which won't really be of any noticeable difference to more expensive ones, that'd be great (such as CPU, graphics card, etc). I currently have the following parts in my PC, and was just wondering whether to sell them ALL or be able to keep some of them to put towards a new build.

I also have a 750w Thermaltake Toughpower power supply. Also, the RAM I'm using is DDR4.

After looking around, I came to the conclusion that the only things that will really make a difference when upgrading from my current parts are the CPU & Graphics Card. I already have two storage drives (1 SSD and 1 SATA), a motherboard & DDR4 RAM. Granted, they are a few years old now, although I wasn't sure if they were worth using or if I should just sell them and buy completely new parts. I bought the motherboard a few years back, although it seems quite up to date even by today's standards as it runs DDR4 ram, etc.

Anyway, what do you guys suggest, and which parts would be worth buying? I was actually thinking of buying an Nvidia RTX 2060 as my graphics card, and an i5 9600K as my CPU, although I'm not sure whether I'd be better off getting an i7.

Thanks.

Terrorfirmer · 27 Jul 2019 at 13:55

You'd need a new motherboard for a 9600K. Your current board will only take older CPU's. A 2nd hand i7-6700 would be a big upgrade though, if you don't want the hassle of replacing the motherboard/CPU, I'd just do that.

I'd get an i7-6700/6700K 2nd hand and throw in an RTX2060 Super. Well under budget and massive upgrades.

If you are willing to change out motherboard, I'd get a Ryzen 3600 + compatible B450M most likely. Better buy than the 9600K in general.

Vanch · 27 Jul 2019 at 14:04

Oh, I didn't realise I'd need to get a new motherboard for that CPU. I assumed because the 9600K was an LGA1151 it'd work in my current motherboard. How about RAM anyway? Is 16gb DDR4 still viable enough for games nowadays, or should I be looking to upgrade to 32gb?

Thanks.

Terrorfirmer · 27 Jul 2019 at 14:08

16GB is plenty. You're limited to the 6700 and 7700 CPU's, both more or less the same though the 6700 runs cooler. Also check if your board/bios supports the i7-7th gen.

I'd just get the 6700, 6700K, 7700 or 7700K - whatever's cheapest you can find.

Spend the rest on a GPU.

Or else sell your Z170 + 6600K, keep the ram and get a compatible B450M board and Ryzen 3600.

Vanch · 27 Jul 2019 at 15:28

Roger that! Thanks for the advice. I should mention that I've been an avid Intel/Nvidia user since I was a child, so I'm more biased towards getting Intel/Nvidia processors and graphics cards. I know you mentioned the Ryzen, but if there's an equivalent Intel version I'd prefer to get that instead. Whilst we're on the subject, in terms of graphics cards is there a major difference between an RTX 2060 and RTX 2060 Super? I've got a load of store credit with Currys PC World, so unfortunately my options are limited when it comes to buying from a specific shop. Currys PC World only seems to have the normal RTX cards, not the Super ones (which I'm assuming have just been released?). I'm pretty sure as well that I read something online the other day claiming that the Super versions of the RTX perform better and are in fact cheaper than the standard RTX cards, which is a shame if it's the case as Currys don't have the Super versions.

Also, what kind of difference could I expect between a 2060 and 2070? I'm tempted to push the boat out a little bit more and go for a 2070, although if it won't make a big difference compared to a 2060 then I may as well not bother as they cost an extra £150-175 or so.

And finally, in terms of motherboards I ideally don't want to be spending more than £100 on one. I've looked on Currys and there's three under that price range (MicroATX though, if that is of any relevance?). I've put a screenshot below, so if you could let me know which is the best option out of the three I'd appreciate it.

Terrorfirmer · 27 Jul 2019 at 17:34

I'd probably take the ROG Strix though I'd check out what either it or the Tuf Gaming offer, would forget the H310M unless you really are on a tight budget.

The Intel equivalent to the Ryzen 3600 in games as of now is the 9600K, though the Ryzen is superior overall due to having double the thread count, and will age better in a few years for that reason in games.

Again, if looking to save money, a decent H310M + 9400F is the best 'budget' Intel option. Equally in that case, a Ryzen 2600 + B350/450M is same/price or cheaper and the same as above applies regards 3600 v 9600K.

ShiWarrior · 27 Jul 2019 at 19:54

same spec as me
I had a GTX 970 before, i now have an RX 580

the GPU will give you the best bang for buck
BUT

i would stick with what you have for now

i run at 1080 144Hz

Grafter67 · 28 Jul 2019 at 00:34

I can't see any benefit in you upgrading. You don't state the refresh rate of your monitor so I assume 60hz and imagine you are massively already exceeding 60 fps?

Vanch · 28 Jul 2019 at 01:06

Grafter67 said:
I can't see any benefit in you upgrading. You don't state the refresh rate of your monitor so I assume 60hz and imagine you are massively already exceeding 60 fps?

I usually never drop below 60, regardless of the game I'm playing, so you may be right and I won't need to upgrade for the time being. I actually thought about waiting a while until newer games start to run badly on my system, but luckily I'm not there just yet.

Terrorfirmer · 28 Jul 2019 at 10:13

It really depends on the games. You would get hard dips way below 60 playing Battlefield 1/V online for example, or the newer Assassins Creed. With an i7-6700, or with Ryzen 2600/3600, you wouldn't, thanks to the extra cores/threads.