[Fuse]

Hi folks, I'm hoping there's some knowledgeable techy folks out there that can help me out. I'm fairly computer savvy but I'm a little bit out of the loop with current tech, I tend to research the hell out of it every time I'm due a new PC and then have a few years off until the cycle starts again!

The last machine I got was back in 2012 and while it was fairly decent at the time it was by no means top of the range. My main gaming interest is FPS as everything else I tend to go via the Xbox, but I've played FPS for so many years on PCs that trying to use a joypad on a console is horrific!

I've no desire for a machine that is cutting edge, I'd just like to be able to play some of the best FPS from the last 4 or 5 years at a reasonable level of detail.

Given the age of my machine I was assuming it was passed the point at which upgrading would be viable, but now I'm not so sure. From what I can tell processor tech hasn't improved dramatically in that time and it may be that a simple GPU upgrade would give me what I need.

My current spec is an i5-2400 (running stock at 3.1ghz) with 8gb RAM and a Radeon 6700. I recognise that the graphics card is a massive bottleneck, it wasn't the greatest card when I specced it but I needed to save costs somewhere and that was it, it sufficed at the time but obviously is no good for any modern games.

Do you think a simple graphics card upgrade would enable me to play games from say 2012-2017 at a reasonable level? Is the processor still able to hack it, still enough RAM? I'm also not sure what my options are graphics wise, my motherboard is an Asus PH-61-M, will this restrict me in anyway? The PSU is a Corsair CX500 (75-001667), are modern cards likely to put too much of a strain on this or are they all more power efficient these days?

I started speccing up a new system but it's looking like even a midrange machine is going to be in the order of £600-800, whereas if a simple graphics upgrade at £100-150 would get me decent results I'd rather go that route.

[teaston]

I’ve built a fair few PC’s so hopefully I can help.

I’ve got an overclocked GTX 970 and it runs any game at high/ultra settings at 1080p, they’re about £150 on ebay now, any newer higher powered card is really only necessary if you want to run at 4K or VR.

I’d say your i5 will be fine for most games, especially FPS’s, and 8gb should be fine for most, although some games do recommend 16gb these days, but RAM is CRAZY expensive currently with the worldwide shortage of solid state memory modules!

Try running Passmark PerformanceTest software, if everything’s in the green (except grapics) then your current CPU/RAM/Mobo should be ok:

https://www.passmark.com/products/pt.htm

[....,,,,..,,..]

Consider a gfx card upgrade, something like a GTX 1050 Ti is a lower power consumer and provides a decent frame rate at reasonable graphics settings.

While it's pricey a bit of a ram upgrade could help.

Also is the HD still performing okay?

Consider an SSD and HD upgrade.

[Cilonen]

Def update GFX card - most of the current mid-range units (GTX 1050Ti or Radeon rx550) will do a fine job, just aim for a 4Gb card.

Upgrade the RAM - your mobo will handle 16Gb max, so you may have to bin your current RAM if it's 2x 4Gb units. If unsure, download & run the Crucial memory scan tool http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/systemscanner
2x Corsair 8Gb DDR3 1333 RAM can be had for £128 from Scan, or equivalent Kingston memory from Amazon for £1 more.

Your mobo has TurboV and GPU boost software built-in so you could try tweaking those for some extra speed from the CPU & GPU.

A SSD would give a little boost, but probably overkill for your needs. I would def spec in SSDs for a new machine in future though (I have 2 SSD, 2 HDD in mine - 1 SSD has the OS, the other has the games. The HDDs are just data storage)

[ioannisG]

Unfortunately GPU prices have gone through the roof due to crypto mining. For example the 1070 which is the minimum card for 4K gaming and the 1060 which is the minimum card for decent 1080p performance are at least 100-150 over their MSRP.

If I were you I’d bite the bullet and buy a 1060 6gb or a used 980ti off eBay. Keep the rest the same and you should have a decent performance boost for a year or two at which point you’d be limited by your CPU as more and more modern games are taking advantage of more than 2-4 cores.

For example check these videos out for what to expect: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=i5...iw=375&bih=635

Personally I consider an SSD a must no matter whether it’s an old or new PC, as it makes a HUGE difference to the responsiveness of your computer. I’d definitely budget 100-200 for a budget SATA drive (256gb min/ 512gb ideal). 8 gig memory should do you ok so far - I’m using 8gig on my current rig and it’s working great.

So for about £ 450 you’d have a decent upgrade that should work ok for 1080p gaming.

However if you are planning to keep your PC for a few years though I’m afraid you might have to bite the bullet and buy a new one. PC hardware in the last year has evolved tremendously with 6-8 core CPUs now in the mainstream (under £150!!) and the latest NVidia GPUs playing at 4K with so much headroom to spare.

