Paperclyp Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 I was looking at Starfield minimum specs and it really hammered home that my current processor is just not going to cut it for new, more demanding games much longer. I have an i7-4770K. Looked at upgrading but it looks like my motherboard is about tapped at this point - it certainly can't handle any of the newer processors (much less some of the not so newer ones). Anyway, my motherboard is a Z97-E. So I guess I'm tentatively looking to upgrade motherboard and processor. For some context I have a AMD 6800 video card. Not sure what my power supply is but if I have to upgrade that so be it. I'd like to get something that will allow me to maybe upgrade at some point in the future, 4-5 years down the road, and still have an OK rig. But for now I think the 6800 will have to do me. Do you all have any suggestions / preferences on motherboards and processors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cusideabelincoln Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 AMD Ryzen 7800X3D CPU is pretty good bang for the buck. A decent motherboard will be around $200 (or more), and you will need new DDR5 RAM which you can get under $100. AMD could bring out more processors for this platform in the future, but it's not guaranteed for how long. Starfield in particular does perform better with Intel CPUs. If you go with an Intel, they will only release one more set of future CPU upgrades. The 13600K or 13700K would be good values, and again you'll also need DDR5 RAM. Would also be recommended to have a good cooler. If you currently have one, you'll probably need to find an adapter to fit the new sockets. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaladinSolo Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 AMD is your best bet on future upgrades for a Motherboard, intel changes their sockets like ever 2 year or something, while AM4 sockets were just replaced late last year, so 6 years, i believe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paperclyp Posted September 4, 2023 Author Share Posted September 4, 2023 Cool. I don't need to max out Starfield specifically or anything, am more just looking for a viable computer for the next several years. Not sure if I'm in a super rush to do it, may even wait until there are some sales and buy stuff piece meal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaladinSolo Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 I also wouldn't really make hardware decisions based on any latest release, everything runs like trash till a month or 2 of patches come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paperclyp Posted September 4, 2023 Author Share Posted September 4, 2023 And honestly if Starfield actually runs on my current computer and it's like... playable, it might give me even more patience. It seems to be playable (poorly) on a deck, so other than my processor my computer is significantly more powerful than one of of those. Then again the processor might make all the difference in the world. I guess I'll find out tomorrow lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paperclyp Posted September 4, 2023 Author Share Posted September 4, 2023 1 minute ago, PaladinSolo said: I also wouldn't really make hardware decisions based on any latest release, everything runs like trash till a month or 2 of patches come out. Yeah this is good advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cusideabelincoln Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 From what I've seen, the 4770k will probably average like 30 fps and probably stutter. Six cores is the minimum recommended, and the game also loves memory speeds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 Are you close to a microcenter by chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paperclyp Posted September 4, 2023 Author Share Posted September 4, 2023 2 minutes ago, Spork3245 said: Are you close to a microcenter by chance? Naw, I'm in Omaha. Looks like closest one is Kansas City area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 4 hours ago, Paperclyp said: Naw, I'm in Omaha. Looks like closest one is Kansas City area. Ah, that’s like 3 hours, I guess? They have some insane CPU + Mobo + Ram deals. Shame it’s not closer. Anywho, look into AM5, I’d go with either a 7700x or, if you want top-end, a 7800x3D (a 7950x3D if you’re doing productivity/encoding as well as gaming). Intel has their 14000 series coming out in October, but it’s the end of the line for the LGA1700 socket type, so, with AMD’s AM5 you should have at least two more generations. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paperclyp Posted October 5, 2023 Author Share Posted October 5, 2023 If anyone cares, I am looking into potentially going with a 7800 x 3D CPU perhaps soon. Of course if I do so by and large I am essentially building a brand new PC minus hard drives and video card lol. But that CPU looks to be a really good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 10 hours ago, Paperclyp said: If anyone cares, I am looking into potentially going with a 7800 x 3D CPU perhaps soon. Of course if I do so by and large I am essentially building a brand new PC minus hard drives and video card lol. But that CPU looks to be a really good one. There’s been price drops on it making it ridiculously tempting, if it goes below $400 with the prime sale next week I might break Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paperclyp Posted October 6, 2023 Author Share Posted October 6, 2023 2 hours ago, Spork3245 said: There’s been price drops on it making it ridiculously tempting, if it goes below $400 with the prime sale next week I might break It’s $399 on Amazon… what motherboard do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 4 minutes ago, Paperclyp said: It’s $399 on Amazon… what motherboard do you have? I’m on AM4 so my