The weakest link (pick my PC apart).

[Fixall]

I got hit with the upgrade bug but I'm at the point of diminishing returns and figured I'd see if you guys had any ideas of what to upgrade for the best returns.

For some reference, the PC is used lightly about 6 hours a day (simple Excel spreadsheets, Netflix, bills, light photo editing) and then sees 1 - 4 hours a day of heavy game usage.


Monitors - 27" Asus PG279Q 1440p, G-Sync/IPS (main monitor). 27" Samsung CFG70 1440p, VA (Netflix monitor). I think I'm pretty set here... At least until they release a GPU that can push a 4k monitor at a frame rate that satisfies me.

Monitor Mount - Ergotron LX Dual Monitor Arm. Open to suggestions here. I'm not 100% satisfied with the setup, but it's the best I've found.

Speakers - Edifier r1280t. Just side-graded to these from a set of Klipsch ProMedias that were going out on me (left speaker cuts out when you mess with the volume knob). The Klipsch's were a little bass heavy for my liking too.

Keyboard - Filco Majestouch-2 Ninja w/ PBT keycaps and Ducky Pocket RGB Tenkey. As of now, I'm leaning towards upgrading this first. Either with an aluminum case... Or maybe just throwing it in the closet and going with the Massdrop CTRL and finally giving in to RGB. Hot-swappable switches sounds rad.

Mouse - Razer Deathadder Elite. Another one that's high on the list to upgrade. I'd like something with a more premium build quality but I LOVE the ergonomics of the Deathadder and haven't been able to switch.

Case - Phanteks Evolv ATX. This was my dream case a few years ago, but the airflow for watercooling has left something to be desired. It's not really a huge deal since I'm only running a single GPU, but I wouldn't mind something that breathes a bit better. Unfortunately, I'm picky and it needs to look gorgeous. Right now I'm thinking about dealing with the airflow issue and just upgrading to the Phanteks Evolv X for the tempered glass and RGB (I know, I know). Another one on my radar is the Thermaltake Core P5.

Motherboard - ASRock Z370 Taichi. I love everything about this motherboard except for it's poor RGB support now that RGB is all the rage. Not a deal breaker imo as I've worked around it pretty easily.

RAM - 16GB G.Skill TridentZ RGB 3600mhz cas 17. I thought about upgrading to 32gb... Or maybe some ram with better timings... But what's the point? I can't imagine either would be noticeable.

CPU - Intel 8700K (delidded) @ 5ghz. I've been itching to upgrade this, but like the RAM, what's the point? I don't think I'd see any benefit with my usage.

PSU - Corsair AX860 w/ red sleeved cables. This unit is about 6 years old now, but it's been pretty solid. It does have some very minor coil wine (could be coming from the GPU though) with heavy use though I believe. Tempted to just run it until it dies, but idk.

GPU - Nvidia 2080 Ti Founder Edition. Nowhere to go from here right now.

Fans - EK Varder PWM 120mm x 6 (push/pull on radiator) and Phanteks PWM 140mm x 3. Maybe some RGB fans?

Radiator - EKWB X360. Can't fit a second radiator or anything larger unless I upgrade the case.

CPU Water Block - EKWB Supremacy MX. This is the non-RGB version and I've also read the performance is a bit subpar (although it's performed well for me). I have to flush my loop soon, so maybe this is where I should start...

GPU Water Block - EKWB Vector. Just got this so it's gonna have to stay, lol.

RGB/Fan Controller - EKWB Loop Connect 51. Haven't installed this yet, we'll see how it goes.

Reservoir/Pump - EKWB-Quantum Kinetic FLT 120 DDC RGB. Just got this to upgrade from the Predator 360. I went with DDC instead of D5 as I have a few quick disconnects in my loop that reduce the flow rate.

Tubing - Mayhems Ultra Clear 10/16mm soft tubing. Someone talk me in to biting the bullet and installing acrylic...

Storage - WD 1TB Blue M.2 SSD and 4TB WD Black HDD (and numerous external HDDs). The SSD is definitely one of the weakest parts in the whole system but I've been trying to limp by with it until 4TB NVME drives become common and I can get rid of the stupid platter drive.

