Should I fix up an old, broken computer or take out of retirement and go on an adventure with Indiana Jones?
Should I fix up an old, broken computer or take out of retirement and go on an adventure with Indiana Jones?
My computer broke back in December. It was a sub-$600 rig with a B450 motherboard, Ryzen 5 3600 CPU, 32GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM, 512GB M.2 SSD, and 750W PSU that I put together back in early 2021, but abandoned due to GPUs being impossible to find, and was finally able to get operational this past October with an RTX 3050 6GB for $165. It could push 180 FPS in Black Ops 6 at the lowest possible settings in 1080p with DLSS. But then 2 months later in December, the DisplayPort on the GPU stopped working, so I had to find an HDMI cable, but then I started getting display glitches and had to keep unplugging and restarting. Then it just started lighting up without booting, so I started taking the RAM in and out, and then THAT didn't work, so I tried to pop out the CPU, without unscrewing it good AND without ungluing the thermal paste from the cooler, and pins snapped off. The socket might still be usable, but I don't even know if I trust this rig at this point. The CPU and GPU have both been gutted out, and it's been sitting there unplugged ever since. I just started working full-time and earning a stable income again, and I'm debating whether to try and salvage my old rig, or build a new one to meet the recommended requirements for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. That seems to be the benchmark game with the higher system requirements right now. If I do salvage it, what do I even put in? Everyone recommended Ryzen 5 5600 for cheap builds rn, but I'd probably go for a 5700X3D cause if I'm stuck on AM4, I might as well go all out. But then for the GPU, I have no clue. You want 12GB of VRAM, but those cards are like $400 minimum, and that's for a 3060, never mind a 40 or 50 series card. And then will it even work? Is the CPU socket okay? What about other broken things I might not know about? Just seems like a hassle for a computer that wasn't even all that great to begin with. This Indiana Jones build that I shopped around for on NewEgg costs $1,093.33. It has a B650 motherboard, Ryzen 7 7700 CPU, RX 7700 XT GPU, 32GB of DDR5 6000MHz CL36 RAM, 1TB Gen 4x4 SSD, and 750W PSU. It only meets the recommended specs for minimum ray tracing though, as full ray tracing requires at least a 4080, and anything that good is at least $1,300 (more than the whole rest of the computer). Minimum ray tracing it is. What would you recommend? I'm leaning more towards the new rig myself, but I don't want my first PC I ever built to be a waste. Would you recommend a different new build rather than the one I picked? I'm using this on a 200Hz 1080p monitor with cheap USB/3.5mm dual speakers for context.
512GB M.2 SSD and 750W PSU Make and model of your PSU (and when it was made) as well as the make and model of your M.2 drive? You could recycle the 512GB drive to use as your C: drive, putting the OS, apps, and launchers on there. You have listed your specs generally, but we usually need the make and models of your parts to see if you are using bad components in this build. 1TB Gen 4x4 SSD or Are you trying to recycle your old PSU? What would you recommend? If you decide to build a system from scratch, be sure to put in quality components so you get good value over time. However, if the series of mistakes on your build could be caused by an electrical issue, I'd suggest checking that your wall outlet is fixed (call in a certified electrician) or else you might see the same problems again as in your old system. Also, if you're not going to go beyond 1080p resolution, you are wasting a lot of money either way.
Besides taking the PC to a repair shop where they can test the board and memory, there isn't much else worth fixing except the storage drive. I think it's better just to start fresh. For moderately priced GPUs that meet minimum ray tracing needs: Intel B580 12GB (if you find one) or B570 10GB are okay but not great, they are easier to get. Intel A770 with 16GB is older but still decent and the drivers have been getting better recently. Around $400 right now, though that price might change. RTX 5060Ti 16GB: Skip the smaller 8GB versions. RTX 5070 12GB is the cheapest option at about $610; it's promising but not really ready yet. RX 9070 GRE 12GB isn't sure if having less VRAM hurts performance, but I don't know exactly how much. RX 9070 with 16GB has high prices now, but things could drop. The Radeon 7000 series is mostly good on the higher end; look for a 7900XT or 7900XTX if you want decent ray tracing performance. A 7800XT is pricey compared to its power level, though it works fine for normal gaming. The B580 costs $310 now, which is more than it should be but gives the best value so far. You might check the used market instead; getting a 3080 or even a 4060 Ti could work. I'd say shop around for GPUs and finish building the PC after you have something to start with. If you are close to Microcenter, that's probably where to get a GPU in the US.
I want to make a new PC and figure out if it needs full path tracing for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The parts in my Newegg cart are a Ryzen 7 7700 CPU, an RTX 5070 Ti GPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM at 6000 CL30 speed, a B65M WiFi motherboard, and a micro ATX case. My power supply is the 750W one from my old broken build, and I'm using an M.2 SSD that holds 512GB. The total cost of these parts right now is $1,482.64. If I upgrade the storage to 1TB instead, the price goes up to $1,542.19. Is it really worth paying more for this? Is Indiana Jones actually that good? Is full path tracing even worth the money? Are there other games with path tracing that make this build better? Would saving on tariffs and shortages make a difference if I just say forget Indiana Jones and buy a cheap $500 rig to play whatever, like when I started my first PC build? (Though I'd still want to be able to run 1080p ultra at 120FPS without DLSS). This whole setup will be played on a 200Hz 1080p monitor.
Indiana Jones looks great for a short while, but I actually stopped playing because the games are too hard. Maybe I'll come back later if things get easier. With all those puzzles and path finding stuff, it's really hard to tell. Graphics cards are expensive right now though.
Unreal engine 5 based games are tough on your graphics card. It seems like they thought there would be lots of performance everywhere when they built the game. The Lumen ray traced lighting looks pretty good though. You can forget getting 120fps in these games without framegen even though Oblivion remastered is what I'm playing right now and I get 60 to 80 fps but it still looks great.
I’ve got a 5060ti 16gb and I will say you definitely want frame generation and dlss. It would be ok if those were turned off I guess, but with dlss and frame generation I can hit a like over 100fps on oblivion remastered with mostly high settings. It goes towards the 50s and 60s without those options unless I compromise more settings. 5070ti is a decent card but if you’re getting this pc, don’t get it for just one game. Though there’s no shame in doing a compromise build with a cheaper gpu until you trade up later. In my case the 5060ti 16gb is a good enough card to hold me until I have more money or the market really straightens out. As in getting a 9070xt for msrp etc. On the idea of a compromise build, I was reminded today by a video how potent a cheap i7 12700k/kf on a midrange board can be if you’re on a budget and can a play about anything out there.
I did it. I had some bills to pay and while I could have kept the item, selling it seemed right because it helped me cover those costs. I looked for the 5060ti 16gb at the actual MSRP and bought it, which let me still the XTX for about double the price. The XTX felt a bit too expensive to me. But honestly, I've been watching new GPU launches lately and maybe had some regret that it lacked newer tech like FSR 4 or what not because of its price. Once I get things settled up, I might consider upgrading to something like the 5070ti or a 9070/9070 XT if those prices drop down. Though I think I heard about an option for an 18GB 5070 Super? That would be one thing I'd look at later. Since I'm doing 4K work, the XTX is also too much power overkill.