I was in your shoes in August and went all out for a PC that will last me at least 3-4 years:
Ryzen 5 1600
ASUS B350 motherboard
Gtx 1080ti
M.2 pcie 256gb Samsung Polaris ssd
8 gig ram (planning to add another 8 gig once prices fall a bit)
550watt Silverstone PSU

I think it cost with a new living room friendly case about 1500 or so and it plays everything at max settings at 4K at over 60-80fps which is awesome. 1080p performance is off the carts with over 150 FPS in the majority of games. Also works incredibly well with the Vive I bought for Christmas

On the flip side if you use your PC to mine crypto (eg Ethereum) while you’re not using it you’d have the GPU (1080ti) paid back in about 8 months or so, so why not take advantage of the crypto craze to get better hardware At least that’s what I’m doing to get a free PC within a year

[teaston]

Originally Posted by ioannisG

Unfortunately GPU prices have gone through the roof due to crypto mining. For example the 1070 which is the minimum card for 4K gaming and the 1060 which is the minimum card for decent 1080p performance are at least 100-150 over their MSRP.

If I were you I’d bite the bullet and buy a 1060 6gb or a used 980ti off eBay. Keep the rest the same and you should have a decent performance boost for a year or two at which point you’d be limited by your CPU as more and more modern games are taking advantage of more than 2-4 cores.

For example check these videos out for what to expect: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=i5...iw=375&bih=635

Personally I consider an SSD a must no matter whether it’s an old or new PC, as it makes a HUGE difference to the responsiveness of your computer. I’d definitely budget 100-200 for a budget SATA drive (256gb min/ 512gb ideal). 8 gig memory should do you ok so far - I’m using 8gig on my current rig and it’s working great.

So for about £ 450 you’d have a decent upgrade that should work ok for 1080p gaming.

However if you are planning to keep your PC for a few years though I’m afraid you might have to bite the bullet and buy a new one. PC hardware in the last year has evolved tremendously with 6-8 core CPUs now in the mainstream (under £150!!) and the latest NVidia GPUs playing at 4K with so much headroom to spare.

I was in your shoes in August and went all out for a PC that will last me at least 3-4 years:
Ryzen 5 1600
ASUS B350 motherboard
Gtx 1080ti
M.2 pcie 256gb Samsung Polaris ssd
8 gig ram (planning to add another 8 gig once prices fall a bit)
550watt Silverstone PSU

I think it cost with a new living room friendly case about 1500 or so and it plays everything at max settings at 4K at over 60-80fps which is awesome. 1080p performance is off the carts with over 150 FPS in the majority of games. Also works incredibly well with the Vive I bought for Christmas

On the flip side if you use your PC to mine crypto (eg Ethereum) while you’re not using it you’d have the GPU (1080ti) paid back in about 8 months or so, so why not take advantage of the crypto craze to get better hardware At least that’s what I’m doing to get a free PC within a year

So what’s involved in this crypto mining? Is it really easy or are there pifalls to look out for? Would my GTX 970 be good enough to do it?

[GEP77]

Originally Posted by teaston

So what’s involved in this crypto mining? Is it really easy or are there pifalls to look out for? Would my GTX 970 be good enough to do it?

Crypto mining on older hardware (pre current generation) is nigh on impossible to do economically - unless your electricity is free. If there's some interest I can put together a beginners guide to post here (I mine Ethereum at the moment).

Going back to the OP My main PC has an i7 3770k so about a year younger and last year I put a gtx1080 GPU into it. This massively improved gaming for me - the previous card I had was a 7970.

If you want to game at 1080p then a GTX1050ti would be adequate, a GTX1060 6GB (note do not touch the 3GB model) would allow you to run most games at 1080p with everything cranked up. AMD cards are just too expensive / rare due to crypto mining.

An SSD is a very fine addition to any system and will make normal use feel a lot quicker. Although as has been said the NAND market has a bit of a shortage at the moment, although prices look set to decline slightly over the next few months.

As for RAM, 8GB is adequate for the vast majority of games these days. Not much point getting more unless you are obviously running out given the current prices.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by GEP77

Crypto mining on older hardware (pre current generation) is nigh on impossible to do economically - unless your electricity is free. If there's some interest I can put together a beginners guide to post here (I mine Ethereum at the moment).

Going back to the OP My main PC has an i7 3770k so about a year younger and last year I put a gtx1080 GPU into it. This massively improved gaming for me - the previous card I had was a 7970.

If you want to game at 1080p then a GTX1050ti would be adequate, a GTX1060 6GB (note do not touch the 3GB model) would allow you to run most games at 1080p with everything cranked up. AMD cards are just too expensive / rare due to crypto mining.

An SSD is a very fine addition to any system and will make normal use feel a lot quicker. Although as has been said the NAND market has a bit of a shortage at the moment, although prices look set to decline slightly over the next few months.

As for RAM, 8GB is adequate for the vast majority of games these days. Not much point getting more unless you are obviously running out given the current prices.

I would be interested in a crypro mining guide! Although from what I’m reading online even with an up to date gfx card it will only make you around $3 per day but the electricity will cost you more than that!?

