Time for my 10 year upgrade

[onkston]

Hello there!

My current PC is coming up to about 10 years old and it seems to be time for an upgrade. I've been playing mostly older games up until recently but now I've started on some newer ones the age is starting to show. What kicked this off was Space Marine 2, it runs, but only just and don't look too pretty!

I generally dip in and out of PC tech but until last month was pretty out of the loop. I've been sneaking around here reading up on stuff and now it's time to ask some questions before I buy.

Purchase Timeframe:
In the next month


Budget:
I initially thought around £1500 but that's gone up to 17 or 18. I don't really have a hard budget and can spend kinda whatever I want within reason, but I'm going with a max of £2000.


Usage:
Mostly gaming with a little bit of browsing/watching/occasional office stuff.


Preferences:
None

Current Hardware:
CPU - i7-6700K
MB - Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming 7
RAM - 16GB DDR4
GFX - GTX 980
PSU - 650W
Drives - 1 M.2 and 4 SATA SSDs and a Blu-ray drive
Monitor - LG 27GP850
Cooler - Noctua NH-D15
Case - Phanteks Enthoo Pro M

Peripherals:
I have all the stuff I need so don't need to budget for that.

Special Needs/Requirements (inc Wi-Fi):
I use wifi so will need a MB with that.
Linux?


As I only seem to upgrade every 10 years I want something that will last fairly well, and I'm getting into more new games these days. I game at 1440.
I will keep the case as it has plenty of space for anything. I will also keep the cooler as I can get an AM5 mounting kit from Noctua.

So this is what I've come up with so far:
My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Super Flower LEADEX III GOLD UP 1000W 80 PLUS Gold Power Supply PCIe 5.1 ATX 3.1 (SKU: POW-SFL-04172) = £149.99
• 1 x UK Mains Plug with 13A Fuse to IEC C13 Socket Lead, 10A, 2m (SKU: ACC-OCS-01709) = £0.00
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance RGB EXPO 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (CMH32GX5M2B6000Z30K) (SKU: MY-4DU-CS) = £119.99
• 1 x MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI (AMD AM5) B850 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-03993) = £219.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core 5.20GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-03517) = £419.99
• 1 x Crucial T500 2TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-CRU-01090) = £128.99

Total: £1,038.95 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

Now the only part I'm not completely sure on is the GFX. From what I've read it seems the 5070 Ti is the better value atm. But, I am planning to move over to Linux with this new build, I've had enough of windows. Is it worth going AMD for that, 9070 XT? I've looked into it a bit and it's hard to work out if NVIDIA would be a bunch of trouble and not worth the benefits of a 5070 Ti over a 9070 XT?

I was also wondering about RAM, is it worth going for more than 32GB since I'll be keeping it for a while and have the money to do so.

The other thing is my SATA drives, seems you have to spend a lot to get more than 4 connections? I figured I can just get a second M.2 and drop one of my SSDs. Seems like a much better option than a MB with more connections.

Ooh and one last thing! How long is thermal paste good for? I have my tube from the original purchase, will that still be OK to use?

Thanks in advance

 

[Tetras]

The other thing is my SATA drives, seems you have to spend a lot to get more than 4 connections? I figured I can just get a second M.2 and drop one of my SSDs. Seems like a much better option than a MB with more connections.

SATA is slowly being dropped, some boards even only have 2 ports. You could get the previous gen B650 Tomahawk (6), though you would be dumping PCIE 5.0.

I was also wondering about RAM, is it worth going for more than 32GB since I'll be keeping it for a while and have the money to do so.

I try to put 48GB or higher in my specs now, unless there's a compelling reason not to. Since you keep your PC for a long time and have the budget, I'd just go 64GB.

From what I've read it seems the 5070 Ti is the better value atm.

It depends on what cards you're comparing. A 5070 Ti at £700, versus a 9070 XT at £650, yeah, I'd take the Ti. At the launch price of £570, I'd get the 9070 XT. A 5070 Ti at £900 (lolnope @ asus), forget it.

 

[Nabinium]

From what I've read it seems the 5070 Ti is the better value atm

At the launch price of £570, I'd get the 9070 XT.

Definitely the 9070 XT if it gets closer to that launch price. Might be worth keeping an eye on the forums and the shop to see if it does come closer to that launch price within the next month. I remember reading a post by Gibbo on another thread recently about a potential sale soon?

 

[onkston]

SATA is slowly being dropped, some boards even only have 2 ports. You could get the previous gen B650 Tomahawk (6), though you would be dumping PCIE 5.0.


I try to put 48GB or higher in my specs now, unless there's a compelling reason not to. Since you keep your PC for a long time and have the budget, I'd just go 64GB.


It depends on what cards you're comparing. A 5070 Ti at £700, versus a 9070 XT at £650, yeah, I'd take the Ti. At the launch price of £570, I'd get the 9070 XT. A 5070 Ti at £900 (lolnope @ asus), forget it.

OK cool, thanks.
I don't mind getting rid of one of my SSDs cos a couple of them are small anyway and with another M.2 I'll have all the space I'll need for a while.
I think I'll get 64GB then, since there's no reason not to. One thing I forgot to ask about RAM is does it need to be EXPO? Or is any 6000 MHz C30 kit fine?

 

[Tetras]

I think I'll get 64GB then, since there's no reason not to. One thing I forgot to ask about RAM is does it need to be EXPO? Or is any 6000 MHz C30 kit fine?

The 'safest' option (if you can say that, with overclocking) I'd say is EXPO and listed on the QVL, but Intel XMP does work on AMD boards.

 

[Nabinium]

Funnily enough what I said above about a potential sale... the 9070 XT Pulse has actually gone down to £559.99 as of right now - £10 cheaper than the launch price! I doubt this will last long... but 100% worth purchasing at that price now.

 

[onkston]

Funnily enough what I said above about a potential sale... the 9070 XT Pulse has actually gone down to £559.99 as of right now - £10 cheaper than the launch price! I doubt this will last long... but 100% worth purchasing at that price now.

Ooh nice! Thanks for the heads up. I might have to jump on that!