Help with upgrade of an older computer.

[doni]

I need some help - and apologies in advance as I am NOT a "techie" in any stretch of the imagination. So I may need some kindergartener level translation LOL.


I am currently running an older computer - i7-7700k, 32GB ram, RTX 3070, 850watt PSU. I first built it back in college in the mid 2000s and kept the case, fans, and disc drive. Some of the most recent updates like the MB and Processor were in 2017/18. I upgraded the PSU and Video card around the pandemic.


I only use it for moderate office work, light gaming, and light editing (LR/PS).
Haven't had problems so far, BUT the wife gifted me with a Samsung Odyssey Ark 55 monitor for my birthday.


The GPU seems to be struggling even on older games like Overwatch 2 at the full resolution.


I was thinking of upgrading to a 5070 ti.


How much of an upgrade will it be for 4k gaming? Will the older CPU bottleneck it much that a 40 series GPU would be a better buy?


Thanks all!

--
...in matters of grave importance, style not sincerity is the vital thing - Oscar Wilde

 

[bmoag]

Nice gift, if you like monitors of that ilk, but its gonna cost you.

I assume you know you can play games at a lower than 4k resolution to boost frame rates. The 3070 should still be capable for most games at 1440. Its DLSS chops are of its day. Your CPU could be a bottleneck in triple A games even at that resolution.

I don't think your chipset/CPU have the needed (and pointless) TPM module for Win 11. You can get around that but its still an old and slow CPU for anything approaching 4k gaming. Ditto for the 3070, which otherwise fine for GPU based image rendering, even video rendering.

If want to game at 4k the minimum GPU is an nVidia 5070 (the Ti version is much better for 4k) or the AMD 6700XT. I leave it to you to research the various upscaling and frame interpolation technologies.

Your current CPU will likely be a significant bottleneck although you will experience a significant uplift in frame rates with a 4k capable GPU. While the favored "gaming" GPU is an AMD 9800X3d you will see a big improvement in everything by upgrading to a 14th gen Intel i7 or better, or a Radeon 7800 (8 core) or better. If you want to repurpose your DDR4 and save money you will see a big upgrade with DDR4 compatible Intel 14th gen or Ryzen 5800x.

 

[BobKnDP]

I don't game.

Building the Best PC for Overwatch 2

It's interesting that the "outstanding" and higher systems are all AMD Ryzen based.

The list doesn't include old CPUs like the I7-7700k.

Even an I3-12100 is supposed to be better than the old i7.

Intel i3-12100 vs i7-7700K [cpubenchmark.net] by PassMark Software

Sounds like your wife needs to gift you a new PC for Christmas. ;-)

 

[New Wrycuda]

I need some help - and apologies in advance as I am NOT a "techie" in any stretch of the imagination. So I may need some kindergartener level translation LOL.

I am currently running an older computer - i7-7700k, 32GB ram, RTX 3070, 850watt PSU. I first built it back in college in the mid 2000s and kept the case, fans, and disc drive. Some of the most recent updates like the MB and Processor were in 2017/18. I upgraded the PSU and Video card around the pandemic.

I only use it for moderate office work, light gaming, and light editing (LR/PS).
Haven't had problems so far, BUT the wife gifted me with a Samsung Odyssey Ark 55 monitor for my birthday.

The GPU seems to be struggling even on older games like Overwatch 2 at the full resolution.

I was thinking of upgrading to a 5070 ti.

How much of an upgrade will it be for 4k gaming? Will the older CPU bottleneck it much that a 40 series GPU would be a better buy?

Your computer reminds me of “Grandfather’s Axe”. Only three new handles and two heads in 30 years! ;-)


I’d opt for a new computer rather than the curvy Samsung, but that may not be good for marital harmony. You haven’t mentioned storage, but you are probably aware that SSDs of various types have just about made HDDs obsolete. My systems have been totally SSD for more than 5 years (except for long-term storage).

There’s been significant advances in hardware in recent years, for example i5 gen.14 CPUs are often cited as the sweet spot for performance, and my office computers/laptops are mostly i5 and are significantly faster than the older i7 gen.10 server.

I’m not a gamer, but I found that a flight simulator worked well enough at 4K using a 1650s GPU, provided that I reduced the visual FX to moderate levels. That’s usually an option, and probably better than investing in a 5070.

