Upgrade advice?

[Doc Rob]

Hi folks,

So I built my PC back in 2018 (I think) using suggestions from here to pick my components. I picked decent kit for the time in the hope it would make the build future-proof, and it has largely worked. However, I've now for the first time noticed the machine chugging a wee bit when running more graphics-heavy games. I have also discovered that I can't upgrade to Windows 11 because my processor isn't compatible! This isn't a huge loss but does suggest that maybe it's time to look at the hardware again. The only upgrade I have put in since I built it has been to replace my 1070 with a 2070 a few years back.

This is my approximate setup (I was going to print exact specs but I have lost the list!)

Intel i7 - 7700K CPU @4.20 Ghz
Asus TUF Z270 Mk 2 Motherboard
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8192MB GDDR6
Phanteks Enthoo Pro case
NZXT Kraken x61 watercooler
Corsair 16GB DDR4 RAM
Samsung 0.5TB SSD Boot Drive
2 x 2TB HDDs

Honest question: what can I do to keep my system going a while longer? I expect a new build would set me back about £3k or so, and I'd probably feel obliged to upgrade to a 4k monitor - I currently game in 1440p, and I'm fine sticking with that for a while. I have a lovely AGON monitor that I'm happy with.

I'm thinking maybe go up to 32GB RAM and think about a 4070 Ti? Or is my CPU and MB the bottleneck now?

 

[Tetras]

I expect a new build would set me back about £3k or so, and I'd probably feel obliged to upgrade to 4k - I currently game in 1440p, and I'm fine sticking with that for a while. I have a lovely AGON monitor that I'm happy with.

You don't need to spend 3K, 2K would be plenty if you're content with 1440p (though the below could handle 4K too), e.g.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Intel Core i7-13700F (Raptor Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6BD-IN) = £359.99
• 1 x Gigabyte B760 GAMING X AX (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-5BU-GI) = £199.99
• 1 x Kingston FURY Beast 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C40 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KF556C40BBK2-64) (SKU: MY-29W-KS) = £209.99
• 1 x Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XTX Pulse 24GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GX-3A5-SP) = £949.99
• 1 x AMD Game On Bundle - Resident Evil 4 (SKU: XX-03E-AM) = £0.00
• 1 x WD Black SN770 2TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS200T3X0E) (SKU: HD-58G-WD) = £104.99
• 1 x Phanteks Eclipse P600S Glass Silent Midi Tower Case - Black (SKU: CA-08T-PT) = £152.99
• 1 x Phanteks M25 140mm PWM High-Airflow Chassis Fan - Black (SKU: FG-033-PT) = £9.94
• 1 x MSI MPG A1000G UK PSU 1000W 80 Plus Gold certified Fully Modular (SKU: CA-00P-MS) = £159.95

Total: £2,159.82 (includes delivery: £11.99)​

Honest question: what can I do to keep my system going a while longer?

Intel stagnation-era 4 core, 8 thread CPUs are starting to reach the end of the line, so even though a 4070 Ti is a decent upgrade, I suspect you'll want more. That said, there was a poster on here that kept their i7-6700 and was happy with the results, so there's no harm in giving it a go before you upgrade the rest.

I'm thinking maybe go up to 32GB RAM and think about a 4070 Ti? Or is my CPU and MB the bottleneck now?

RAM is plenty cheap right now, but if you want to re-use it, you'd be locked into 12th or 13th gen in the future, since AM5 can't use DDR4.

I have also discovered that I can't upgrade to Windows 11 because my processor isn't compatible!

Your CPU is officially not supported, but I believe 7th gen actually has the hardware features necessary for Windows 11 (including MBEC/VBS support) and even if you can't enable TPM 2.0 in the BIOS (usually possible with a later BIOS), your board supports a hardware TPM (Asus link confirming compatibility).

I've now for the first time noticed the machine chugging a wee bit when running more graphics-heavy games.

Which games and settings?

 

[throwaway4372]

You can install win 11 on unsupported systems.

But yeah it kinda is time for a whole new pc. Maybe re-using the gpu at first because they're still a bit of a rip off.

 

[Doc Rob]

I suspected it might be time to rebuild. Now isn't a great time in terms of capital outlay, though. I think first I may upgrade the RAM and think about the GPU (they are still stupidly expensive, but are they likely to drop?) I could then re-use the GPU later. (I'm not so worried about the RAM as it will only run to £65 or so).

In terms of games and settings, I noticed stuttering mainly when playing Spider-Man on 'balanced' upscaling settings according to the launcher. As it's a PS game it is possibly not that well optimised.

 

[throwaway4372]

There probably isn't any point adding ram. You can check using Task Manager if all your ram is being used, if it isn't then you won't see a benefit from adding more.

You can also see in Task Manager the usage of your CPU (split the graph into logical cores to see if a single core is maxed) and GPU (also look if gpu vram is used up) to figure out which is the bottleneck.

 

[Tetras]

In terms of games and settings, I noticed stuttering mainly when playing Spider-Man on 'balanced' upscaling settings according to the launcher. As it's a PS game it is possibly not that well optimised.

You might be interested in this video (compare: 4:14 and: 8:43).

RTX 4060 Ti In a 13-Year Old Alienware PC - Some Interesting Results

After selling the GTX 1050 inside my old Alienware I decided to slap a Palit RTX 4060 Ti inside it instead. How do games perform at native resolution, does t...

www.youtube.com

 

[mickyflinn]

If money is a concern I would do a CPU, motherboard, memory and m2 Drive upgrade reusing the rest. Selling your motherboard,CPU, etc will recoup some funds.

The 2070 super is roughly equivalent to a 6600xt so no slouch .

The stuttering in games may be due to having your games ona old mechanical hard drive.