I've got a 9-year-old PC with a GTX 1070, an i7 6700K, 16GB of RAM, and a DDR4 motherboard. I'm wondering if it's worth it to try upgrading this old setup or if I should just go ahead and build a completely new PC instead.
5 Answers
Upgrading could work out, but I'd suggest starting with a new GPU and seeing how that goes. If things don’t improve enough, then you can think about more extensive upgrades later. Just keep in mind, you might need a new PSU for any modern GPU, too.
If you think about it, upgrading everything means you’re basically building a new PC anyway! But, you might be able to reuse your case, SSD, and possibly your PSU, depending on its age. Just know that Windows activation is tied to your motherboard, so you'll need a new key when you upgrade that.
Honestly, it might be time to just get a new PC. The performance increase you’ll get from upgrades might not be worth it for an aging system like yours.
You should consider doing the upgrades in stages. A decent SSD would be a huge boost for overall system responsiveness. Grab a 2TB NVMe SSD to start, then look at a GPU upgrade. Just be sure to check if your PSU can handle newer graphics cards as well as ensuring they fit in your case. Eventually, you’ll need to replace the CPU, motherboard, and RAM. Also, don’t forget about upgrading to Windows 11 since Windows 10 won't be getting security updates soon.
Upgrading in stages sounds painful, but it can work. Just keep in mind that the 6700K is pretty outdated now.
Also worth noting, the i7 6700K doesn’t support Windows 11. Since Windows 10 support is running out soon, you’d be better off building a new PC.
True, but the i7 6700K could hold you back. I had similar specs before and found that upgrading just the GPU didn’t help much.