Making an old pc relevant in 2019... HELP PLEASE

[Cyborge]

my gaming interests have recently turned me back to pc gaming, so to entice this i hopped on ebay and found what i thought was a great deal (given i don't know much about computers) on a Asus ROG G20AJ for 200$ specs: windows 8.1/ intel core i5 4460 @3.20ghz / gtx 750 2gb/ 8gb ddr3 ram / 230+180 power supply brick.

now it runs the games i want to play on decent settings at about 20 - 30fps. i know if i lower the settings ill get a higher frame rate but call me a snob if you like i love a good display so i want to upgrade my graphics card, ram, and later on down the line the processor to possibly stream while playing. after researching cards throughout the 1070gtx - 2070rtx i think ive decided i want to go with an rtx card going against the popular 1080 choice. would it be possible for this cpu to power a 2070? i really like the 2060FE but i got a extra bonus that i think will allow for a 2070. would it be possible for this cpu to power either cards period? ive bought a 6 and a 8 pin power connector with the cpu just incase i needed to upgrade but i dont really know what im doing here. i've also purchased and installed a 240gb ssd but i havn't actually got it working i don't believe.

heres what im looking at so far (links are for reference):

2060's

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA6V68RW9957&Description=rtx&cm_re=rtx-_-9SIA6V68RW9957-_-Product

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814126286

2070's

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500441&Description=rtx%202070&cm_re=rtx_2070-_-14-500-441-_-Product

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814932118&Description=rtx%202070&cm_re=rtx_2070-_-14-932-118-_-Product


i ran a mock pc builder and im thinking i can do it but again im not too good with this stuff and its kinda a major purchase so im here begging for help link to my current pc vs what i wanna upgrade:

Userbenchmark PC Build Comparison[www.userbenchmark.com]
Baseline Bench: Game 25%, Desk 46%, Work 29%
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460[cpu.userbenchmark.com] $190
GPU: Nvidia GTX 750[gpu.userbenchmark.com] $120
HDD: Toshiba DT01ACA100 1TB[hdd.userbenchmark.com] $40
RAM: Samsung M471B1G73DB0-YK0 1x8GB[ram.userbenchmark.com]
MBD: Asus G20AJ[www.userbenchmark.com]
Total: $350

Alternative Bench: Game 93%, Desk 71%, Work 56%
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790[cpu.userbenchmark.com] $308
GPU: Nvidia RTX 2060-6GB[gpu.userbenchmark.com] $350
SSD: Kingston A400 240GB[ssd.userbenchmark.com] $30
HDD: Toshiba DT01ACA100 1TB[hdd.userbenchmark.com] $40
RAM: Samsung M471B1G73DB0-YK0 2x8GB[ram.userbenchmark.com]
MBD: Asus G20AJ[www.userbenchmark.com]
Total: $728

another big deciding factor in going with rtx is ANTHEM :) fyi

[Snow]

i7-4790 is a relatively old CPU and buying it new makes no sense. I see it around $180 in China, so u'd better look for some local deals and buy it used. Just make sure to test anything u buy used before the purchase, as, despite CPUs is not easy to break, it still is possible, and also some sellers can sell low-end CPUs with high-end CPUs' heatspreaders on them.

Originally posted by Cyborge:

would it be possible for this cpu to power a 2070? i really like the 2060FE but i got a extra bonus that i think will allow for a 2070. would it be possible for this cpu to power either cards period?

Yeah, it doesn't work like that tbh. Technically any CPU can "power" any GPU. What you should be looking for is how many frames CPU u want to buy can push in games u want to play, that's how u decide on buying some CPU. As for GPU - always buy the best for your money. If you want to see you GPU being in heavy use even when it doesn't have to be - u can always use NVIDIA DSR, add some antialiasing, crank up graphics settings etc.

Originally posted by Cyborge:

possibly stream while playing

This also depends a lot on the streaming service u want to use and games u want to stream. Say, if it's some new Assassin's Creed and Twitch with its hilarious bandwidth limits - u're likely to run into CPU bottleneck while streaming with software encoding. If it's some CPU-easy e-sports title - you might stream without any issues. And if it's some other streaming service with high bandwidth limits, or local recording - u might just use NVENC hardware accelerated encoding with higher bitrate and get pretty much the same results with way lower CPU usage.

[hawkeye]

My view is forget userbenchmark, you aren't going to get a good gaming pc by upgrading that system.

You will need a new power supply for any current gpu.
And Windows 10.
The i5-4460 won't drive an rtx2070 to its full capability.
Your monitor needs to be checked to see if it can connect to an rtx (displayport or hdmi version 2 not 1.4).

