Upgrade time!!!

JoshySquashy

JoshySquashy

JoshySquashy

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Joined
26 Apr 2014
Posts
18
I've listed my original purchase made nearly 6 years ago and am thinking of upgrading. Initially thought about just the graphics card but to be honest think a lot of the rest could do with upgrading too. Looking for suggestions that will allow me to run a dual screen setup and play modern games on mid/high settings. Can only play most with low settings without my fps suffering at the moment. Mostly been playing Escape from Tarkov recently for reference if that helps.

Probably looking for gear suggestions that will cover me for the next 5 years reasonably well without emptying my wallet too much, is £600 realistic? Not clued up with this at all so not sure what i can afford to keep if i only upgraded the important stuff? And am i likely to need better cooling as i've read some of the latest msi radeon graphics cards, for example, run very hot!

Also would it be worth selling any of what i have to go towards my budget and if so, where is best?

Much appreciated!

Heres my current setup (minus the liquid cpu cooler)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11227-03-40G) £299.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4690K 3.50GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £178.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060009-WW) £88
1 x Crucial MX100 256GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter (CT256MX100SSD1) £79.99
1 x Gigabyte Z97P-D3 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £68.99
1 x Kingston HyperX 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Red (HX24C11BRK2/8-OC) £61.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi "Core" USB3.0 Gaming Windowed Case - White £54.98
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £49.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £39.98
2 x Corsair Air Series AF120 1500RPM LED Blue Quiet Edition - Dual Pack (CO-9050016-BLED) £16.99 (£33.98)
1 x BitFenix Mesh Stripes for Shinobi XL Tower Case - Blue £8.99
1 x BitFenix Logo for Shinobi Tower Case - Blue £1.98
Total : £982.86 (includes shipping : £12.50)
 
You would see an nice up lift from the R9 290 by replacing it with something like a 1660 Super.
And maybe add an 1tb SSD like an MX500 (SATA).
But you can only do so much with that PC before your 4 core CPU begins to be the main bottleneck.

So I'd probably recommend a new budget Ryzen 3600 or 1600AF build with a B450 motherboard.

Re-use the case and PSU, sell the rest.
Go for an better GFX card if the budget will stretch to it, like a 2060/70 Super.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £687.05 (includes shipping: £11.10)


​
 
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The Old School Gamer said:
You would see an nice up lift from the R9 290 by replacing it with something like a 1660 Super.
And maybe add an 1tb SSD like an MX500 (SATA).
But you can only do so much with that PC before your 4 core CPU begins to be the main bottleneck.

So I'd probably recommend a new budget Ryzen 3600 or 1600AF build with a B450 motherboard.

Re-use the case and PSU, sell the rest.
Go for an better GFX card if the budget will stretch to it, like a 2060/70 Super.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £687.05 (includes shipping: £11.10)


​
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice.

Would you say this kind of thing is going to future proof me at least for a while? I think i'd rather spend more now than have to upgrade in a few years potentially, i mean budgets are surely only there to be stretched right . . .

Also stretching for a better GFX card, is there any particular 2060/70 super you would say stands out above the rest?
 
It would be good for a few years.

But if you really want it to last 5yrs or so you would probably need to increase your budget and go with an slightly higher spec.
And you would need to upgrade your GFX card again after a few years to keep up with modern games.

For example.

An 3700X 8 core / 16 thread CPU would be a safer bet going forward rather than the 3600 6 core / 12 thread CPU. (but right here, right now it's perfectly fine).
An X570 motherboard would be better choice than B450 for future upgrades. (but right here, right now it's fine).
An 1660 Super has the bare minimum amount of VRAM, an 8Gb GFX card would be better.
An 550w PSU is ok for the spec above, but an 700w PSU would cover any future power hungry upgrades.

You don't have to go crazy.
But as you can see below the price does start to gap up on you as you add better parts.

On the GFX card front the MSI GeForce RTX 2070 Super Gaming X is a decent card and well priced, it has an really good cooler.
It wouldn't have quite as much overclocking headroom as a STRIX or a FTW3 as they have higher power limits, but those cards are top tier and a lot more expensive in comparison.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,449.60 (includes shipping: £11.70)​
​
 
Last edited:
The Old School Gamer said:
An X570 motherboard would be better choice than B450 for future upgrades. (but right here, right now it's fine).
Click to expand...
X570 board VRM is needed only for 12/16 core CPUs.
And with proper case cooling MSI B450 Tomahawk would do decently for 12 core in gaming.
Unless aiming for really high end also in CPU PCIe v4 won't be bringing real significant difference to graphics card performance.

