Aurora R5, possible upgrades, #2

Question

I have an Aurora R5 and I was wondering if anyone knew what should I upgrade or what can I upgrade? Bought it in 2016.

These are some of the specs.

Alienware Aurora R5 base

Intel® Core™ i7-6700 Processor (4-Cores, 8MB Cache, Turbo Boost 2.0, up to 4.0GHz)

Windows 10 Home 64bit English

Alienware™ 460 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply

NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5

8GB DDR4 at 2133MHz

256GB M.2 PCIe SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)

r72019 · Accepted Answer

The biggest limitation on upgrades is your 460W PSU. Your CPU is maxed at 6700k, which isn't a worthwhile upgrade from 6700.

Upgrading the CPU or GPU requires a better PSU. But the cost isn't really worthwhile, especially if you're not experiencing any issues you'd like to remedy.

You could add RAM, but keep in mind the next gen tech including DDR5 RAM is expected to come out probably next month. May be better to save for a new system.

redxps630 · Accepted Answer

Re: what should I upgrade or what can I upgrade

For gaming gpu upgrade depends on what resolution and game settings you play at. for i7-6700, use gpu check, compare your current GTX 1070 (borderline for ultra wide 1440p, good for 1440p)

https://www.gpucheck.com/en-usd/gpu/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1070/intel-core-i7-6700-3-40ghz/ultra

with

GTX 1080 or RTX 2070 which are great card for 1080p and 1440p but not 4k.https://www.gpucheck.com/en-usd/gpu/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1080/intel-core-i7-6700-3-40ghz/ultra

https://www.gpucheck.com/en-usd/gpu/nvidia-geforce-rtx-2070/intel-core-i7-6700-3-40ghz/ultra

For 4k gaming, RTX3070 or faster https://www.gpucheck.com/en-usd/gpu/nvidia-geforce-rtx-3070/intel-core-i7-6700-3-40ghz/ultra

psu upgrade comes after gpu.

16 GB is norm now for gaming. Your 8 GB is cutting the minimum.

r72019 · Answer

Per Intel (8/19/21) - Fall 2021.  The start of Alder Lake rollout likely will coincide with the release of Windows 11 (October 15th).

Vanadiel · Answer

Realistically, the only 2 items to upgrade based on that configuration would be the PSU and the video card.

Considering the very high cost of video cards right now, and the more or less inability to purchase one unless you are willing to pay prices of $2,000 USD or more, I would highly recommend to purchase a complete new system and sell yours.

Even a GTX 1070 can be sold for $500 right now, second hand. Add another $1,000 or so to that and you can pickup a brand new RTX 3070 system when one is on sale.

CRAZYQUIQUE · Answer

Thanks, i guess I'll probably wait so I can buy another system. Thanks for the help.

CRAZYQUIQUE · Answer

Thanks for the help. I guess I'll probably wait so I can buy another system.

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Aurora R5, possible upgrades, #2

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