Upgrade for VR

Adam-r · 27 Nov 2019 at 08:47

Hey all,

I’m looking to go to a VR capable setup and would also like to transition to 1440p gaming. I currently only really play flight sims and games like minecraft/cities skylines.

my current setup is:
i5 4960k
8gb ram DDR3
280x gfx card
650W gold psu

the graphics card has always been a problem in this build and I’d like to upgrade that first and then gradually move across to the newer CPU chipsets.

I’m not going to spend 1k on a graphics card. In fact if I could buy a rift, gfx and have money left over for some more ram I’d be happy.

What do people recommend? Would a used 1070ti offer enough performance to get me into VR? Would people bother throwing money at this setup to get more ram or just wait and get a newer cpu/mobo bundle?

as for budgets, maybe £1500 all in if I could spread it over a number of months while still gaming.

NovaKill4 · 27 Nov 2019 at 09:43

What make and model is your PSU and do you need a new case?

Get a 5700xt (and PSU if needed), some good deals on them right now for black friday, then get 3700x, b450/b550 motherboard, 16GB Ram in a few months.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £98.99
1 x AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £289.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport LT Gray Micron E-Die 16GB Kit (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 UDIMM= £69.95
1 x Gigabyte Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming OC 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £375.00
1 x Corsair RM Series RM650 650W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020194-UK)= £89.99

Total: £935.02 (includes shipping: £11.10)

Adam-r · 27 Nov 2019 at 09:54

My psu is an Antec artic 650W gold I do believe.

The build you offered does give some room for a 1440p monitor or a rift S.

NovaKill4 · 27 Nov 2019 at 11:20

I cant find that PSU anywhere, are you sure the model is correct?

The 3700x is the go to CPU for most people now, just orderd one myself.
And the 5700xt is the best value to performance card which can handle 1440p nicely. VR on a Rift S will also be fine on it
To get a faster GPU you would be looking at the 2070S which is an extra £100 for roughly 10% increase in performance

Adam-r · 27 Nov 2019 at 12:37

NovaKill4 said:
I cant find that PSU anywhere, are you sure the model is correct?

The 3700x is the go to CPU for most people now, just orderd one myself.
And the 5700xt is the best value to performance card which can handle 1440p nicely. VR on a Rift S will also be fine on it
To get a faster GPU you would be looking at the 2070S which is an extra £100 for roughly 10% increase in performance

I’ll double check the model tonight.

Terrorfirmer · 27 Nov 2019 at 15:00

the 2070s is an extra 100 pounds? is it not more like 50. i personally found the 5700xt had some driver issues, maybe sorted now but I found it a pain, went to 2070 and life's been peachy since

NovaKill4 · 27 Nov 2019 at 16:31

£75 difference if you go with a 2 fan cheapest 2070s and about £90 for the cheapest 3 fan, was looking at the Gigabyte cards for the 2070s as they are the cheapest ones i would buy which is right on £100 difference.

And i wouldn't choose one or the other because of driver issues as they have both had their fair share in the past.

Adam-r · 28 Nov 2019 at 18:08

My PSU is an antec high current gaming M 750W. 80 bronze.

NovaKill4 · 29 Nov 2019 at 08:12

Adam-r said:
My PSU is an antec high current gaming M 750W. 80 bronze.

I would replace it if you are buying new components, its not very well rated and is only bronze, the one i linked is gold rated and has 10 year warrenty.

Adam-r · 29 Nov 2019 at 08:43

NovaKill4 said:
I would replace it if you are buying new components, its not very well rated and is only bronze, the one i linked is gold rated and has 10 year warrenty.

What does the gold, silver, bronze ratings refer to?

Adam-r · 29 Nov 2019 at 08:48

Google has helped me. 8% difference in efficiencies between bronze and gold. It’s on the list to change out, but will prioritise other components before the PSU as I’m
impatient :- D

NovaKill4 · 29 Nov 2019 at 09:24

The main difference is the quality of components and how reliable they are. The one you have was never a very good PSU and was made with cheaper lower quality components, the rating system can indicate this.

If you spend £1k on a new PC but kept the same PSU and it went bang when you turned it on you will be kicking yourself very hard.

I would strongly suggest you prioritise the PSU before all other components.

Adam-r · 2 Jan 2020 at 12:48

I'm now in a position to grab a new graphics card.
I'm able to go around the 5700XT level or perhaps the 2070 Super, maybe in terms of budget.

Whats bothering me though is the timing. If I buy a new card now, am I going to miss out on new releases in the next couple of months? I never buy bleeding edge, but there has been suggestions in other threads that some people would be better off buying an RX590 for 150 and waiting to see what the new releases bring in terms of reductions further down the range?

I'm realistically not going to go to 4K so 1440p and potentially VR would be the level I'd be aiming for.

Any suggestions or comments?

Lobovski · 2 Jan 2020 at 14:49

It depends on your priorities , your going for an Oculus S I presume with your budget and current availability. What games are you looking to play and how soon are you looking to get into VR

Adam-r · 2 Jan 2020 at 16:05

Lobovski said:
It depends on your priorities , your going for an Oculus S I presume with your budget and current availability. What games are you looking to play and how soon are you looking to get into VR

DCS and elite dangerous etc would be the games I’d be looking to move into VR. My experience with the htc vive wasn’t great though. A lot of buttons in cockpits remain unreadable so I might hold off on vr until it gets to a point where the detail is there. It may be there already with the rift S - would have to try.

Adam-r · 14 Jan 2020 at 12:42

So I managed to pick up a 2070 super. Now I have bottle necks left, right and center!
Think the CPU/MOBO/RAM will be next alongside a new case.