I use a small-form-factor living-room gaming PC in a Lian Li DAN A4-H2O case. It has an ASUS ROG Strix Z490-I motherboard, an Intel Core i5-10600K, an RTX 3080 with 10GB of VRAM, 16GB of DDR4 memory, and an NVMe SSD. It is connected to a 4K 60Hz television.
I would like to play GTA VI on PC when it eventually arrives, ideally at 4K around 60 FPS, although I am completely willing to use DLSS, reduce settings, or play at 1080p if necessary. There are no official PC requirements or reliable performance benchmarks yet, so I realize any advice is speculative.
I can find a used i9-10900K for about €150–€200. Would moving from six cores and twelve threads to ten cores and twenty threads provide a meaningful gaming improvement, or would it be poor value on this older platform? I am also considering upgrading from 16GB to 32GB of DDR4, although memory is relatively expensive where I live.
The RTX 3080 still performs well, but I am unsure whether a future open-world game like GTA VI is more likely to be limited by the CPU, GPU, or 10GB of VRAM at 4K. I would strongly prefer to keep the compact case and avoid replacing the entire system unless there is a compelling reason.
Would you keep the current system, add 32GB of RAM, buy the used 10900K, do both, or simply save the money and wait for actual PC requirements and benchmarks? I am mainly looking for the best performance per euro rather than the newest hardware.
5 Answers
The 10900K is faster overall, but the extra cores do not automatically translate into a large gaming improvement. In many games the difference from a 10600K is fairly modest, so spending €150–€200 on a used chip from the same generation would not be my first choice. It makes more sense if you find one unusually cheap or need the extra multicore performance for other work.
I would wait. The PC release is likely still years away, and buying hardware now to predict its requirements is mostly guesswork. By the time the game arrives, newer platforms and GPUs should be available, while older AM5 parts may have become much cheaper. Save the upgrade budget and keep your case, power supply, and other reusable components.
If you want to spend a small amount now, 32GB of RAM is the more sensible quality-of-life upgrade, especially for modern games and background applications. However, do not expect it to dramatically increase average FPS unless 16GB is currently causing memory pressure or stuttering. Check your memory usage first, and avoid paying a premium just to prepare for an unknown game.
I would keep the 10600K and RTX 3080, enjoy the machine for current games, and put the €150–€200 toward a future platform upgrade. The game could end up being demanding enough that a 10900K still is not the right long-term solution, while it could also run well on your existing hardware with sensible settings. Waiting for official requirements and independent benchmarks gives you much better information than trying to future-proof several years early.
Your current system is still a capable gaming build. The 3080 should remain useful, and it has DLSS available for demanding games. A 4K 60 FPS target for an unreleased title cannot be promised, but you should have options to use upscaling and reduced settings. I would not replace the GPU or CPU until there is real gameplay footage, testing, and a clearer idea of how the PC version performs.
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