New PC build questions
Discussion
Seems my current desktop can't upgrade to W11. CPU is a generation or two too old. Oh well, never mind. Shiny new toy time.
I'm currently speccing up a few options on PCSpecialist and am looking to spend just over £1k. It'll be used mainly for browsing with some spreadsheet/PPT work and very rarely playing some fairly old games (Black Mesa, Age of Empires II/IV, Half Life 2) on a 1440 screen
I'm wondering whether I can get away without opting for a graphics card? Whether the integrated graphics on something like an i7-14700K would be good enough. Another option might be to swap over the GTX 1060 in my current PC - it's old but it does the trick.
If I can get away without spending on the card then I can move the cash towards a better CPU/SSD/More memory. Stuff that should be of use all the time rather than just every now and then
I'm currently speccing up a few options on PCSpecialist and am looking to spend just over £1k. It'll be used mainly for browsing with some spreadsheet/PPT work and very rarely playing some fairly old games (Black Mesa, Age of Empires II/IV, Half Life 2) on a 1440 screen
I'm wondering whether I can get away without opting for a graphics card? Whether the integrated graphics on something like an i7-14700K would be good enough. Another option might be to swap over the GTX 1060 in my current PC - it's old but it does the trick.
If I can get away without spending on the card then I can move the cash towards a better CPU/SSD/More memory. Stuff that should be of use all the time rather than just every now and then
Edited by Gren on Wednesday 27th August 16:09
One of the more recent AMD APUs in something like an 8700G (which has a 12 CU Radeon 780M) will give you about double the performance of the iGPU in a 14700 (UHD 770) - although probably similar performance to what the 1060 would offer.
However, the 8700G won't be as quick in CPU-intensive tasks as the 14700.
For my money, I'd go for something like a Ryzen 7 9700X plus your existing GTX1060, as the 9700X uses about half the power of the 14700 (so produces less waste heat).
8700G (780M) vs GTX1060
8700G (780M) vs 14700 (UHD 770)
9700X vs 14700K (to compare CPU benchmarks, not GPU)
However, the 8700G won't be as quick in CPU-intensive tasks as the 14700.
For my money, I'd go for something like a Ryzen 7 9700X plus your existing GTX1060, as the 9700X uses about half the power of the 14700 (so produces less waste heat).
8700G (780M) vs GTX1060
8700G (780M) vs 14700 (UHD 770)
9700X vs 14700K (to compare CPU benchmarks, not GPU)
Edited by mmm-five on Wednesday 27th August 19:15
FWIW, I just upgraded a machine that was stuck on W10, using a motherboard bundle from CCL. I think I paid about £330 all told, for a Ryzen 5 8600G, 16Gb and a basic mobo that still has way more ports than anyone would ever need. Reused case and all other previous parts. Unless you're really looking to boost graphics performance, I don't think you need to spend anywhere near £1K.
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