New graphicscard for my i7 7700k setup
Posted by R4574@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 19 comments
Hey yall!
Can someone tell me what graphics card I could upgrade to?
I got a pretty old system with an i7 7700k. I delidded it to put liquid metal in it. And I built a custom watercooling system. It's oberclocked to 5Ghz.
Also I have 32GB of RAM.
I heard that bottleneck calculators are stupid.
So I'm wondering what the best graphics card is, that would still run well in my setup?
Thank you in advance!
kawaii_Summoner@reddit
I just upgraded from a i7-9700k & GTX 1070 build into a 9850x3d & 9060xt 16gb
I mainly play CS2, so I got the CPU upgrade 1st and went from ~180fps to ~400fps while still on the 1070.
But if you mainly play 2k AAA single player games at lower (60-144hz) then you're definitely more GPU bound.
Here is my 1080p Cyberpunk benchmarks. Ultra Settings, RT Ultra, FSR4 Quality, FG https://imgur.com/a/r1xWTc9
I think for $440 the 9060xt 16gb is a really solid card.
Towhidabid@reddit
i have the same cpu with 16gb rams and 1070ti and recently upgraded my gpu to 5070ti. and so far not a single issue. still holding off other upgrades for the crazy prices.
psimwork@reddit
They are. But I mean... so is taking a 9-year-old CPU, and spending money to build a custom watercooling rig and applying liquid metal...
As long as you're dumping money into relatively ancient tech, might as well just use a 1080 Ti.
R4574@reddit (OP)
I already have that as my setup. The liquid metal and everything was done 8 years ago when I built the setup. I'm only wondering if I could upgrade the graphics card or if I need a completely new system.
No_Construction6023@reddit
I mean, you CAN drop in something like a 3070 in it and it would probably be better, but up to a point.
The CPU would DEFINITELY be the limiting factor if you’re aiming for 1080p and high refresh rates, but not as much in 1440p.
Still, I would probably recommend just save up and go for a full rebuild. I don’t think continuing to sink money into a Intel 7th gen machine is a smart way of using money. If you’re tight on cash, you can upgrade your GPU first (as you’re already thinking of it), then save up for a cheap AM4 platform upgrade.
AFAIK Intel 7th gen was already DDR4 right? You can keep the RAM and aim for like a Ryzen 5 5500x3d off AliExpress (I’m seeing them for about 175CHF, which should be around 190USD) + a cheap b550 motherboard and you’ll be solid
R4574@reddit (OP)
From my knowledge the rtx 30 row takes a lot of power for what it actually brings on the table right? I do have ddr4 already yes :) But thank you for your opinion. I will save up for a completely new rig then. Sucks what happened to the market lately though. Oh well, Ill just use an xbox for new games until then. Thank you a lot though! 😊
No_Construction6023@reddit
You’re welcome! The 3070 was just an example, you could probably drop a 5090 in your rig and see a performance boost, but you wouldn’t be able to make full use of it with that CPU at 1080p.
I could be wrong but I think I saw you saying you had a 1440p ultrawide right? That being the case, a GPU upgrade would definitely provide a performance boost since 1440p and 4k rely more on the GPU, but still I don’t imagine you’d be able to get full utilization out of them with a CPU as old as the 7700k.
If you can save up for something like a 5060/5060ti/9060xt, or snag a used rtx 4000, you’d have a a pretty decent machine pairing it up with the 5500x3d. Checking a bit online, it seems that going for a 5700x3d/5800x3d is a bit of a pipe dream with current prices.
What PSU do you have right now? Seeing you concerned with power draw, that might also need a change at this point
R4574@reddit (OP)
Well Ill still definitely try to save up for a new rig. But if I find a nice used rtx I might upgrade first. My psu is a 850w from be quiet. Idk if sraight power or pure power. But something like that :) Thanks for your input!
Primus_is_OK_I_guess@reddit
If you're concerned about power usage, a 5060 performs on par with a 3070.
R4574@reddit (OP)
I'm using a 2k ultrawide monitor for gaming. And I feel like since about a year I can't play new games that come out with enough details for my personal needs with 60fps+. So I was hoping a newer card would fix that. Hopefully also one of the rtx 40s or 50s. Of course thats also because mine does not have raytraycing. But Im just worried that my old system will bottleneck a newer rtx card.
OkSystem455@reddit
What exactly is under performing or maxing out the CPU/GPU utilitzations that makes you feel the next step is a GPU upgrade?
R4574@reddit (OP)
I'm using a 2k ultrawide monitor for gaming. And I feel like since about a year I can't play new games that come out with enough details for my personal needs with 60fps+. So I was hoping a newer card would fix that. Hopefully also one of the rtx 40s or 50s. Of course thats also because mine does not have raytraycing. But Im just worried that my old system will bottleneck a newer rtx card.
OkSystem455@reddit
Ok, there's the info needed to appropriately response.
A newer GPU would offer some improvements you are looking for but that will involve a new waterblock and redoing that part of the loop if you intend to continue down the custom loop rabbit hole. At some point the 7700K may still fall short in feeding data to the new GPU.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUtowOonjeg
If the loop is fully functioning, leave the 7700K intact,,,maybe turn it into a "Steam Machine" equivalent...albeit a very unique variant.
A new gaming PC is your next step...
GamingKink@reddit
1440p isnt for old cards. Ive been struggling to have 40fps on low/mid settings with my old 2080 in Cyberpunk, 1440p, then i got myself a new PC. Just play games on 1080p resolution, or buy a new PC that can handle 1440p.
dfm503@reddit
Honestly the 7700K is pretty over the hill now. You could step up to a low end modern card for the features, but anything like a 5070 is just gonna be held back by the CPU.
Yoruha01@reddit
Regardless of what you upgrade it'll bottleneck pretty hard. Look for a used mobo+cpu, upgrading just the gpu alone wont be meaningful.
ecktt@reddit
Can someone tell me what graphics card I could upgrade to?
Love to.
I got a pretty old system with an i7 7700k. I delidded it to put liquid metal in it. And I built a custom watercooling system. It's oberclocked to 5Ghz.
Did that for a few users with 6700K and 7700K. It became a pain. The liquid metal would "dry" between 10 to 12 months and have to be cleaned and reapplied. That involved breaking and reapplying the silicon gasket I made to avoid the liquid metal possibly leaking.
As a graphics card I got a 1080ti, also on water.
That's a near-perfect match. You will not see much gains with a better video card.
If you go with Toms's Hardware; the RTX 3060 12GB is about as far as I would go.
R4574@reddit (OP)
I'm using a 2k ultrawide monitor for gaming. And I feel like since about a year I can't play new games that come out with enough details for my personal needs with 60fps+. So I was hoping a newer card would fix that. Hopefully also one of the rtx 40s or 50s. Of course thats also because mine does not have raytraycing. But Im just worried that my old system will bottleneck a newer rtx card.
ResponsibleTruck4717@reddit
I had 4060 with 7700k and later upgraded to 12700k and the 7700k did bottleneck it.
But there are many factors to account for the board was pcie 3 I believe and the 4060 is only 8x.