Upgrading a 5 year old PC?
Upgrading a 5 year old PC?
The current system is showing signs of age and may struggle with demanding 1440p gaming at high refresh rates. Here’s a revised explanation incorporating the key points:
Your aging PC – consisting of an Intel i5-4670K CPU (overclocked to 4GHz), an EVGA GTX 780 graphics card, and supporting components – is likely struggling with modern games, particularly at 1440p resolution and high refresh rates. While your current setup can technically handle some gaming at this resolution, you'll likely experience significant performance drops, low frame rates, and potentially require aggressive settings adjustments to achieve playable results.
The GTX 780 is a dated GPU that’s simply not powerful enough for the demands of modern games at high resolutions. The i5-4670K CPU is also showing its age and will bottleneck the GTX 780. Your existing RAM (4x4GB DDR3) isn't sufficient for smoother multitasking or higher quality textures in newer titles.
Considering your current 21.5" 1080p, 60Hz monitor, a significant upgrade is recommended to truly benefit from a 1440p 100+hz display. Upgrading the GPU and potentially the CPU would be the priority.
The rewritten text is:
“That’s a good assessment. A GTX 2070 would be ideal because the 2080 would be overkill with my CPU. A new card will be around €500-600, so I need to save some money. I'm thinking of just getting a new... ”
The text describes upgrading a computer system for improved gaming performance, particularly with high refresh QHD displays. It suggests prioritizing a faster GPU and monitor as a starting point, acknowledging the limitations of an older quad-core CPU. The author recommends considering GPUs like the RTX 2080 Ti or Radeon VII while also suggesting potential future upgrades to the CPU, motherboard, and RAM. Overclocking is presented as another option for boosting performance.
Eximo :
Hmm. you are at that difficult point where you have what was quite high end at the time, but is now solidly in the middle range. Going from mid-range to high end again is pricey, particularly when you want more graphics output.
Your system can certainly handle a faster GPU, but there are many games now that will be slower on your older quad core. Still more than playable though. (You could always try overclocking a little more, maybe pick up a bigger CPU cooler)
Since you are looking at high refresh QHD displays, you really need to consider upgrading everything. However, you could get a new GPU and monitor now and you would certainly see an improvement. In any game where your CPU isn't a problem, it would run as fast as the GPU will go. You can then look at upgrading the CPU/Motherboard/RAM at a later date.
Depends on what you have to spend, but anything up through the RTX2080TI would drop right in. The new Radeon VII and you would probably want to look at your power supply. (Both the GTX780 and RTX2080Ti are rated at 250W)
Thanks for the response!
I should have wattage to spare, I put a modular 750W in there since I was eyeballing SLI when I first purchased it. A second 780 would at this point be pretty redundant though. I can afford a new monitor, but probably not a new monitor+graphics card at this point. Any clue what my system should be able to handle monitor-wise? I mostly want a slightly higher refresh rate, and maybe something curved. 1440p would be nice, but I'm scared of severe performance drops in-game.
That’s a great summary of what I was thinking! Thanks for your help.
A new monitor at 1440p and 100Hz is a significant step up from your current 1080p 60Hz display. Let’s assess if your existing components can handle this change, focusing on whether it’s time for an upgrade.
Your Intel i5-4670K and EVGA GTX 780 are aging but still capable. The 4670K is a decent processor that should provide enough horsepower for most modern games, especially at 1440p with some settings adjustments. The GTX 780 offers solid performance, though it’s starting to show its age when paired with a higher-resolution display.
However, the biggest bottleneck will likely be your RAM. 4GB is significantly less than what's recommended for modern gaming. While you could technically upgrade to 8GB, that wouldn't drastically improve things. You are running DDR3 RAM; upgrading to DDR4 or DDR5 would also provide a significant performance boost.
Your SSD setup is sensible – dedicated storage for games and the operating system will dramatically reduce loading times compared to using an HDD.
The text describes the performance of older graphics cards (GTX 780) compared to newer ones, recommending a GTX 2070 or used GTX 1080/1080Ti as a good upgrade option for 1440p gaming. It cautions against upgrading the CPU significantly due to its limitations at that resolution. The text then details a user’s budget and decision-making process regarding a new graphics card, considering factors like cost (€500-600) and prioritizing a monitor purchase before investing in a high-end GPU.
Here’s a rewritten version of the text, using different words and phrasing:
The system's GPU, a GTX 780, performs similarly to a GTX 1050Ti. For smoother gameplay at 100 frames per second in demanding games, an upgrade would be beneficial – potentially a GTX 2070 or a used GTX 1080 or 1080Ti. A current-generation CPU like an i7 9600K or newer (6600K/7800X) isn’t likely to provide a significant performance boost, particularly at 1440p resolution.
A new graphics card would cost around €500-€600, so saving up is advisable. A GTX 2070 offers approximately the same performance as a GTX 1080, representing a more economical choice (€195 difference). Bottlenecking concerns are often overstated, especially at 1440p or higher; while some games might show a slight reduction in frame rates, the overall impact is frequently minimal. Considering your existing hardware – an i7 9600K running at 4.1 GHz with a 980Ti – a GTX 2070 would likely be a suitable upgrade without overspending.
New card will be around €500-600 by the looks of it, so I will have to save some money. I’m thinking of just getting a new monitor, and saving the card for a few paychecks in the future.
2080 should be ok as well, but 2070 is ~GTX 1080 performance, which is a decent performer @1440p for a lot less $$. Not sure where you live, but according to the german pcpartpicker site, it’s a €195 difference between the 2070 and the 2080. Bottlenecking is pretty overrated for 99% of games, especially @1440p on up, yes there may be a game here or there that bottlenecks, but I’m running an i7 [email protected] with a 980Ti, only slightly less powerful than a 1080, and on average the difference between that pc and my 7800X with a 980Ti@1440p is unnoticeable for almost any game unless I benchmark it; even then @1440p the difference is often quite small.
I’m Dutch, so you were close
The site where I buy my pc parts has a 2080 which has been opened once, then sent back, and it’s ‘only’ €688. Still a good discount compared to other 2080’s though.
I will just save a little, and see if there is a similar cheap option available once I have the dough. Otherwise a 2070 might be good. Thanks for the help!