Planning a new tax return gaming rig

Discussion in 'General Hardware' started by AMD4Life, Jan 15, 2017.

  1. AMD4Life

    AMD4Life Guest

    Messages:
    177
    Likes Received:
    4
    GPU:
    NV GTX 980 TI 6GB
    Hello all,

    The x58 platform has served me very well for the past 7 years, but it is time for me to move on and catch up with the times. As the title says, I am planning a new gaming rig build after receiving my tax returns this year. By then, AMD's Ryzen CPUs and accompanying hardware should also be released and I will be able to make a more informed decision as well as possibly be able to take advantage of some price reductions. Until then, my current plan is to build a Kaby Lake i7 system with a Z270 mobo. I'm still deciding if I want to run 1080p 144Hz or finally make the jump to 1440p. Definitely not interested in 4k though, since that will require upgrading more often than I'd prefer to. I am hesitant to go with SLI/Crossfire as well since support can be spotty. The last time I ran SLI was back in the 8800GTX days and I've preferred single GPU systems since then.

    Here are things I will be reusing from my current system:
    -Corsair Carbide Air 540 Case
    -Corsair H115i CPU Cooler
    -Corsair HX850i 850W PSU
    -LG Blu-Ray drive
    -Samsung 850 Evo 1TB SSD (for storage)

    Here is what I plan to buy (as of now) for the new build:
    -Intel i7 7700k CPU
    -ASUS Maximus IX Hero Motherboard
    -16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3200 RAM
    -GTX 1080 or GTX 1080 Ti
    -Samsung 850 Evo 250GB SSD (for OS) to replace my old Intel 320 Sata 2 SSD
    -1080p GSync 144Hz or 1440p monitor

    Any suggestions are welcome, especially from anyone running the newest games at 1080p @ 144Hz or 1440p. I am not currently doing any sort of video editing, rendering or live streaming. This will simply be a daily usage gaming & internet machine.
     
  2. sverek

    sverek Guest

    Messages:
    6,069
    Likes Received:
    2,975
    GPU:
    NOVIDIA -0.5GB
    I'd recommend not to buy all components at the same time, but upgrade 1 thing at a time.

    1st upgrade - Monitor:
    Personally it was worth jumping from 1080 to 1440. I overclocked my monitor to 96hz, and I know for sure, I am not going back to 1080p and anything 60hz.
    If you want to be really impressed with monitor upgrade, go for 1440p@120hz+. It will just blow your mind.

    970GTX won't play games on max quality on 1440, but it will run just fine with medium/high settings.

    2nd upgrade - GPU
    GTX1070 is minimum. If you want best experience with 1440@120hz and above, get at least GTX1080. I think it worth waiting for AMD Vega and see what it can offer. Till then you decide with monitor.

    Now, I think CPU upgrade is not essential. You have solid 6 cores CPU and recent games obviously utilize cores better. I'd highly recommend to hold CPU/MoBo/RAM upgrade until you done with monitor and GPU.
     
  3. AMD4Life

    AMD4Life Guest

    Messages:
    177
    Likes Received:
    4
    GPU:
    NV GTX 980 TI 6GB
    Thanks for the input. At this point in time, I'd prefer not to push my GTX 970 to run at 1440p and sacrifice graphics quality settings to try and stay at 120 FPS (or even 60+ FPS for that matter.) That said, by the time my tax returns come in, I wont have an issue buying everything I want all at once. I do understand that games have been getting better at utilizing 6+ CPU cores. For now I will wait for Ryzen and Vega to come out.
     
  4. Agonist

    Agonist Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    4,283
    Likes Received:
    1,312
    GPU:
    XFX 7900xtx Black
    Your rig as old as it is, still kicks ass for what is. X56XX @ 4.5ghz about equals a stock 5930k.

    I have a X5670 @ 4.1 in my back up rig. It hands with my 3930k @ 4.1ghz.

    Id just get a gtx 1080 or gtx 1080ti when it drops, get a 1440p monitor and oc it. Or just get a 120hz+ 1080p and downsample.
     

  5. sverek

    sverek Guest

    Messages:
    6,069
    Likes Received:
    2,975
    GPU:
    NOVIDIA -0.5GB
    Actually on second thought, depending on your preferred GPU, monitor might need either G-Sync or FreeSync.

    Anyway, might be good idea to have monitor preferences once you decide to purchase monitor with video card. Something like ISP/VA or TN, budget, consider korean panels or not, etc...
     
  6. nz3777

    nz3777 Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    2,504
    Likes Received:
    215
    GPU:
    Gtx 980 Radeon 5500
    Love the username :)
    Anyway 7700k sounds good- I am planning the same thing as you ( tax-returns) so I was either interested in 7700k, 5820k, 6800k, and depending what Amd brings to the table with Zen, so it will be one of those that is best bang for the buck. Minimum cores/threads id like to have is 4/8 or 6/12 cause to be honest the 8 core I am running now does not seem any diffrent then the 4790k I ran a few months ago, almost all apps and games run about the same minus Gaming experience is of course Better with an Intel based system!

