Fellow computer nerds - upgrade or replace?

"MUSASHI66" (musashi66) 10/21/2020 at 17:13 • Filed to: None

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I haven’t shopped for a new desktop since I bought my Dell XPS 8900 in 2016. The specs on this one:

Intel Core i7-6700 @ 3.4GHz, 4 cores and 8 logical processors

16 GB RAM

256GB SSD, Samsung 850 Pro

NVIDIA GTX 745 1GB

I don’t use my desktop much, since it isn’t strong enough to run games I’d like to play, and I work from home on my laptop 99% of the time. However, I do use it to run my Plex library for streaming to 4 different Roku devices every day, and when I do photography, it is pretty slow (Lightroom installed on the SSD, but files are on a 7200rpm HDD).

I recon a new card is my best bet - a modern card like a GTX 1660 benchmarks at 1154 0 while my GTX 745 benchmarks at 2216. I know a newer processor would help as well, especially for Lightroom - mine benchmarks at 8048 while a new i7-10700 goes to almost 17500 (100+ percent improvement) , although the single thread difference goes only from 2304 to 2927 (less than 30%).

But, I can buy a new card for !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and a new PC would set me back !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Oppo nerds hive mind, do you think I can just get me a GTX 1660, or maybe splurge up to $300 and get a RTX 2060 or RX 5600 XT (I prefer Nvidia but I’m not locked into it) , and play some COD MW on my 1080p 24" monitor? I know my Lightroom performance won’t increase without a new processor. I have the money for a new computer as well, but it’s in my fun stuff stash and I have too many hobbies and I am not sure what to spend it on. Then again, I hardly use this and I am sort of used to my Lightroom being slow.... ughh, decisions!

bob and john > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 17:39

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I have a 1660 ti in my PC. its a decent card. esp for the price.

my next PC will be a 3070 at least. 

gin-san - shitpost specialist > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 17:52

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I have a 1660 Super, I love it. 1080p games on max settings (or close to max) settings are smooth and it even drives 4K games smoothly. I’m playing a lot of Forza Horizon 4 right now at 4K, High settings (which the game adjusts automatically for performance) and the in-game benchmark returns minimum FPS > 60.

Unless you’re looking to get into newer releases and run them at 4K or more, a 1660 is more than adequate for 1080p gaming, and is still decent for some games in 4K. You’ll probably want more if you want to get gaming at higher FPS, like 120/240, but if you’re just looking for 60 then the 1660 is a great, cost-effective choice.

For Sweden > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 17:54

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Wait.  Big Navi is announced next week.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 18:00

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I have the RTX 2060 and it runs everything I’ve thrown at it. I’d only get the RTX if you have an interest in raytracing, though. The differences can be subtle, but if you are the type that cares about such things, it can be very impressive.

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 18:13

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Been a little while since I’ve really been up to date on the best deals in hardware, but I know a good option would be to get a 6-core AMD (can’t say exactly which model/gen would be the best value) and a B-450 board or higher, since they can pretty much run all of the Zen AMD chips, except thread ripper obviously.

For graphics cards I’m really out of the loop so probably can’t give any good recommendations. 

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 18:32

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I have an old 1050ti I’ve been needing to sell. Passmark gives it a 6393, so it’s about halfway between the 745 and 1660 in performance. I’d part with it for $80, and you can spend the money you saved on a CPU upgrade.

chaozbandit > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 18:33

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Your immediate needs point towards a GPU upgrade, but as your encoding requirements increase down the road a cpu platform change is recommended as well. 

facw > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 18:36

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I’d upgrade the graphics and get a larger SSD.

As For Sweden said though, AMD is announcing their next-gen cards next week, so you should wait for that. I don’t expect either they or Nvidia will be announcing new cards in your price range near term, but new high-end cards will probably push down the prices on everything else.

MUSASHI66 > For Sweden 10/21/2020 at 18:46

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Those will cost 2x minimum what I want to spend. Maybe that means some cheaper models will be slightly cheaper?

MUSASHI66 > gin-san - shitpost specialist 10/21/2020 at 18:47

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That is great to know. I am not a demanding gamer at all, I just hate controllers so I’ll sell the Xbox and play COD on my PC, like I used to. 

For Sweden > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 18:47

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Yes

MUSASHI66 > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 10/21/2020 at 18:49

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I know AMD has cheaper options, but I am 100% in Intel camp for processors. 

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 18:50

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I’d probably spend the money on a better SSD tbh. Not all SSDs are equal, and I found a massive improvement when I upgraded my old Intel one to a newer , bigger, better  rated drive.

