Question Fortnite upgrade or new build or buy for Son?

[neonsurfer]

My 12-year-old son plays Fortnite on Console and PC but says his computer “Lags”. Not being a gamer and using my gut, I suspect Fortnite should only need modest specs to play. He saw an IBuyPower at Costco for $1099 (Lots of lights) but it seemed expensive for just Fortnite.
Link: Costco System

I was hoping for an upgrade of what he has now. Hoping to stay within $600 but could move up a little. I’ve listed his computer below hoping for some insight on what specs he really needs and if his current computer just needs some upgrades. Have Cox ultimate plan, not on WiFI, Cat5e wired to PC and tested so Lag is likely not network.

Current System
Case:
Coolermaster CAC T05 ATX Case
5 Exposed 5.25 Bays
1 Exposed 3.5 Bay
4 internal 3.5 Bays
Front IO: 2 USB 2.0, 1 Firewire, 1 Mic, 1 Speaker.
Added: TekRepublic 4 USB 3.0 port in front 3.5 bay
Added generic brand DVD Drive in 5.25 Bay.
Monitor:
Samsung Syncmaster 220WM Model LS22WJWKBJUXAA DVI and VGA
Mainboard SPECS:
ASUS M5 A97 R2.0
-Chipset AMD 970 / SB950
-Memory 4x Dimm Max 32GB DDR3
-2x PCI-E 2.0 X16
-2x PCI-E 2.0 X1
-2x PCI
-Supports Quad GPU Crossfire
-6 SATA 6.0 Ports
-LAN RealTeK 8111F Gigabit LAN
-RealTEK ALC 887 8 Channel
-2 USB 3.0 Controller
-2 USB3.0/2.0 Back Panel
-2 USB3.0/2.0 MidBoard Front
-12 USB 2.0/1.1 (6 midboard/6 back panel)
Processor Installed:
AMD FX 6 Core Black Edition 3.5 GHZ
Memory Installed:
16 GB (2x8) Corsair Vengence Pro Series DDR3 1866 MHZ
Video Card:
GEForce 730 1 GB GDDR5 PCI-E 2.0 (HDMI + DL-DVI-D)
Power Supply SPECS:
Corsair CX600M
1 ATX 24 pin
1 EPS/ATX 12V 8 pin
2 PCI-E 6 pin and 8 pin
6 SATA
4 Peripheral 4 pin
1 Floppy 4 pin
Hard Drive
Seagate 1TB 3.5 ST310005N1A1AS-RK
Keyboard and Mouse
Red Dragon K552-BA-1
What I have laying around:
1 Toshiba SSD 256 GB Read 552 Write 500 Model HDTS225XZSWA
3 Mushkin 4GB PC3-16000 7-10-8-27 1.65V
Impulse Purchased not opened yet:
27 inch LG Ultragear from Costco $179
Link: Costco Monitor

 

[VirtualLarry]

Processor Installed:
AMD FX 6 Core Black Edition 3.5 GHZ

This isn't a "great" gaming CPU, any more, but I suspect that:

Video Card:
GEForce 730 1 GB GDDR5 PCI-E 2.0 (HDMI + DL-DVI-D)

Is more likely to be the cause of "lag". That's pretty low-end.

I would consider upgrading to a (fairly cheap on ebay) $50-75 RX 470, RX 480, RX 570, RX 580, one of those, they are all similar "Polaris" architecture chips, and they come with either 4GB or 8GB of GDDR5 VRAM. Your card is lacking in both processing cores, and especially VRAM. (I don't recommend gaming on anything with less than 2GB VRAM these days, and 4-6GB is a more true minimum, if you like to play at 1080P60, at anything higher than "low".)

