Getting new monitors, do I need to upgrade?

[MrChalk]

So I bought the below PC back in 2016. I'm looking to get some new monitors, and was wondering if I'd need to upgrade any parts. I currently use two Dell U2412M monitors (1080p screens); if I want to get some 1440p or 4k screens, what would I need to upgrade?

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE S BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™ i7-6700k Quad Core (4.00GHz @ up to 4.60GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® Z170 PRO GAMING: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX SAVAGE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB Kit)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB SAMSUNG SM951 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 2150MB/R, 1260MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-D15S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
LED Lighting
2 x 50cm Green LED Strip
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence

 

[TonyCarter]

If it's just for productivity, then the extra screen real estate won't need anything to be upgraded.

If it's to play modern, more demanding games (Dragon's Dogma for example) at 1440p/4k, then a new GPU may be required...along with more RAM and a beefier PSU to power it. A PSU re-fit would be a lot of work though.

Some modern games also require that they're run from an SSD rather than HDD, so unless you've added an extra SSD to the build, then you may want to do so for game storage.

 

[Scott]

As above. The use case is key to the consideration. If it's to play mine sweeper or use an office suite at 4k then all will be fine and dandy.

If it's a gaming rig then the order of upgrades will be:

PSU - 1000w would be the minimum recommendation. Good choice for 1440p, better with 1200w or ATX3.0 if looking for high end 4k.
GPU - 1440p flat panel would be around the 7800XT/7900GRE(Best value)/4070Ti Super, 4k would be the 7900XT/XTX/4080 Super.
SSD - You need more fast storage. A second SSD would be crucial for modern gaming. Handy in most use cases also.
RAM - A number of games are seeing past 16GB now, if looking at higher resolutions I think 32GB would be next on the list. At the same time a bump up to 3600Mhz would be a fine choice.

It's worth considering a new system though. There have been many advancements and outside of the CPU/Motherboard you would effectively be building a new system. Selling the system complete, as is, could be the best return to put into a new system investment.

 

[MrChalk]

Yeah the use case will be gaming. Guess I'll think about getting a new PC entirely, as it sounds easier than upgrading everything. Thanks!

 

[Scott]

Be sure to get some advice if you're not 100% in touch with all the goings on. I've put a collaboration of hints, tips & info in the below. Have a look through and either have a play with the configurator to get a spec and post it up, or just give us your requirements and we'll put something together for you to discuss.

Please read before posting:- Collaboration of Helpful Hints

NB: These forums are not an official support channel. None of us work for PCS, we're all either customers or techies who just like to help out where possible. For any official support, you need to contact PCS directly either through your PCS account, or via the contact details on the main...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[MrChalk]

I was having a look at monitors yesterday and went with the LG 27GR93U (27", 4k, 144hz) as I didn't really want to go larger than 27" physical size, and it was a lot cheaper than 1440p OLEDs of the same size.

I do have 2 extra SSDs; 1 500GB and 1 2TB.

Budget wise, I guess 2-3k? I'm not that fussed about being at the bleeding edge, but at the same time a degree of future proofing would be nice.

Use case would be gaming as I mentioned before. I think the most demanding games I've played recently are Total War Warhammer 3, Remnants 2 and Helldivers 2.

If you could make a spec for me based on the above, that'd be great!

 

[TonyCarter]

Are the SSDs SATA or m.2?

Just means we can just keep it simple in the build and you can use the 2TB one for game storage (if it's an m.2).

Something like this would be a good start...

Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE - large case with excellent airflow, but could go for something slightly smaller, white, or something with RGB (your preference)...or you could find a case available elsewhere and send it in
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5) - current daddy of gaming CPUs
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X670E-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E) - very good motherboard, but you could save £90 by going down to the B650 platform
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB) - sweet spot for AM5/7800x3D RAM
Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4080 SUPER - HDMI, DP, LHR - if not heavily into VR or RT, then the AMD 7900XTX may be a better value option and saves £100 (although I'd consider purchasing without a GPU and buying a 4080S from elsewhere to save c.£200 on a Founder's Edition or Zotac version as PCS's offering seems to be around £1160 at the moment)
Graphics Card Support Bracket
PCS ARGB GRAPHICS CARD SUPPORT BRACKET
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW) - very fast drive for Windows & apps only...games, media, document should be stored on one of your other SSDs, to keep the boot/app drive working at its optimum level (i.e. less than 50% full)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W RMx SHIFT SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET - modern ATX3/PCIE5 PSU with built-in protections for power spikes from modern GPUs, and plenty of room for a GPU upgrade in 3-5 years time
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK H115i RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER - newest Corsair connectivity, which reduces cable clutter with magnetic connections to a singe hub
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
3 x Corsair ICUE LINK QX120 RGB PWM Fan + Controller Kit - fans to match the cooler, not strictly necessary if you don't want all this RGB, as the case with come with a plain black fan on front & rear
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence - could save £110 here if you're happy to transfer your current licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £2,706.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/FbnYvByu7m/

 

[MrChalk]

Both my SSDs are SATA. I assume m.2 drives are faster?

 

[TonyCarter]

Both my SSDs are SATA. I assume m.2 drives are faster?

In the case of NVME M.2 SSDs then yes...there are some m.2 SATA drives which are no faster as they're limited to SATA speeds.

Gen3/Gen4 m.2 NVME SSDs have read/write speeds of about 2000MB/s up to 7500MB/s (vs around 500-600MB/s for SATA SSDs).

SATA ones are fine for your documents/music/media though.

 

[MrChalk]

Cool, thanks very much!