Upgrade suggestions for OCUK "Nitrogen OC i3 8350k" PC

Aeroplane01 · 22 Nov 2019 at 12:14

Hi,

I purchased a pre-built OC'd system a couple of years back and I'm looking to upgrade for better performance in FPS and also for VR. I'm happy with my current M.2 and SSD storage.

Open to suggestions, if you've got a spare few minutes to have a look, here's my existing spec:

OC UK System Name:
"FS-1BY-OG OcUK Gaming Nitrogen Overclocked Gaming PC - Intel Core i3 8350K @ 4.7GHz"

Mobo
MB-560-GI Gigabyte Z370-HD3 Intel Z370 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX

CPU
CP-63V-IN Intel Core i3-8350K 4.0GHz (Coffee Lake) Socket LGA1151

RAM
Team Group Vulcan T-Force 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C14 2400MHz Dual Channel

GPU
GX-191-GI Gigabyte Aorus Radeon RX 580 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

PSU
CA-028-CU Cougar VTX 550W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply

Storage
HD-22G-SA Samsung 960 EVO Polaris 250GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive
HD-384-SE Seagate BarraCuda 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD

Any advice, gratefully received.

Aeroplane01 · 26 Nov 2019 at 17:44

I've just doubled my RAM to 16GB by adding another TeamGroup Vulcan T-Force 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C14 2400MHz Dual Channel RAM kit.

I know this makes future upgrades a bit more of a faf, as I've now used up all 4 slots with 4GB each. I'm sure when the time comes, I'll be able to sell the old RAM on eBay though.

I've been looking at upgrading either the CPU or the GPU next. I'm edging more towards a CPU upgrade.

Any advice from more clued up forumites welcome

pastymuncher · 26 Nov 2019 at 19:07

You could drop in a second hand 8700k which will give you a nice boost in cores and threads and should overclock to around 5Ghz easily enough although your board is a budget one which may limit overclocking ability. Don't pay the ridiculous new prices for a 8700k.

Aeroplane01 · 28 Nov 2019 at 00:30

Thanks pm, I'll have a shop around on eBay. I can hopefully sell on the 8350k to offset the cost of the 8700k.

Aeroplane01 · 18 Jun 2020 at 07:05

Apologies for necro-positing on my old thread. I'm looking for ideas following the update from my side below.

As my system stability and performance improved massively after replacing the thermal paste on my GPU, I didn't proceed any further than upgrading my RAM to 16GB. My displays are a pair of LG 25UM58 25 inch Ultrawides.

I was wondering if anybody has any suggestions for upgrades to the above system, taking into account time elapsed since my last post. Any suggestions welcome.

bagel · 18 Jun 2020 at 10:22

Could put in a 96/700k but a GPU upgrade would give you the biggest boost to gaming performance. 5700xt is good value for the power but next gen of cards are due in a few months if you can hold out

Aeroplane01 · 21 Jun 2020 at 23:22

Thanks for the tip. I'll probably wait to see what new GPU releases do to prices. Perhaps pick up a Black Friday bargain CPU.

Joxeon · 21 Jun 2020 at 23:37

I would think about getting a better psu before adding any other components.

Aeroplane01 · 21 Jun 2020 at 23:38

Good point, thought I might be pushing it a bit. I'll add it to the list

Quartz · 21 Jun 2020 at 23:47

Check your motherboard's CPU compatibility list. You may find you can fit a 9000 series CPU.

Aeroplane01 · 22 Jun 2020 at 00:14

Looking at my BIOS version and Gigabyte's website, it looks like it can take a 9th Gen CPU.

My plan was always to upgrade CPU and GPU after a couple of years. I must admit, I am surprised that prices for both haven't dropped as much as I thought they would.

bagel · 22 Jun 2020 at 00:54

GPU prices especially are pretty inflated due to the pandemic

Tetras · 22 Jun 2020 at 02:07

Aeroplane01 said:
Looking at my BIOS version and Gigabyte's website, it looks like it can take a 9th Gen CPU.

My plan was always to upgrade CPU and GPU after a couple of years. I must admit, I am surprised that prices for both haven't dropped as much as I thought they would.

Your graphics card is still current really, nvidia equivalent is no faster and the 5500 XT is pretty much the same.

Aeroplane01 · 24 Jun 2020 at 17:17

Tetras said:
Your graphics card is still current really, nvidia equivalent is no faster and the 5500 XT is pretty much the same.

That's re-assuring, ta. With that advice in mind, I'm thinking more of a CPU Upgrade now, then selling the old i3 8350k on ebay to recover some cash. I'm assuming my existing (Cougar VTX 550W 80 Plus Bronze) PSU is up to the job of running a better CPU. My BIOS has been updated for 9th Gen Intel support, if required. Any suggestions for the best choice of CPU to hit the cost / performance sweet spot?

Tetras · 24 Jun 2020 at 22:04

It's difficult to say, because your current CPU is plenty capable, so it's only going to be some games you'll see a benefit in smoothness and FPS lows. An 8-core would double your raw CPU power, but do you really want to pay that much? The 8600 and 8700K would be a decent upgrade, but again they're not cheap just to get 2 more cores.

Aeroplane01 · 24 Jun 2020 at 23:18

Thanks again Tetras. Good points to ponder.