Potential Upgrade Advice

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Hi. I'm looking for some advice on upgrading my current pc (or whether I'd have to look at a new build).

I have the below thread looking at putting together a build for a friend. It's looking like a RTX 3060 build but one thing I'm thinking is upgrading my GPU and selling him my RTX 3060ti founders edition. That way he can save money and get a better GPU and I can put it towards an upgrade on mine.

I wouldn't normally start a new thread but I want to keep my upgrade separate to his build as it might confuse things for him if there were two different build discussions in a thread for his pc build.

As an example I'm currently playing Jurassic World Evolution 2 on 1440p Ultrawide Monitor and achieving around 60fps. Certainly not poor for what I need but there's not a lot going on on the screen so not in it's most demanding scenario. I'd be playing similar games like cities skylines and then the likes of the total war franchise (e.g. warhammer 3) however it's more than likely I'll start looking at going to 4k, VR and also playing games like Cyberpunk.

Main considerations:
  • GPU is the obvious upgrade. Is a 4070 ti super a sensible upgrade? When I've done a bit of research, 4080 and 4080 ti look to be overpriced and 4070ti Super seems a good middle ground between a big upgrade from my 3060ti but also not wasting too much money. Or is 4080/4080ti reasonable value?
  • If I upgrade my GPU, is there much likelihood of my CPU causing much of a bottleneck. I get mixed impressions online with the 5600x running with a 4070ti Super or above.
  • If I then need to upgrade my CPU, am I then potentially looking at needing a new motherboard depending on the socket type?
  • I'm hoping PSU at 850 will have enough to run the upgrades?
  • I think ultimately if I'm having to upgrade more than the GPU, I'm getting to the point where it might just be better doing a full new build.
My current build:
  • CPU: Ryzen 5 5600X
  • Motherboard: MPG B550 Gaming Carbon Wifi
  • GPU: RTX 3060ti Founders Edition
  • RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz
  • WD SN550 1TB SSD NVME
  • PSU: Corsair RM850 ATX Power Supply
  • Case: Corsair iCUE 4000x Mid Tower

 
What is your budget for the upgrade?

Something like a 5700x3d and a new Gpu would give you a decent bump. Maybe a new ram kit with 32gb too
 
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What is your budget for the upgrade?

Something like a 5700x3d and a new Gpu would give you a decent bump. Maybe a new ram kit with 32gb too

Sorry that would help. My budget is fairly open I guess. If I was going for just an upgrade now I'd go around 1k maybe. If it was a full new build though I think I'd wait to put together some more savings for it and go for one around £2k for the full build.

If I was replacing the CPU, GPU and RAM, I'm not far off a new build anyway.
 
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Check your not running out of system memory when gaming , agree with a 4070 super upgrade first.

Task manager suggests it's at around 65% memory usage when I have Jurassic World Evo 2 running. I'm half tempted to just go for a 4070ti Super in my current build as I'm sure I'll see a significant upgrade even with my 5600x. I was just concerned about spending on the GPU and then the CPU massively holding it back but I guess even if it does, I don't have to buy all the parts in one go anyway.
 
Task manager suggests it's at around 65% memory usage when I have Jurassic World Evo 2 running. I'm half tempted to just go for a 4070ti Super in my current build as I'm sure I'll see a significant upgrade even with my 5600x. I was just concerned about spending on the GPU and then the CPU massively holding it back but I guess even if it does, I don't have to buy all the parts in one go anyway.
CPU wont hold it back that much but a 5700x3d would give it better minimum fps at least while boosting FPS .
GPU first makes most sense then revisit if your not happy at a later date

Selling your 3060 will make it easier to stomach.
 
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GPU is the obvious upgrade. Is a 4070 ti super a sensible upgrade? When I've done a bit of research, 4080 and 4080 ti look to be overpriced and 4070ti Super seems a good middle ground between a big upgrade from my 3060ti but also not wasting too much money. Or is 4080/4080ti reasonable value?
This is a super subjective statement obviously, but it is still not a great time to upgrade a 3060 Ti, because the 4000 series equivalent barely improved at all, so you're stuck with spending a lot to get a decent increase.