You might also consider an upgrade to Win11, but your older gear may not qualify.

Good luck.l

 

[BobKnDP]

(snip)

You might also consider an upgrade to Win11, but your older gear may not qualify.

Good luck.l

An I7-7700K is one generation too old to be on the approved list for Windows 11.

Windows processor requirements Windows 11 supported Intel processors | Microsoft Learn

Doing an unblessed upgrade to 11 may be easy. So far, MS hasn't blocked updates to unsupported machines. (Major updates may require upgrading using an ISO. Not a big deal.)

How to upgrade your 'incompatible' Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 - 2 free options | ZDNET

 

[New Wrycuda]

(snip)

You might also consider an upgrade to Win11, but your older gear may not qualify.

Good luck.l

An I7-7700K is one generation too old to be on the approved list for Windows 11.

Windows processor requirements Windows 11 supported Intel processors | Microsoft Learn

Doing an unblessed upgrade to 11 may be easy. So far, MS hasn't blocked updates to unsupported machines. (Major updates may require upgrading using an ISO. Not a big deal.)

How to upgrade your 'incompatible' Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 - 2 free options | ZDNET

This is as I expected, but an upgrade to Win11 would not solve the OP’s issues, even if he decided to tackle the process.

The OP might be better off paying for Win10 security updates and using the computer as is while awaiting the arrival of a new games computer.


A subsequent peer-peer network would also be of great benefit and provide a useful learning experience.

 

[Billiam29]

From what I've seen, game performance for a given level of hardware can vary a fair amount depending on the game title in question. Some games can be GPU-limited on a range of CPUs, others might be more prone to being CPU-limited with a range of GPUs. Still others might be nice linear progressions in performance for both CPU and GPU.

If gaming is indeed the main motivator for your potential upgrade, I would suggest watching hardware review videos from YouTube channels such as Gamers Nexus and Hardware Unboxed. These channels often include a range of game titles in their benchmarks with each title usually tested at multiple resolutions.

 

[Ron Poelman]

How much of an upgrade will it be for 4k gaming? Will the older CPU bottleneck it much that a 40 series GPU would be a better buy?

Even those who did spend a small fortune for a genuine 4K setup, often admit to dropping the resolution for better games performance.
You don't need to go there for a good games experience.
Think modest build and an affordable GPU as the smartest plan.
Check out some of the more popular sites like Tom's Hardware, Anand Tech, PC Gamer and the like for what's about.
Or, simply google, "best mid-range gaming build".

--
Ron.
Volunteer, what could possibly go wrong ?

 

[doni]

Nice gift, if you like monitors of that ilk, but its gonna cost you.

Thank you! I like big monitors for multi tasking (when working remotely, it's a plus to be able to have a browser open, Ms teams, a patient's chart, and other tools open and available).

I assume you know you can play games at a lower than 4k resolution to boost frame rates. The 3070 should still be capable for most games at 1440. Its DLSS chops are of its day. Your CPU could be a bottleneck in triple A games even at that resolution.

Yes - in my older Samsung 49in ultra wide, I usually lowered my settings to get acceptable gaming experience.

Since I got a new monitor, I wanted to make the most out of it.

I don't think your chipset/CPU have the needed (and pointless) TPM module for Win 11. You can get around that but its still an old and slow CPU for anything approaching 4k gaming. Ditto for the 3070, which otherwise fine for GPU based image rendering, even video rendering.

If want to game at 4k the minimum GPU is an nVidia 5070 (the Ti version is much better for 4k) or the AMD 6700XT. I leave it to you to research the various upscaling and frame interpolation technologies.

The 5070 ti seems the be the sweet spot for price to performance based on my limited research.

Your current CPU will likely be a significant bottleneck although you will experience a significant uplift in frame rates with a 4k capable GPU. While the favored "gaming" GPU is an AMD 9800X3d you will see a big improvement in everything by upgrading to a 14th gen Intel i7 or better, or a Radeon 7800 (8 core) or better. If you want to repurpose your DDR4 and save money you will see a big upgrade with DDR4 compatible Intel 14th gen or Ryzen 5800x.

Thank you for the detailed response. Much to learn and do!

 

[doni]

I don't game.

