4790k & 1080ti Upgrade time..

[Nedb37]

Hi all,

As the title suggests, it's getting towards that time where I need to upgrade after close to ten years. I'm running (lightly) modded Skyrim, Cyberpunk etc.. and things are starting to struggle.

I primarily use my PC these days for gaming and surfing the web, nothing in the way of work outside of office applications from time to time.

One of my questions is how much of my current set up is worth keeping? My PSU, the case etc.. for example. I could replace elements little by little at a later date.

OR I start by getting a new case, PSU etc.. and wait for the new generations to release?

I've currently been gaming at 1080p. I'd like to improve this. A new monitor would be purchased separately.

I guess what I'd like to do is 'future proof' the bulk of the build as much as possible and then go for a 5* series GPU when released (or do I just wait?).

My current spec is:

Corsair Obsidian 450d Case
2 x 140mm Fans top and front, 1x 120 fan back.
EVGA SuperNova 1000 P2 PSU
Intel i7 4790k CPU
MSI Z97 Gaming 5 MoBo
Prolimatech Megahalems (2x 120mm push/pull fans)
Teamgroup Xtreem 16gb DDR3 RAM 2666
Gigabyte Aorus GTX 1080ti

The budget would be in the region of 2500.

 

[Gray2233]

Your case and PSU should be fine, although at ten years old I'd consider a change.

For £2500 you could get an extremely good rig with a monitor even if you didn't keep your case and PSU.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core 5.00GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DT-AM) = £359.99
• 1 x TeamGroup Delta RGB 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FF3D532G6000HC30DC01) (SKU: MY-0B8-TG) = £109.99
• 1 x Phanteks XT Pro Ultra ATX Case Tempered Glass Window, Black (SKU: CAS-PHK-01443) = £66.95
• 1 x Asus TUF Gaming B650-Plus WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6K0-AS) = £169.99
• 1 x Corsair RM850x Shift ATX 3.0 80 Plus Gold Power Supply (CP-9020252-UK) (SKU: CA-279-CS) = £129.95
• 1 x WD Black SN770 2TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS200T3X0E) (SKU: HD-58G-WD) = £119.99
• 1 x Palit GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER Jetstream OC 16GB GDDR6X PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-PAL-01572) = £949.99

Total: £1,906.85 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

Example build, make sure the PSU and GPU fit in that case.

AM5 is by far your best bet if future proofing is a concern, and the 7800X3D is pretty much the best gaming CPU on the market right now.

Look at the Thermalright Phantom Spirit HSF for around £30.

You could swap the 4080S for an AMD 7900XTX depending on your needs.

As for the monitor, the Alienware AW3423DWF 34" Ultrawide WQHD QD-OLED has been available for around the £600 mark off and on lately and might see further price drops, it would match extremely well with the above rig and bring you to around your overall budget.

 

[tamzzy]

One of my questions is how much of my current set up is worth keeping? My PSU, the case etc.. for example. I could replace elements little by little at a later date.
OR I start by getting a new case, PSU etc.. and wait for the new generations to release?

honestly, probably easier and more convenient to list your current PC and sell it as a whole rather than piecemeal

've currently been gaming at 1080p. I'd like to improve this. A new monitor would be purchased separately.

for £2.5k you could get a really good high-refresh rate computer with the monitor included in the budget

 

[Gray2233]

for £2.5k you could get a really good high-refresh rate computer with the monitor included in the budget

My above build manages a 4080S/AM5 set up with the potential for a 34" OLED ultrawide within his budget, and no doubt there's room for savings in there too tbh.

 

[tamzzy]

My above build manages a 4080S/AM5 set up with the potential for a 34" OLED ultrawide within his budget, and no doubt there's room for savings in there too tbh.

yes indeed. hence why i didn't bother speccing another build cuz it'll just be another rehash lol

 

[Nedb37]

Thanks for the input so far, lot to think about there!

 

[Nedb37]

What's the shelf life on the AM5 socket?

Thinking 5 years ahead, what sort of psu wattage might be best to get now?

 

[Tetras]

What's the shelf life on the AM5 socket?

AMD have said they will support AM5 through 2025 (should be at least 2 new generations, including the one that is maybe launching soonish) and they expect to be releasing CPUs for AM5 in 2026, though in what form they mean I'm not sure since it could just be mild refreshes at that point.

Thinking 5 years ahead, what sort of psu wattage might be best to get now?

850+

 

[JollyJamma]

What's the shelf life on the AM5 socket?

Thinking 5 years ahead, what sort of psu wattage might be best to get now?

