Question Advice on potential upgrade path.

[Blacksad]

Approximate Purchase Date: A few months

Budget Range: $1200 give or take

What will your machine be used for? Gaming, GIMP, Blender, Surfing the web. (Art programs are just for fun, not work.)

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: CPU, Mobo, Ram (Probably Case)

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts? Anywhere reputable and cost efficient

Parts Preferences: 3700x or 10600k processor was what I was looking at, along with 32gb DDR4 3200/3600 from Corsair.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 3440x1440 34' Ultrawide 100ms

Additional Comments:

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Most of the computer is about 6 years old, and feels past it's prime.

My setup is currently:

Intel I-7 4790k
Nvidia RTX 2060
Corsair Vengeance DDR3 16gb (1600)
Asus Maximus VII Hero
Corsair H-100i
Seagate 500w PSU
MSI Optix 34' Ultrawide: 3440x1440 100ms Freesync
2 500gb Crucial SSD's



Hello! Needed a little advice on my upgrade path, as the newer generation of CPU/Mobo combos is a little confusing to me. I was eyeing the 3700x or 10600k, with 32gb Corsair Vengeance 3200 Ram, as well as a Mobo. I like the fact that the new Ryzen boards also support NVMe 4.0 for a little future proofing, but it's not a deal breaker. I plan on keeping the SSD's until I get a 2TB NVMe drive in awhile, and hopefully the PSU and perhaps the cooler if it works for the higher heat new chipsets.

My concerns were:

Is the Intel 10-series the last generation of that chipset type, and in going that direction, would the new Mobo become obsolete to future upgrades as well? I had read that new chipsets were potentially coming in a few months, so didn't want to jump the gun either and shoot myself in the foot.
I'm not very impressed with my RTX 2060 currently, but I know new GPU's are dropping later this year, so was going to wait on upgrading that until then.

I plan on upgrading the CPU, Mobo, Ram, and case. (Love my Corsair 250D, but tired of looking at it after 6 years.) If anyone has suggestions on a great smallish form factor case also, that would be great.
The planned budget is about $1200 give or take. Any advice would be appreciated, and thank you for your time.

 

[Oussebon]

Approximate Purchase Date: A few months

We're expecting a massive slew of new hardware around September - very likely GPUs and possibly CPUs too - so it's probably not helpful to give advice at this point. Why split hairs over whether X or Y makes more sense for $Z, when new parts may be out invalidating the argument and affecting prices of existing parts too.

Even if the new parts haven't quite hit when you come to buy (e.g. CPUs), prices can be dropped just in advance. And global factors, not just coronavirus but all the usual suspects, can also affect prices, And availability.

In general terms - a 2060 is weak for 1440p ultrawide, especially on a higher refresh monitor like yours. For gaming, it's not your CPU that will usually be the limiting factor.

Last time around you went for a 'Hero' motherboard. This time around, I don't recommend buying an ultra expensive motherboard if you're not seriously pushing overclocks or have a specific need of features only it contains. It's almost never more futureproof; in fact it's less futureproof because it drains your wallet for things that don't benefit you and means you're stuck on that tech for longer because you have less money in the kitty. Could well not have been true in 2014, but is definitely true these days unfortunately.
Also the goalposts have moved with motherboards. The top end chipsets (e.g. X570 for AMD, Z490 for Intel) are all a lot more expensive. While a board at $200 for X570 is actually towards the lower end of the price spectrum, in terms of quality it can be something like the Asus X570 PLUS which is a very good board.

That's probably still going to be true in a few months as chipset prices aren't going to fall and I don't see much happening to magically make them all cheaper.

32gb RAM is overkill (not really futureproof, more just a waste) for games. Your other hobby uses would need to be the justification for it.

 

[Berious]

With that budget you can get a fantastic PC! Don't worry about future proofing your mobo. I've tried that in the past and it never works out. By the time you come to upgrade any future proofing plans will be completely obsolete.

Upgrade for the features you want NOW and save any money you paid trying to future proof for the next big upgrade (or for example get a 10700k rather than a 10600k, or invest in a better PSU etc).

I'll leave actual parts advice to people who know better.