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Is it time for me to get a whole new pc, or is there anything I can salvage from this one? (self.pcmasterrace)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by Knitwear to c/pcmasterrace

51 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm not very tech savvy so please bear with me.

I bought a premade in 2018 and I've only updated the graphics card and ram since then. I'm using a 55" Samsung TV as a monitor. It's really starting to get sluggish/finicky. Gaming example: it can run BGate3 on medium but starts having issues any higher.

Processor: Intel Core i3-8100 Coffee Lake CPU, 4 Cores, 3.6GHz
Graphics Card NIVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8gb
CPU Cooler: Intel Stock CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASUS Z370-P Motherboard
Memory: 8GB DDR4 2400MHz Memory (2 x 4GB Sticks) + Crucial Ballistix BL2K8G36C16U4B 3600 MHz, DDR4, DRAM, Desktop Gaming Memory Kit, 16GB (8GB x2), CL16, Black
Hard Drive: Seagate 2TB Firecuda Hybrid Hard Disk

EDIT for more info

It's hooked up to my TV because I use it for everything from simple browsing, YouTube, streaming TV/movies, to gaming. For games the most taxing is something like BG3, but I can't think of anything else in terms of taxing programmes.

I don't think I'd have a use for it if I kept it. Even if I kept the hard drive I'd have to research How and What To Save To Which Drive On Your PC, but if that's what y'all recommend then I can.

I'm not against investing a few grand if it's the right money spent at the right time, if that makes sense? My worry about changing individual parts is the standard worries about installation and compatibility, but if it's too soon to be changing the whole rig then I can get over that

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Honestly that should still be holding mostly fine at 1080p. Your ram being at mixed speeds is gonna slow things down a tiny bit though. Also going from a hybrid hdd to dedicated ssd for the system will help a lot.

[–] Knitwear 12 points 1 month ago (4 children)

So just updating to a SSD might be sufficient? I was worried it was too late to be changing individual parts as the remaining parts wouldn't be able to support them, but maybe not?

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago

Yeah it’s worth a shot to start with an SSD worst case if it doesn’t work well then you’d have a ssd for the next system.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

most newer games are expecting an SSD install, and a lot of them are beginning to straight up require one, because the current Xbox and Playstation come with them standard and you haven't been able to run games off HDD at all on them for years. I ran up to this with Starfield, barely ran at all on a fast HDD. Hopefully your board supports a nvme but even if not, a SATA SSD would offer significant improvement.

[–] DaneGerous 3 points 1 month ago

Definitely get an SSD. Honestly I'm surprised it's that recent and doesn't have one.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It'll give a small boost to load times, but a nvme SSD can at least be taken with you when you eventually upgrade the mobo/CPU/RAM combo. A 2TB drive can be had for £120 or so.

I've got more or less the same setup myself as your PC and it's getting very creaky on newer titles. I honestly just use my PS5 for those atm.

I think I'd update the mobo/CPU/RAM first if I had your exact setup, but the GPU wouldn't be far behind. You could run games with task manager open to see if you're maxing out your CPU or GPU and take it from there. Depending on the games you play, it could be worth doing the GPU first.

Just make sure your PSU supports it, as those newer GPUs can be hungry.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Not only loading times, some games read files like textures only when needed and that can make a huge difference while playing.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

SSD for sure. Even on devices less powerful the general desktop experience is superior on ssd than a more powerful PC. Boot time and programs load up so much faster making the OS feel way snapier instead of a constant wait for even a browser to load.