That brand overpriced Samsung is complete waste of money.
There's hardly any real world difference in Windows and game loading times between NVMe and even "slow" SATA SSD.
So inside TLC drives only price per GB is of any real world use metric.
And there are 1TB NVMes for £130 less.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/wd-b...-solid-state-drive-wds100t2b0c-hd-56l-wd.html

Also that memory is really pricy for not so absolutely future proof 16GB.
Only £15 more gets very good 2x16GB kit with second best DDR4 chips.
 
JoshySquashy said:
Probably looking for gear suggestions that will cover me for the next 5 years reasonably well without emptying my wallet too much, is £600 realistic?
Click to expand...
I think £600 is pushing it especially as it would include the gpu upgrade and you want it to last 5 years. Heres what ive come up with as this is going to be similar to what the next gen consoles are using so it should be good for 5 years though a GPU upgrade every 3 years or so never hurts. i Would recomend a 1TB SSD but as its taking you even further from budget i left it out but its something you could think about adding down the line.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £840.06 (includes shipping: £11.10)
​
 
Yup lots of different configurations you can do.
Future proofing on a budget is more challenging though.
Least on AM4 there is an clear upgrade path to Zen 3.
But there is always the chance the older chipsets will not receive compatibillity BIOS updates for upcoming CPUs.
So 5 years out X570 may of been the better choice to take right now.

But 5 years is a long time in tech.
I personally work on an shorter upgrade cycle than that.
 
Last edited:
The Old School Gamer said:
But there is always the chance the older chipsets will not receive compatibillity BIOS updates for upcoming CPUs.
So 5 years out X570 may of been the better choice to take right now.
Click to expand...

The tomahawk max was released after the x570 with an upgraded 32mb bios chip so there's no chance it will not be updated to support the upcoming zen 3 CPUs.
 
The Old School Gamer said:
Yes, hence why I recommend them for budget builds.
But it is not a given all older chipset boards will be updated.
Take my X370 VI Extreme for example, it might be but who knows.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure even b350/x370 will get the agesa update for zen 3 support although they may not get the level of support going forward after this of the newer chipsets.
AMD wouldn't let board partners cut them lose as it would impact CPU sales.
 
Joxeon said:
I think £600 is pushing it especially as it would include the gpu upgrade and you want it to last 5 years. Heres what ive come up with as this is going to be similar to what the next gen consoles are using so it should be good for 5 years though a GPU upgrade every 3 years or so never hurts. i Would recomend a 1TB SSD but as its taking you even further from budget i left it out but its something you could think about adding down the line.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £840.06 (includes shipping: £11.10)
​
Click to expand...

just dont forget to sign up to 4 yr warranty ! think Aorus ends up being cooler and quieter then other flagship units whilst being smaller .

shaving off a few £££ , Gaming OC instead of Aorus ( same manufacture - check GamerNexus for review, best all rounder) . 3200hz instead of 3600 but can be overclocked. mATX instead of ATX- its just shorter


BB CODE
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £816.06 (includes shipping: £11.10)


but power could be an issue ! Non XT with less power draw


BB CODE
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £741.06 (includes shipping: £11.10)​
​

or

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £801.06 (includes shipping: £11.10)​
​
 
Last edited:
The Old School Gamer said:
It would be good for a few years.

But if you really want it to last 5yrs or so you would probably need to increase your budget and go with an slightly higher spec.
And you would need to upgrade your GFX card again after a few years to keep up with modern games.

For example.

An 3700X 8 core / 16 thread CPU would be a safer bet going forward rather than the 3600 6 core / 12 thread CPU. (but right here, right now it's perfectly fine).
An X570 motherboard would be better choice than B450 for future upgrades. (but right here, right now it's fine).
An 1660 Super has the bare minimum amount of VRAM, an 8Gb GFX card would be better.
An 550w PSU is ok for the spec above, but an 700w PSU would cover any future power hungry upgrades.

You don't have to go crazy.
But as you can see below the price does start to gap up on you as you add better parts.

On the GFX card front the MSI GeForce RTX 2070 Super Gaming X is a decent card and well priced, it has an really good cooler.
It wouldn't have quite as much overclocking headroom as a STRIX or a FTW3 as they have higher power limits, but those cards are top tier and a lot more expensive in comparison.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,449.60 (includes shipping: £11.70)
​
Click to expand...

