# Best Upgrade Path



## BarbaricSoul (Jan 5, 2020)

I'm planning on finally upgrading my 9 year old i7 3930k system in stages this year. By the end of the year, I want to have the system fully upgraded. My plans are to upgrade my CPU/MB/RAM together, do a GPU upgrade alone, and some time along the way, upgrade to a m2 SSD after the MB upgrade and upgrade my monitor to 4k. If I'm not mistaken, there isn't any major hardware releases scheduled between now and the end of 2020 that are at the performance levels I'm thinking of, so my choices are more than likely limited to whats available today. I use the computer to brows the web, some gaming, and to run WCG. With this in mind, what would be your suggestions for hardware upgrades. Below are a couple paths I'm thinking about going, thoughts? None of this is written in stone as I'm still a month or two away from being ready to start upgrading?






						System Builder
					






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System Specs of system being upgraded-

Processor    i7 3930k@4.2ghz (goes as high as 4.5GHz without issues)
Motherboard    ASUS Rampage IV Black Edition
Cooling    Deep Cool Assassin
Memory    16gig DDR3 1600
Video Card(s)    GTX 1070
Storage    500GB WD Blue SSD, 2TB Seagate Hybrid SSHD
Display(s)    HP ZR30W 30" 2560*1600
Case    SilverStone Fortress FT04
Power Supply    XFX 750W XXX edition


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## Mats (Jan 5, 2020)

BarbaricSoul said:


> If I'm not mistaken, there isn't any major hardware releases scheduled between now and the end of 2020 that are at the performance levels I'm thinking of, so my choices are more than likely limited to whats available today.


I think the next generation of Nvidia cards will be launched this year, maybe worth looking up.
AMD will release their next Ryzen 4000, I'd guess 9 months from now, but that's maybe not as important as the GPU might be.








						AMD Ryzen 4000 Rumored to Offer Around 17% Increased Performance
					

AMD's upcoming Ryzen 4000 series processors will be based on the company's Zen 3 design, which will feature a deeply revised architecture aiming to offer increased performance (surprising no-one). AMD themselves have already said that Zen 3 will offer performance increases in line with the...




					www.techpowerup.com
				




Also, Intel will release their 10000 series, and unless you want their 10 core you might at least get lower prices, not sure tho.

Either way, upgrading the GPU later sounds like a good idea.


(To others reading, YEAH you could wait forever if you want something better, that's not my point.. )


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## P4-630 (Jan 5, 2020)

Hmmm, I don't know what games you are playing but you'll have to lower the settings for 4K with a 5700XT or 2070 Super to play at least at 60fps with recent games.



Mats said:


> Either way, upgrading the GPU later sounds like a good idea.



^This


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## IceShroom (Jan 5, 2020)

If you are buying the RX 5700 XT, Avoid the ASUS card. Buy any AIB card but ASUS.


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## Mats (Jan 5, 2020)

Do you really want 4K on a 27" display? Not saying that it's impossible, but I think most 4K buyers aim for something larger, while 1440 buyers go for 27".

Dunno how good scaling works in Windows these days, but 4K on 27" used to be an issue.


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## cucker tarlson (Jan 5, 2020)

any particular reason for a $500 cpu and a $400 card ?


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## P4-630 (Jan 5, 2020)

These cards you listed are good for 1440p gaming.

IMO For gaming @ 4K now you should go with a 2080 Super or Ti.

Or better, as Mats mentioned upgrade the GPU later this year.


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## AlienIsGOD (Jan 5, 2020)

whatever you do, STAY AWAY from the 5700XT TUF 







 It is without a doubt the WORST cooling solution for a 5700XT


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## Mats (Jan 5, 2020)

AlienIsGOD said:


> whatever you do, STAY AWAY from the 5700XT TUF


Wow that's some proper crap, all for the sake of saving 5 %..


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## Zach_01 (Jan 5, 2020)

Indeed stay away from ASUS 5700XT in general and not only TUF. Rog strix also has some issues, and while the cooling solution is highend(unlike the tuf) ...agressive voltages (BIOS fault) are ruining the performance.
At the price point or around 400$ the MSI GamingX 5700XT is the best option you have and its one of the best 5700XTs overall along with RedDevil, and Nitro+ (search youtube HardwareUnboxed videos and GamerNexus).
The 5700XT or 2070S are definately not 4K cards, unless you want to turn down settings to medium/high. Imagine that in a few years... (=low/medium).
These are at max 1440p and/or wide res cards, in order to last a few years.