The AM5 shelf life is longer than Intel's LGA1700 socket lol

Also, you kept a 4790K system for ages so I wouldn't stress too much about shelf life. Agreed with the 850 watt PSU but in 5 years, you'll be able to get a midrange GPU that should be efficient enough to not overload any decently made PSU with good wattage.

If you want to go 5090, 6090 or 7090 in the future then sure, get a 1200 watt PSU or something but that would likely be overkill.

A 7800X3D with a 4080 Super would be a solid upgrade.

 

[Nedb37]

Is there any reason to not go for the comparable i7 (4700k?) over the 7800X3D, other than the socket longevity?

PCIe Gen5 seems to be a more readily available thing on Intel MB, with shelf life in mind if not very usable now outside of storage.

Rumours next gen for both Red and Blue will be announced next month is all, feeling like waiting for the news might be a better thing to do and decide then?

 

[moppy89]

Even in storage, can't imagine PCIE5 is gonna have any tangible real world benefits in your workload of gaming and web surfing.

 

[moppy89]

Megahalems though, that's a blast from the past

Used to have one, what an absolute unit. I wonder if you can get mounting kits for them still and save some pennies

 

[Gray2233]

Is there any reason to not go for the comparable i7 (4700k?) over the 7800X3D, other than the socket longevity?

You primarily game, the 7800X3D is pretty much the best gaming CPU on the market. Intel equivalents can be better for productivity, but generally run warmer while using more power. With gaming as a focus Intel borders on pointless in the vast majority of cases compared to that particular CPU.

 

[moppy89]

Rumours next gen for both Red and Blue will be announced next month is all, feeling like waiting for the news might be a better thing to do and decide then?

Considering Computex is literally around the corner, you might as well wait and see what happens.

It's unlikely to be something you're going to be able to purchase immediately but at least you can make a more informed decision.

Unless you have a very pressing need to buy right now, you have nothing to lose by waiting ‍

 

[Tetras]

Is there any reason to not go for the comparable i7 (4700k?) over the 7800X3D, other than the socket longevity?

PCIe Gen5 seems to be a more readily available thing on Intel MB, with shelf life in mind if not very usable now outside of storage.

The Intel boards might have PCI-E 5.0 graphics (or some of them anyhow), but they can't have PCI-E 5.0 M.2 slots without stealing the graphics lanes, whereas with B650, some of the more affordable boards like the TUF B650-Plus do have a PCI-E 5.0 M.2 (and PCI-E 4.0 graphics). If you want PCI-E 5.0 graphics and a M.2, I'd look at the Strix B650E-F.

In terms of, why NOT get the 14700K over the 7800X3D, you don't get the benefit of the 3D cache in games that particularly like it, you'll have higher power consumption * and they're more difficult to air cool (at least, with cheap coolers and "out of the box" settings). The positive is higher performance in productivity applications that are heavily multithreaded, but I don't think that applies to you.

* TPU's average power (in their review) was 154.7 when gaming for the 14700K and the X3D was 49.1.

 

[moppy89]

* TPU's average power (in their review) was 154.7 when gaming for the 14700K and the X3D was 49.1.

Woooow.

No wonder I don't see many intel builds specced

 

[Tetras]

Woooow.

No wonder I don't see many intel builds specced

Not quite that big a difference from the videos I've seen on YouTube (but still significant)

RYZEN 7 7800X3D vs INTEL i7 14700K vs RYZEN 9 7950X3D vs INTEL i9 14900K || PC GAMES TEST ||

RYZEN 7 7800X3D vs INTEL i7 14700K vs RYZEN 9 7950X3D vs INTEL i9 14900K || RTX 4090 @ 24GB || PC GAMES BENCHMARK TEST || 1080P || #i914900k #i74700k #ryzen7...

www.youtube.com

 

[jake000]

* TPU's average power (in their review) was 154.7 when gaming for the 14700K and the X3D was 49.1.

Wow! That's a huge difference!

 

[jigger]

Is there any reason to not go for the comparable i7 (4700k?) over the 7800X3D, other than the socket longevity?

Not really any reason to go with Intel. Heavy Linux user?

 

[Nedb37]

Not really any reason to go with Intel. Heavy Linux user?

No, just windows.

Other than web browsing, gaming and occasionally watching Football on a second screen while I'm doing something, I won't be using it for any video editing or serious coding etc..

I'm definitely leaning more towards AMD, I've just always been Intel to this point so it feels odd. Definitely think I'm going to see what happens with Computex before deciding properly though.

In the meantime, I might buy a new case/fans, screen and PSU etc.. while i figure the rest out. Would also in theory mean I can add to the budget.