mobo won’t help you (5900x CPU) It’s a ASUS Dark Hero Pro, I’d need to upgrade if I pull the trigger on a 7800x3D. One of the reasons I haven’t done it is because current AMD AM5 mobos kinda suck with RAM as they become unstable if using more than two sticks over 5000-5666mhz; since I have a ton of RGB and like it, I’d want 4 sticks for aesthetic purposes, and Corsair is dragging their feet on releasing DDR5 dummy RAM (it’s just blank sticks with the RGB heatsink) like they have with DDR4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paperclyp Posted October 6, 2023 Author Share Posted October 6, 2023 1 hour ago, Spork3245 said: I’m on AM4 so my mobo won’t help you (5900x CPU) It’s a ASUS Dark Hero Pro, I’d need to upgrade if I pull the trigger on a 7800x3D. One of the reasons I haven’t done it is because current AMD AM5 mobos kinda suck with RAM as they become unstable if using more than two sticks over 5000-5666mhz; since I have a ton of RGB and like it, I’d want 4 sticks for aesthetic purposes, and Corsair is dragging their feet on releasing DDR5 dummy RAM (it’s just blank sticks with the RGB heatsink) like they have with DDR4 Well let me ask you this then, if you were to get that new cpu what motherboard would you want? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 5 minutes ago, Paperclyp said: Well let me ask you this then, if you were to get that new cpu what motherboard would you want? I haven't looked much, but for AM5 (7800x3D) it would be an X670 from MSI or ASUS most likely. If I didn't care about it syncing with my Corsair RGB it might be a GIGABYTE X670 AORUS ELITE AX 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paperclyp Posted October 7, 2023 Author Share Posted October 7, 2023 Here is what I'm looking at: Motherboard CPU (7800x3D) Cooler Will need some GDDR 5 RAM, not sure how much quality matters there? Need a power supply probably and a new case, not sure what I'll go with but will pry just look at some general recommendations online. And then I get so confused on what to do for OS anymore. I feel like essentially making this thing from scratch I start the OS from scratch but I find that stuff so confusing. Any glaring mistakes you guys see? @Spork3245 , @cusideabelincoln , @PaladinSolo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cusideabelincoln Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 Looks good so far. I'm guessing you're going with a white build? White builds look good with RGB. You'll definitely want a fresh OS. Too much potential for Windows to act weird if you upgrade that much hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paperclyp Posted October 7, 2023 Author Share Posted October 7, 2023 7 minutes ago, cusideabelincoln said: Looks good so far. I'm guessing you're going with a white build? White builds look good with RGB. You'll definitely want a fresh OS. Too much potential for Windows to act weird if you upgrade that much hardware. Yeah I was looking at a white case. My video card has RGB and my current case is just black and no see through paneling or anything so it seems silly in there lol. But I’m not looking to make it look super crazy or anything fancy. Trying to decide if I vulture my nvme drives from my current pc or just get new ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 2 hours ago, Paperclyp said: Here is what I'm looking at: Motherboard CPU (7800x3D) Cooler Will need some GDDR 5 RAM, not sure how much quality matters there? Need a power supply probably and a new case, not sure what I'll go with but will pry just look at some general recommendations online. And then I get so confused on what to do for OS anymore. I feel like essentially making this thing from scratch I start the OS from scratch but I find that stuff so confusing. Any glaring mistakes you guys see? @Spork3245 , @cusideabelincoln , @PaladinSolo That motherboard seems kind of overpriced for what it is. Are you getting it solely for the aesthetics? RAM (DDR5, not GDDR btw: GDDR is graphics card RAM) quality definitely matters, get a reputable brand and not their bottom-bin. Corsair Vengeance or Dominantor, Kingston Fury, G.Skill Trident, etc. You do not need a new Windows key, your current should carry over to a new build, but you’ll want to do a fresh install (and deactivate your current pc prior to setting up your new build). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paperclyp Posted October 7, 2023 Author Share Posted October 7, 2023 58 minutes ago, Spork3245 said: That motherboard seems kind of overpriced for what it is. Are you getting it solely for the aesthetics? RAM (DDR5, not GDDR btw: GDDR is graphics card RAM) quality definitely matters, get a reputable brand and not their bottom-bin. Corsair Vengeance or Dominantor, Kingston Fury, G.Skill Trident, etc. You do not need a new Windows key, your current should carry over to a new build, but you’ll want to do a fresh install (and deactivate your current pc prior to setting up your new build). It’s not solely for aesthetics (though I do like how that one looks), def open to a better value recommendation if you have something you like, it just rated highly on a few lists I saw. What if I don't want to deactivate my current PC? Thinking about throwing in an older card and using it as an emulation / streaming PC or something. Edit: yeah I am a little careless when it comes to my acronyms so you'll have to excuse that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted October 8, 2023 Share Posted October 8, 2023 10 hours ago, Paperclyp said: It’s not solely for aesthetics (though I do like how that one looks), def open to a better value recommendation if you have something you like, it just rated highly on a few lists I saw. Oh, nvm, I was thinking of their AM4 motherboard which was very lackluster for the asking price. It looks like NZXT stepped their game up for AM5 - for me, my only concerns would be CS and support as NZXT isn’t exactly known for motherboards yet, and only having 3x m.2s (but I’m a data hoarder ). 