    I have my doubts about Zen being able to game as well as Intel,Lets see what happens. I would also like a New gpu something like a Gtx 980 ti in sli or just 1 gtx 1080 which ever is cheeper I dont care.
     
  7. AMD4Life

    AMD4Life Guest

    Messages:
    177
    Likes Received:
    4
    GPU:
    NV GTX 980 TI 6GB
    I was strongly considering just getting a new monitor and video card & calling it a day. It's awesome to see how gracefully the x58 has aged when paired with a 4GHz+ 6-core Xeon/i7. It was a great investment for sure, but I'm still leaning towards building a new system. Decisions, decisions.

    I was a big AMD fan back in the socket 754 & 939 Athlon 64 days. I would love to see them return to those levels of glory but I'm not holding my breath either.
     
  8. Kaarme

    Kaarme Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    3,511
    Likes Received:
    2,353
    GPU:
    Nvidia 4070 FE
    I don't want to ruin your mood, but it's not amazing at all an old CPU has aged gracefully. It only means Intel hasn't bothered to develop anything new aside from new process technologies it only uses to generate more profit, not more performance for the customer.

    In any case a new system would give you genuine Intel/AMD sata 6Gbps, usb3(.1), M.2, and other such things. It's not only the CPU. If you went for Intel, you'd even get the (lol)Optane support. I reckon your current mobo doesn't have UEFI either.
     
  9. AMD4Life

    AMD4Life Guest

    Messages:
    177
    Likes Received:
    4
    GPU:
    NV GTX 980 TI 6GB
    Well, obviously it is pretty lame that Intel hasn't done too much outside of improving process technologies and X58 is around 8 years behind compared to new platforms. Hopefully we will see AMD step up and bring innovation back to the market once again, then Intel will be forced to stop resting on its laurels. Only time will tell.
     
  10. jura11

    jura11 Guest

    Messages:
    2,640
    Likes Received:
    707
    GPU:
    RTX 3090 NvLink
    Hi there

    I would keep X5675 for time being there,this CPU is still great CPU,have run X5670 with 4.2GHz and this CPU has been very comparable to i7-4790k which has run 4.6GHz in games,no big differences if yes then marginal


    You need to decide if its really worth to upgrade,me personally I wanted to test like Z97,then like right now X99,I didn't have single reason to switch,maybe with X99 rendering is faster than with X5670 and I can use E5 26xx Xeon which sadly are not unlocked

    Regarding the new platform there,depends on what are you looking to do and what are yours plans

    If AMD Ryzen will deliver what is promising I will switch to AMD in heartbeat,as i'm not prepared to pay for 5960x or 6900k $1000/£1000

    Hope this helps

    Thanks,Jura
     

  11. AMD4Life

    AMD4Life Guest

    Messages:
    177
    Likes Received:
    4
    GPU:
    NV GTX 980 TI 6GB
    Seems like most people agree that for gaming & general desktop use, not much will be gained by upgrading to a new CPU & motherboard. I just started playing BF1 last night & found that my rig as-is easily runs 1080p at Ultra settings. The lowest I saw the frame rate dip was 65 FPS. Usually floating between 70-90+ FPS depending on how much action going on. It's starting to look like switching to a GTX 1080 or Ti and a 1440p monitor is the most likely course of action.
     
  12. Kaarme

    Kaarme Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    3,511
    Likes Received:
    2,353
    GPU:
    Nvidia 4070 FE
    If you get a new video card and a screen now, you can just switch them to the new PC when you build one eventually. Nothing lost. That's the beauty of a video card upgrade.
     
  13. Elder III

    Elder III Guest

    Messages:
    3,737
    Likes Received:
    335
    GPU:
    6900 XT Nitro+ 16GB
    I was about to comment this exact thing myself. :nerd: Unless you need the motherboard features that a new chipset brings (be it Intel or AMD) I would go the GPU and Monitor route for now and transfer them later if you upgrade the rest of your rig, whether it be years or months later.
     
  14. AMD4Life

    AMD4Life Guest

    Messages:
    177
    Likes Received:
    4
    GPU:
    NV GTX 980 TI 6GB
    I have the opportunity to buy a NIB i7-6850k locally for $460, perhaps some wiggle room in that price. Looking at Newegg now, they are currently being sold for $600+. Would I be screwing myself over buying that CPU and a X99 LGA-2011 v3 motherboard at this point in time? Keep in mind, it will be a gaming & general use desktop.

    EDIT: Never mind, thought the 6850k was a higher end CPU and got excited. Passing on this one, continuing to wait until Ryzen releases at least.
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2017
  15. jura11

    jura11 Guest

    Messages:
    2,640
    Likes Received:
    707
    GPU:
    RTX 3090 NvLink
    Hi there

    i7-6850k is 5930k, difference between these two chips is 5930k is 22nm and 6850k is 14nm

    Both have same PCI lanes etc and OC,just 14nm chips needs bit more voltages than 22nm

    Personally I would wait a bit until Ryzen will be here and wait on few benches

    X99 is not bad platform, its only one platform which I would consider to switch from X58 Xeon

    But hopefully Ryzen will bring bit more competition to the CPU market

    Hope this helps

    Thanks, Jura
     

Share This Page