Buy NEW? or UPGRADE graphics card?

tylerjp · 9 Oct 2017 at 23:14

Hey... I'm looking for some advice.

I'm wondering if it would be worth upgrading my current graphics card to a GTX1080ti, obviously for gaming. I want something that can run games at highest quality up to 4K.

I'm not sure if my current system is able to do this as it's pretty old. Not sure if the case is big enough, if the power supply needs to be changed etc....

Here are the system specs of my current system:

HP h8-1170uk
Intel core i7-2600 CPU @ 3.40GHz
2TB
8.00 GB
Nvidia GTX 545

What are your thoughts? Upgrading the graphics card... can I? and if so does anything else need to be changed? or buy a completely new system?

thanks in advance!

MissChief · 9 Oct 2017 at 23:18

While a 1080ti will absolutely give you a huge boost it will still struggle because of your CPU and Ram.

tylerjp · 9 Oct 2017 at 23:23

MissChief said:
While a 1080ti will absolutely give you a huge boost it will still struggle because of your CPU and Ram.

Would changing he CPU and Ram also be a good option? or would you say buying a whole new system better?

lee32uk · 10 Oct 2017 at 00:35

MissChief said:
While a 1080ti will absolutely give you a huge boost it will still struggle because of your CPU and Ram.

He might get a bit of a bottleneck at 1440p but at 4K it will be fine.

lee32uk · 10 Oct 2017 at 00:37

tylerjp said:
Would changing he CPU and Ram also be a good option? or would you say buying a whole new system better?

If you are going to game at 4K I don't think the cpu will hold you back as the gpu becomes the bottleneck.

orbitalwalsh · 10 Oct 2017 at 05:18

Having had a first gen i7, gained 10+ FPS moving to i5 7600k @5ghz with any card . Would won't see as higher increase then I did due to second gen having a leap over the first, then 3rd having a good step over the 2nd gen - as free this is baby steps in performance . And since going from a 2nd gen i7, had Coffeecake not been a 6 core CPU, then would have suggested going i7 , but since coffee is, might be able to get away with i5 8500k - although I did find it hard to drop with the through of going from any i7 to an i5 hahaha, just that mentality !

That or Ryzen 1600 is another strong contender ! Specially when you can get cracking performance to the pound !

Two quick Ryzen core specs. First with on of the two beat budget b350 boards and the other with one of the best Ryzen boards period and ram that can hit 3466hz on it

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Six Core 1600 3.60GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £179.99
1 x Gigabyte GA-AB350-Gaming 3 AMD B350 (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £101.99
1 x Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30= £158.99

Total: £451.47
(includes shipping: £10.50)

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Six Core 1600 3.60GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £179.99
1 x Asrock X370 Taichi AMD X370 (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £229.99
1 x Team Group Dark Pro "8Pack Edition" 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C16 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/= £199.99

Total: £620.47
(includes shipping: £10.50)