10 hours ago, Paperclyp said: What if I don't want to deactivate my current PC? Thinking about throwing in an older card and using it as an emulation / streaming PC or something. Then you’ll need another key, either for your new build or previous build. If you want most of your current settings/wallpaper/etc to carry over to your new build instantly, then use your current key for the new build and buy/“obtain” a new key for your old build when/if you set it up as a emu-pc/htpc. 10 hours ago, Paperclyp said: Edit: yeah I am a little careless when it comes to my acronyms so you'll have to excuse that I just didn’t want you to end up buying GDDR modules off of aliexpress or something 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted October 8, 2023 Share Posted October 8, 2023 11 hours ago, Paperclyp said: What if I don't want to deactivate my current PC? Thinking about throwing in an older card and using it as an emulation / streaming PC or something. Are you sure you only have one copy? I have two copies of windows since I've had two separate builds in the past (one from windows 7 and one from windows 8) so if I wanted to I could do what you're saying (I don't have that second PC yet. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paperclyp Posted October 8, 2023 Author Share Posted October 8, 2023 3 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said: Are you sure you only have one copy? I have two copies of windows since I've had two separate builds in the past (one from windows 7 and one from windows 8) so if I wanted to I could do what you're saying (I don't have that second PC yet. ) I'm almost positive. And then my HD with my OS crapped out on me last year and I had to do a bunch of silly mumbo jumbo to make a recovery or whatever you call it to actually work on the new drive. I remember having to clone a drive or something and it was a big pain in the ass. I'll happily eat the cost of a new windows license if it just works without any fuckery. I thought they were going free with windows tho? Did I imagine that? Anyone ever put their OS on the NVME? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cusideabelincoln Posted October 8, 2023 Share Posted October 8, 2023 You can download and use Windows for free, but after so many days a watermark will appear on your screen until you register with an official license key. The OS is still useable, save for a few features being turned off. OS on the NVME is the way to do it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paperclyp Posted October 12, 2023 Author Share Posted October 12, 2023 Logistical question: I'm connecting my CPU to my power supply. The mother boardend calls for an 8 pin and a 4 pin. Have a normal 8 pin goin there and then a split 4 pin (4 + 4) but the power supply end doesn't split. I assume I just connect the split end to the motherboard and then it's OK to plug the 8 pin into the power supply? Doesn't make sense to me otherwise? @cusideabelincoln @Keyser_Soze @Spork3245 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cusideabelincoln Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 11 minutes ago, Paperclyp said: Logistical question: I'm connecting my CPU to my power supply. The mother boardend calls for an 8 pin and a 4 pin. Have a normal 8 pin goin there and then a split 4 pin (4 + 4) but the power supply end doesn't split. I assume I just connect the split end to the motherboard and then it's OK to plug the 8 pin into the power supply? Doesn't make sense to me otherwise? @cusideabelincoln @Keyser_Soze @Spork3245 If you mean to just leave half of the 4+4 unplugged, yes that's fine. Just tuck the +4 away from anything that could potentially touch the pins inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paperclyp Posted October 12, 2023 Author Share Posted October 12, 2023 Just now, cusideabelincoln said: If you mean to just leave half of the 4+4 unplugged, yes that's fine. Just tuck the +4 away from anything that could potentially touch the pins inside. That I understand, but OK so I have that 4 + 4 spilt, and the opposite end of that that's going in the power supply does not split. I realize it is probably a silly question, but I want to be sure. That other end will only go in 8 pins into the power supply, and that is OK? (even tho the other side then has the 4 pins only). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cusideabelincoln Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 33 minutes ago, Paperclyp said: That I understand, but OK so I have that 4 + 4 spilt, and the opposite end of that that's going in the power supply does not split. I realize it is probably a silly question, but I want to be sure. That other end will only go in 8 pins into the power supply, and that is OK? (even tho the other side then has the 4 pins only). It's totally fine. Just think of it like having an outlet of your house unplugged. Nothing bad will happen if just left empty. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paperclyp Posted October 12, 2023 Author Share Posted October 12, 2023 2 minutes ago, cusideabelincoln said: It's totally fine. Just think of it like having an outlet of your house unplugged. Nothing bad will happen if just left empty. Thanks man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 8 hours ago, Paperclyp said: Thanks man Most PSUs are set up the same, if you can’t hide the split plug (the extra 4 pin CPU plug), you can use this so the cable management doesn’t look like hell: Limited-time deal: LINKUP - 50cm PSU PC Power Extension Cable Metallic Sleeved Silicone Coated Soft & Flexible to Route Custom Mod CPU w/Comb┃1x 4P CPU EPS┃500mm - Silver https://a.co/d/4sw7JtA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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