Is the 4070 Ti Super a sensible upgrade? Yes. You're doubling your performance and VRAM, so a double tick there. Is it a great value upgrade? Well, 800 quid? For pushing more blurry pixels? No. The current rumour is that RDNA 4 is going to have somewhere around 4080 performance priced at £500-£600, if that happened then I'd say this is a nice upgrade.

The current equivalent is a 7900 GRE, which would double your VRAM and TPU's database says is 69% faster (in raster, no upscaling, no ray tracing). The 4070 Super is 66%, for reference.

If I upgrade my GPU, is there much likelihood of my CPU causing much of a bottleneck. I get mixed impressions online with the 5600x running with a 4070ti Super or above.
At 4K? Not much, but it is always game dependent and I believe those games you mentioned are games that tend to hammer the CPU.

If I then need to upgrade my CPU, am I then potentially looking at needing a new motherboard depending on the socket type?
No. You'd get the 5700X3D as mentioned above.

I'm hoping PSU at 850 will have enough to run the upgrades?
A decent 850 PSU will have no issue with a 4070 Ti Super.

I think ultimately if I'm having to upgrade more than the GPU, I'm getting to the point where it might just be better doing a full new build.
There's some life in it yet.
 
Some of the games you've mentioned love x3d cache even at 4k, 5700x3d and a 4070ti Super would give you huge uplift. That said, with a 1k budget there's also 4080 Supers available for £800 at the moment, + the X3D at £200.
 
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This has quickly escalated. My mate has decided to buy my pc off me which means I am now looking for a full new build. I’ve set my budget at around £2k. I can increase this if needed if any of the below can be significantly improved for a reasonable extra cost. I’ve even been contemplating a 4090 in the below build but I’m not sure an extra £800 is worth it for maybe a 30% extra jump in frame rates? Even though I’m mainly playing Jurassic world evolution and cities skylines 2 at the moment, I’m going to start gaming more on my pc and in 4k (I also want a htc vive).

Can anyone give me advice on the below? Seems to be a decent build from what people have said on here and also when I’ve researched the parts myself but I always appreciate the feedback on here and any recommendations?

What are people thoughts on the 4090 over the 4080 super?

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £1,995.94 (includes delivery: £0.00)​
 
You want 6000mhz memory preferably cas 30 but not to important as long as it's 6000mhz.

For. An extra £5 I would get this m2 drive.


PSU you want atx 3.0 for Nvidia so you don't have to use an adapter.



CPU cooler required if not already acquired.
 
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You want 6000mhz memory preferably cas 30 but not to important as long as it's 6000mhz.

For. An extra £5 I would get this m2 drive.


PSU you want atx 3.0 for Nvidia so you don't have to use an adapter.



CPU cooler required if not already acquired.

Ok thanks. The only cas 30 I can seem to find is 6000mhz. Is it better to have that over 6600mhz at a higher cas? When I’ve looked online, 6000mhz cas 30 is supposedly better for AMD?
 
Ok thanks. The only cas 30 I can seem to find is 6000mhz. Is it better to have that over 6600mhz at a higher cas? When I’ve looked online, 6000mhz cas 30 is supposedly better for AMD?
Yes 6000mhz c30 is optimal for AM5 but as long as it's 6000mhz don't worry to much about cash.

At 6000mhz the CPU memory clock cycle is 1:1 above that it changes to 2:1 making it slightly slower.
 
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Yes 6000mhz c30 is optimal for AM5 but as long as it's 6000mhz don't worry to much about cash.

At 6000mhz the CPU memory clock cycle is 1:1 above that it changes to 2:1 making it slightly slower.
Ok I just assumed the bigger the number the better which is why I went for the 6600mhz originally but updated basket below. I’ve added in an AIO water cooler but not sure if I’ll just go for an air cooler in the end. Just looking to make it as quiet as possible and never had an AIO so bit of a change.

What’s your opinion on rtx 4090 vs 4080 super? Seems terrible value for money for me and the money I’d save could go towards a good chunk of the htc vive pro. What kind of performance could I expect in VR gaming with the below build?

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £2,099.84 (includes delivery: £0.00)​
 
Ok I just assumed the bigger the number the better which is why I went for the 6600mhz originally but updated basket below.
Kits above 6000 (especially 6600 like your earlier spec) are generally optimised for Intel and use XMP instead of EXPO. So far as I know, AMD 7000 CPUs usually top out around 6200-6400 if they're run at a 1:1 ratio and you need very fast memory to overcome that. It is safest to buy 6000 and 6000/C30(ish) kits are almost all optimised for AMD.