Building the Best PC for Overwatch 2

It's interesting that the "outstanding" and higher systems are all AMD Ryzen based.

The list doesn't include old CPUs like the I7-7700k.

Even an I3-12100 is supposed to be better than the old i7.

Intel i3-12100 vs i7-7700K [cpubenchmark.net] by PassMark Software

Sounds like your wife needs to gift you a new PC for Christmas. ;-)

Haha, thank you! I will ask her about it

I looked at the website, and the prices are really high. I think I may be able to cannibalize some parts from my current PC (yay for my trusty old case heading into decade # 3 LOL)

 

[doni]

From what I've seen, game performance for a given level of hardware can vary a fair amount depending on the game title in question. Some games can be GPU-limited on a range of CPUs, others might be more prone to being CPU-limited with a range of GPUs. Still others might be nice linear progressions in performance for both CPU and GPU.

If gaming is indeed the main motivator for your potential upgrade, I would suggest watching hardware review videos from YouTube channels such as Gamers Nexus and Hardware Unboxed. These channels often include a range of game titles in their benchmarks with each title usually tested at multiple resolutions.

Thank you! Unfortunately, I've already started going down the rabbit hole of watching all this videos

On a separate note, if I use the streaming platforms for gaming (Amazon Luna, Xbox, etc) my only limitation is Internet bandwidth/speed right?

 

[doni]

How much of an upgrade will it be for 4k gaming? Will the older CPU bottleneck it much that a 40 series GPU would be a better buy?

Even those who did spend a small fortune for a genuine 4K setup, often admit to dropping the resolution for better games performance.
You don't need to go there for a good games experience.
Think modest build and an affordable GPU as the smartest plan.
Check out some of the more popular sites like Tom's Hardware, Anand Tech, PC Gamer and the like for what's about.
Or, simply google, "best mid-range gaming build".

--
Ron.
Volunteer, what could possibly go wrong ?

Thank you! I wasn't planning on building a new setup, but I took a shot and priced one out and it will be about 1.6k for a basic setup (assuming I reuse some parts from my current PC)







--
...in matters of grave importance, style not sincerity is the vital thing - Oscar Wilde

 

[BobKnDP]

How much of an upgrade will it be for 4k gaming? Will the older CPU bottleneck it much that a 40 series GPU would be a better buy?

Even those who did spend a small fortune for a genuine 4K setup, often admit to dropping the resolution for better games performance.
You don't need to go there for a good games experience.
Think modest build and an affordable GPU as the smartest plan.
Check out some of the more popular sites like Tom's Hardware, Anand Tech, PC Gamer and the like for what's about.
Or, simply google, "best mid-range gaming build".

Thank you! I wasn't planning on building a new setup, but I took a shot and priced one out and it will be about 1.6k for a basic setup (assuming I reuse some parts from my current PC)

Not bad. But I suggest adding an M.2 NVME SSD for the OS and programs. A PCI-E 4.0 version should be OK. (The board can use PCI-E 5.0, which may not count for much outside of benchmarks.) Suggestions at 2TB: WD SN850X, Samsung 990 Pro.

 

[New Wrycuda]

Thank you! I wasn't planning on building a new setup, but I took a shot and priced one out and it will be about 1.6k for a basic setup (assuming I reuse some parts from my current PC)

Not bad. But I suggest adding an M.2 NVME SSD for the OS and programs. A PCI-E 4.0 version should be OK. (The board can use PCI-E 5.0, which may not count for much outside of benchmarks.) Suggestions at 2TB: WD SN850X, Samsung 990 Pro.

In addition to the NVME SSD, I like to include a SATA SSD for data, and this can be readily retrieved and the data extracted. I also like to have an external SSD for “instant” backup, but that’s another story.

 

[Ron Poelman]

Thank you! I wasn't planning on building a new setup, but I took a shot and priced one out and it will be about 1.6k for a basic setup (assuming I reuse some parts from my current PC)

CPU - great if you've got budget for it. Maybe look at some of the lesser X3D variants too?
GPU - compare it to the 9070XT before deciding ?
As advised, go NVME ,but look at 2TB. (SK Hynix here).
Backups and data are easily kept on externals .
Board looks OK (plenty of USB-C)
Enjoy your build.