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## BarbaricSoul (Jan 5, 2020)

Mats said:


> Do you really want 4K on a 27" display? Not saying that it's impossible, but I think most 4K buyers aim for something larger, while 1440 buyers go for 27".
> 
> Dunno how good scaling works in Windows these days, but 4K on 27" used to be an issue.



Honestly, I'd rather go with 30-32", but I wasn't seeing a lot of options for the size, and larger were more than I want to spend on a monitor. Don't really want to go to 1440p because I'd consider that a downgrade from my current 1600p monitor



cucker tarlson said:


> any particular reason for a $500 cpu and a $400 card ?



Because $400-500 is what I'm comfortable spending on a video card. Just like the CPU/MB/RAM combos I listed were $750-800. I paid $750 for a GTX 780ti, and had to replace it after only skipping one generation (3 GB VRAM is not enough anymore). Nope, not doing that again. $500 (give or take $20) is the most I'll spend on a video card.

Note taken about 5700XT remarks.



P4-630 said:


> These cards you listed are good for 1440p gaming.
> 
> IMO For gaming @ 4K now you should go with a 2080 Super or Ti.
> 
> Or better, as Mats mentioned upgrade the GPU later this year.



My current GTX 1070 is good enough for me at 2560*1600, so I figured a 2070 could do 4k well enough for me to be satisfied. I don't seem to be as sensitive to drops in FPS as most people seem to be.



P4-630 said:


> Hmmm, I don't know what games you are playing but you'll have to lower the settings for 4K with a 5700XT or 2070 Super to play at least at 60fps with recent games.



Newest game I'm currently playing is mechwarrior 5.


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## Mats (Jan 5, 2020)

BarbaricSoul said:


> Don't really want to go to 1440p because I'd consider that a downgrade from my current 1600p monitor


I see what you mean, but you still want a smaller display than what you have now? I mean, it's not like you're aiming for a new gaming monitor anyway.
Buying a 27" because you can't find what you want sounds like another thing to put on hold, well unless you find your 30" very low res.

No offence, but the above combined with that fact that you can't get a proper 4K GPU for $400 makes me question the choice of display and GPU, maybe even upgrading them at all right now. (unless broken or defective)


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## phanbuey (Jan 5, 2020)

I would honestly keep the current monitor

If it was me I would:
1. Keep the current monitor.

2. get a nice amd mobo + ram setup and get like a 3600 or something and just OC it for now,

3. Sell 3600, update bios and drop in a 4000 (4900x etc.) when they come out.

4. Shoot to upgrade graphics card and monitor this summer.


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## Khonjel (Jan 5, 2020)

I like the second build. Ofc bar the ASUS 5700 xt as everyone mentioned and the monitor. Buy a 1440p 144hz and IPS even. Viewsonic VX2758-2KP-MHD or LG 27GL83A-B are right around that price range.


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## Zach_01 (Jan 5, 2020)

BarbaricSoul said:


> Honestly, I'd rather go with 30-32", but I wasn't seeing a lot of options for the size, and larger were more than I want to spend on a monitor. Don't really want to go to 1440p because I'd consider that a downgrade from my current 1600p monitor
> 
> My current GTX 1070 is good enough for me at 2560*1600, so I figured a 2070 could do 4k well enough for me to be satisfied. I don't seem to be as sensitive to drops in FPS as most people seem to be.


I understand your sayings but here is the deal...

2560x1600 = 4,096,000
3840x2160 = 8,294,400 (x2.025)

If 1070 is doing well and you want that kind of performance with 4K you need to double the horsepower of that card.
By average performance this can be done only with 2080Ti (+90%) and you may get away with 2080S (+70%).
5700XT and 2070S are about (+40~45%).

I prefer wide screens instead of 4K.
My current monitor is 1920x1200 and I plan to switch to wide/ultra wide in H1 2020.

1920x1200 = 2,304,000
My options are these:
3440x1440 = 4,953,600 (x2.15)
3840x1200 = 4,608,000 (x2)

Like your case my RX580 serves my well on 1920x1200 and I want this kind of performance with the new monitor.
So my options are the 5700XT (+90%) and 2070S (+100%).

I suggest, and if you want monitor upgrade and you can afford it, to consider going wide (plain or ultra) with these cards of 400~500$.


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## Mats (Jan 5, 2020)

I'm starting to see to many variables here, not sure what the OP wants.

