Upgrading hardware. Need opinions.

Jh4nTy

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Hello people. First of all, this is my current setup:

• CPU: Intel Core i5 4690k @ 3.5GHz
• GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 WindForce OC 6GB
• MoBo: ASUS H-81 Gamer
• RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz
• Motherboard: ASUS H81-Gamer
• OS: Windows 8.1 Pro
• HDD: 1TB

My budget will be at around 700€ and I'll be upgrading 3 things: CPU, MoBo and RAM and I just need to know if these are good choices or if you have better opinions. Note that I'll be only buying all of this by the summer so some new hardware might appear, I don't know. This is just what I've been searching as of now.

Components to buy:
CPU - 370€: Intel Core i7-7700K Quad-Core 4.2GHz (OC 4.5GHz) 8MB skt1151 (is it worth the extra €s comparing to the 6700k?)

MoBo - 178€: ASUS Prime Z270-A (I really liked this one because of the Aura Sync and the fact that it has white details since my case is also white)

RAM - 162€: G.SKILL Trident Z RGB 16GB (8x2) DDR4 3000Mhz CL15 (basically because it has aura sync as well :p)

What do you think? Do you have better opinions? As you might've noticed, appearance is rather imporant to me because I like to look at my PC and enjoy a good view xD.

This is how my baby looks right now (I don't mind opinions :p):
16665015_1432456140098500_7540677648862266743_o.jpg

Please let me know, thanks!

 

Jh4nTy

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I forgot to mention this by the way: I currently have a 500W halfmman lc-8500btx PSU, I've been told that it isn't exactly the best PSU to have so do I need to consider a new one as well when upgrading to those components? Thanks!
 
I would NOT spend any money on your current system.

1) better CPU? (rarely a benefit currently in gaming)
2) more than 8GB DDR3/4? (again, rarely needed if you don't have other programs/browsers open when gaming)

3) W10? (main issue is DX12 gaming, but otherwise no rush)

The GRAPHICS card is where you'd gain the most benefit, but you obviously have a new GPU so it seems a shame to upgrade so quickly, especially when properly TWEAKING any game gets you the max or near-max VISUALLY (max may get you 20FPS at 1080p, but visually carefully tweaking can often get 60FPS with not much visual difference in my experience.)

RYZEN?
Ryzen is a little bit of a disappointment, however it probably won't be true in 2018 once we get BIOS, driver patches and better overclocking due to the 4/6-core parts and more mature process load. SMT/hyperthreading is currently buggy on launch probably because Windows is likely running two threads on a single core when splitting demanding threads between two cores would be better (Intel doesn't seem to have this issue anymore so it seems like a Windows driver issue which will be mostly solved in the next few months though it's a big oversight.).

I wouldn't build a RYZEN system (upgrading from your build) unless it gets about the SAME performance in most games but has more cores. Probably a 6C/12T CPU that gets 4.4GHz (ish) clock speeds.

MONITOR?
Don't forget the monitor. If I had that system and a so-so monitor I'd hold off and put money into a GSYNC monitor (2560x1440, IPS, 144Hz) when prices drop a bit more rather than rebuild a pretty good system.

So in ORDER I would:
#1 - GSYNC monitor in 2017/18 (if needed)
#2 - GPU (I'd hold off until 2018 for AMD products to launch though note that GSYNC is tied to NVidia, and Freesync to AMD currently). I'm not saying to buy AMD, just to wait for Vega and prices to stabilize then see what the situation is, especially if DX12/Vulkan may start to benefit AMD more which isn't necessarily as large as some people may think.
#3 - CPU/mobo etc? (last thing I'd do. really a waste of money IMO)
 


I recommend one of the EVGA products that have ECO mode (which can disable the fan). That happens at 50% load so I'd get a 650W or 750W model due to that.

This is OVERKILL for wattage, so again read my first sentence and there are CHEAPER models but if you consider the PSU as a long-term investment like I do then consider the EVGA 750W G3 for $100.
http://pcpartpicker.com/product/dMM323/evga-supernova-g3-750w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-220-g3-0750

If you don't have any stability issues (crashing, errors) there's no big rush. I personally always get a QUALITY power supply, but ironically I upgraded an older, working PSU with a new EVGA and had it die within 24 hours. That can happen to ANY model, and the replacement has worked flawlessly but it's something to consider.
 

Eximo

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i7-4770k@4.3Ghz -> i7-7700k@5.0Ghz = 20% performance improvement. My personal results. I had a purpose for my i7-4770k, so I didn't mind upgrading to make it available. But really it was a great expense for little benefit.

The 7700k averages about 300Mhz more than the 6700k, I think it is worth it. Which makes sense, pretty much what Intel tacked onto the max boost.

Since you don't have an overclocking motherboard, you could gain some performance by replacing only that and adding 500-600Mhz to your CPU's max boost.

I agree on getting a decent monitor or peripherals. For now you have a decent 1080p machine. Going to the next step is going to cost quite a bit, something like a 1080Ti and a 2K or 4K monitor.
 
Motherboard?
I'm so-so on that one. I'd get at least something like an Asus Z97xx for about $120USD or so (after rebate). However, your MAX theoretical benefit with a good cooler is still only about 15% (i.e. video editing) and real-world gaming closer to 0% to 5% so it's hard to justify.

You may be able to raise the MULTIPLIER values for the current board so that all cores are above 4GHz but I'm not sure if that's possible or not with that board.
 

Jh4nTy

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#1 - I do have a 144hz monitor (ASUS VG248QE). The monitor you see in the picture is just my 2nd monitor.
#2 - I bought this GPU on Christmas, I had a 750Ti 2gb before so I'm not planning on changing it soon. Not a big fan of AMD.
#3 - Probably but I'm also looking to have no concerns for some years in terms of upgrading the hardware so this buy would be for the long run.

What do you mean by Ryzen? I didn't mention that.

Another thing, I also like to stream and I have some issues streaming some games (especially GTA V). GTA V has always been a problem to me, even with my current setup I keep getting stutters and freezes and my CPU is at a constant 100% load while playing it.

 

Jh4nTy

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This MoBo CAN overclock this specific CPU, it even says so in the BIOS. I currently have my CPU running at 4.2 Ghz!

I do have a 144hz monitor (ASUS VG248QE), the one you see in the pic is just my 2nd monitor.

 

Eximo

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Well, the 7700k isn't a bad choice then. Should improve minimum frame rates a little, but it will be closer to that 20% figure. And the hyperthreading will make streaming a little easier, but it isn't ideal either.

Z270 should see at least one more CPU line with Coffeelake 8th gen. That would let you drop a 6 core chip in about a year. Probably what I will do just for kicks and giggles.

X99 would be the superior streaming platform right now, but longevity isn't there, since X299 Skylake-X Motherboards and CPUs are next in the line up.
 

Jh4nTy

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Thing is, I wanted mainly to upgrade my RAM to DDR4 and my current MoBo won't allow it (only up to DDR3 1600MHz). To make that happen, I would have have to buy this new MoBo to support DDR4 and a new CPU because my current's socket is 1150 and that particular MoBo only supports 1151
 

Eximo

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Not really a performance gain going from DDR3 -> DDR4

You can get high end DDR3 3000+ Mhz with lower latencies than DDR4-3000+.

It is your money to spend. If you want to upgrade for the sake of upgrading go for it. I do it all the time.
 

Jh4nTy

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Like I said, this MoBO only supports up to DDR3 1600Mhz