--
Ron.
Volunteer, what could possibly go wrong ?

 

[BobKnDP]

Thank you! I wasn't planning on building a new setup, but I took a shot and priced one out and it will be about 1.6k for a basic setup (assuming I reuse some parts from my current PC)

Not bad. But I suggest adding an M.2 NVME SSD for the OS and programs. A PCI-E 4.0 version should be OK. (The board can use PCI-E 5.0, which may not count for much outside of benchmarks.) Suggestions at 2TB: WD SN850X, Samsung 990 Pro.

In addition to the NVME SSD, I like to include a SATA SSD for data, and this can be readily retrieved and the data extracted. I also like to have an external SSD for “instant” backup, but that’s another story.

I concur.

I use an M.2 SSD for my OS and programs, a 4TB SATA SSD for photos I'm processing, and an 18TB SATA HDD for large files, stuff I rarely access, and an intermediate location for backups.

My external drives are still spinners.

I recently acquired a 1TB USB 3.2 Gen2 thumb drive, mainly to use up some BestBuy reward points before they expired. I tried using it as a target for a Macrium Reflect backup, about 200GB worth. Started out really flying. Unfortunately, it went into what I assume was thermal throttling after a while, so the net time wasn't much faster than going to the 18TB spinner. Sad.

 

[GodSpeaks]

Your CPU is rather long in the tooth at this point in time and you might do well to upgrade the CPU... BUT, upgrading the CPU to a gen 13 or 14 version would likely require a new motherboard... AND RAM. Plus I would go with 64GB rather than the 32GB you now have. Your new GPU would probably appreciate a new MB too.

I am running an i9-14900K CPU with an RTX5080 GPU and 128GB of RAM on a 42 inch 4K monitor. The latest games run very smoothly at 4K.

I had an RTX4080 previously, but it failed, within warranty (3 years) and Asus replaced it with the 5080 I now have. While I do think the 5080 does beat out the 4080, it is not a huge upgrade and unless you are really pushing the limits, the difference will not be very noticeable.

Another "new" feature of the 40 and 50 series GPUs is the new power connector. Power is now supplied to the GPU via a single cable from a new connector on new power supplies. It will supply 600 watts of power to the GPU. You can of course still use an old power supply using multiple 8 pin connectors. My GPU came with such an adapter cable. It requires 3 of those 8 pin connectors to power the GPU.

I guess what I am saying here is that you may want to look at a new PSU that has the new GPU connector outlet.

By the way, my old i7/3080 computer ran 4K games quite well. Not as well as my i9/5080, but no intolerable slowdowns during game play. Oddly enough, it's the cut scenes that lag. Go figure.

Anyway, just some food for thought.

 

[Robert Zanatta]

I am running an i9-14900K CPU with an RTX5080 GPU and 128GB of RAM on a 42 inch 4K monitor. The latest games run very smoothly at 4K when DLSS is enabled.

Fixed your post...

 

[BobKnDP]

Trivia (?):

An I7-7700K uses socket 1151.

I7-14700K (Gen14), socket 1700. Motherboards for DDR4 or DDR5 are available.

Core Ultra I7 265k (Gen15), socket 1851. I believe these only support DDR5.

Current AMD desktop CPUs use Socket AM5, with 1718 pins.

All of the above are LGA (land grid array), with pins in the socket and pads on the CPU.

Any meaningful upgrade of an I7-7700K would require a new motherboard. Going to the latest Intel or AMD CPU would require DDR5 as well.

 

[BobKnDP]

I don't game.

Building the Best PC for Overwatch 2

It's interesting that the "outstanding" and higher systems are all AMD Ryzen based.

The list doesn't include old CPUs like the I7-7700k.

Even an I3-12100 is supposed to be better than the old i7.

Intel i3-12100 vs i7-7700K [cpubenchmark.net] by PassMark Software

Sounds like your wife needs to gift you a new PC for Christmas. ;-)

Haha, thank you! I will ask her about it

I looked at the website, and the prices are really high. I think I may be able to cannibalize some parts from my current PC (yay for my trusty old case heading into decade # 3 LOL)

I suppose that it would be cruel to say that an expensive monitor wants an expensive PC to drive it.

GPUs have gotten much more powerful over the past few years, at least at the high end. They have also gotten very expensive.