Associate
- Joined
- 21 Jul 2010
- Posts
- 152
Hi all,
I’m currently exploring options for upgrading my PC and would really appreciate some advice on which components are worth upgrading and which ones are better left as they are. The system is used primarily for gaming, with some occasional video editing (but that isn’t a big focus). I play a range of games mainly RTS and Grand Strategy with some Star Citizen and BF6 in 1440p (Samsung 27" Odyssey G7 LC27G75TQSPXXU 2560x1440 VA 240Hz 1ms Freesync/G-Sync Curved Gaming Monitor). I already have peripherals which I don't want to replace at this stage too.
For similar reasons, I wasn’t planning on upgrading:
I’m currently looking at the Asus RTX 5070 Ti Prime OC (16GB GDDR7) as an upgrade from my 3070. Am I being too focused on NVidia and should I be looking at AMD? All my graphics cards since the 600 series have been NVidia so maybe I am being blinkered here - should I be looking at the 9070XT? I briefly looked at the 5080 but don’t want to spend £1,000+ on a single component when the price-to-performance ratio isn’t enough to justify the cost imo.
• Storage:
My 1TB SSD is becoming a real limitation. I’m thinking of replacing it with a Corsair Force MP700 Pro 2TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe (with heatsink). This would be used for storage/game installs as my OS is on a separate SSD.
• Case:
My current Fractal Design case is quite old, so I’m considering the Lian Li Lancool III RGB Full Tower as a modern replacement with better airflow and aesthetics.
On Overclockers UK, this would come to £1,086.98 currently.
Budget isn’t a major limitation (within reason), but I’d prefer to avoid spending big money for minor performance gains, especially in areas like RAM and GPUs, where prices, to me seem inflated artificially across the market, due to external factors.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
I’m currently exploring options for upgrading my PC and would really appreciate some advice on which components are worth upgrading and which ones are better left as they are. The system is used primarily for gaming, with some occasional video editing (but that isn’t a big focus). I play a range of games mainly RTS and Grand Strategy with some Star Citizen and BF6 in 1440p (Samsung 27" Odyssey G7 LC27G75TQSPXXU 2560x1440 VA 240Hz 1ms Freesync/G-Sync Curved Gaming Monitor). I already have peripherals which I don't want to replace at this stage too.
My Current System:
- CPU: Intel Core i7-13700K
- Motherboard: Gigabyte Z790 Gaming X AX (LGA1700, DDR5)
- RAM: Corsair Vengeance 32GB (2×16GB) DDR5 5600MHz
- Cooler: MSI MAG CORELIQUID P240 (240mm AIO)
- GPU: MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming Z Trio 8GB
- Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 1TB NVMe
- PSU: XFX Pro 850W
- Case: Older Fractal Design model (can't remember the name)
Upgrade Thoughts So Far
My initial plan is not to replace the CPU or motherboard right now. From what I can tell, upgrading from the 13700K to another LGA1700 CPU (like the 14700k) wouldn’t give a significant improvement, and with Intel moving to new sockets (such as LGA1954 in the future), it seems more sensible to wait to catch that in my next upgrade cycle.For similar reasons, I wasn’t planning on upgrading:
- CPU cooler: Seems sufficient for the 13700K.
- RAM: DDR5 prices are still inflated, and the jump from 5600MHz to 6000MHz+ doesn’t seem worthwhile for gaming-focused workloads.
- PSU: It’s older but still functioning well as far as I can tell, and at 850W it handles my current hardware without issue and as far as I am aware can support my planned upgrades.
Upgrades I’m Considering
• Graphics Card:I’m currently looking at the Asus RTX 5070 Ti Prime OC (16GB GDDR7) as an upgrade from my 3070. Am I being too focused on NVidia and should I be looking at AMD? All my graphics cards since the 600 series have been NVidia so maybe I am being blinkered here - should I be looking at the 9070XT? I briefly looked at the 5080 but don’t want to spend £1,000+ on a single component when the price-to-performance ratio isn’t enough to justify the cost imo.
• Storage:
My 1TB SSD is becoming a real limitation. I’m thinking of replacing it with a Corsair Force MP700 Pro 2TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe (with heatsink). This would be used for storage/game installs as my OS is on a separate SSD.
• Case:
My current Fractal Design case is quite old, so I’m considering the Lian Li Lancool III RGB Full Tower as a modern replacement with better airflow and aesthetics.
On Overclockers UK, this would come to £1,086.98 currently.
Questions
Do these seem like sensible upgrades? Is there anything important that I’ve overlooked or something in my current setup that should be upgraded but isn’t on my list?Budget isn’t a major limitation (within reason), but I’d prefer to avoid spending big money for minor performance gains, especially in areas like RAM and GPUs, where prices, to me seem inflated artificially across the market, due to external factors.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
£860
(incl. VAT)
£725
(incl. VAT)
£222
(incl. VAT)
