So is it worth upgrading PC yet?

Hi guys, I have been out of the upgrade market for a while now, I keep popping in now and again to see if it’s worth upgrading and to be honest apart from the odd new GPU, I never get the impression that PC speed has moved on in the last 5 years, making me just stick with my current build.

She is still doing ok, and will play most FPS or racing sims on max, flight sims I do have to tone down a bit, but they work although only around the 20 - 30 FPS range and VR again is usable if everything is on low.

I’m toying once again with upgrading although I have no idea if the pc hardware to achieve my aim of 60 to 90 FPS on high to max on 4K with DCS, Xplane 11 and Star Citizen is available yet

I keep hearing about the next great CPU or GPU that will change the way we game and provide a large increase in FPS compared to what’s available now although nothing really appears to achieve that claim.

Think I’m stuck in the rut at the mo, always thinking something better is just about to release. I’m also a tad older now with. Family, and honestly I don’t know if I want to have the hassle of building my own pc again, or just get a company to do it for me, Thinking wired2fire or Overclockers for the minimum of fuss.

So what do you guys reckon, it’s it worth upgrading or continue hanging on for a few more months as my pc still works ok?

I’ve planned a budget of 3K for this PC, as it needs to last me quite a while and may even be my last new build.

I am sitting on the same fence. I have two PCs built about 2 years apart that are both decent I5s with 16GB of RAM. I built the newer one in November 2014 (i5 4690K) so my son could have the older one built in July 2012 (i5 3570K). Both are pretty old now. But I look at what is available and the main gain I see is in the speed of RAM. I generally build a new PC every 5 to 7 years when my flight sims start grinding to a halt. So, I tend to see CPU throughput increase 2 to 4 times and memory speed/capacity increase by 4 times or more. I don't see the point of spending $1,500 to get a 10-20% performance increase. With inflated RAM and GPU prices, I would probably have to spend about $2,000 or more to build a gaming box noticeably better than what I have now. Lately I have been dumping money into my 1981 Corvette to make it a solid daily driver, so I don't really have the cash to spare anyway. If I knew I could build a system that would run DCS World at 4K and VR at maxed out frame rates (120 fps for 4K/90 fps for VR) for $2,000 or less, I would blow the money. But from what I have seen people post about the best graphics settings for DCS World 2.5 in VR, people with much newer/better systems than mine aren't getting much better fps than me. I think I will be getting a large (around 55-65 inch) 4K LED or OLED monitor before I get a new PC to replace my ancient 46-inch 1080p LCD TV.

Either the Intel 8700K or AMD 2700X CPU's will be fine.

Out of the box the 8700K is faster for gaming but the 2700X is better at multithreading and enables you to do cheap upgrades as the motherboard will support future CPU's (the intel wont) but will need faster more expensive RAM as well if you want to take the most out of it. We expect next years 8 core AMD CPU's to beat intel's at much lower prices perhaps 300$ or lower (near 5ghz VS current 4.2).

When overclocking both the 2700X will really close the gap on gaming and roflstomp the intel part in everything else. But you kinda need to win the silicon lottery and be good at overclocking. You can purchase a binned part here: https://siliconlottery.com/collections/pinnacleridge

If you want to go the safe route just go for the 8700K.

Intel will release an 8 core so called I9 8900K (official name not released yet) this summer which will predictably be faster in everything but expect much higher prices (requires new motherboard and chipset).

The new NVIDIA GPU's will be released in July so I advise you to wait for a GTX1180 then. The reason is it will be 100$ cheaper and 25% faster than a 1080Ti (according to leaked specs).

AMD will release new graphics cards this fall but based on VEGA on 7nm but dont expect faster GPU's than NVIDIA's own 1180's. They will be likely the new mid range affordable GPU's (rumour as fast as current GTX1080's).

if you choose the 8700 you will need a 240mm AIO, the 2700X may require a 280mm, some people are getting 360mm ones. It really heats up in overclocks (deliding not recommended, it's soldered)

You will need a 850W power supply (I got just a 760W but its seasonic)

Currently DCS is GPU bound as I learned during last years upgrade going from a 2500K to a 1700X (changed the CPU first then GPU)

I got a 14% boost with the new CPU, but with both new CPU+GPU I got a MASSIVE 68% boost in DCS. Then I got a 2700X and it upped 2% only in average FPS but 16% more in minimum FPS. It is using 7 full threads right now. You might want to take that in consideration when choosing the CPU.

.......................

 

. It is using 7 full threads right now. You might want to take that in consideration when choosing the CPU.

THIS !

SEVEN....on mine it's only SIX cause I have only six...for now.

The time when MHz was better than more cores is about to tip over towards MORE CORES.

I am about to toss my rig down the line and get me AMD setup, not because of the MHz but because of everything else.

Blabla aside, Pilotasso is 100% correct....and I would not buy the 8700k again but would get me a GigaByte based 2700x CPU with 3466MHz RAM that is certified for the board ( take no chances there ! ).

Take the saved bucks ( no delid/relid/LiquidMetal costs ) and buy the bigger GPU and faster RAM.

....I lack 1 core...LoL...S E V E N haha...I knew this would come, and it is so good.