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I’m with Larry, those FX chips are dogs zero reason to use them in a current machine. You would be better served with a cheap i3 chip.
Go with something more modern like a Ryzen 3600. Really won’t cost anything more plus in my experience majority for FX compliant motherboards are horribly unreliable.
Update the video card to something with more memory and more current, save the rest for a new machine.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, I mean, yeah, the FX CPU is not great, but it's not entirely un-viable for most gaming, either. It's kind of on a similar level to the G4560, which is roughly a Skylake i3, which IS, AFAIK, "enough" for Fortnite.

The 1GB GT730 (even GDDR5) card's gotta go, though.

And if that 256GB SSD that you have lying around, is a SATA 2.5" unit, then by all means, install that, and do a fresh re-install of Windows 10 1909 on it, for your son, or maybe he could do / learn to do it himself.

I think, unless gaming needs change (Cyberpunk, RDR2, etc.), your current rig is actually kind of OK (16GB of 1866 RAM helps). (Edit: I mean, BESIDES the current video card, which has got to go.)

The video card, is by FAR the weak link there. Get an RX 570 / 580, GTX 1650 Super (IF you can find one in stock! They're selling out everywhere it seems! Very popular card this season!), or possible an RX 5500 (XT) card (get the 8GB version, note may require UEFI system BIOS). That will cost your $100-200, from "used RX 570/580" to "new RX 5500 XT 8GB". GTX 1650 Super should be around $160.

Edit: If you see any GTX 1660 Super (note, 1660, not 1650) around $200 or so, SNAG IT. That would be even better for his current rig, though a little more pricey.


Then start saving for an entire new rig replacement. Aim for something around $800-1000, either a Ryzen R7 3700X, 32GB DDR4-3200, 512GB SSD (preferably NVMe, around $60 at the lower end), and an RX 5700 (XT) or GTX 2080 (Super) or newer (by the time that you have that saved up). That would make a "real" (high-end) gaming machine, suitable for Cyberpunk and RDR2.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Not that I'm saying that you shouldn't replace the whole kit with a Ryzen R5 3600(X) rig, 16-32GB of DDR4, a 512GB or larger SSD, and a GTX 1660 Super (or above), that's probably doable on a $600-700 level budget, and would improve pretty-much everything IMMENSELY.

Edit: If you ARE headed in that direction, I STRONGLY urge you to take advantage of Walmart.com's pricing on the Ryzen R5 3600X CPU, it's 6C/12T, 4Ghz (I think) base clock, for $200 right now (like $30-40 off!). Then you can build around that. Consider a cheaper X570 mobo (like an ASRock Phantom Gaming or Pro4 ATX) for $160-180 (maybe as low as $130 after rebates, sometimes), 16GB of RGB RAM (Geil has some for $61.99, DDR4-3200, 2x8GB kit of RGB RAM), 512GB NVMe SSD (various brands, $60-80), and keep your eyes peeled for a GTX 1660 / 1660 Super / 1660 ti for under $180/$200/$240 respectively.

 

[neonsurfer]

Thank you all for the replies. I’ve seen some cases on sale $60 range with a clear window and lots of lights. I was thinking it might give the visual of a new system even if some of the parts are recycled. I don’t mind moving everything to a new case. The SSD I already have paired with a new video card should give a recognizable performance boost if I’m understanding correctly. Will the recommended video cards work in the current pci-e 2.0 x16 slot? Thoughts about the Costco LG monitor? Does it mean I restrict myself to Nvidia cards?

Decisions decisions. If I replace the board memory and processor too I’m already at a new system minus a new drive. Hopefully a new video will work to most of the potential on the board I have.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I actually neglected to look at the monitor until now. It's a "G-Sync Compatible", which is a codeword for Nvidia-compatible version of AMD's FreeSync / VESA Active Sync, re-branded for NVidia, and in theory, actually tested out to some certain specifications, that might make a "G-Sync Compatible" monitor, a better choice than only a "FreeSync" monitor.

Note carefully, though, that "G-Sync compatible", is an implementation of FreeSync/VESA Active sync, and NOT the same thing as NVidia's proprietary (and often expensive!) "G-Sync" technology.