[GEP77]

Originally Posted by teaston

I would be interested in a crypro mining guide! Although from what I’m reading online even with an up to date gfx card it will only make you around $3 per day but the electricity will cost you more than that!?

My rig at the moment consumes £2 in electricity and makes about £14 worth of Ethereum a day at today's prices. I'll start writing a guide.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by GEP77

My rig at the moment consumes £2 in electricity and makes about £14 worth of Ethereum a day at today's prices. I'll start writing a guide.

Wow! Yes tell me how!

Although are you worried about the reported change to proof of stake framework later this year?

[GEP77]

Originally Posted by teaston

Wow! Yes tell me how!

Although are you worried about the reported change to proof of stake framework later this year?

The change from proof of work to proof of stake has been talked about for quite a while and nothing has ever materialised from that. I'm not too fussed if it does change as I'll just change the mining to a different alt coin. At the moment the hardware is all paid off - so I could always sell the GPUs.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by GEP77

The change from proof of work to proof of stake has been talked about for quite a while and nothing has ever materialised from that. I'm not too fussed if it does change as I'll just change the mining to a different alt coin. At the moment the hardware is all paid off - so I could always sell the GPUs.

Ok cool.

Have you got 1080 or 1080ti?

[GEP77]

Originally Posted by teaston

Ok cool.

Have you got 1080 or 1080ti?

I've got a 1080. Preordered it before Brexit so saved about £80 at the time. It's no good for Ethereum mining though. Have a separate rig for that.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by GEP77

I've got a 1080. Preordered it before Brexit so saved about £80 at the time. It's no good for Ethereum mining though. Have a separate rig for that.

Oh, so what card do you have in your ethereum miner?

[GEP77]

Originally Posted by teaston

Oh, so what card do you have in your ethereum miner?

3 1050ti, 1 1070, 1 RX580 and 1 RX Vega 64.

[ioannisG]

Mining is something to be done on the side and as a bonus at this stage. The days of insane profits are pretty much gone unless you’ve aready got cards to use.

However if you’re buying a computer today there is no harm in buying one that can make some decent money in mining and use mining to pay off some / all of the computer.

Unfortunately the days where you’d buy 10x 1070s or rx480s and make a killing are pretty much behind us (insane GPU prices, low returns etc.) unless you’ve already got the hardware and it’s paid itself off already.

As a point of reference I make about 0.028 ETH a week of a 1080ti. It burns about 270 watts at the wall. So costs about £5.5 per week to run. At current ETH pricing it makes about £17-18 per week / 73 per month (at last weeks pricing it was making about 100 a month!). Hence payback for the card in anything from 7 to 10 months. It’s not optimal in terms of mining performance (~36MH/s on Ethereum) compared to power use but if you buy the hardware to play it only benefits you to mine when it’s not used, which is the vast majority of the time!

Quick start guide:
Create a wallet here: https://www.myetherwallet.com
Visit the mining pool here: https://ethermine.org and use the Stratum mode using ethminer instructions

To cash out create a Coinbase account, link to your bank account. Transfer the coins from the wallet you created above to your Coinbase wallet. Exchange to GBP. Cash it out.

There’s a ton of YouTube videos on how to do it and also how to optimise your card to make more money while reducing its power consumption.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by GEP77

3 1050ti, 1 1070, 1 RX580 and 1 RX Vega 64.

6 graphics cards!? Oh well sod that idea then, I thought you meant with one card!

[ioannisG]

Originally Posted by teaston

6 graphics cards!? Oh well sod that idea then, I thought you meant with one card!

Check my post above. I’m using one card only.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by ioannisG

Check my post above. I’m using one card only.

Yes thanks for the reply mate, I'm not sure if only £18pw on an £800 graphics card is worth it for me though.

[ioannisG]

Originally Posted by teaston

Yes thanks for the reply mate, I'm not sure if only £18pw on an £800 graphics card is worth it for me though.

If you buy the card to game it’s a bonus to have it pay itself off though. Basically you’ll end up with a free card if you buy now by summer. That’s how I see it - it’s sitting there doing nothing when I don’t use it & I bought it to play so have already paid for it. So why not use it to make a bit of money to pay itself off

I wouldn’t go actively buy cards for mining now though if I wasn’t using it for games as the return is not worth the investment as you say.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by ioannisG

If you buy the card to game it’s a bonus to have it pay itself off though. Basically you’ll end up with a free card if you buy now by summer. That’s how I see it - it’s sitting there doing nothing when I don’t use it & I bought it to play so have already paid for it. So why not use it to make a bit of money to pay itself off

I wouldn’t go actively buy cards for mining now though if I wasn’t using it for games as the return is not worth the investment as you say.

It would take until xmas to pay off at that rate wouldn't it?

[ioannisG]

Originally Posted by teaston

It would take until xmas to pay off at that rate wouldn't it?

Nope - about 7-8 months for me. My 1080ti was bought for £710 https://www.novatech.co.uk/products/...0tiseries/?o=1