Upgrade my 12+ year spec machine...

[hbuzz]

Hi there,

I'm after some update advice on my system which I've realised recently is over 12 years old. I've been happy with the system for a long time and haven't felt the need to upgrade.

I mainly use the system to edit photos in Photoshop, videos in Davinci Resolve, occasional gaming (Automobilista 2 & MS Flight Sim) . I would like to be able to play MS Flight Simulator 20 & 24 when I upgrade my graphics card at a later date and maybe venture into VR.

Ideally I'd like to be able to edit 4k video as smoothly as possible, I'm also quite a demanding user of Photoshop, often merging 45mp images into HDR images which is quite resource intensive. Photoshop has also sprung up a recent issue when trying to install the latest version: 'Processor with Advanced Vector 2 Extensions (AVX2) support required'. I'd like my upgrade to be able to support this if possible.

I think it is time to upgrade some internals, I'm thinking motherboard, processor, RAM & cooler. My budget is circa £600, I like the idea of AMD offerings, I just need to know where to start as it's been a very long time since putting together my last machine.

Current system specs are:
Asus Z77 Motherboard
Intel Core i7-2700K 3.50GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155
16GB Ram Kingston 1600mhz
Asus GTX 970
XFX 850 Black edition PSU
Dell U2711 Monitor 2560 x 1440

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[Tetras]

I think it is time to upgrade some internals, I'm thinking motherboard, processor, RAM & cooler. My budget is circa £600, I like the idea of AMD offerings, I just need to know where to start as it's been a very long time since putting together my last machine.

Since you have kept your current PC so long, you might want to spend extra on a motherboard with PCI-E 5.0 graphics and USB4, but if you don't, you can choose B650 which at OCUK starts at just £125 (B650 Eagle). The board in my spec has PCI-E 5.0 graphics, but it does not have USB4 (look at X870 for that).

If you do get a cheaper board, you could upgrade the RAM to 48GB or 64GB, which I think is a good idea again because you keep your PC so long, but also because you're a demanding user and you play Flight Sim.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 9700X Eight Core 5.50GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-02676) = £308.99
• 1 x Gigabyte B650E AORUS ELITE X AX ICE (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-GIG-03568) = £190.00
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance EXPO/XMP 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRS-00996) = £82.99

• 1 x Arctic Freezer 36 120m Black CPU Cooler - 2x 120mm (SKU: COO-ARC-02420) = £22.99

Total: £612.96 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

 

[hbuzz]

Thanks Tetras for your suggestions. I'll look into these options, I certainly like the sound of having 64GB of Ram but would happily go over budget for this.

I just need to remind myself what I'm using SATA connection wise and make sure I'd be ok.

 

[Craig_d1]

you want an x3d cpu for flight sim..FS loves the cache of x3d

below is a good indicator..if you go to 7min44 and see the graphs...so it's a 13900k vs a 7800x3d as this was done over a year ago..but basicallu 13900k was intel fasted gaming cpu at time vs amd's..if you look at the graph playing 1440p ultra setting the 7800x3d managed 105fps compared to 75.9 fps of the intel cpu (so a 38% jump in performance). at 4k it was 98.5fps vs 76.8 (8min 10) which is still a jump of 28%..and basically turn dlss on and low latency and you get better fps again, which increase the gap back to 1440p diff(as you're basically upscaling the 1440p picture)

so if it's a case of32gb ram and a 7800x3d(be it 2nd hand) or a new 9800x3d(pref if new as same price as a 7800x3d) or 64gb ram and a 9700x 0r 7700x, i'd loose 32gb of ram. i've not used over 32gb ram playing fs2020, and seen vids of 2024 runnig and that's not used more either..sure, if you can afford it, go for it, but cpu is 4 times the price of 32gb ram, so put the money into the cpu now, and upgrade the ram when it becomes an issue, which isn't now

sorry...just saw the flightsim without reading rest...hm..be tempted to save a bit more ..9800x3d actually outperfoms the 9700x in productivity so ideal..(7800x3d is slower than the 7700x..just the way cpu was manufactured with the x3d on top of the cpu die...now the other way round so the 9800x3dcan be clocked faster and with the x3d, the 9800 outperforms the 9700x as the 3d cache helps productivity also)

just did a quick check of technotice, and he's not done a vid with the 9800x3d, but has with the 7800x3d against the 245k ultra and a 14600k...haven't gone through it all as going to bed, but skipped to photoshop and the 7800x3d wins that being 5% faster than the 245k. da vinci resolve it's 6.7% slower...so win one loose other
anyway, a thought..2nd hand 7800x3d going around £300....but could continue to save and get a 9800x3d

literally too tired and don't know if I'm making much sense now..godnight all