Should I upgrade now or wait? Just got new monitor and want to make use of it

[jamrock]

Ive just purchased a new monitor (https://www.msi.com/Monitor/support/Optix-MAG272CQR)

How can I get the most out of it on a relatively modest budget?

Currently on: i5 4670k, 8gb ram, msi z87 g45 board *no GPU*

Want to upgrade and be ok for a few years (had current set up for 7 years!). I usually game on xbox but would like to do some on PC (gta, cod, mount and blade etc).

I keep reading that so much new stuff is coming out so wait, then some say dont wait etc i dont know whats best

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Hi. You should probably state what your maximum relatively modest budget is firstly That's a nice monitor you'll need a fair amount of power to make good use of it.

Scuttlebut says late summer for next generation Nvidia cards but I don't think we know for sure yet, especially with the current world situation. Of course if you can wait until thats released or AMD's next gen 'Big Navi' then you'd likely get some more performance for your money. But in the mean time you'll have nothing to play on.

Considering you have a quad core (4/4) I5 you will probably find that begins to limit you in a couple of years, if it isnt already, as the new consoles move the market quickly forwards. Especially with a high refresh rate monitor.

Basically its impossible to say how long a card or CPU will last you. Only thing you can do is buy the best your budget allows and see what happens with that.

 

[jamrock]

Thanks, I want to ugrade the lot so will be new cpu, board, gpu etc. when i say modest, im kinda hoping £500-£700 all in (i will use existing case). Theres so much to choose from im kind of lost with it now

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

OK understood, its a lot to deal with if you haven't been keeping up

Can you list what your full current configuration is? PSU make and model, case, and hard drives particularly. For 500 to 700 you can definitely put something good together but we want to keep it balanced.

 

[jamrock]

Not sure on PSU, i believe it was some bronze+ rated at 550w?

case: Zalman Z9 Series Tower
CPU: i5 4670k
board: MSI z87 g45
ram: 8gb @3000mhz
hdd: smasung evo 120gb (x2)


thanks for your help

 

[jamrock]

ive been reading and i was thinking of the MSI x570 tomahawk board but cant find it for sale any where and all the info says released march, then april now may but still no sign?

 

[Oussebon]

What is the existing case? What model? The design matters both to what you can physically fit in the case and also what it's sensible to put in the case (if it has poor airflow through its design, it's going to smother your GPU).

Re: the PSU, there are bronze power supplies and then there are bronze power supplies

It's easy to be a PSU snob, but there are some bronze rated PSUs out there that are genuinely a bit ropey and lie about what they're capable of. How old is yours and does it say what model it is on the side?

X570 motherboards are expensive, even among the least pricey models. And you'll want above all a good GPU to take advantage of the new monitor. This means an X570 board, a proportionately-priced CPU, and a new GPU are pushing over £700. Especially if you end up needing a new PSU and/or case, but even if you don't.

e.g.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor (£283.98 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard (£189.99 @ AWD-IT)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB Red Dragon Video Card (£379.97 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: SeaSonic CORE GM 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (£80.47 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £934.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-12 13:43 BST+0100
(NB: CPU selected from Aria PC as the Amazon price is a lie - it's a marketplace seller and you'd be nuts to buy a new, expensive part on the marketplace)

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

To be fair we will need new RAM as well I'm not sure yours is really running at 3000 MT/s ? DDR3 didnt go there AFAIK outside of maybe some extreme overclocking sets. Generally Haswell capped out around 2400 IIRC.

Assuming as @Oussebon said your PSU is of a serviceable quality which is definitely something you should look into, I'd suggest something like this.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor (£103.98 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard (£109.98 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory (£112.10 @ Newegg UK)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB Red Dragon Video Card (£379.97 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £706.03
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-12 14:40 BST+0100

You don't need X570, its advantages are PCI-e 4 which is only useful if you are often transferring large files from and to your NVME SSD. And compatibility with AMD's next gen processors, which while nice is not inside the budget.

The Ryzen 1600 AF I picked is basically the same as the Ryzen 2600. Its a very good chip especially for the price offering 6 cores and 12 threads. While benchmarks show Intel are 10% ahead of AMD in games, remember that this is for the most part when reviewers test a 2080 TI at 1080p. Its not realistic, and in a blind test at 1440 high settings and above there's no perceptible difference. Going forwards the extra threads are going to be a better choice as well IMO.

I picked a 5700XT, its the cheapest model with a decent cooler here. The Asus TUF is not a good card that doesnt cool well, that's why you find it cheap everywhere. On the Nvidia side, the 2060 is comparable in price but the 5700XT performs around the same as a 2070, non super. IMO RTX performance is not yet mature enough to justify the extra cost.

If you're set on an Intel/Nvidia build, this would also be an option, or you could switch out the 5700XT for a 2060/2060 Super if you'd prefer. Although I believe the above is better overall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJU8jKIYtS4
PCPartPicker Part List


CPU: Intel Core i5-9400F 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor (£139.98 @ Aria PC)

Motherboard: Asus PRIME Z390-P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£111.18 @ CCL Computers)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (£74.97 @ Laptops Direct)

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER 8 GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card (£389.99 @ CCL Computers)

Total: £716.12

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-12 14:58 BST+0100

If you wanted to bring the cost more towards the middle of the budget I'd suggest dropping the graphics card down to a lower tier, but of course you'd then want to temper your expectations of what kind of settings to use in game if you wanted to keep the FPS closer to 144hz.

