Fancy some upgrades: where to use?

James Pacey · 7 Sep 2023 at 09:33

Hi all,

I've come into some cash and have been toying with upgrading my GPU, however on reflection, I think I'd like to look at some broader upgrade possibilities.

I wonder what your suggestions might be? Current specs are below.

With thanks,

James

CPU
Intel Core i7 9700K @ 3.60GHz 33 °C

RAM
32.0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1069MHz (15-15-15-36)

Motherboard
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. ROG STRIX Z390-E GAMING (LGA1151) 32 °C

Graphics
Dell AW3423DWð ñ# ƒ (3440x1440@175Hz)
2047MB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (EVGA) 42 °C

Storage
2794GB Seagate ST3000DM007-1WY10G (SATA ) 30 °C
2794GB Western Digital WDC WD30EZRZ-00Z5HB0 (SATA ) 28 °C
1863GB Samsung SSD 980 PRO with Heatsink 2TB (Unknown (SSD))
465GB Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB (Unknown (SSD))
1863GB TOSHIBA EXTERNAL_USB USB Device (USB (SATA) ) 30 °C

mickyflinn · 7 Sep 2023 at 10:07

Does your pc struggle in anyway or do you have plans for 4k gaming presuming that's your most demanding task?

What case , cooler and PSU do you have ?

Subzero85 · 7 Sep 2023 at 10:16

Much do you want to part with ? 1 or 2 thousand ?

James Pacey · 7 Sep 2023 at 10:36

I thinka budget of c £1500. 4K gaming are the plans. Notice some modern games at max settings are starting to struggle a bit.

Noughtboy · 7 Sep 2023 at 11:22

Something is not correct with your specs.

Firstly is your XMP even enabled? And even is so, the 1069MHz doubled is still a funny number.
Secondly, your RTX 3080 is reading 2GB...also seems suspect. Either your software is mis reading things or you have bought fake items and been scammed.

Tetras · 7 Sep 2023 at 14:11

Your PC is pretty well balanced right now, an upgrade implies both, though I guess you could just get the graphics card and see how it goes, especially playing at 4K.

Otherwise, it is a challenge to get everything and be a decent upgrade for your budget, since the 9700K and 3080 aren't worth upgrading unless you buy high-end.

An example to consider:

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Intel Core i7-13700F (Raptor Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6BD-IN) = £359.98
1 x MSI B760 Gaming Plus WIFI (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-37M-MS) = £149.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C36 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FLBD532G5600HC36BDC01) (SKU: MY-0BB-TG) = £99.95
1 x Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XTX Pulse 24GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GX-3A5-SP) = £929.99
1 x AMD - Starfield Radeon Game Bundle (SKU: DIG-AMD-00542) = £0.00

Total: £1,547.90 (includes delivery: £7.99)

Cooler: this, unless you can get a bracket/upgrade kit, for what you have now.

Personally, having watched videos that show the difference, I'm not sure I'd want to buy it, but the difference at 4K can be pretty big.

tamzzy · 7 Sep 2023 at 14:15

Noughtboy said:
Firstly is your XMP even enabled? And even is so, the 1069MHz doubled is still a funny number.

probably ddr4 2133
it's 2138 probably because of asus and their sneak bclk overclocks

James Pacey · 7 Sep 2023 at 17:08

Thanks all for your thoughts.

Regarding the 2 GB, I realise this is an error on Speccy's part.

I think I'll stick to the GPU for now, ideally a 4080. However, I'm not sure a) which one I can go with with my motherboard (ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. ROG STRIX Z390-E GAMING) and b) whether I can fit one in my case or if I need to get new cooling? I believe I have a Fractal Design Meshify C Case.

Tetras · 7 Sep 2023 at 17:17

James Pacey said:
I have a Fractal Design Meshify C Case.

According to the specs (case and cooler dimensions) and posts like this, the 4080 FE will just fit.

James Pacey said:
which one I can go with with my motherboard (ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. ROG STRIX Z390-E GAMING)

There's lots of user profiles here, with different cards (scroll down to "User benchmarks for this motherboard"), you can check the manufacturer of the card and the board's BIOS version and date by clicking on one of the entries.