Upgrade Advice

[brettcb]

I've noticed my computer hardware is starting to show it's age. I'm looking to make some upgrades to improve my performance and was looking for suggestions.

I am debating on simply buying the best graphics card I can (1660 Ti/2060/2070) or upgrading the memory as well. I would like to run only WoW at 1440p with 60+ FPS if possible. Do you think I can prolong going with a new build with this hardware and a few upgrades?

Current Build

i5 - 4690K
ASRock Z97M Pro4
8GB DDR3 (PC3 14900) RAM
Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB SSD
AMD Radeon R9 280x

1440p Monitor

[Hekazi]

graphics card will be enough, it has memory all on itself.

[potis]

I would suggest getting a 2070, and around in either 3 months with Ryzen 3000 series, or whenever Ice Lake actually come out, probably end of 2019 to go for the rest.

I wouldnt trust a 1660 Ti for 1440p for after 2019, while the 2070 will probably be fine (By fine meaning, running 60 FPS+ at most games in 2 years from now in a mix of settings towards "High/Ultra").

Getting another 8GB RAM would help, assuming you actually need it, what are you trying to run?

[Temp name]

I've noticed my computer hardware is starting to show it's age. I'm looking to make some upgrades to improve my performance and was looking for suggestions.

I am debating on simply buying the best graphics card I can (1660 Ti/2060/2070) or upgrading the memory as well. I would like to run only WoW at 1440p with 60+ FPS if possible. Do you think I can prolong going with a new build with this hardware and a few upgrades?

Current Build

i5 - 4690K
ASRock Z97M Pro4
8GB DDR3 (PC3 14900) RAM
Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB SSD
AMD Radeon R9 280x

1440p Monitor

Depends what else you're playing. Just WoW? 1660ti/2060 is plenty plenty for graphics. If you also play other, more demanding games, 2060/2070. Might have to turn down the settings a bit with the 2060 outside of WoW though.
If you want to know whether to upgrade memory, go into task manager > Performance > Memory while doing the heaviest workload you normally do. Be that gaming and watching Youtube videos or streaming, or whatever. If you're not at 100% usage you're fine. If you're hitting 100%, try finding the a stick that's as close to your own as you can.

graphics card will be enough, it has memory all on itself.

Yeah but VRAM has nothing to do with system RAM at all

[Hekazi]

Depends what else you're playing. Just WoW? 1660ti/2060 is plenty plenty for graphics. If you also play other, more demanding games, 2060/2070. Might have to turn down the settings a bit with the 2060 outside of WoW though.
If you want to know whether to upgrade memory, go into task manager > Performance > Memory while doing the heaviest workload you normally do. Be that gaming and watching Youtube videos or streaming, or whatever. If you're not at 100% usage you're fine. If you're hitting 100%, try finding the a stick that's as close to your own as you can.


Yeah but VRAM has nothing to do with system RAM at all

It stores graphics while RAM runs programs right bro?
I'd want to suggest over 8gb of ram for smooth running but wanted to emphasize that only a graphics card will do plenty.

[Kagthul]

It stores graphics while RAM runs programs right bro?

No, bro. Not entirely, bro.

RAM stores the textures and graphics first BEFORE they go to the GPU. ANd often times, holds textures that arent currently needed but will be soon.

I'd want to suggest over 8gb of ram for smooth running but wanted to emphasize that only a graphics card will do plenty.

[moremana]

It stores graphics while RAM runs programs right bro?
I'd want to suggest over 8gb of ram for smooth running but wanted to emphasize that only a graphics card will do plenty.

Um no, like @Kagthul stated, vram stores complex textures, vram handles the rendering of meshes and if you are short or it needs more it will spill into system ram. The higher your resolution and textures the more vram you need to display it smooithly.

OT

4690k is no slouch for gaming, especially overclocked. You didn't mention a budget or games you play so that comes into play. However that being said. A 1660Ti is on par with the performance of a GTX 1070 / Radeon Vega 56 and can handle some games at 1440p. buuuuuut .... If I were looking for longevity, I would go GTX 2070 if the funds are available and bump my system memory to 16GB and add a $60 500GB SSD for games storage, DDR3 is inexpensive at the moment.

What is your budget?
What games do you play?

[brettcb]

What is your budget?
What games do you play?

Currently I only play WOW. That doesn't mean that I won't play other games at some point though. I'd like to spend as little as possible while still maintaining performance and using the purchases in a new build in the future.

I'm leaning towards the RTX 2070 just to future-proof the purchase but the RTX 2060 seems like a great value and fits my needs "now" perfectly.

What I still am unsure about is memory. Is it even worth it to dump $50-80 on a set of 4GB DDR3 modules?

[Temp name]

Currently I only play WOW. That doesn't mean that I won't play other games at some point though. I'd like to spend as little as possible while still maintaining performance and using the purchases in a new build in the future.

I'm leaning towards the RTX 2070 just to future-proof the purchase but the RTX 2060 seems like a great value and fits my needs "now" perfectly.

What I still am unsure about is memory. Is it even worth it to dump $50-80 on a set of 4GB DDR3 modules?

Check if you're capping memory usage first. If you are, it might give you decent performance to upgrade to 16gb, if not, no point aside from the resale value bump

[moremana]

You may not need a memory upgrade. 16GB is the norm if your building new now. That does not mean its required for existing systems unless you are indeed capping. If not like @Temp name said, dont worry about it.

8GB of memory for <$40 is cheap though.

[brettcb]

You may not need a memory upgrade. 16GB is the norm if your building new now. That does not mean its required for existing systems unless you are indeed capping. If not like @Temp name said, dont worry about it.

8GB of memory for <$40 is cheap though.

Is the memory you linked going to cause any issues considering I currently have PC3 14900 Dimms? I know the current memory will run at 12800 speeds, but will that be an issue?

[Temp name]

Is the memory you linked going to cause any issues considering I currently have PC3 14900 Dimms? I know the current memory will run at 12800 speeds, but will that be an issue?

I'd suggest buying a stick/kit that's as close to your current as possible if you want to get the most of out them. However, if you're fine with a bit of slower RAM, it'll work at 12800 speeds

[moremana]

Is the memory you linked going to cause any issues considering I currently have PC3 14900 Dimms? I know the current memory will run at 12800 speeds, but will that be an issue?

No it will make your other dimms run at that speed. With your cpu faster ram wont make a difference.

[Temp name]

If you can get the same kind of RAM I'd lean that way. Mixing and matching can be hit or miss.

They need to run at the same timings, and I don't really feel like digging into DDR3 memory timings, it's hard enough to remember DDR4 timings.

[Haragyrgen]

A shiny GPU will give you an upgrade in most games but the wow engine still shows its cpu limits and age even with the new multicore upgrades. Even to the point that anything over a 1070/1660ti won't increase graphical performance/fps as much it should. Running a constant 60fps at 1440p in WoW will require some fiddling with settings, Boralus and the like nuke the hell out of the system and don't even try to get decent visuals with high fps in raids at 1440p. 8gb should still enough for wow and as Temp name said, it may just be a waste of money to get another 8gb.

Is your 4690k overclocked?