[RESOLVED] Upgrade my GPU?

[FSLogin]

HI everyone!

I use P3D v3 on my PC, and I will certainly buy and use P3D v4 in the next future.
I mostly fly PMDG 737 NGX or MJC Q400 with ORBX BASE + Vectors + openLC + Trees HD, GSX, ASN, Chaseplane, fs2crew. And of course, sceneries for airports such as Jetstream LFRS, Aerosoft LEPA, etc. Perhaps I will fly FSLabs A320-X.

My actual configuration is:

• Motherboard: Z97-A
• CPU: i7-4790k
• RAM: 2 x 4 Gb @ 1600 MHz CAS 9
• GC: GTX970 OC by ASUS
• SSD: 2 x 250 Go, for Windows, P3D and addons
• HD: 1 x 1 To, for storage
• Screen: 24", 1080p

I think it is necessary to upgrade my PC to improve gaming.
I already bought 2 x 4 Gb @ 1600 MHz CAS 9, so my configuration is now 16 Gb of RAM.

Do you think it's a good idea to change my graphic card while I keep my CPU (I don't want to change my CPU because, if I do that, I need to change also my motherboard and it's too expensive).
For example, i7-4790k + MSI RTX2070 GAMING Z could be a good configuration? I can buy this GPU for 500 € but I want to be sure to see improvements!

Perhaps, RTX2060 SUPER is good enough? Or AMD RX 57..?

Thanks in advance for you help!

[downscc]

When I updated from a 4790K to the then new 6700K I was surprised by how much better P3D performed although the clock rates were very similar. Of course today one would consider a newer CPU.

The half-life for computers is five years. It's been that way since the first PC's became available and this means your five year old 4790K is at the point of obsolescence in terms of computing power. It's fine for displaying charts and doing your household bookkeeping, which is how I am using my 4790K.

I don't see any benefit to updating your GPU without the upgrade to your CPU and that does mean a new MOBO. That is just my opinion, but based on the experience I had when I updated to the 6700K and kept the 980Ti I already had. The performance gain came from the CPU and not when I updated to 1080Ti (although getting up to 11 GB VRAM helped get me into high resolution terrain textures).

[FSLogin]

Thanks for your answer!

I thought that i7- for simulator games was alsmot a very good CPU and the most important was the GPU.
Reading your point of view, I will not upgrade my PC and perhaps buy a new one in two/three years.

Any other opinion?

[CplDaniel]

Going from 4790k to 6700k gets you much faster DDR4 RAM support (4790k boards overwhelmingly supported DDR3 only)

I think buying anything less than a 9900k will feel dated in two years when EVERYTHING new will be programmed for the next generation of consoles in mind which are all 8-core/16-thread processors. You can save a hundred bucks today buying 9700k, but it will cost you three hundred ($300) $500 (forgot new motherboard because today's Socket 1151 is five years old & retired next gen)...Did I say $500 to replace 9700k in just 2-3 years from now? I meant $700 because I forgot DDR5 memory is expected to hit in 2021, so your DDR4 for 9700k won't be useful in the replacement you buy in two years (unless you buy a 9900k in two years, which you can do today). The 9900k will cost you a hundred bucks more today, but it will feel fantastic for the next 5-6yrs and probably still be useful for the next 7-10yrs since as of now, it appears to be the fastest 8-core/16-thread processor that will EVER be made.

As for GPU: if you have no rush to upgrade monitors to 1440p, 144hz, then wait till next Summer. AMD is refusing to compete with Nvidia THIS YEAR at the 2080ti level. But next year, 2080ti will be two years old and likely replaced with a new generation of 3080ti cards, and EVEN as lazy as AMD GPU marketing has been for the last five years, I think AMD will finally release a 2080ti level card (Yes, two years too late, but HOPEFULLY for $500-$600...More realistically, the pessimist in me is betting $799 next Summer, dropping to $649-$699 next Fall when 3080ti is released)

[CplDaniel]

Also, waiting til next year covers the spread, just in case Lockheed-Martin holds true to historical form, releasing a new generation of Prepar3D every couple of years. How old is Prepared v4, now? Everything we know about planning and sourcing a build optimized for Prepar3D may need to be thrown out the window next week with a surprise P3d v5.0 release announcement (Which I'm not saying will happen, but the lesson of history is that the probability of an imminent 5.0 release consideration should be on your radar)

[downscc]

Thanks for your answer!

I thought that i7- for simulator games was alsmot a very good CPU and the most important was the GPU.
Reading your point of view, I will not upgrade my PC and perhaps buy a new one in two/three years.

Any other opinion?

The i3 / i5 / i7 designation applies to a broad classification of processors. There is a world of difference between an i7-4790K and i7-9700K. I agree with Daniel on a wide range of issues, which is surprising because I am usually the contrarian, but for budget limitations I recommend the 9700K over the pricier 9900K because they are identical except the 9700K doesn't have HT which I haven't used with P3D for the past two generation of processors. This is a really techie point and in the end it boils down to your budget constraints.

With that said, you have a computer that is not going to allow you to take advantage of all the visual features that are now available and there are more to come. One needs to understand that it takes a small amount of money to keep the hardware up to date, but it is less than any other hobby I can think of including bowling.

[FSLogin]

Thanks all of you! Considering your different advices, I will not upgrade my GPU.