Help me decide if I should upgrade my pc and how!
Posted by Distinct-Cow-4223@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 22 comments
Hi i’ve been using my pc for video games and i just want to know if i should upgrade my pc and how.
I have a 13th gen intel(R) Core(TM) i7-13700F, 16 gb of DDR4 ram, nvidia geforce rtx 3060. My budget is probably around 500 dollars but that’s pushing it to be honest. I’m not looking for a super computer just some upgrades. The motherboard is also a PO3-650. Thank you
GoldPlatedMilk@reddit
honestly your cpu is already doing way more than most games even need, so touching that would be kinda pointless for now. if anything, bumping up to 32gb ram is the easiest win, and then just sit on the rest until you can grab a better gpu without stretching yourself. the 3060 isn’t amazing anymore but it’s still totally fine, so i wouldn’t rush it unless you’re actually struggling in the games you play.
Distinct-Cow-4223@reddit (OP)
thank you! would any brand be fine to get for more ram or is there something specific the has to match with my computer. and if i were to upgrade my gpu why would you suggest pairs up best with my cpu and the ram upgrade
semidegenerate@reddit
You want to match frequency and timings as closely as possible. Brand doesn't matter too much, specs do.
Distinct-Cow-4223@reddit (OP)
thanks but i have no clue what that means i’m a little baby when it comes to this
GoldPlatedMilk@reddit
Also sorry for the late comment I know this thread is probably dead to add some clarity for you frequency is basically how fast the RAM can move data, measured in MHz, so higher = more data per second. CL (cas latency) is how long it takes the RAM to respond to a request, measured in clock cycles, so lower = quicker response.
GoldPlatedMilk@reddit
it just means your RAM has a speed (like 3200MHz) and timings (numbers like CL16), and you want those to match or be close to what you already have so they play nice together. lower CL is better, but it works with the speed, so something like 3200 CL16 vs 3600 CL18 ends up pretty similar, and if they don’t match your system will just run everything at the slower settings anyway.
Mrcod1997@reddit
Terrible time to upgrade ram
GoldPlatedMilk@reddit
Sure, but I’m assuming he knows this. Do you have a time when it will be better? If so please share with the class.
Mrcod1997@reddit
Nope, no clue, but ram makes the smallest difference in gaming performance 99% of the time 16gb is enough.
content_longevity@reddit
if youre playing at 1440 a gpu upgrade is gonna make way more difference than ram right now so id skip the memory for a bit and save for a solid card instead
Mrcod1997@reddit
Exactly.
PixelPete27@reddit
Your CPU is good for many years yet.
Your upgrades would be to 32gb of ram, 3200+ mhz for sure, so you don't bottleneck the CPU.
And your GPU is ok, do you game in 1080p? If so, it should be ok for that.
If you want to upgrade your GPU to something more substantial in the future, or run 1440p, a 5070 or 9070 would be good options, but you'll need to save a bit more money for that, they're around the $620 pricepoint. But make sure your PSU is large enough. To check, you'll have to physically check your PSU inside your case and check the wattage of it, e.g. 650W, 750W, 850W, etc.
Butt honestly, that should be a good 1080p rig, are you having issues with it?
Distinct-Cow-4223@reddit (OP)
no issues tbh just to get viable performance on some games gotta really crank the the graphics to low
PixelPete27@reddit
What kinds of games do you play?
Distinct-Cow-4223@reddit (OP)
tarkov cs and league for multiplayer and then single player games have consisted of kcd2 cyberpunk and i wanna get starfield
PixelPete27@reddit
ok you play a variety of CPU and GPU intensive games.
CS2 and league or heavily CPU bound. So I doubt you have to turn down settings on these, unless you want 300+ frames in cs2, then you'd have to lower settings, but all competitive fps players do that.
Tarkov and KCD2 are also CPU bound, but also rely on some GPU. Tarkov is notoriously hard on CPUs, even people running 9800x3ds still don't see phenomenal triple digit frames.
Cyberpunk and starfield use a lot of CPU and GPU, especially on higher resolution monitors. So it would make sense if you had to turn shit down in Cyberpunk.
Distinct-Cow-4223@reddit (OP)
i have a 1440 monitor but thank you for the advice i appreciate it will definitely get the ram upgrade what wattage would be necessary for 5070
PixelPete27@reddit
750W is recommended for a 5070, but I'd go with a 850W, just because 850W gives you a bit more headroom, and they're like $4 more in some models. LIke the Sama G850, it's only $4 more than the Sama G750, so I always recommend the 850W for that reason, and it's an A- tier PSU (great).
If you're gaming on 2K, and you don't care much for ray tracing path tracing, DLSS, I'd get the 9070 (non-xt). It has 16gb of vram, vs 12gb in the 5070. But if you like those types of features I listed, go with the 5070.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/qYwZC8
They're effectively the same price. But I think that 16gb of VRAM and extra raw power of the 9070 is better. That being said, I don't mind not having DLSS or using Ultra Ray Tracing, so my opinion is bias.
Distinct-Cow-4223@reddit (OP)
the 9070 does sound better i don’t care much for ray tracing tbh
PixelPete27@reddit
Then it's the better call, I'd say that 4gb vram will pay dividends in 2k gaming in a few years, and just the faster rasterization is nice too.
AMD has their own version of DLSS, called FSR. It's not as good as DLSS, but it's come a long way this last while!
Mrcod1997@reddit
Get the best gpu you can afford. Ram is stupid expensive right now.
9okm@reddit
I'd just get a 5060 ti 16gb and call it a day.