Upgrade Help :)

SalvinValkyries

SalvinValkyries

SalvinValkyries

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Joined
16 Jul 2020
Posts
2
Hello,


I have a budget of $1600 -$1700 CAD. In that, I am looking to upgrade 3 components, i.e., GPU, monitor and the memory, if possible. My current specs are as follows:


  • CPU: i7 7700k
  • GPU: Nvidia 1060 6GB
  • RAM: 16gb Memory @ DDR4 2400 MHz
  • MB: MSI Z170A GAMING M5
  • Monitor: Acer GN246HL @ 144hz (DVI-D, HDMI 1.4, VGA)


In researching GPU's, I've settled on three options, i.e., the 2070 Super, the 2060 Super or the 1080. I'm completely ignorant to AMD options, as I switched away from AMD ages ago. If there are better AMD options, I'd greatly appreciate any input.

Whilst researching my specific combination of CPU and GPU options, I've run into potential bottleneck issues. There seems to be some conflicting information here as well, i.e., some say that the 2070 Super should be perfectly fine with the i7 7700k and some say that it won't be. Looking at bottleneck calculators adds to the confusion:




According to one bottleneck calculator, the i7 7700k will be just fine with a 2060 Super. The average bottleneck percentage of the pairing being at 8.85%. Using another calculator from GPUCheck.com, the same paring yields an 88/100 combination score. Enough to designate it as an "Excellent" pairing.

When I pair the i7 7700k with the 2070 Super, it yields an 87/100 combination score, also designating it to be an "Excellent" pairing. Checking this combination via the PC-Builds.com calculator further complicates matters, i.e., the average bottleneck is stated to be at 15.88%, and it clearly denotes the i7 7700k to be much too weak for the 2070 Super.

So the question is... Will I be better off with the 2060 Super or the 2070 Super?

I'm not married to getting the 2070 Super, however, what I am thinking is that when I do get a wholly new build, I could strip this build of its 2070 Super, plug the 1060 back in and be on my way. That said, if I do go with the 2060 Super, that leaves me more room to get a decent monitor and upgrade my RAM. What money remains I could put towards the new build. I should also note that I'm not in any rush, I'm happy to wait for sales on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

In any event, I'd greatly appreciate any input you may have, since I'm a bit out of the loop on things and it's been a while since I've upgraded my PC. Thank you so much!


Stay safe out there. Cheers :)
 
By Black Friday there should be new cards out so what you're thinking now won't matter. That said, I'd choose your monitor first and then the graphics card, because that will define what you need. The bottleneck doesn't matter, since as you said yourself, when you upgrade the system you can just take it with you.
 
Tetras said:
By Black Friday there should be new cards out so what you're thinking now won't matter. That said, I'd choose your monitor first and then the graphics card, because that will define what you need. The bottleneck doesn't matter, since as you said yourself, when you upgrade the system you can just take it with you.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply!

Noted. I recall reading that Nvidia plan on phasing out the 10 series. Frankly, I'm not sure if I have that right. In any event, if newer cards are inbound, I should then be able to grab a 2070 Super for much cheaper on BF and CM sales - theoretically speaking at least. You're absolutely right about the bottlenecking being inconsequential once I switch to a new set up. Having said that, I'm still a bit curious as to what kind of performance issues I will run into if I were to pair up the i7 7700k with the 2070 Super.

Thanks again! Cheers :)
 
I'd say any game older than a few years you'll have no bottleneck, but the newer ones which can use more than 4 cores your CPU won't keep pace with a 2070 and you'll lose a lot of performance potential. I couldn't put a figure on that, but would it mean you're unable to hold 60 or 144 fps (depending on resolution and settings) when otherwise you could do so? Quite likely. It does depend on clock speed, your CPU was the go-to gaming CPU for a long while and it's still pretty formidable anywhere near 5 Ghz.
 
Bottlenecking will depend on game.
If it's old game/game engine made in four cores is high end Intel stagnation era, even newest CPUs won't be making much difference.
But if game expects 8 cores or even more, then bottlenecking starts.
For example Star Citizen can give good workout for 12 core/24 thread CPU.

Also those Nvidias are often brand overpriced for performance.
Especially now that net-gen is few months away with also consoles having stronger GPUs.

In monitors get FreeSyncmonitor and you can use variable refresh rate with any GPU, including coming Intel's discrete cards.
 
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