Need help upgrading (or replacing) a 10 year-old rig!
###Build Help/Ready:
So I've recently started making a little extra money, and decided I'd like to treat myself. My first thought is to upgrade my graphics card, but as I started to look into it, decided I might as well upgrade the rest of my rig as well since I can afford to. So here goes.
What is your intended use for this build? The more details the better.
Mostly gaming & DnD (FoundryVTT). Maybe a little streaming and video editing down the road.
If gaming, what kind of performance are you looking for? (Screen resolution, framerate, game settings)
I'd like to sit comfortably at the 1440p mark, and be there for the next few years at least. I've been running the same system for about a decade, and this champ is still running most AAA modern titles pretty well (It handles Elden Ring, Cyberpunk, BG3, etc. With some effort, but it handles them to a playable state.)
I'd love if my new rig could run the same/similar titles in a super shiny way without getting super hot and without sounding like it's trying to leave atmosphere. Similar longevity into the future would be nice as well. I'm not SUPER concerned about 4k and VR and beyond, but it might be something I would dabble into if I knew my new hardware would be able to support it.
What is your budget (ballpark is okay)?
~$1500-$2000 CAD.
In what country are you purchasing your parts?
That's Canadian dollars, that is.
Post a draft of your potential build here (specific parts please). Consider formatting your parts list. Don't ask to be spoonfed a build (read the rules!).
So here's the PCPP of some of the components I've been looking into:
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor | $358.14 @ Amazon |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX ATX AM5 Motherboard | $219.99 @ Amazon |
| Storage | Western Digital Black SN770 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive | $117.99 @ Western Digital |
| Video Card | Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB Video Card | $609.99 @ B&H |
| Power Supply | Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | $99.99 @ Best Buy |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total | $1406.10 | |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-12-06 22:39 EST-0500 | ||
| ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// |
And here's my current build:
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-6700 3.4 GHz Quad-Core Processor | $209.17 @ Amazon |
| Motherboard | MSI B150M MORTAR Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | - |
| Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws 4 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 CL15 Memory | - |
| Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws 4 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 CL15 Memory | - |
| Storage | SanDisk X400 512 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | - |
| Video Card | MSI GAMING GeForce GTX 970 4 GB Video Card | - |
| Power Supply | EVGA 650 GQ 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | $124.56 @ Amazon |
| Monitor | BenQ GW2270 21.5" 1920 x 1080 60 Hz Monitor | - |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total | $333.73 | |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-12-06 22:31 EST-0500 |
I'm not worried about any peripherals too much. I'm also not sure about the Case that I'm using, or the cooling unit. All I know is I've got a couple fans cooling it, couldn't tell you which. Assume that they are whatever was mid-range ~10 years ago. I'm assuming I'll probably need to replace those, and the case to fit all this new stuff anyways.
I also have a dual monitor setup. The monitor listed above is the one I originally bought when I built my rig awhile back. I use it as my secondary monitor. My MAIN monitor is not listed on PCPP for some reason, but it's an ACER Nitro ED270R.
So my question is as follows:
Obviously feel free to add in any parts that I'm missing. What parts, if any, of my current rig should I hang onto and can squeeze more life out of? Knowing that the graphics card is probably the priority to upgrade, what parts will I NEED to upgrade to keep up with it? Noticing that there is some room in my budget, are there alternatives to some of the options I'm looking into?
Provide any additional details you wish below.
My current case has a disk drive for CDs, and no Wifi. Please don't judge, I can't remember what drugs I was doing back then. It also lives under my desk, so aesthetics aren't SUPER important to me, but if there are options that ARE pretty, I wouldn't say no.
Thank you for any advice you can give to me! <3
Posted Dec 7, 2023, 3:49 AM UTC