Shall I expect a difference?

[TomBerry]

So starting off, I'm upgrading to a new PC. I currently have the Alienware X51 R2 (which is very compact), so I already know the case is going to be a lot more open and clear which will be great. Im swapping my graphics card over to this PC (GTX 1050Ti 6GB) so hopefully that isn't a problem here.
My old PC had 8GB of RAM and an i5-4460 @ 3.2GHz, and my budget wasn't too high so this was probably the best I could get, what's some decent games I could play with the new specs? Am I going to get a very noticeable difference between my old PC and my new PC or just a slight difference? Also my first time here and my first PC ordered so thanks for reading

Case
PCS 6003B BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor i7-8700 (3.2GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF H310M-PLUS GAMING: Micro-ATX, DDR4, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
1st Hard Disk
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
2nd Hard Disk
120GB ADATA SU650 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 320MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212X (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
FAST TRACK 3 WORKING DAY DISPATCH

 

[SpyderTracks]

In most games, the graphics card is what determines the gaming performance, except some games that rely more on CPU.

In the main though, your experience won't change or minimally.

 

[TomBerry]

Okay thank you for the input I normally play things in VR or flight simulators, which I know would still need a better GPU but was hoping a bit better RAM and CPU would make a bit of difference. Thanks anyway!

 

[Oussebon]

The GPU will be the bottleneck. Spending £1000 or whatever that costs for the 'hope' of some better performance, maybe in some situations in some flight sims, seems an unwise choice to me.

The spec also leaves a lot to be desired. Some gaming can benefit a huge amount from faster RAM, so a Z370 motherboard with 3000MHz RAM would make sense here. Or maybe even a Ryzen system if your particular sims perform well on those.

The SSD is small and slow.

The case is cheap, and will negatively affect GPU cooling and also limit GPU upgrades due to size.

And, ultimately, not getting a better GPU means a lot of the time you'll get no or next-to-no improvement. Versus spending £240 on a GTX 1060 or RX 580 for your current system, assuming they are supported.

Going back to the drawing board is the only option there tbh.

 

[TomBerry]

The GPU will be the bottleneck. Spending £1000 or whatever that costs for the 'hope' of some better performance, maybe in some situations in some flight sims, seems an unwise choice to me.

The spec also leaves a lot to be desired. Some gaming can benefit a huge amount from faster RAM, so a Z370 motherboard with 3000MHz RAM would make sense here. Or maybe even a Ryzen system if your particular sims perform well on those.

The SSD is small and slow.

The case is cheap, and will negatively affect GPU cooling and also limit GPU upgrades due to size.

And, ultimately, not getting a better GPU means a lot of the time you'll get no or next-to-no improvement. Versus spending £240 on a GTX 1060 or RX 580 for your current system, assuming they are supported.

Going back to the drawing board is the only option there tbh.

Thank you for the honesty. I was thinking of upgrading my GPU soon around Christmas time so I was just getting the bases for it. I was thinking maybe a 1070 or maybe even push to the 1080. I didn't really think I'd be needing to get a different sized/textured case, I thought that was aesthetics haha. But thank you I will consider this!

 

[Oussebon]

It's not just aesthetics, it's fan quality/size/number/positioning and also how airflow is managed in the case itself. Fluid dynamics are well beyond me, but things like HDD cages with very small gaps right in front of the front fan(s) can result in a lot less airflow to the graphics card.. meaning it struggles to cool itself, has to spin its fans faster, and possibly dial down its frequency, which reduces its performance.

There are other factors as well like whether the cases have dust filters.. dust clogs up fans and heatsinks, and worsens temperatures.

One user who bought the Sharkoon case for example then complained that his GTX 1080 was too hot under load unless he gamed with the side panel off. You don't have to spend a fortune on a case to get something perfectly adequate. Many of the ones in the ~£45+ range are fine e.g. the Game Max Falcon and many others. I just recommend not getting the really cheap ones.

If you're not getting a decent graphics card for a couple of months you might as well hold off buying the rest of the system until you can invest just a little more into the case, RAM/motherboard, and SSD. Since without the new graphics card it's not going to be worth the money you spend anyway.

Also, check this page: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/reviews/

This is where PCS list their 'set menu' type specs where the configurations are fixed, but the specs carry a discount (often a large discount). There are often some good ones in the ~£1500 range, which I assume is what PC + GPU would cost you anyway.

Keep us posted when you look at this again