Black Friday GPU upgrade!

Emjay86 · 28 Nov 2019 at 13:31

Hi Guys,

Was hoping someone here could help out with a little decision regarding Black Friday!

So i'm running the following:
Intel Core i7 2600k @ 3.40 ghz
8.00 Dual-Channel DDR3 @665mhz (9-9-9-24)
Gigabyte Technology Co. ltd. z68x-UD7-B3 (Socket 1155)
4095mb NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970

I appreciate that my system in general is aging but am I wrong in thinking that the GPU's are the things to save well on for this black friday?

I would like a GeForce as frankly im just used to having them and I also like the idea of the RTX stuff.

I've seen a couple of the KFA2 2070 super cards are going for ok prices (£450 ish). Would I be wise to pick one up now?

OR

Do I give up the fantasy and focus on fixing the rest of the rig?

Many thanks in advance!

Grimley · 28 Nov 2019 at 14:25

Buy one if you wish, but I think your CPU will bottleneck that card.
I'd attempt an overclock in order to reduce said bottleneck.
Of course this will depend on the resolution you are currently at & you wish to increase that.
At least if you buy the card now you may see some benefit, but you should see more benefit when you upgrade the rest of the PC in the future.

Ste · 28 Nov 2019 at 15:35

What's the resolution? The higher you go the less important CPU generally is

I'd go for it and also get your processor over clocked. I think the 2600k were good for knocking on 5ghz from memory.

Poneros · 28 Nov 2019 at 15:44

Go for it BUT you desperately need to add another 8GB of RAM as well. So if you need to save up on the GPU in order to afford RAM too then don't be afraid to get a 2070/2060 Super for less. The CPU is still fine for 60 fps especially as you push raytracing which is so GPU heavy but do give the CPU an OC, at least 4-4.4 Ghz it should do & your mobo can do it (kitguru: "The 24 Phase PWM ensures that the motherboard is stable, even under heavily overclocked situations. At 4.8ghz-5.0ghz the only thing limiting the overclocking potential is the cooling.").

Emjay86 · 28 Nov 2019 at 18:30

Thanks guys for the feedback. I'll no doubt need to overclock my CPU and tbh, cooling isn't an issue. It's got a water block on it which is strapped to a 360 rad and 120 rad. It's being massively overcooled if anything at the moment! Reason being is I used to have 2 GTX 580's and rather than let the rad go to waste when I changed to an air 970 I just linked it all up to the cpu loop.

I'm playing at a resolution of 1920x1080 and am happy with it. I love the look of the widescreen curved monitors but it scares me with both the price of them and knowing it probably reduces the aging ability of the gpu.

As far as my gaming is concerned, the only issue I've across recently is GPU based with red dead redemption 2 (Not hugely surprised). Changing the gpu would obviously sort that.

So the next question: is it fair to suggest that the 2070 super will last me a good few years?

I'm planning on upgrading the rest of the rig when the new consoles come out, hopefully making better tech available or current high end tech cheaper to afford.

docsonic · 28 Nov 2019 at 23:38

Given the current prices I'd grab a cheap Ryzen CPU & mobo & 16gb of cheap ddr4 then see what you have left for a midrange 1080p GPU. Or stick with your 970 for a few more months as rtx prices should adjust in your favour. The only kicker.. is your PSU up to snuff? Well, that's what I'd do anyway

Darujhistan · 29 Nov 2019 at 12:34

What he said. I was in a similair postion and bit the bullet and upgraded CPU, RAM and Mobo, and haven't looked back. Upgrade your GPU later.

Poneros · 29 Nov 2019 at 12:59

Emjay86 said:
So the next question: is it fair to suggest that the 2070 super will last me a good few years?

Absolutely!

Emjay86 · 29 Nov 2019 at 14:42

docsonic said:
Given the current prices I'd grab a cheap Ryzen CPU & mobo & 16gb of cheap ddr4 then see what you have left for a midrange 1080p GPU. Or stick with your 970 for a few more months as rtx prices should adjust in your favour. The only kicker.. is your PSU up to snuff? Well, that's what I'd do anyway

I've got a 750w PSU so that should be fine?

I'm a little concerned with the 2070 super as looking at benchmarks online it shows that the fps just drops horribly with RTX enabled, which I presume will be the same for new releases. Are we at a point where it's just too early tech to be worth it currently? This kinda ties into the longevity question too.

I've looked at Ryzen stuff and done a good bit of research. From what I've read up the Ryzen is great but Intel still win regarding gaming and apparently the more demanding the game gets the more noticeable the difference is, making it less long lived.

It's a real sticky wicket really, what with AMD releasing RTX cards soon, Nvidia releasing 3xxx series and then the next gen consoles which all means maybe it's better just waiting?

With exception to bf5 which runs perfectly or red dead my other games list are easy games as far as hardware is concerned. I'm definitely getting bloodlines 2 but I can't imagine that will be anything higher than red dead is right now.

Decisions decisions!!

varkanoid · 29 Nov 2019 at 15:49

Emjay86 said:
It's a real sticky wicket really, what with AMD releasing RTX cards soon, Nvidia releasing 3xxx series and then the next gen consoles which all means maybe it's better just waiting?

AMD wont be release RTX cards

probably be called something else

Marc2180 · 29 Nov 2019 at 16:01

last year black friday i upgraded my computer to a 2600x, gigabyte aruos pro mobo and 16gb 3000mhz ram but kept my old EVGA 970 SC. This year i'm probably going to go and order a 5700xt

JediFragger · 29 Nov 2019 at 16:23

Marc2180 said:
This year i'm probably going to go and order a 5700xt

Nice upgrade :cool:

oscarfs · 29 Nov 2019 at 17:57

I agree with others and would spend that money on upgrading the rest of the system.

I'm running an old RX 470 4gb card but upgraded my cpu/ram the other month and it's like a different machine...well because it is i guess.

Emjay86 · 29 Nov 2019 at 18:58

oscarfs said:
I agree with others and would spend that money on upgrading the rest of the system.

I'm running an old RX 470 4gb card but upgraded my cpu/ram the other month and it's like a different machine...well because it is i guess.

Brill. Thanks for the advise. Guess I'll price up a new rig then!!

Thanks for the feedback guys!

gpuerrilla · 29 Nov 2019 at 21:07

Yeah new mobo/cpu/ram. Use the 970 then upgrade that when opportunity next arises.

Emjay86 · 29 Nov 2019 at 21:27

Th0nt said:
Yeah new mobo/cpu/ram. Use the 970 then upgrade that when opportunity next arises.

Any suggestions on an Intel CPU based system? I like the look of the i7-9700KF processors (which I'll put into my water loop) but am not sure what to put with it in regards to mobo and RAM. I'm keen on using corsair stuff that's compatible with the iCUE as I'm already using it for keyboard, mouse and headset (and stand).
Thanks again.

koooowweeee · 1 Dec 2019 at 08:03

A GPU will give you a far better boost in games. Not sure why people are recommending a CPU upgrade first.

Emjay86 · 1 Dec 2019 at 09:41

koooowweeee said:
A GPU will give you a far better boost in games. Not sure why people are recommending a CPU upgrade first.

Thanks for the advise, I have ordered a new 2070s which should be with me by Wednesday. I'll upgrade the rest next year.

koooowweeee · 1 Dec 2019 at 10:38

Emjay86 said:
Thanks for the advise, I have ordered a new 2070s which should be with me by Wednesday. I'll upgrade the rest next year.

Nice. I've just bought a 1080ti. Not installed yet tho.

Whack the volts up and get the CPU overclocked. Them CPUs easy do 4.8 under water.