Re: I would like to upgrade the cpu and graphics card but dont know where to start
for gaming improvement consider upgrade gpu first. cpu upgrade does not bring that much gaming improvement. your i5 although not an i7 is considered a sweet spot for gaming.
your current config is good for 1080 1440 gaming. you can upgrade gpu for better 4k gaming.
compared below same rtx 2060 i5-10400 vs i7-10700k, not change in 4k gaming fps. i7-11700k does not help 4k either if you do not upgrade gpu.
In all honesty, considering the pricing on graphics cards at the moment, you have to do the math and see what is cheaper: a complete new system, or an upgrade.
You will also be restricted on video card options due to the length of the cards that fit in that case.
There's also PSU requirements for video cards, moving the OS over to an SSD or Nvme drive, liquid or air cooling, etc...
Uggh VAN. I don’t want a new system lol. I feel like I just got this one. So I’m like 0% knowledgeable on these things? Should I try to replace or just buy new computer? I need someone just to tell me what to do lol
some users do buy new Dell pc then take out the Dell oem gpu then resell the rest system minus gpu. Dell oem gpu price is better than retail but you cannot buy just the gpu from Dell.
R10/11/12 only support GPUs with up to 267mm length. So you'll have to pay attention to card length when you are purchasing a card because that length limits the amount of options you have
If you really have a 1TB HDD (with physically moving parts), your big upgrade is going to come from moving to an SSD/NVMe drive instead.
I personally wouldn't bother with a CPU upgrade, especially if you have the liquid cooling setup (which would be a pain to deal with). I don't expect you'd see a big difference going up a bit regardless.
You might find good deals on something like a 2080 Super GPU, which the R11 had as an option before. But... I again don't know that the difference would be huge.
If I had a system like that, I'd probably not do any major upgrades for another year (at least), and at that point the 3000 series GPUs and their machines should hopefully be of a value where an upgrade makes more sense. The SSD/NVMe drive in the meantime could be huge, if you're not already using one.
What is important is to understand what you can expect when playing games. For that you need to determine the "bottleneck" in your system, which under normal circumstances will be either the CPU, or the GPU.
In other words, either the CPU will hold back the video card performance, or the video card will hold back the CPU performance.
This is unavoidable and varies from game to game, but you want to be within a few % of the bottleneck.
I always use the following online calculator to determine how my system, or how an upgrade, will perform with some of the games I play: Bottleneck calculator
Keep in mind this is not a perfect tool, but it will give you an idea what you should upgrade and to what you should upgrade, to get the best overall performance.
Just did the bottleneck calculations, looks like my GPU is the one that needs help lol. Looking to upgrade to a 2080super and definitely a SSD. Just gotta figure out what will fit in my case.
Sparky1964
101 Posts
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November 29th, 2021 21:00
What kind of hard drive? NVME?
redxps630
9 Legend
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15.4K Posts
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November 29th, 2021 22:00
Re: I would like to upgrade the cpu and graphics card but dont know where to start
for gaming improvement consider upgrade gpu first. cpu upgrade does not bring that much gaming improvement. your i5 although not an i7 is considered a sweet spot for gaming.
your current config is good for 1080 1440 gaming. you can upgrade gpu for better 4k gaming.
compared below same rtx 2060 i5-10400 vs i7-10700k, not change in 4k gaming fps. i7-11700k does not help 4k either if you do not upgrade gpu.
RTX 2060 benchmark with Core i5-10400 1080p, 1440p, Ultrawide, 4K benchmarks at Ultra Quality - GPUCheck United States / USA
RTX 2060 benchmark with Core i7-10700K 1080p, 1440p, Ultrawide, 4K benchmarks at Ultra Quality - GPUCheck United States / USA
RTX 2060 benchmark with Core i7-11700K 1080p, 1440p, Ultrawide, 4K benchmarks at Ultra Quality - GPUCheck United States / USA
Canyonmack
1 Rookie
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9 Posts
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November 30th, 2021 03:00
1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s
Canyonmack
1 Rookie
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9 Posts
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November 30th, 2021 03:00
Thanks Red,
I do use this PC to game and work from home. So I would like to upgrade cpu and gpu. What gpu would you recommend me step up to?
also would the gpu be plug in play? I know the cpu is a little more difficult to replace.
thanks
Vanadiel
6 Professor
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7.1K Posts
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November 30th, 2021 04:00
In all honesty, considering the pricing on graphics cards at the moment, you have to do the math and see what is cheaper: a complete new system, or an upgrade.
