Where to begin?

Steven Pratt · 27 Nov 2020 at 10:14

I am currently in the process of wanting to upgrade my PC. I've had it a few years and got it second hand. It manages the day to day stuff but can be a bit laggy on some games. I've done a speccy run and will add that information below. I'm working to quite a tight budget but just looking for ideas so I know what to work towards first.

Any help gratefully received.

Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i7 5820K @ 3.30GHz 39 °C
Haswell-E/EP 22nm Technology
RAM
16.0GB Unknown @ 1066MHz (15-15-15-36)
Motherboard
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. RAMPAGE V EXTREME (SOCKET 2011) 31 °C
Graphics
ASUS PB287Q (3840x2160@30Hz)
4096MB ATI AMD Radeon R9 200 Series (MSI) 56 °C
Storage
232GB Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB (SATA (SSD)) 30 °C
1863GB Seagate ST2000DM001-1ER164 (SATA ) 28 °C
Optical Drives
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-224DB
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

mickyflinn · 27 Nov 2020 at 10:35

Hi

Its probably your graphics card that need upgrading would be nice to know what model it is , 290. 290x

Do you have your games installed on the ssd that helps with data transfer.

Steven Pratt · 27 Nov 2020 at 10:42

Hi, thanks for the quick response.

It's a 290 and yes all programmes installed on ssd.

Hakanese · 27 Nov 2020 at 10:45

How much space do you have left on your ssd?

Steven Pratt · 27 Nov 2020 at 10:49

Hakanese said:
How much space do you have left on your ssd?

20gb currently. It's a family PC so there are multiple people using it for games.

mickyflinn · 27 Nov 2020 at 10:52

Steven Pratt said:
Hi, thanks for the quick response.

It's a 290 and yes all programmes installed on ssd.

It could be due to frame rates but you will need to check if your gpu is getting maxed out.

Download msi afterburner and see if your gpu is getting 100% usage and fps your getting noticing any drops in fps.

What resoloution , you gaming at and what games are lagging ?

If you lower the detail or resoloution does it stop lagging ? If yes that a sure sign your gpu is be maxed out.

What's your budget for an upgrade ?

Steven Pratt · 27 Nov 2020 at 11:24

mickyflinn said:
It could be due to frame rates but you will need to check if your gpu is getting maxed out.

Download msi afterburner and see if your gpu is getting 100% usage and fps your getting noticing any drops in fps.

What resoloution , you gaming at and what games are lagging ?

If you lower the detail or resoloution does it stop lagging ? If yes that a sure sign your gpu is be maxed out.

What's your budget for an upgrade ?

So the afterburner is saying max 67%
I've got the latest Football Manager, the quality seems really low during the games, although the game recommends I play on high graphics quality. I also use Game Pass and play different games.
Around £200

Hakanese · 27 Nov 2020 at 11:31

500gb sata ssd would be my recommendation, you should be able to get one around the £50 mark

mickyflinn · 27 Nov 2020 at 11:33

Steven Pratt said:
So the afterburner is saying max 67%
I've got the latest Football Manager, the quality seems really low during the games, although the game recommends I play on high graphics quality. I also use Game Pass and play different games.
Around £200

Hmm.
Are you using high detail ? What resoloution are you gaming at ?

Steven Pratt · 27 Nov 2020 at 11:44

mickyflinn said:
Hmm.
Are you using high detail ? What resoloution are you gaming at ?

I tend to play on medium. I have used high but things tend to go slower and it still doesn't look great.
My screen is 3840*2160, if that's what you mean.

Quartz · 27 Nov 2020 at 11:49

Steven Pratt said:
ASUS PB287Q (3840x2160@30Hz)

That's an absolutely stonking monitor but you should be running it at 60 Hz, not 30 Hz. How modern are the games you're playing? Because you'll have to drop quality settings on modern AAA games. Older games will be fine. Alternatively drop the resolution to 1080p.

Your GPU is about the same as my old GTX 780 Ti and I ran then-current games at 4k on medium / high. I would look to buy the expected RTX 3060 or RX 6600 when they come out. But first get your monitor running at 60 Hz: it makes a huge difference.

Steven Pratt · 27 Nov 2020 at 11:56

Quartz said:
That's an absolutely stonking monitor but you should be running it at 60 Hz, not 30 Hz. How modern are the games you're playing? Because you'll have to drop quality settings on modern AAA games. Older games will be fine. Alternatively drop the resolution to 1080p.

Your GPU is about the same as my old GTX 780 Ti and I ran then-current games at 4k on medium / high. I would look to buy the expected RTX 3060 or RX 6600 when they come out. But first get your monitor running at 60 Hz: it makes a huge difference.

Thanks for the advice, however, there is no option for 60Hz. I go to the drop down menu and only 30Hz is selectable?

Quartz · 27 Nov 2020 at 12:08

Steven Pratt said:
Thanks for the advice, however, there is no option for 60Hz. I go to the drop down menu and only 30Hz is selectable?

Are you using a Displayport or HDMI cable? You need a Displayport cable to get 60 Hz. There should have been one in the box. Failing that they're cheap.

Steven Pratt · 27 Nov 2020 at 12:17

Hakanese said:
500gb sata ssd would be my recommendation, you should be able to get one around the £50 mark

Any recommendations on brand?

Steven Pratt · 27 Nov 2020 at 12:18

Quartz said:
Are you using a Displayport or HDMI cable? You need a Displayport cable to get 60 Hz. There should have been one in the box. Failing that they're cheap.

I am using HDMI, just going to check in the box now and see, if not I'll order one now. Cheers.

Hakanese · 27 Nov 2020 at 12:20

Steven Pratt said:
Any recommendations on brand?

Can't go wrong with Samsung 860 evo. Good thing is, if you upgrade the whole system later on, you can keep it and move it into the new rig. Have a look. It's just over 40 in a rainforest

Hakanese · 27 Nov 2020 at 12:22

Another thing is have a look around for 2nd hand graphics cards. There's a national 2nd hand electronics retailer that offer warranties on their goods. You may also be able to snap up a card there if it's your gpu that's holding your system up

Steven Pratt · 27 Nov 2020 at 12:42

Hakanese said:
Another thing is have a look around for 2nd hand graphics cards. There's a national 2nd hand electronics retailer that offer warranties on their goods. You may also be able to snap up a card there if it's your gpu that's holding your system up

I've been offered a GTX 1070 second-hand but I don't know if it's suitable?

Shaolin Chicken · 27 Nov 2020 at 12:47

Steven Pratt said:
I've been offered a GTX 1070 second-hand but I don't know if it's suitable?

That's a good card, I'm still using mine, play all my games at 1440p.
What price have you been offered it at?

Steven Pratt · 27 Nov 2020 at 12:49

Shaolin Chicken said:
That's a good card, I'm still using mine, play all my games at 1440p.
What price have you been offered it at?

250 but I could probably negotiate slightly lower.