IOW, "G-Sync Compatible", is not the same thing as "G-Sync". You did not buy a "G-Sync" monitor, and you are not limited to NVidia graphics cards therefore.


Any of the recommended video cards should work fine in a PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot, albeit possibly a tiny fraction of a percentage point slower than a PCI-E 3.0 x16 slot. (RX 5700 (XT), and presumably, RX 5500 (XT) actually support up to PCI-E 4.0 x16. But they should still work for you.)

Edit: Btw, a new glass/RGB "bling bling" case is not a bad idea, with the new SSD and video card, it should act and feel almost like a brand-new PC, compared to how it is now.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I’ll get pushback but don’t get too hung up with g-synch vs free synch vs whatever else. Those technologies don’t make that much of a difference. Just buy whatever monitor fits your budget that looks decent. The synch stuff should be looked at as a nice benefit or a tie breaker regarding two monitors not the reason to purchase.

@VirtualLarry ahould OP look for cards that work with old bios(es)?

 

[neonsurfer]

Thank you again. So the LG would be dollars well spent for a gaming monitor? Specs good? He hasn’t really said anything about monitor size or quality. It was an impulse because of the sale.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Thank you again. So the LG would be dollars well spent for a gaming monitor? Specs good? He hasn’t really said anything about monitor size or quality. It was an impulse because of the sale.

I didn't delve deeply into the specs, but a 144Hz refresh rate, "G-Sync Compatible" monitor, for around $200, sounds about right. Should be good for him.

OH.

There is the issue with the 144Hz. Higher refresh rates, especially at lower resolutions like 1080P, require higher CPU performance, especially single-threaded. Which is, unfortunately, the opposite of what you've got to work with.

I might suggest getting a GTX 1660 Super, it should hopefully work on the older-style "Legacy" BIOSes, yet, still have headroom for 144Hz, and then, eventually, replace the mobo/CPU/RAM with something newer, either Coffee Lake, or Ryzen 3000-series.

Edit: When I say "Headroom for 144Hz @ 1080P, I mean, "with an upgraded CPU/mobo/RAM, in the future, not with your current CPU". Your current CPU, might be able to push 100Hz, which is still not bad, still very acceptable (starting to sound like Trump here). Let's just say, the GPU and monitor "have headroom", for a CPU/mobo/RAM upgrade down the line.

In fact, if you were going to re-use the GPU, I might consider getting an RTX 2060 Super instead. It's quite a bit more money, but would have the proper headroom for 1080P@144Hz, with an upgraded CPU/mobo/RAM.

Or, stick with the original idea, get a GTX 1650 Super or GTX 1660 Super, and jut live with the fact that you won't see the full potential of your 144Hhz monitor.

Edit: Any of these options should be "worlds better" than that GT 730 1GB GDDR5 video card, though.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I looked at the full specs on that LG monitor on Costo's page, that does look like quite a nice gaming monitor, for 1080P. With FreeSync (AMD GPU) or "G-Sync Compatible" (NV GPU), you should be able to drive the panel at 80-100Hz, and not lose out on anything, I think that it's a good choice.

Just get a GPU to match up with it, performance-wise.

 

[neonsurfer]

Thanks for the replies again. I think I’ll go with the Ryzen 5 build. Can’t seem to find the 1660 Super at the price point mentioned yet but picked up the Walmart CPU. I think I have the identified the two ASRock MBs mentioned 148/149 on Newegg. Not to sure what the specs mean on the nvme. Same with the memory. A lot at around the price point mentioned.

 

[VirtualLarry]

ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming, $149

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

This Geil RAM, when I mentioned it, was $55, now it's back up to $69.99.

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

MSI Ventus GTX 1660 (plain), $190 after $10 promo code and $10 MIR. Probably the best GTX 1660-esque deal that you're going to find at the moment. Expires in 9 hours!

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

I own a couple of the MSI Ventus GTX 1660ti model cards, with nearly identical coolers, and they are fine. Quiet, relatively cool, decent middle-of-the-road cards.