You will also be restricted on video card options due to the length of the cards that fit in that case.
There's also PSU requirements for video cards, moving the OS over to an SSD or Nvme drive, liquid or air cooling, etc...
Vanadiel
6 Professor
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7.1K Posts
0
November 30th, 2021 05:00
These are not really made to replace, especially if you have 0% knowledge of upgrading computers.
In such a case I would recommend purchasing a complete new and upgraded system, especially with the Black Friday sales gong up each day.
You can often get them with a large discount.
Canyonmack
1 Rookie
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9 Posts
0
November 30th, 2021 05:00
Awesome thanks!
Any idea on what mine is worth?
Canyonmack
1 Rookie
•
9 Posts
0
November 30th, 2021 05:00
Uggh VAN. I don’t want a new system lol. I feel like I just got this one. So I’m like 0% knowledgeable on these things? Should I try to replace or just buy new computer?
I need someone just to tell me what to do lol
redxps630
9 Legend
•
15.4K Posts
0
November 30th, 2021 06:00
Re: What gpu would you recommend me step up to
RTX 3070 RTX 3070 benchmark with Core i5-10400 1080p, 1440p, Ultrawide, 4K benchmarks at Ultra Quality - GPUCheck United States / USA
RTX3080 RTX 3080 benchmark with Core i5-10400 1080p, 1440p, Ultrawide, 4K benchmarks at Ultra Quality - GPUCheck United States / USA
some users do buy new Dell pc then take out the Dell oem gpu then resell the rest system minus gpu. Dell oem gpu price is better than retail but you cannot buy just the gpu from Dell.
Canyonmack
1 Rookie
•
9 Posts
0
December 1st, 2021 17:00
Thank you so much for the help guys!
Rabbitdude
2 Intern
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509 Posts
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December 2nd, 2021 00:00
R10/11/12 only support GPUs with up to 267mm length. So you'll have to pay attention to card length when you are purchasing a card because that length limits the amount of options you have
QD9X
50 Posts
1
December 4th, 2021 13:00
If you really have a 1TB HDD (with physically moving parts), your big upgrade is going to come from moving to an SSD/NVMe drive instead.
I personally wouldn't bother with a CPU upgrade, especially if you have the liquid cooling setup (which would be a pain to deal with). I don't expect you'd see a big difference going up a bit regardless.
You might find good deals on something like a 2080 Super GPU, which the R11 had as an option before. But... I again don't know that the difference would be huge.
If I had a system like that, I'd probably not do any major upgrades for another year (at least), and at that point the 3000 series GPUs and their machines should hopefully be of a value where an upgrade makes more sense. The SSD/NVMe drive in the meantime could be huge, if you're not already using one.
Vanadiel
6 Professor
•
7.1K Posts
0
December 4th, 2021 14:00
What is important is to understand what you can expect when playing games. For that you need to determine the "bottleneck" in your system, which under normal circumstances will be either the CPU, or the GPU.
In other words, either the CPU will hold back the video card performance, or the video card will hold back the CPU performance.
This is unavoidable and varies from game to game, but you want to be within a few % of the bottleneck.
I always use the following online calculator to determine how my system, or how an upgrade, will perform with some of the games I play: Bottleneck calculator
Keep in mind this is not a perfect tool, but it will give you an idea what you should upgrade and to what you should upgrade, to get the best overall performance.
Canyonmack
1 Rookie
•
9 Posts
0
December 4th, 2021 14:00
Just did the bottleneck calculations, looks like my GPU is the one that needs help lol. Looking to upgrade to a 2080super and definitely a SSD. Just gotta figure out what will fit in my case.
Canyonmack
1 Rookie
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9 Posts
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December 4th, 2021 14:00
I appreciate all the info guys!!
I don’t have a liquid cooling system, but yes I have an HDD. Looking to upgrade that now!