To upgrade, or new PC? RTX 30 series

[Caibz]

Hi there,

I'm wanting to grab an RTX 3080, which will be a huge u/g for my GTX 1070 rig bought over 3 years ago from PCS.

My dilemma is current PC is still running very strong, running most new games on pretty decent settings. However, it being a few years old, I'm wondering whether to upgrade the graphics card (and most likely the PSU in order to support) or is it worth just getting a new PC? Wanting to play new games on the high settings and to take advantage or ray tracing etc. where supported, also thinking of getting an ultrawide monitor at some point soon which I'm guessing an entirely new rig with a new CPU, RAM etc. would be more suited to. Not to mention maybe a larger SSD, which is also useful these days. Or perhaps I can get a 3080 and new PSU now and u/g the rest of the rig later on? Not sure what the most cost efficient thing might be to do. Any thoughts?

Here are the current specs, any advice appreciated:

Case	CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)	Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-7600 (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard	ASUS® ROG STRIX Z270H GAMING: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)	16GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card	8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive	1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive	256GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 1400MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive	NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply	CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable	1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling	Super Quiet Titan DragonFly Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste	ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card	ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking	WIRELESS 802.11 AC1750 1,300Mbps/5GHz, 450Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options	MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System	Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence

 

[johtri]

I personally think your still good enough for today's gaming for another 1 or 2 years yet so my advice would be to hang off upgrading just now and start saving for a whole new PC as for upgrade options ... the highest CPU you can get with a Z270 board is the i7-7700k which is still a 4-core processor and with regards to upgrading GPU your 1070 is good enough for any of today's games , remember most games just now are still bound mainly by the GPU , but as i say its only my advice .. hang off the now and start saving even more money then in 1 or 2 years time .. you could have an even better gaming rig (compared to upgrading just now ) as you will have saved even more money by that point , 4 -core processors are good enough still for games but if your streaming or multitasking then 6-core and above is what you will require for smooth game play .. but if its only gaming then 4 - core is still enough , as for SSD upgrade .. why not wait till your ready to upgrade to a new RIG ? P.S you could utilise some of the components you have for your new RIG when the time comes .
Please not this is only my opinion and advice , other people will have theirs to add

 

[SpyderTracks]

Well, CPU depends on the games you play, whether they are CPU or GPU dependent. The 3080 is PCI-E 4.0 compatible whereas your motherboard lane is limited to PCI-E 3.0...however, from what I understand PCI-E 4.0 isn't making a difference currently due to how games etc work...will likely be the case in future though (on this point I am not fully understanding of the new cards and PCI-E 4.0)

Will definitely need a new PSU obviously....and you should be aiming for a much better PSU than the VS series....which may require replacing the power leads etc in your case as VS PSUs use different connections than the TxMs and RMxs (modular and semi-modular versus non-modular)

Personally, I'd be wanting better RAM (unless it's overclocked of course). Case: I wouldn't want to put a 3080 and an Intel chip in a compact case like that given the heat from both...but that's just me.

If it was me, and I had the money, I'd be looking to get a new system to complement that GPU and monitor. But people with more knowledge and expertise in Intel chips and motherboards may have other thoughts @SpyderTracks or @Scott ANy input here please? Thank you

I think definitely the advice on upgrading the build is spot on.

PSU would definitely have to be changed, and personally I’d be hesitant with the case also with the way the 3080 FE cooler works, but on aftermarket cards perhaps not so much of an issue. I’m definitely hesitant about the case though.

CPU wise though, as soon as you start heading for higher resolutions, the load is transferred much more heavily to the GPU, so not sure there would be any particular negative impact with the i5.

BUT and the big bit... there is zero point to the 3080 unless you can afford the near £1000 and over for a monitor that can support it.

 

[Caibz]

Hey there,

My PC is over 5 years old and still holding up pretty well by all accounts! However I notice it is definitely a little sluggish as you would expect with some newer games and would like to explore upgrades, but not sure where to start given compatibility with new parts etc. I feel like it should probably be upgradeable, but wanted everyone's thoughts - is there much I can do to help make it faster with newer parts or have things moved on so much in 5 years that they won't be compatible with my existing motherboard etc. and would I therefore be better off just getting a new machine? Appreciate the help!

My only thought is probably the cooling should be revisited if anything as the thermal paste is likely to be quite low after 5 years?

No real budget limit, interested in all opinions!

Case	CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)	Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-7600 (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard	ASUS® ROG STRIX Z270H GAMING: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)	16GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card	8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive	1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive	256GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 1400MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive	NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply	CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable	1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling	Super Quiet Titan DragonFly Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste	ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card	ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless Network Card	WIRELESS 802.11 AC1750 1,300Mbps/5GHz, 450Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options	MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System	Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence

 

[SpyderTracks]

What monitor are you pairing your current pc with? What make and model?
What specific games are struggling?

A well specced gaming PC will last 7 - 10 years with just a couple of GPU upgrades.

The advise wouldn't have changed from a couple of years ago when you posted, with a PSU and GPU upgrade, you'll be handling anything you throw at it.