Headphones - Bose Soundlink On-Ear bluetooth headphones and Apple Airpods (for use with the Rift).

Other Peripherals - Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSR Wheel and CSR Elite Load Cell Pedals, Oculus Rift S, Xbox One controller, Thustmaster T-Flight Hotas X. I'm strongly considering upgrading the flight stick to the Hotas Warthog, but $250 seems like a steep price for a component I don't use very much. Maybe that will change with the Rift S in the house though.



Alright, that's it I think. My entire build. Is there some big glaring hole that I'm missing that needs to be addressed? What the hell is next on the list for upgrades?!


*I have a solid desk and chair already.

 

[sabrewolf732]

Post pictures tbh

Also the supremacy is a good block. I had one and all of the reviews are also solid, just the acrylic top cracks.

 

[BlueLineSwinger]

For a heavy gaming, light office/internet machine, I can't see anything listed that could objectively be improved by any upgrade. A new CPU isn't going to be appreciably faster. More RAM isn't going to help any current game. Real-world, NVMe SSDs are barely faster than SATA units. And as noted, you already have the top GPU. I suppose if I were to consider an upgrade here I'd consider getting a 500 GB NVMe SSD for OS and 2+ TB SATA SSD for games. Still, it might be wise to wait for the next round of PCIe4 SSDs (the current ones are really just tweaked PCIe3 units). Otherwise, about the only reason I could see updating any of these at this time is if you usage changed (e.g., you got into heavy photo/video editing where additional cores and RAM and faster storage would help).

As far as subjective upgrades, you're kinda on your own there. Pick up a new mouse/keyboard/headphones/etc. if you find one that works better for you. Or consider a larger monitor. Or RGB fans/etc. if you want to go disco lighting with your system.

You did mention you have a bunch of external HDDs connected. If these are for media storage, maybe consider putting together a NAS if you don't already have one.

 

[Fixall]

Post pictures tbh

Also the supremacy is a good block. I had one and all of the reviews are also solid, just the acrylic top cracks.

I'll get some pictures up soon. I'm slowly going through the process of swapping out a EKWB Predator 360 with the 360 fat rad, res/pump combo so everything is a mess. I've got the front panel/filter, side doors off and my desk is scattered with parts at the moment, lol.

Now that you say that... I'm not sure where I got the subpar MX performance idea from. After re-reading some reviews, It looks like it performs nearly on par with the EKWB Evo and within a degree or two of the best performers on the market. It bothers me a little bit that it has static red LEDs when my system has RGB RAM, Reservoir, GPU block, and Motherboard... But to be honest, I typically have the RGB set to either red, or off, so it doesn't matter much.

For a heavy gaming, light office/internet machine, I can't see anything listed that could objectively be improved by any upgrade. A new CPU isn't going to be appreciably faster. More RAM isn't going to help any current game. Real-world, NVMe SSDs are barely faster than SATA units. And as noted, you already have the top GPU. I suppose if I were to consider an upgrade here I'd consider getting a 500 GB NVMe SSD for OS and 2+ TB SATA SSD for games. Still, it might be wise to wait for the next round of PCIe4 SSDs (the current ones are really just tweaked PCIe3 units). Otherwise, about the only reason I could see updating any of these at this time is if you usage changed (e.g., you got into heavy photo/video editing where additional cores and RAM and faster storage would help).

As far as subjective upgrades, you're kinda on your own there. Pick up a new mouse/keyboard/headphones/etc. if you find one that works better for you. Or consider a larger monitor. Or RGB fans/etc. if you want to go disco lighting with your system.

You did mention you have a bunch of external HDDs connected. If these are for media storage, maybe consider putting together a NAS if you don't already have one.

That seems to be the conclusion I'm coming to too. Which sucks when you really have the itch to upgrade, lol. Oh well.... More money for knives I suppose.

The NAS idea is genius however. I can't think of a single good reason why I never set one up... I can think of several good uses for one though! That's likely next on the list. Thanks!