Something new, sure, but what kind of improvement is he looking for?

*What's the biggest bottleneck in the current computer based on your usage?*

Do you still need a 4K display even if your GPU won't handle 4K?


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## Durvelle27 (Jan 5, 2020)

This is my recommendation






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					pcpartpicker.com


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## Mats (Jan 5, 2020)

phanbuey said:


> 2. get a nice amd mobo + ram setup and get like a 3600 or something and just OC it for now,
> 
> 3. Sell 3600, update bios and drop in a 4000 (4900x etc.) when they come out.


If his goal is to have upgraded before the year ends, there's no point in getting the 3600.

Besides, you never know which one of the current boards that will work well with a future CPU model.
Most of them will probably work, but right now we know nothing, we can't take anything for granted here.


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## Aquinus (Jan 5, 2020)

That first one is about what I'm looking at replacing my 3930k with if I were to do the upgrade now-ish. I was just looking at a different motherboard and 32GB (2x16) of memory, but I hadn't settled on which set.


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## Zach_01 (Jan 5, 2020)

Aquinus said:


> That first one is about what I'm looking at replacing my 3930k with if I were to do the upgrade now-ish. I was just looking at a different motherboard and 32GB (2x16) of memory, but I hadn't settled on which set.


At price point of ~300 the MSI X570 Unify is one way...


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## biffzinker (Jan 5, 2020)

Mats said:


> Do you really want 4K on a 27" display? Not saying that it's impossible, but I think most 4K buyers aim for something larger, while 1440 buyers go for 27".


One reason I can think of for 4K on a 27" panel would be for the pixel density benefit.


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## Zach_01 (Jan 5, 2020)

biffzinker said:


> One reason I can think of for 4K on a 27" panel would be for the pixel density benefit.


Off course, its all about the eye candy, but driving 8+million pixels is no easy task...


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## ShrimpBrime (Jan 5, 2020)

BarbaricSoul said:


> I'm planning on finally upgrading my 9 year old i7 3930k system in stages this year. By the end of the year, I want to have the system fully upgraded. My plans are to upgrade my CPU/MB/RAM together, do a GPU upgrade alone, and some time along the way, upgrade to a m2 SSD after the MB upgrade and upgrade my monitor to 4k. If I'm not mistaken, there isn't any major hardware releases scheduled between now and the end of 2020 that are at the performance levels I'm thinking of, so my choices are more than likely limited to whats available today. I use the computer to brows the web, some gaming, and to run WCG. With this in mind, what would be your suggestions for hardware upgrades. Below are a couple paths I'm thinking about going, thoughts? None of this is written in stone as I'm still a month or two away from being ready to start upgrading?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Those are some nice choices there. 
you really want to research the AMD rig deeply.
Memory choice and motherboard choice greatly matter.

Efficiency wise, AMD is the better choice. Not really going to be better than Intel with some 3D while Intel's per core IPC is still a little better especially Cpu heavy dependent games.

5ghz with the 9900K should be fairly easy to come by, probably running in excess of 4000mhz with the right memory would be of no issue. 

So for the best performance gains on either platform, definitely research and spend the coin on high end memory to maximize the performance on the Cpu side. 
So yea, for the Intel rig you want to spend more on that memory for sure. You'll be holding back a fistful of performance at only 3600mhz, you have the potential for probably 4200mhz with that chip.


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## Durvelle27 (Jan 5, 2020)

ShrimpBrime said:


> Those are some nice choices there.
> you really want to research the AMD rig deeply.
> Memory choice and motherboard choice greatly matter.
> 
> ...


He also stated he runs WCG which benefits largely from more cores vs clock speed


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## Mats (Jan 5, 2020)

biffzinker said:


> One reason I can think of for 4K on a 27" panel would be for the pixel density benefit.


Well, that wasn't what the OP thought of, obviously.


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## biffzinker (Jan 5, 2020)

Mats said:


> Well, that wasn't what the OP thought of, obviously.


I wouldn't mind having sharp rendered text without the ClearType anti-aliasing. Just for an example, I prefer text on my Note 9 display than 1440P stretched over 27"


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## ShrimpBrime (Jan 5, 2020)

Durvelle27 said:


> He also stated he runs WCG which benefits largely from more cores vs clock speed



I wasn't aware that WCG scaled to that many threads.


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## BarbaricSoul (Jan 6, 2020)

Zach_01 said:


> I understand your sayings but here is the deal...
> 
> 2560x1600 = 4,096,000
> 3840x2160 = 8,294,400 (x2.025)
> ...