If DCS is your flight sim of choice and you are able to get satisfactory results via your current system, then stay with it for awhile longer. There are many on this forum who are playing the "cutting edge" game regardless of costs and the cost of noticeable performance improvement. I tend to your position and simply cannot justify the costs associated with just squeezing out a couple of more FPS or settings all at the "Highest" settings. I am currently happy with the enjoyment I get from ALL that ED provides with the ever constant improvement and advances in these modules and maps. Are there some issues we have to deal with whenever some new update is released? Yes, especially in the "BETA" release. So many have expectations that the "BETA" has as few bugs as the Final Release. Duh! That's why it is a "BETA". Unless we are looking to lay out the costs and tuning to get the ultimate performance on this ever polishing and updating, then we have to be patient until the improvement in our current system hardware and it's costs actually brings a giant leap in performance. My experience over the last few decades is that improvements are only incremental at best and seldom warrant the cost and investment in staying at the cutting edge. That's just my view and I will adhere to patience until such time as the amount of hardware improvements warrant the associated costs. One need only observe the experience that VR users are having. It's a very interesting approach but far, far from the even coming close to the real "cutting edge" of that hardware and software itself is still in development. Not really a major player at the moment. Time and improvement may change VR if it can ever attract enough customers to cover the costs of that development. My 2 cents. Your mileage may vary.

I love the immersion of VR, but no matter how hard I try, I can't take the lower quality graphics. 1080p was never good enough for me, stepping down to VR's pixelated blurry mess is worse than when I started PC flight sims at 1024x768.

At this point, I am using VR for "relaxed" flights... where I just want to enjoy the view. Cold start, takeoff, fly a bit, and land. Largely the same way I would fly in FSX, which I have finally replaces with P3DV4 and TacPack.

But when I want to be able to read everything clearly in the cockpit and see the enemy I a fighting against as more than a blob, I am back to conventional monitor flying. I can't decide whether to get 4K with an affordable LED TV, an OLED TV, or wait for the NVidia BFGD. My lack of confidence in my i5/1080GTX to support 4K well enough helps to keep me sitting on the fence.

I nearly took the plunge to build an overclocked i9 7900x system with a 1080ti, but I took BitMaster's advice and didn't bother after looking into it a bit more. Personally I'm just waiting for the new 2050x threadripper and the new nivida cards at the end of the summer.

It's been a long wait for new hardware to come onto the market. There's no point in firing your bolt early when it's a case of waiting a couple of months or so. What're a few more weeks in the grand scheme of things?

I nearly took the plunge to build an overclocked i9 7900x system with a 1080ti, but I took BitMaster's advice and didn't bother after looking into it a bit more. Personally I'm just waiting for the new 2050x threadripper and the new nivida cards at the end of the summer.

 

It's been a long wait for new hardware to come onto the market. There's no point in firing your bolt early when it's a case of waiting a couple of months or so. What're a few more weeks in the grand scheme of things?

What's a few more weeks in the grand scheme of things? HORNET:D That's what LOL

I jumped the gun a few months ago on a GPU, was going to wait... Just wanted my rig maxed out @ 90 fps for the hornet in VR doing carrier landings, new map etc. Been waiting a longggg time for this and built this rig a year ago for 2.5 and the Hornet. Definitely a beast now, max everything and she holds 60 fps @ 1440p in most situations with 2.5 beta with no overclock on the GPU, we still need more optimization for 2.5, throwing brute power at it, can only go so far... I'll still be looking into threadripper's and 1180's a bit further along.

oh god yes. Biggest FPS increase I ever got was CPU. Previously I went from Nvidia 960 to a 1070 and was disappointed with the results in terms of graphics frames per second. When I went from an OC'd 2500K @3.8 to a 8600K @4.2 (not needing to push it's life time and air cooled) it added visible differences to DCS.

What's a few more weeks in the grand scheme of things? HORNET:D That's what LOL

 

I jumped the gun a few months ago on a GPU, was going to wait... Just wanted my rig maxed out @ 90 fps for the hornet in VR doing carrier landings, new map etc. Been waiting a longggg time for this and built this rig a year ago for 2.5 and the Hornet. Definitely a beast now, max everything and she holds 60 fps @ 1440p in most situations with 2.5 beta with no overclock on the GPU, we still need more optimization for 2.5, throwing brute power at it, can only go so far... I'll still be looking into threadripper's and 1180's a bit further along.

Really, early access with 90% of combat effectiveness not completed for initial release? You'll be waiting longer for hornet features than the next version of GPU and CPU releases.

The goal should be 4k @144hz, and the current generation of hardware sure as hell can't do that.

With the new SSAA a 1080ti should be able to sustain 70ish fps anywhere at maxed out settings.

4k and 144Hz ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

haha, you make me laugh !

With the new SSAA a 1080ti should be able to sustain 70ish fps anywhere at maxed out settings.

 

4k and 144Hz ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

 

 

haha, you make me laugh !

One can dream! :megalol:

So I need some kind of advice:

Windows 10 Home 64-bit

Intel Core i7 4770 @ 3.40GHz

8,00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 799MHz (11-11-11-28)

ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. Z97-A (SOCKET 1150)

2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 (MSI)

Is it worth upgrading? What and To what?

THANKS! ;D

wife is approving so...... : )

(drives are SSD)

You basically need to upgrade the GPU, in order to then feed that fat GPU you need a faster CPU, in order to run that new CPU you will need a new motherboard and DDR4 RAM.

If you do not fear the extra hassle an Intel brings along, grab the 8700k, it doesnt get faster for now.

If you want something more future proof, grab the Ryzen 2700x ( I'd pick that one, honestly ).

16GB RAM ( 32 if you can afford it, but DCS seems to have been capped at 10GB with OB )

1080ti or newer 1180(?)

My pick would be 2700X, Gigabyte board, certified RAM @ 3466, 1080ti or better, 850W PSU ( best you can buy, 200€+ )

add your SSD and you are good to launch off the carrier ;)

djesus, so a new PC? ;D

I thought I could get away with a new GPU and RAM

myyy oh myy lol

thanks for the reply!!;)

yep, that my Z-Stoff to make you complete ;)