Finally I believe that all the components should fit, but you should definitely double check the exact model of your case against the length of the graphics cards you choose, and most certainly at very least be sure that your PSU is capable of providing most of its 550Watt capacity on the 12v rails. If your PSU blows up it may well take everything else with it.

 

[Oussebon]

To be fair we will need new RAM as well I'm not sure yours is really running at 3000 MT/s ? DDR3 didnt go there AFAIK outside of maybe some extreme overclocking sets. Generally Haswell capped out around 2400 IIRC.

Can't believe I missed that. Really must be as tired as I feel today >.<

Rather than an i5 9400F build though, it would make a lot more sense to just go with an AMD R5 3600 + B450. Since similar/same price and better + more futureproof.

Also the RX 5700 XT is cheaper than the 2060 Super and performs better overall.

 

[jamrock]

What is the existing case? What model? The design matters both to what you can physically fit in the case and also what it's sensible to put in the case (if it has poor airflow through its design, it's going to smother your GPU).

Existing case is the Zalman Z9 Series Tower

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zalman-Z9-Plus-Tower-Computer/dp/B004FPQL0E

This is the one!

I cant see PSU model without taking case apart but it is 7 years old, it never been an issue but I guess it could do with being replaced?

 

[jamrock]

To be fair we will need new RAM as well I'm not sure yours is really running at 3000 MT/s ? DDR3 didnt go there AFAIK outside of maybe some extreme overclocking sets. Generally Haswell capped out around 2400 IIRC.

Apologies, you are correct! it is 2400 ram currently I'm confusing myself with 3200 which I was thinking I would buy next!

I could stretch my budget further if it meant future proofing (as much as tech can) for a bit longer. You've given me something to start with so thank you for your effort helping me

 

[Oussebon]

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory (£112.10 @ Newegg UK)

Newegg UK means they ship it from the USA to the UK - always better to just buy in the UK. It will get here sooner and RMA will be less of an issue - also £110 for 16gb RAM is way too much(!)

Also, beware of Amazon listings on Partpicker as they include Marketplace listings. Which carry on warranty usually.

Also are we sure that one is actually an AF? It doesn't say it is, and you don't find many AFs in the UK

Zalman Z9 Series Tower

You just take the side panel off (left hand side if looking at the front of the case) and it should be right in front of you.

Side panels are usually held on with 2 screws at the back.

The case apparently has 290mm clearance for video cards so the Red Dragon should fit. In terms of cooling the case is probably fine, if only because half the side panel is just holes.

 

[jamrock]

I know very little about my current setup apparently as the PSU is actually a Corsair CS550M - 550 W - 80 PLUS Gold

Corsair CS550M - 550 W - 80 PLUS Gold - Power supply ( internal ) + Vengeance 1500 V2 - Gaming Headset: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

Free delivery and returns on eligible orders. Buy Corsair CS550M - 550 W - 80 PLUS Gold - Power supply ( internal ) + Vengeance 1500 V2 - Gaming Headset at Amazon UK.

www.amazon.co.uk

Will this still be reasonable to keep?

 

[Oussebon]

That should do fine. And it seems to have the requisite PCIe connectors for the GPU.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Newegg UK means they ship it from the USA to the UK - always better to just buy in the UK. It will get here sooner and RMA will be less of an issue - also £110 for 16gb RAM is way too much(!)

Also, beware of Amazon listings on Partpicker as they include Marketplace listings. Which carry on warranty usually.

Also are we sure that one is actually an AF? It doesn't say it is, and you don't find many AFs in the UK

You just take the side panel off (left hand side if looking at the front of the case) and it should be right in front of you.

Side panels are usually held on with 2 screws at the back.

The case apparently has 290mm clearance for video cards so the Red Dragon should fit. In terms of cooling the case is probably fine, if only because half the side panel is just holes.

@Oussebon I dont know what happened with the RAM, I swear I looked and it was a 3600 C16 kit listed as around the same price as 3200 kits. Ryzen responds well to faster memory in games, so going with that seemed a no brainer.

I checked against the case model and found the same about the GPU, but we might be dealing with a 7 year old version that may have changed in specs. thats why I said to double check

You are correct about the AF, my apologies to @jamrock. On the partpicker page it says Ryzen 1600 (14nm) and I mistook it at a glance. However the 2600 is available about 10 pounds more then that, so that's a very good option.

The Intel/Nvidia build was just there as an option and I really can't bring myself to recommend anything below a 9400F for this money. Some people have an aversion to AMD for whatever reason.

@jamrock, I hope that was some help anyway, sorry for misleading you.

 

[jamrock]

Thank you!

System Builder

uk.pcpartpicker.com

Would this be ok for a few years assuming I kept the case, PSU and switched over my current SSD? I play GTA, CoD and want to eventually try out Microsoft flight simulator later this year.

Only thing that puts me off now if everyone saying wait until next month when this and that lands. Would you wait or would it not make much difference?

 

[Oussebon]

I don't see much point buying a £200 X570 mobo and a ~£180 Ryzen 5. Surely just stick to a B450, and/or up the CPU to an R7 3700x.

Swapping your SSD in is fine but you will need to format it and perform a clean installation of Windows 10 on it. You can't use the same Windows installation as the existing system as it will have the wrong chipset drivers etc. You may be able to transfer the Windows licence though.

 

[jamrock]

Ok lots to think about, thanks so much for your help!