Adobe products are really hit or miss about using a graphics card, so while an incremental upgrade may be worthwhile, I’d divert funds away from the “ latest and greatest” to RAM or SSD costs.

16GB ram is fine, but if you have the free slots I’d throw in another 16GB. If you don’t then... dealers choice.

New CPU rarely seems worth it to me as at that point you’re getting close to the cost of building a new computer. Maybe see if you can find a used i7 that still fits your mobo?

MUSASHI66 > facw 10/21/2020 at 18:50

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SSD is fine. I have plenty of space left because I keep everything on my other 2 massive drives, SSD is for the OS only.

I am in no rush, so I can wait and see what happens with the announcement of the new models. 

MUSASHI66 > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M 10/21/2020 at 18:51

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I don’t even know what it is, so probably not? I just want to play COD smoothly, at medium settings. I’m not a very demanding gamer.

MUSASHI66 > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 10/21/2020 at 18:52

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The SSD is, or I should say was, almost as good as was available 4 years ago. I know that M2 rules these days, and I actually have a very nice M2 sitting doing nothing, but I don’t have an M2 slot on this mobo.

MUSASHI66 > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 10/21/2020 at 18:54

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Thank you for the offer, but I’ll have to pass. I never buy used computer components, I’m a server admin for a state entity, so I’ve been conditioned to buy new and under warranty. 

MUSASHI66 > chaozbandit 10/21/2020 at 18:56

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I think a new GPU to play games would work, but a new CPU probably won’t happen unless I get a new DSLR that crates even larger RAW files. 

MUSASHI66 > bob and john 10/21/2020 at 18:57

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I’d spend $500 on a card if I had a good reason to, but I really don’t. Even if I did do it so I can play some new games, I imagine a 4 year processor would probably prevent me from doing so soon. 

wbizarre - OEM fetishist > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 18:58

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They might not for a while . The recent Nvidia release is an ongoing mess. The 3080 and 3090 were released over a month ago, and they’re still almost impossible to get. Scalpers use bots to buy up stock, and sell it on ebay for 2x$. This keeps the prices of last-gen hardware high.

bob and john > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 19:01

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depends on the processor. My PC was built ...8 years ago. and it runs most stuff really well.
Then again it was fairly strong then.
spec:
I7-4770 @ 3.4 GHz
16 GB ram
1660 TI

also have a 250GB SSD for OS and some games and a 1TB disk drive for the rest (and most of my games on on that 1TB anyways)

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 19:02

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The thing though is that generally AMD processors are better for multi threaded as well as run more efficiently . Nowa days high end intel chips are the house fires. 

chaozbandit > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 19:04

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Can confirm, more cores more better when mass exporting photos and video. But also I upgraded through two generations of ryzen on a whim lol

t0ast > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 19:10

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The 1660 (including super and ti variants) would definitely make for an excellent cost-effective upgrade to add a few more years of life to your setup since the rest of those specs are still pretty good by 2020 standards. I just stuck one of these in my recently-completed racing sim setup and my initial Forza 7 configuration guess of medium-high settings on a 3 x 2K 60FPS monitor setup turned out to be well below its limits . I’m thinking it should do just fine for any other moderately demanding gaming or productivity load.

facw > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 19:16

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Massive but slow drives! Keeping your plex library there is fine, but a single modern game can easily eat 100GB, and you do want those on SSDs if possible.

MUSASHI66 > wbizarre - OEM fetishist 10/21/2020 at 19:38

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All I want is a $200-300 card. Those high end ones mean nothing to me.

MUSASHI66 > bob and john 10/21/2020 at 19:40

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Your processor is weaker than mine, but your card benchmarks 6x better than mine.

I already have an SSD, but I just found out I have an M2 slot, and a spare 500GB 970 Pro M2 drive, so I’ll be installing that soon. 

valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 20:17

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As others have said a graphics card upgrade is your best bet. Looks like your PC came with a 460 W power supply and the GTX 1660 recommends a minimum of 450 W so you’re right on the cusp. Get that and you’re set for another several years.

Also you’re doing yourself a massive disservice by ignoring AMD (not that you need it now, but in the future).

MUSASHI66 > t0ast 10/21/2020 at 20:20

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Awesome, good to know. Now I just have to figure out the power supply as I have 2x6 and I need 1x8 for the card I want. Always something...

NojustNo > MUSASHI66 10/21/2020 at 22:27

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I’m sure there’s an adapter cable for that

MUSASHI66 > facw 10/22/2020 at 09:09

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I’ll pop my M2 in and leave the existing 850 in there as well, so I’ll have 750GB. I play maybe two games on the PC, so I’m not uber concerned for now. This refresh should keep me going 2-4 years, and then I’ll get another one.