Buy New or Upgrade Current Setup?

LTobyseus on 29/03/2022 - 18:36

Hi friends,

I bought a PC in ~2015 with roughly these parts:

Intel Core i5 6600K @ 3.50GHz
8.00GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1202MHz (15-15-15-35)
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. Z170-K (LGA1151)
4095MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 (MSI)
931GB Seagate ST31000524AS (SATA )
223GB OCZ-ARC100 (SATA (SSD))

I would say it was upper-middle class at the time, and cost ~$2k. I gamed a lot more back then, but would say now I'm definitely more infrequent with my PC gaming.

Given that most games these days it doesn't look like I'd be able to run on "Recommended" settings (looking at you Elden Ring), I've been wondering whether it might be time to invest/upgrade, but also don't have my finger on the pulse of tech - so I thought to seek advice.

With what I currently have in my PC, could I just simply get a newer GPU (I would probably be satisfied with 3060 ti level gaming), or would it snowball into replacing a bunch of different parts? Would I just be better off buying something pre-built like this https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/689127 ?

If I had to buy new, ~$1.5k would be about where I'd be able to realistically get up to in terms of funds, but if I could achieve the same thing just upgrading a few parts for say half the price, that'd be good too.

Just looking for some advice, and anything you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

tl;dr buy new or upgrade current setup?

Poll Options

  • 21
    Buy new
  • 3
    Upgrade
Computing Computer Desktop Computer

Comments

  • garetz on 29/03/2022 - 18:56
    +1

    6600k was never an upper middle class. I would say it was mid tier for sure.

    Anything older than 5 years is never worth upgrading. Every dollar spent is a dollar wasted.

    https://au.pcpartpicker.com/guide/

    is a good starting point for builds at dollar limits

    • Tobyseus on 29/03/2022 - 19:02

      Ah, the truth hurts sometimes - thanks!

  • scrimshaw on 29/03/2022 - 19:12
    +3

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/690364

    Intel i5 11400F CPU
    RTX 3070
    480 GB SSD / 16GB RAM

    $1444 + Shipping.

    Only thing that I'd be concerned about is the power supply. Just replace the PSU yourself with a better brand.

    • Tobyseus on 30/03/2022 - 08:16

      Thanks for the tip!

  • Switchblade88 on 29/03/2022 - 21:02
    +1

    GPU upgrade will be the single best improvement to that system.

    This also means that if you DON'T get the performance you expect due to CPU bottlenecking, you can upgrade that after (since you would already have the GPU then). But GPU first means you spread your expenditure out.

    CPU upgrade dictates a mobo upgrade which dictates a RAM upgrade. That's $700, but gains you no benefit if you keep using the 970.

    • Tobyseus on 30/03/2022 - 08:19
      +1

      That's the snowball I was worried about! Thanks for the advice :)

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