I see what you mean about the price difference, perhaps i'll just make do for now with what is around my budget and upgrade as required, i mean i did manage to go 6 years until now. Thanks
 
orbitalwalsh said:
just dont forget to sign up to 4 yr warranty ! think Aorus ends up being cooler and quieter then other flagship units whilst being smaller .

shaving off a few £££ , Gaming OC instead of Aorus ( same manufacture - check GamerNexus for review, best all rounder) . 3200hz instead of 3600 but can be overclocked. mATX instead of ATX- its just shorter


BB CODE
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £816.06 (includes shipping: £11.10)


but power could be an issue ! Non XT with less power draw


BB CODE
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £741.06 (includes shipping: £11.10)
​
or

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £801.06 (includes shipping: £11.10)
​
Click to expand...

do you think dropping the processor to a ryzen 5 3600 and perhaprs spending more on a graphics card like a rtx 2070 is worth doing? or would i need the higher processor for everything to run at its best?
 
JoshySquashy said:
do you think dropping the processor to a ryzen 5 3600 and perhaprs spending more on a graphics card like a rtx 2070 is worth doing? or would i need the higher processor for everything to run at its best?
Click to expand...
If you want to run new games for that five years without upgrading CPU 8 core/16 thread is needed.
Next-gen consoles coming in fall/before Christmas will come with pretty much underclocked for energy efficiency 3700X.
So every heavier game will be made to use that core count.

While graphics cards are way worser parts for trying to future proof.
 
With @EsaT on this one .

*** seen amd's future plans ? Have a feeling if they were able to stack 64GB of HBME 2e/3 RAM on the die package would be outstanding performance

Double your core count if you can ! GPU still gets you the FPS count . 3600 six core is still damn good and lovely pairing with 1660s/2060 or 5700/XT .

Technically cores aren't everything. 6 core Ryzen 3600 matches 8 core Ryzen 1700 via increase core speed, increased Ram speed pairing and increase performance per clock cycle .

If lowering to Ryzen 3600 gets you a better GPU or gets it in budget then do so . Can always slap in ryEn 4*** 8/12 core at a later date

also, whats your Screen Resolution/Hz and any sync Tech?
 
Last edited:
also, whats your Screen Resolution/Hz and any sync Tech?
Click to expand...

Currently have a 60hz 1080p screen but want to add a 144hz as my main and keep the other as a secondary. One i'm looking at has amd free sync tech. My screen budget is about £150 for a 24"
 
JoshySquashy said:
Currently have a 60hz 1080p screen but want to add a 144hz as my main and keep the other as a secondary. One i'm looking at has amd free sync tech. My screen budget is about £150 for a 24"
Click to expand...

If you've got your i5 overclocked you might not see much difference between it and Ryzen 3600 on 90% of games. Only most recent like BF or assassin's creed that scales across any amount of cores .
Personally. Get GPU and screen and see how Intel's upcoming launch effects prices .

Or ryzen 3600 and Rx 5700 combo (non XT)

Free sync 1080p 144hz for £150

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/view...ync-led-backlit-gaming-monitor-mo-087-vs.html

Freesync and G-sync one if going with Nvidia GPU

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aoc-...ync-led-gaming-monitor-hdmi-dp-mo-04v-ao.html
 
Have thought about all the advice and have put together this little bundle. Any closing thoughts or obvious errors on my part would be appreciated. looking forward to experiencing the upgrade!

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,195.25 (includes shipping: £12.30)​

​
 
JoshySquashy said:
Have thought about all the advice and have put together this little bundle. Any closing thoughts or obvious errors on my part would be appreciated. looking forward to experiencing the upgrade!

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,195.25 (includes shipping: £12.30)

​
Click to expand...

Slightly less power from 2070s to 2070 but G-sync enabled screen. You'll just get tearing on that 1080p non sync (amd cards only currently )

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,001.65 (includes shipping: £11.70)
​

2070s but with Gaming OC 4yr warranty
b]My basket at Overclockers UK:[/b]
Total: £1,141.65 (includes shipping: £11.70)
​


Matx instead of ATX to save £10 as no difference and 3200hz as cheaper but will still OC fine

27" is to large for 1080p unless you upscale to 1440p .

Also ryzen is slower then intel at 1080p so hence RTX 2070 non Super. Paying extra for frames you'll be missing out on 15-30fps on average .
At 1440p is pretty much even
 
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