I want to upgrade my PC - What can I do, and what should I do?

[Maxswann]

Hi guys, I want to upgrade my PC but my hardware knowledge is absolutely not up-to-date. If anything I've even forgotten how good the components in my build are. Essentially, I would like to upgrade the graphics card, but I want to know if my CPU will bottleneck an upgrade, or if I will need a new PSU, or if I could do with upgrading my storage, or memory.

If my memory serves me correctly, I essentially over-did this PC on all the components with a view to easily upgrading the graphics card when I could afford to - my main concern with this is the PSU as after looking at the size of these 40 series GPUs, I find it hard to believe my PSU will be able to take it.

My budget is ideally around £500, but this can be increased as I would much rather get the best value for money than just the best thing I can get for £500.

My specs:
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

Also, additionally, could anyone advise me if my CPU cooler requires any maintenance? I know it's water cooled so just thought I should ask because I know nothing about this stuff, and I haven't touched it since I got the PC in June 2021. I checked my CPU temps last week and they seemed absolutely fine, so there's no requirement to maintain it at the moment, but I'm just wondering if that's something I should be conscious of the future.

Thanks in advance guys

 

[SpyderTracks]

What make and model monitor are you using?

 

[Maxswann]

What make and model monitor are you using?

Hey, thanks for your reply.

I have 2. Monitor 1 is the AOC Gaming 24G2U. Monitor 2 is the BenQ BL2420PT. I had originally got these with the idea that monitor 1 would be my gaming monitor, and I would use monitor 2 for video and photo editing, but I don’t really do that anymore, so I was thinking of selling the Benq and buying another AOCG2U to replace it.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hey, thanks for your reply.

I have 2. Monitor 1 is the AOC Gaming 24G2U. Monitor 2 is the BenQ BL2420PT. I had originally got these with the idea that monitor 1 would be my gaming monitor, and I would use monitor 2 for video and photo editing, but I don’t really do that anymore, so I was thinking of selling the Benq and buying another AOCG2U to replace it.

It's pointless getting a second 144Hz monitor as it would never be used at that refresh rate, with gaming, it's either one or 3 monitors in games, otherwise the center view is between the monitors. That's why Superwides exist.

But 1080p is incredibly poor by todays standards. The ideal would be to up you to 1440p, but your budget is very restrictive and doesn't cover it.

 

[Maxswann]

It's pointless getting a second 144Hz monitor as it would never be used at that refresh rate, with gaming, it's either one or 3 monitors in games, otherwise the center view is between the monitors. That's why Superwides exist.

But 1080p is incredibly poor by todays standards. The ideal would be to up you to 1440p, but your budget is very restrictive and doesn't cover it.

That's a good point that I didn't consider. I could sell both monitors, upgrade monitor 1 and downgrade monitor 2. I don't really use monitor 2 for anything except web browsing and watching YouTube/Netflix/Plex/Sports but having a GPU that's able to pump out 144fps at 1440p with >high graphics settings, and with a YouTube video playing on the other monitor (lol) is probably going to bat my budget out the park, right? Or am I still living in 2021 lol? I could increase my budget past £500 though, so feel free to make any suggestions.

 

[SpyderTracks]

That's a good point that I didn't consider. I could sell both monitors, upgrade monitor 1 and downgrade monitor 2. I don't really use monitor 2 for anything except web browsing and watching YouTube/Netflix/Plex/Sports but having a GPU that's able to pump out 144fps at 1440p with >high graphics settings, and with a YouTube video playing on the other monitor (lol) is probably going to bat my budget out the park, right? Or am I still living in 2021 lol? I could increase my budget past £500 though, so feel free to make any suggestions.

So what's your max budget then? This is why we ask this at the outset, it's not something that changes, it's the maximum you have available for this.

 

[Maxswann]

So what's your max budget then? This is why we ask this at the outset, it's not something that changes, it's the maximum you have available for this.

Fair enough, apologies. Let's up it to £1250. I'd of ideally liked to have a few different ideas at different price points, and then judge between them for myself, but don't worry about that, I'd appreciate any kind of idea, thank you

 

[SpyderTracks]

Fair enough, apologies. Let's up it to £1250. I'd of ideally liked to have a few different ideas at different price points, and then judge between them for myself, but don't worry about that, I'd appreciate any kind of idea, thank you

Ah, that's MUCH better.

What case have you got as that isn't mentioned?

Depending on if your case can accommodate it, I would just concentrate on:

PSU: 1000W RMx @ £140
GPU: 7900GRE @ £520

= £660 leaving £600 for monitor

AOC Agon 40" AG405UXC 3440 x 1440 IPS @ £500

AOC Agon 40" AG405UXC 3440x1440 IPS 144Hz 1ms Widescreen Ultrawide Gaming Monitor

Order AOC Agon 40" AG405UXC 3440x1440 IPS 144Hz 1ms Widescreen Ultrawide Gaming Monitor now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

That would completely transform your gaming experience and take you to the next level.