I see. But like I said earlier, drops in FPS doesn't really bother me that much. If I can game on mostly high settings and maintain 45-60 fps, I'd be ok with that. 


Mats said:


> I'm starting to see to many variables here, not sure what the OP wants.
> 
> Something new, sure, but what kind of improvement is he looking for?
> 
> ...



Improved performance in all areas, gaming, WCG, and picture quality

Currently, I'd say it's my CPU. 

I need/want a new monitor. I've noticed my current monitor's picture is not as bright as it used to be. The colors just don't "pop" like they used to. And I do not want a downgrade from my current 2560*1600 30" monitor. That's why I'm looking at 4k.




biffzinker said:


> One reason I can think of for 4K on a 27" panel would be for the pixel density benefit.





biffzinker said:


> I wouldn't mind having sharp rendered text without the ClearType anti-aliasing. Just for an example, I prefer text on my Note 9 display than 1440P stretched over 27"



^What they said



ShrimpBrime said:


> I wasn't aware that WCG scaled to that many threads.



It'll use every processing thread you give it.


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## Zach_01 (Jan 8, 2020)

BarbaricSoul said:


> I see. But like I said earlier, drops in FPS doesn't really bother me that much. If I can game on mostly high settings and maintain 45-60 fps, I'd be ok with that.


Just curious...
What is roughly you average framerate now with 1070 on 2560x1600?


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## phill (Jan 8, 2020)

My only thoughts with the systems you've picked out, is the RAM, I'm not sure if it's a need or want for myself, but I've gone for 32Gb kits (not massive performance ones for the rigs this time) but I thought rather than limit myself to 32Gb total (4 x 8Gb) I thought 64Gb might have helped with the system last a little longer.

I've just gone to a 3900X from a 5960X, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what sort of performance jump I'll be getting   If the company had the 3950X in stock, I'd have bought that instead to be honest, but 12C will do for the moment


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## biffzinker (Jan 8, 2020)

phill said:


> I've just gone to a 3900X from a 5960X, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what sort of performance jump I'll be getting


If you believe in the benchmark scores over at UserBenchmark you're looking at 28% improvement for stock clock speed or 8% if overclocked.

Passmark's Performancetest shows:







			Intel Core i7-5960X @ 3.00GHz vs AMD Ryzen 9 3900X [cpubenchmark.net] by PassMark Software


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## phill (Jan 8, 2020)

biffzinker said:


> If you believe in the benchmark scores over at UserBenchmark you're looking at 28% improvement for stock clock speed or 8% if overclocked.
> 
> Passmark's Performancetest shows:
> View attachment 141698
> ...


My 5960X is able to run at 4.80Ghz comfortably but when under load such as WCG I just run the CU around 4.20Ghz..  It needs under 1.1vcore to do so and the load temps on my small triple rad is about 50C...  

I'll be definitely doing some tests with the 3900X to see what its like, will be rather interesting


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## biffzinker (Jan 8, 2020)

phill said:


> I'll be definitely doing some tests with the 3900X to see what its like, will be rather interesting


The OP @BarbaricSoul has a bigger jump in performance coming his way when moving from a 3930K although overclocked to 4.2 GHz.






			AMD Ryzen 9 3900X vs Intel Core i7-3930K @ 3.20GHz [cpubenchmark.net] by PassMark Software


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## phill (Jan 8, 2020)

I look forward to seeing the build and results he gets with it


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## BarbaricSoul (Jan 10, 2020)

Zach_01 said:


> Just curious...
> What is roughly you average framerate now with 1070 on 2560x1600?



MW5 (newest game I own), I get between 55-65 FPS with a mix of high to max settings



phill said:


> I look forward to seeing the build and results he gets with it



Going to be a while


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## Zach_01 (Jan 10, 2020)

BarbaricSoul said:


> MW5 (newest game I own), I get between 55-65 FPS with a mix of high to max settings


My estimation:
2070s + 3840x2160 = 45~55 FPS keeping same settings
Even less if you like high Anti-Aliasing... (AA performance loss is not scaling with resolution)


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## lexluthermiester (Jan 10, 2020)

BarbaricSoul said:


> I'm planning on finally upgrading my 9 year old i7 3930k system in stages this year


My two cents, the Ryzen build(great selection of parts BTW) with one change, an RTX 2080. Worth the extra money.





						EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB FTW3 ULTRA GAMING Video Card
					






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