PC upgrade?

[V_]

With BF:V around the corner, it's got me thinking about upgrading. Parts are a little old, but without recommended specs it's hard to say for sure what I need.

Mostly I'm curious as to what parts might need upgrading, and what parts aren't old enough yet for it to make a difference. What's the most cost-effective? Looking to run 60fps on 1080p.

Current specs:
MoBo: ASRock Z97 Pro4
CPU: i5-4690k
GPU: gtx 960
RAM: 2x4GB
PSU: 650(?)
Win10 64bit

(RAM seems to be a good bet rn, but I'm nervous about futureproofing DDR3 versus DDR4.)

[Fields]

I just upgraded as well.

https://i.imgur.com/XRUc0DP.jpg

AMD 2700x
16 GB GDDR4 RAM
Radeon RX 480
Asus x370-i motherboard

I definitely love my new pc build. It runs great, average 100-120 in BF4 1440p.
Definitely go up to 16 GB RAM if you can afford the extra. It's very very worth it.

[V_]

Definitely go up to 16 GB RAM if you can afford the extra. It's very very worth it.

Yeah, my current thinking is to just upgrade RAM and save the rest for another time - maybe fall, once Nvidia comes out with their new models.

My concern is that my MoBo only supports GDDR3. Is it worth it to buy DDR3 if I might have to upgrade my MoBo/CPU to DDR4 in a year or so?

[Fields]

The most recent benchmarking I've seen points towards RAM speeds not having a huge impact on most things, just that having more is better because you'll hit that page file less often.

[Divine-Sneaker]

Ram speeds can have a noticable impact in games that are CPU bound, which isn't that many of them out there.
Most triple A titles will still have you gpu bound unless you're running a top of the line GPU and then attempt to run them at 144hz or higher.

It's mainly RTS' with tons of units, MMO's with tons of models, games running on old as frak engines/stuck on old graphics API's, and lastly Blizzard games that are CPU bound.

If those are your main type of titles, fast Ram can be a worthwhile investment over the cheapest compatible solution.


However, given the fact that you're still on the DDR3 generation, the leeway in Ram speeds are so negligible that it's rather pointless to do anything other than make sure you have enough to not run out of it for your typical use cases.

For DDR4 though, it changes noticably. Given decent pricing, it'll definitely be worthwhile to get to around 3200mhz at the least with good timings over the default.

If you really find your amount of Ram an issue currently though, I'd suggest looking for some cheap second hand sticks to take you up to 16GB while you wait until you find a generational upgrade with Mobo, Ram, Cpu, and ,potentially GPU if needed, justifiable.

If you know anyone who has upgraded their PC recently, they might have old Ram lying around. Or maybe there's some craigslist type crap out there, I don't know.

[Ghoul]

I'm still running a first Gen Intel I7 930 cpu (from 2010), with 18gb ddr2 triple channel ram. The only thing I've constantly upgraded was my graphics card every other year. currently have a GTX 1070 and I have no problems running whatever game I want on a regular 60mhz monitor at full quality settings. Having two solid state drives (one for OS and second for games) increased load times for games significantly. One of these days I'll take the plunge and upgrade Mobo, Ram and CPU but until I notice less than 60fps in games I'm not going to bother.

[V_]

Thanks guys, that's all really helpful stuff. I think I'm going to wait a bit until I need an entire overhaul - if DDR3 RAM isn't going to help all that much, I'll just wait it out. Maybe in a few years I'll find that I need a whole new Mobo/CPU/RAM set, and then I'll make the leap.

Ghoul might be onto something with the GPU though - my gtx 960 is 3 years old at this point, and seems to be near to the end of it's life. Maybe in the fall once Nvidia's newest models come out I can find a reasonably priced upgrade.

[TabithaGreen]

Based on your current specs and your goal to run 60fps on 1080p, here are some recommendations for possible upgrades that would be most cost-effective:

Graphics card: The GTX 960 is quite outdated for modern gaming, so upgrading to a more powerful GPU such as the GTX 1660 or the Radeon RX 580 would significantly improve your gaming performance without breaking the bank.

RAM: 8GB of RAM is sufficient for most games, but some newer games may benefit from more. Upgrading to 16GB of RAM would improve your overall system performance and allow you to run more programs simultaneously.

CPU: The i5-4690k is still a capable processor, but upgrading to a more recent CPU would improve your system's overall performance. However, this would likely require upgrading your motherboard as well.

PSU: 650W should be sufficient for most upgrades, but it's always a good idea to make sure your power supply can handle the power requirements of your upgraded components.

Ultimately, the most cost-effective upgrade for you would likely be a new graphics card. However, upgrading your RAM or CPU could also help improve your overall system performance. Keep in mind that upgrading your CPU would require upgrading your motherboard as well, which could be more expensive