I know they're usually for looks rather than performance, but you can cool the 7800X3D with a £23 Freezer 36, or a peerless assassin/phantom spirit. I'd use the spare money to get the 1000 watt version of that PSU and consider the Strix B650E-F if you want PCI-E 5.0 graphics (if you prefer MSI, the X670E Gaming Plus is available for a similar price).
 
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Kits above 6000 (especially 6600 like your earlier spec) are generally optimised for Intel and use XMP instead of EXPO. So far as I know, AMD 7000 CPUs usually top out around 6200-6400 if they're run at a 1:1 ratio and you need very fast memory to overcome that. It is safest to buy 6000 and 6000/C30(ish) kits are almost all optimised for AMD.


I know they're usually for looks rather than performance, but you can cool the 7800X3D with a £23 Freezer 36, or a peerless assassin/phantom spirit. I'd use the spare money to get the 1000 watt version of that PSU and consider the Strix B650E-F if you want PCI-E 5.0 graphics (if you prefer MSI, the X670E Gaming Plus is available for a similar price).
Updated as below. Does the motherboard seem ok? The cpu cooler is a bit overkill probably but it looks cleaner haha. I’ll probably go for a peerless assassin but thought I’d have a look at other options too.

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £2,154.88 (includes delivery: £0.00)​
 
This is the motherboard I would get.


Memory you want expo for AM5


Or


CPU cooler alternative that's excellent value to performance


Or

 
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This is the motherboard I would get.


Memory you want expo for AM5


Or


CPU cooler alternative that's excellent value to performance


Or


Thanks should be pretty much there with the below. If I decide to cough up for the 4090 would you bother changing of this or just sub it in for the 4080 super? I doubt I’ll bother but things can escalate easily.

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £2,058.92 (includes delivery: £0.00)​
 
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4090 will fit straight into this build but Nvidia are due to release there latest 5000series GPU probably before the end of the year ,just something to consider.

Make sure you check case clearance limitations.
 
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4090 will fit straight into this build but Nvidia are due to release there latest 5000series GPU probably before the end of the year ,just something to consider.

Make sure you check case clearance limitations.
Thanks. To be honest I think the case is ok but when I watched videos online, it just looked too cramped even though everything could fit. I’m thinking of going for the XL case instead

I’ve listed a couple of other options for motherboards. Would you mind casting your eye over to see if I’d be making any sacrifices please? The absolute only reason is if I can pay slightly extra for it to fit in with the theme of the case then I’m happy to. The Taichi would be perfect but not sure about spending an extra £130 purely for that reason. The other being an x670e at only an extra £20 more. If I’m making any significant sacrifices over the one you recommended though then it won’t be worth it.

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £813.96 (includes delivery: £7.99)​
 
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Thanks. To be honest I think the case is ok but when I watched videos online, it just looked too cramped even though everything could fit. I’m thinking of going for the XL case instead

I’ve listed a couple of other options for motherboards. Would you mind casting your eye over to see if I’d be making any sacrifices please? The absolute only reason is if I can pay slightly extra for it to fit in with the theme of the case then I’m happy to. The Taichi would be perfect but not sure about spending an extra £130 purely for that reason. The other being an x670e at only an extra £20 more. If I’m making any significant sacrifices over the one you recommended though then it won’t be worth it.

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £813.96 (includes delivery: £7.99)​
Thee Tachi is an Eatx motherboard so you will have to get a larger case if you choose that ,as for £100+ extra it's a feature rich board probably has better vrms but if assetics you want is not worth it. On the flips side if it gives you the look then why not but it's mainly going to be covered with a CPU cooler so I would get an aio along with a bigger case.

The Asus b650 E-F is a great board for the price and certainly match the G Skill memory (you can get the non RGB version of that memory also)

The Asus Tuf X670e gives you an extra m2 slot over the b650 boards and definitely worth a consideration.

There are cheaper b650 motherboards but one of the reason I recommend the E-F is that it has pcie5 and a pcie5 m2 slot.

4090 are about 335mm if you get a bigger case you won't need to worry but the north maxes out at 355mm which is fine for most 4090 which are around
 
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