Looking to freshen up my PC

[Carbon Fiber Couch]

Hi Everyone, I'm looking at giving myself a Christmas gift of freshening up my PC. I don't want to break the bank right now and buy a whole new system but give my current system a refresh. I was thinking of upgrading from an i5 to an i7 processor and expanding the memory from 8GB to 16GB or 32. In regards to the processor, I'd like to upgrade to something that's a simple compatible swap. I'm comfortable enough to open the computer up and swap processors but I don't want to get into the whole updating BIOS thing Here's the specs I'm currently running - Intel Core i5-6500 CPU @ 3.20GHz, 4 cores - 8 GB RAM - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti I'd appreciate any thoughts, advice or input.

 

[Des Pearce]

Not sure you'll see much of an improvement from a cpu upgrade. A new gpu and 16gb ram will be of more benefit for gaming.

 

[RasmusP]

What you should do first is to download and install msi afterburner (don't worry, no overclocking or anything, we only need the graphs for usage!).
Then do some racing like you normally do and then go into afterburner and tell us your gpu load. It shows the last 5-10 minutes at default settings I think.

We need to find out if a new processor will gain you anything or if the gpu is above 90% while you're driving, a new graphics card would be better.


My estimation would be that at low settings, the 1050ti will be good enough though.
But settings don't make much of a difference for the processor so a better cpu should be a good upgrade.

As for the cpu:
There's only one choice: 4c/8t k-model.
To actually see a difference you need the 8 virtual threads and definitely the higher frequency of the k model.
So i7 6700k it is.

BUT only if you get it really cheap! (probably used).
Also: what motherboard do you have? Only important for overclocking but these processors gain quite a lot from it so if you don't have a z chipset and can't get the cpu for less than 150€, getting a completely new set of mobo + ram + cpu will be a way better deal!


RAM: you say you have 8gb. 1 stick or 2 sticks?
2 sticks will give you dual channel, which definitely makes a difference! 32gb are useless for most people so if you have 1 stick, getting another 8gb stick (best would be same model or at least same voltage and timings) and just put that next to the other!


Overall I fear that buying the ram and the i7 6700k will be too expensive to be a good deal..
Selling your mobo +ram + cpu (+cooler) as a set and buying a i5 9600k + z390 mobo + 2x8gb ddr4 3200 cl16 would be a looooot better!

It's the best bang for the buck for simracing right now! Almost identical single core performance as the latest 10900k and since all simracing titles don't use more than 5 cores, you get full performance for kinda low budget!

Hope that helps

 

[Durge Driven]

Important is the resolution you wish to use for foreseeable future

Whether you have 1x8GB or 2x4GB mixing memory modules is not the best idea

You could upgrade major parts as suggested but doing that without a GPU upgrade is minimum gains ....then you find that your old case cooling or power supply are lacking and you don't want slow HDD with late gen gear etc. etc.


I would save more sell your tower as a going concern and build a new one lock stock

 

[Carbon Fiber Couch]

Important is the resolution you wish to use for foreseeable future

Whether you have 1x8GB or 2x4GB mixing memory modules is not the best idea

You could upgrade major parts as suggested but doing that without a GPU upgrade is minimum gains ....then you find that your old case cooling or power supply are lacking and you don't want slow HDD with late gen gear etc. etc.


I would save more sell your tower as a going concern and build a new one lock stock

Durge Driven, a name I haven't seen since the glorious days of the nogrip forums!


Ideally, buying/building a new rig would be what I would do but recently getting married and currently in the process of buying a new house has put a hold on that, haha.

 

[Durge Driven]

Seems a lifetime ago, anyways

Covid you should be able to claim towers and other communication devices as tax write off

 

[Terry Rock]

Hi Everyone, I'm looking at giving myself a Christmas gift of freshening up my PC. I don't want to break the bank right now and buy a whole new system but give my current system a refresh. I was thinking of upgrading from an i5 to an i7 processor and expanding the memory from 8GB to 16GB or 32. In regards to the processor, I'd like to upgrade to something that's a simple compatible swap. I'm comfortable enough to open the computer up and swap processors but I don't want to get into the whole updating BIOS thing Here's the specs I'm currently running - Intel Core i5-6500 CPU @ 3.20GHz, 4 cores - 8 GB RAM - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti I'd appreciate any thoughts, advice or input.

What board and RAM type are you currently using?