Also the ROG website says that the mobo uses SO-DIMMs and has only two slots. So you need to check before buying any memory.

My view is that upgrading to a 4790 isn't worth the money, considering the comparable cost of much better parts - cpu, mobo, memory.
Streaming could be difficult with any 4th gen cpu.

[Wichtelman]

which games do you want to play on which resolution/refreshrate?

personally i would not buy a new rtx gpu and just go for a ryzen 2600 + second hand gtx 1070 for that money... (selling your old parts for more money)

[Talby]

IMO the 2070 is still a bit pricey, I say get the 2060 6g now, then save up for a 6c/12t ryzen 2600 / b450 / 16gb or whatever next gen cpu/board later this year.

Will solve your performance probs with the current games you play then will be able to tackle the big games with the new drop-in cpu/board/mem. Also check your PSU as mentioned the 750 is only 55w card while the 2060 is going to use 160w.

Best bet reinstall win10 on the ssd. Don't forget to backup your existing key if on win7 it should activate win10 once you install.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Don't bother upgrading any system that is using ddr3, waste of time and money

[Missing Spartan]

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

Don't bother upgrading any system that is using ddr3, waste of time and money

Not really since he is just wanting better performance which he can easily get by swapping out his gpu for a newer one like a 1050ti.

[Cyborge]

Originally posted by Snow:

i7-4790 is a relatively old CPU and buying it new makes no sense. I see it around $180 in China, so u'd better look for some local deals and buy it used. Just make sure to test anything u buy used before the purchase, as, despite CPUs is not easy to break, it still is possible, and also some sellers can sell low-end CPUs with high-end CPUs' heatspreaders on them.

Originally posted by Cyborge:

would it be possible for this cpu to power a 2070? i really like the 2060FE but i got a extra bonus that i think will allow for a 2070. would it be possible for this cpu to power either cards period?

Yeah, it doesn't work like that tbh. Technically any CPU can "power" any GPU. What you should be looking for is how many frames CPU u want to buy can push in games u want to play, that's how u decide on buying some CPU. As for GPU - always buy the best for your money. If you want to see you GPU being in heavy use even when it doesn't have to be - u can always use NVIDIA DSR, add some antialiasing, crank up graphics settings etc.

Originally posted by Cyborge:

possibly stream while playing

This also depends a lot on the streaming service u want to use and games u want to stream. Say, if it's some new Assassin's Creed and Twitch with its hilarious bandwidth limits - u're likely to run into CPU bottleneck while streaming with software encoding. If it's some CPU-easy e-sports title - you might stream without any issues. And if it's some other streaming service with high bandwidth limits, or local recording - u might just use NVENC hardware accelerated encoding with higher bitrate and get pretty much the same results with way lower CPU usage.

i appreciate your insite! and yeah im going refurbished for just about everything im going to put in the computer i know its old i just want too make it as good as possible for atleast a few years before i think about upgrading

Originally posted by hawkeye:

My view is forget userbenchmark, you aren't going to get a good gaming pc by upgrading that system.

You will need a new power supply for any current gpu.
And Windows 10.
The i5-4460 won't drive an rtx2070 to its full capability.
Your monitor needs to be checked to see if it can connect to an rtx (displayport or hdmi version 2 not 1.4).

Also the ROG website says that the mobo uses SO-DIMMs and has only two slots. So you need to check before buying any memory.

My view is that upgrading to a 4790 isn't worth the money, considering the comparable cost of much better parts - cpu, mobo, memory.
Streaming could be difficult with any 4th gen cpu.

what parts would you recommend? i dont know whats actually compatible, which is why i was using that website then id take the names of the parts that didnt have a red sign next to it saying that they wouldnt work and thats what i came up with. as for memory yes 2 slots it currently has 1 8gb stick in it everything ive seen says it supports a max of 16gb of ram but a youtuber by the name of welsh gaming says he was able to upgrade his to 32gb of ram after upgrading to a i7 so i wanted to try this but i dont know if thats an actual thing or not

[Monk]

Originally posted by Cyborge:

another big deciding factor in going with rtx is ANTHEM :) fyi

Anthem is getting ray tracing? Cool, finally tried out bf5 the other day and it does look cool, and not as big of a performance hit as the early days.

[Cyborge]

Originally posted by Talby:

IMO the 2070 is still a bit pricey, I say get the 2060 6g now, then save up for a 6c/12t ryzen 2600 / b450 / 16gb or whatever next gen cpu/board later this year.

Will solve your performance probs with the current games you play then will be able to tackle the big games with the new drop-in cpu/board/mem. Also check your PSU as mentioned the 750 is only 55w card while the 2060 is going to use 160w.

