Advice for upgrade

Wolfsilver02 · 7 Aug 2023 at 20:14

Hi there!

I'm currently thinking if i should upgrade or not.

I'm on a DDR3 platform, but as DDR5 is on the market, i don't know if it's still worth to go on the DDR4 platform.

Currently my build is as follow :

- I7 4770k OC @4.2Ghz
- Noctua NH-D15 for the cooling
- G Skill Ares 8Go x 4 @ 1600Mhz
- RTX 2080 Super EVGA FTW3 Hybrid
- Seasonic Gold 750W
- Motherboard : MSI Z87-G55 (MS-7821)
- OCZ Agility 3 - 128 Go(need replacement)
- Crucial MX500 2To
- Seagate Brracuda 2 To

Case is as corsair Crystal 680X, with full Noctua Fans.
I'm running on 1440p with a Samsung Oddyssey G5 27".

Here the only upgrade i see is on the MB+CPU+RAM combo. But what?
Should i go for the DDR5 platform with the new Zen4 AMD/Intel 1700 or stay at DDR4? Or waiting for DDR5 to be more developped?

Of course, going to DDR5 i will be BottleNeck with GPU, but i make an upgrade like.. every 5-10 years? haha

Thanks

Tetras · 7 Aug 2023 at 22:16

What do you use your PC for?

What's your budget?

Wolfsilver02 · 7 Aug 2023 at 22:55

I mostly game or video. Make some IT stuff but if i make a home/labo environnement i would go with a specific server aside anyway.
Well mostly i would tell 600-700€ Max if possible but i don't want to go overkill either. Futurproof yeah but not overkill

Tetras · 7 Aug 2023 at 23:12

I went with MSI for the board, because that's what you already have.

CPUs are both 8 core (well, 13700F also has 8 E-Cores), which should help if you plan to keep it for 5-10 years.

My basket at OcUK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core 5.30GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DV-AM) = £308.99
1 x AMD - Starfield Ryzen Game Bundle (SKU: DIG-AMD-00523) = £0.00
1 x MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-375-MS) = £239.98
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan EXPO 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C40 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FLABD532G5600HC40BDC01) (SKU: MY-0B3-TG) = £99.95

Total: £656.92 (includes delivery: £7.99)

Optional cooler upgrade: here.

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Intel Core i7-13700F (Raptor Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6BD-IN) = £359.99
1 x MSI Pro B760-P WIFI DDR4 (LGA 1700) DDR4 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-37J-MS) = £169.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C18 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMK32GX4M2D3600C18) (SKU: MY-4D1-CS) = £79.99

Total: £617.96 (includes delivery: £7.99)

Cooler: here.

Wolfsilver02 · 8 Aug 2023 at 17:14

Thanks you! For the MB, MSI isn't really needed. If there is an other brand that has a better model, go for that haha.

How is the DDR5 state as of right now? Good? Still not enough upgrade compared to DDR4?

Thanks

Tetras · 8 Aug 2023 at 18:13

Wolfsilver02 said:
How is the DDR5 state as of right now? Good? Still not enough upgrade compared to DDR4?

The prices are a lot better, but then... DDR4 is also way lower than it used to be.

This review includes DDR4 and DDR5 for a 13500, but keep in mind that 1. they're using a 4090 and 2. the resolution is 1080p, so taken together the difference is exaggerated:

Intel Core i5-13500 Review

The Core i5-13500 is Intel's new $250 offering, packing 14 cores, 20 threads and 35.5 MB cache. This is an interesting CPU that packs the larger L3...

www.techspot.com

This review also includes DDR4 and DDR5, with a 3080:

Intel Core i3-12100F Review - 5.2 GHz OC with an Asterisk

Core i3-12100F is the most affordable quad-core Alder Lake CPU from Intel. In our review, we test with DDR4 and DDR5 to see whether it has what it takes to build a lean work PC or cost-efficient gaming machine. Thanks to BCLK overclocking, we even managed to overclock it to 5.2 GHz all-core.

www.techpowerup.com

My opinion on DDR4 vs DDR5 is: the question is not "Is DDR5 worth it?", the question is: "What can you afford?".

If you have the budget (or are going AM5), then you get a DDR5 build, but if you don't, then you buy DDR4.

And, by "can you afford" it, what I mean is: does going DDR5 have a significant impact on the rest of the PC? In your case (to stay under budget), you'd actually have to drop CPU to a 13600K or Ryzen 7600 and I'd rather have the 7700 (and exceed the budget) or 13700 (and buy DDR4) if I'm keeping it for 5-10 years.

superleeds27 · 8 Aug 2023 at 18:53

Tetras said:
I went with MSI for the board, because that's what you already have.

CPUs are both 8 core (well, 13700F also has 8 E-Cores), which should help if you plan to keep it for 5-10 years.

My basket at OcUK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core 5.30GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DV-AM) = £308.99

1 x AMD - Starfield Ryzen Game Bundle (SKU: DIG-AMD-00523) = £0.00

1 x MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-375-MS) = £239.98

1 x TeamGroup Vulcan EXPO 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C40 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FLABD532G5600HC40BDC01) (SKU: MY-0B3-TG) = £99.95

Total: £656.92 (includes delivery: £7.99)

Optional cooler upgrade: here.

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Intel Core i7-13700F (Raptor Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6BD-IN) = £359.99

1 x MSI Pro B760-P WIFI DDR4 (LGA 1700) DDR4 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-37J-MS) = £169.99

1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C18 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMK32GX4M2D3600C18) (SKU: MY-4D1-CS) = £79.99

Total: £617.96 (includes delivery: £7.99)

Cooler: here.

AMD build looks similar to the parts I've been looking at actually. Assuming the RAM will work fine with expo enabled? No need for manual settings etc?

Tetras · 8 Aug 2023 at 19:50

superleeds27 said:
Assuming the RAM will work fine with expo enabled? No need for manual settings etc?

I don't know. With DDR5, it can be on the QVL and still be a pain to get it to play nice.

superleeds27 · 8 Aug 2023 at 20:55

Tetras said:
I don't know. With DDR5, it can be on the QVL and still be a pain to get it to play nice.

Aye. It's what's putting me off doing the build tbh!

Wolfsilver02 · 10 Aug 2023 at 18:47

Seem DDR5 have instability issues then?