PC upgrade path - Next steps

3 Eyed Fish

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Hi all,

Just wanted a bit of advice as to what possible options I should consider, given my current specs and a few recent additions:

Current PC specs:
i5 8400, 32GB 2400 DDR4, Asus Z370, RTX 2060
AOC 24G2U IPS (I game at 1080p @ 144hz)

  • Fortunate to pick up a new GPU from scan - 3060Ti FE ( im guessing I can comfortably run games at High/ultra 1440p @ 144hz+ ?)
  • Also. managed to get an Xbox series X, but have an older LED TV (samsung ue50KU6000) - its nice to game at 4k, but im not benefiting with this TV. Even in game mode, it seems a bit laggy.

So heres my Display options available:
1) Upgrade the monitor to a cheaper 27inch+ 1440p @ 144hz+ & Upgrade TV to LG 48C1 or 55C1 (all reviews say these are the best TV's for future proofing/gaming)
or
2) Find an uber premium monitor (with full hdmi2.1/ HDR features, etc) and connect both PC and Xbox series X to the monitor. No upgrading the TV

PC upgrade options available:
1) Upgrade cpu to 9700K (would have to also spend on new cooler to OC to 5ghz), this saves on mobo and hope this lasts 2 more years, until DDR 5 Ram becomes the norm
or
2) Stick with the i5 8400 - will it bottleneck the 3060Ti ?

Theres a lot of new products coming on to the market (i.e monitors, TV's, etc) and I was thinking of streamlining or just continuing to upgrade individual bits. What would you do? is 1440p pc gaming really different to 1080p?
 
  • Fortunate to pick up a new GPU from scan - 3060Ti FE ( im guessing I can comfortably run games at High/ultra 1440p @ 144hz+ ?)
This statement depends on the games - at 1080p with that card your in good shape at 1440p there are some that run at just about 60fps - watchdog legions & Assassin's creed Valhalla for example and others that do run higher fps like shadow of the tomb raider.

check this for examples of frame rates for your GPU


These were tested using a Ryzen 9 3950X CPU so if you have any of them compare what FPS you get on the 8400 to see what kind of gains you could make by changing your CPU. Metro Exodus for example is heavy on the CPU but other games not so much.

I would say a new monitor will benefit you and that card is able to do above 60fps+ at 1440p but it does depend on what you like to play.
 
This statement depends on the games - at 1080p with that card your in good shape at 1440p there are some that run at just about 60fps - watchdog legions & Assassin's creed Valhalla for example and others that do run higher fps like shadow of the tomb raider.

check this for examples of frame rates for your GPU


These were tested using a Ryzen 9 3950X CPU so if you have any of them compare what FPS you get on the 8400 to see what kind of gains you could make by changing your CPU. Metro Exodus for example is heavy on the CPU but other games not so much.

I would say a new monitor will benefit you and that card is able to do above 60fps+ at 1440p but it does depend on what you like to play.

Cheers - thats a great video. Food for thought.

I think making the jump to 1440p (aiming for 100hz+) is worthwhile, for the majority of games. For the few that cant, just have to upgrade the cpu / and or drop settings...
 
Its what I did in 2019, got had the same CPU as you then and a 5700Xt at the time so I got a 1440p 144hz 27" monitor (AOC brand). My thinking was that monitors last a long time, much longer than GPUs so that was needed first before a new GPU as long as it worked well enough from day one, I was getting 60 fps in most things back then on it so it was a good move. Now I have a 3080 Ti and I am glad I got it back then.
 
Its what I did in 2019, got had the same CPU as you then and a 5700Xt at the time so I got a 1440p 144hz 27" monitor (AOC brand). My thinking was that monitors last a long time, much longer than GPUs so that was needed first before a new GPU as long as it worked well enough from day one, I was getting 60 fps in most things back then on it so it was a good move. Now I have a 3080 Ti and I am glad I got it back then.
Could you please recommend a decent 27inch 1440p 144hz monitor?

I've seen the following,... Ideally, would like something sub £250-300:


or

Amazon product ASIN B07XLDLZPF
or

 
2) i5 8400 - will it bottleneck the 3060Ti ?

Yes. It will but not by a large amount if you move to 1440P gaming.

I found that my 3300X wasn't a problem with offline gaming (single player story lines) but with BF5 on a large map, it suffered and I upgraded to an AMD 3600.

If you have the opportunity to buy a 3060ti and sell your 2060, go for it.

I'd also suggest upgrading to DDR4-3600 as it's a cheap upgrade and you'll see a nice improvement.
 
2) i5 8400 - will it bottleneck the 3060Ti ?

Yes. It will but not by a large amount if you move to 1440P gaming.

I found that my 3300X wasn't a problem with offline gaming (single player story lines) but with BF5 on a large map, it suffered and I upgraded to an AMD 3600.

If you have the opportunity to buy a 3060ti and sell your 2060, go for it.

I'd also suggest upgrading to DDR4-3600 as it's a cheap upgrade and you'll see a nice improvement.

Thanks Jolly.
I guess I dont want to spend too much right now (i'm a tight git, you should see my cheapo case 😉, none of those fancy RGB things here).

I should probably wait until intel 12th Gen releases, then upgrade mobo & ram.
Believe higher freq Ram benefits AMD cpu's more anyway...

Already have the 3060ti from Scan (need to sell my RTX 2060 - might try classifieds here)

Just dilly dallying over which 1440p monitor to get. If I see a decent offer, I will certainly go for one now. But there are so many options, especially with HDR 600 on the way next year...
 
Thanks Jolly.
I guess I dont want to spend too much right now (i'm a tight git, you should see my cheapo case 😉, none of those fancy RGB things here).

I should probably wait until intel 12th Gen releases, then upgrade mobo & ram.
Believe higher freq Ram benefits AMD cpu's more anyway...

Already have the 3060ti from Scan (need to sell my RTX 2060 - might try classifieds here)

Just dilly dallying over which 1440p monitor to get. If I see a decent offer, I will certainly go for one now. But there are so many options, especially with HDR 600 on the way next year...
If you’re a tight git, 12th gen is going to make you put your wallet away.

It’s all brand new tech - DDR5 and pci-e 5 - so you’re seeing a premium price.

Just do it piecemeal - upgrade ram now and then go for a new monitor later on when you figure out what you want
 

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