Best bet reinstall win10 on the ssd. Don't forget to backup your existing key if on win7 it should activate win10 once you install.

i have windows 10 on a laptop can i use that product key or do i use thee same from 8? also maybe im wrong here but the cpu has 2 power supplies one powers theoverall cpu and theres a second one dedicated only to the gpu for when you upgrade to higher end cards the card it comes with dosent actually use any of this supply you have to physically activate it on the motherboard and that gives the gpu an extra 180w is that enough?

this is the monitor im using https://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-34UM65-P-ultrawide-monitor

Originally posted by Talby:

IMO the 2070 is still a bit pricey, I say get the 2060 6g now, then save up for a 6c/12t ryzen 2600 / b450 / 16gb or whatever next gen cpu/board later this year.

Will solve your performance probs with the current games you play then will be able to tackle the big games with the new drop-in cpu/board/mem. Also check your PSU as mentioned the 750 is only 55w card while the 2060 is going to use 160w.

Best bet reinstall win10 on the ssd. Don't forget to backup your existing key if on win7 it should activate win10 once you install.

im showing my ignorance here but i was told i couldnt mix and match brands llike that, intel with nividia and amd with amd....what can i really do here?

[ugafan]

honestly, this thing looks like a nightmare to upgrade.

apparently you have to have the extra 180 watt power supply. make sure you have this.

considering your power supply and cpu limitations, i would probably go with a 1060 6gb and stop there.

[Cyborge]

Originally posted by ugafan:

honestly, this thing looks like a nightmare to upgrade.

apparently you have to have the extra 180 watt power supply. make sure you have this.

considering your power supply and cpu limitations, i would probably go with a 1060 6gb and stop there.

i have both supplies

hmm maybe it is https://rog.asus.com/articles/gaming-desktop-pcs/republic-of-gamers-announces-rog-g20cb-with-gtx-10-series-graphics-cards/

[Talby]

Originally posted by Cyborge:

...i have windows 10 on a laptop can i use that product key or do i use thee same from 8?

A bit confused, if you have win10 on a laptop, best keep it with the laptop and if you have 8 on the old rig yes use that for your new win10 desktop. More details would be appreciated...

Originally posted by Cyborge:

...also maybe im wrong here but the cpu has 2 power supplies one powers theoverall cpu and theres a second one dedicated only to the gpu for when you upgrade to higher end cards the card it comes with dosent actually use any of this supply you have to physically activate it on the motherboard and that gives the gpu an extra 180w is that enough?

I think you mean dual-rail on your current power supply, so yea that's sort of how it works but if you can post your make/model of PSU that would give us a better understanding of what you currently have and can recommend keeping or upgrading.

Originally posted by Cyborge:

...im showing my ignorance here but i was told i couldnt mix and match brands llike that, intel with nividia and amd with amd....what can i really do here?

No you were misinformed, you can use any brand CPU with any brand GPU, you have to match the CPU / motherboard and memory to an extent but your GPU choice is completely independent of the other components.

[Missing Spartan]

Originally posted by Talby:

Originally posted by Cyborge:

...also maybe im wrong here but the cpu has 2 power supplies one powers theoverall cpu and theres a second one dedicated only to the gpu for when you upgrade to higher end cards the card it comes with dosent actually use any of this supply you have to physically activate it on the motherboard and that gives the gpu an extra 180w is that enough?

I think you mean dual-rail on your current power supply, so yea that's sort of how it works but if you can post your make/model of PSU that would give us a better understanding of what you currently have and can recommend keeping or upgrading.

Talby just FYI you might want to research what it is he is trying to upgrade before you try to give advice. https://www.asus.com/us/ROG-Republic-Of-Gamers/ROG_G20AJ/ it uses external Power bricks like a laptop.

[Talby]

Aha makes sense now, completely missed that - appreciate the details

[upcoast]

Originally posted by Cyborge:

Originally posted by Talby:

IMO the 2070 is still a bit pricey, I say get the 2060 6g now, then save up for a 6c/12t ryzen 2600 / b450 / 16gb or whatever next gen cpu/board later this year.

Will solve your performance probs with the current games you play then will be able to tackle the big games with the new drop-in cpu/board/mem. Also check your PSU as mentioned the 750 is only 55w card while the 2060 is going to use 160w.

Best bet reinstall win10 on the ssd. Don't forget to backup your existing key if on win7 it should activate win10 once you install.

im showing my ignorance here but i was told i couldnt mix and match brands llike that, intel with nividia and amd with amd....what can i really do here?

Generally no it's not like that.