Nothing will stop the upgrade, the time for which has come

Regular readers of our site know that my home/work computer has long been outdated and out of step with the standards of today. Usually I do a full system upgrade every 3-4 years, but this time several factors prevented me from upgrading and interrupted the usual PC replacement cycle I’ve been following for 30 years. But I finally did it and I want to share with the community the thoughts and decisions I made with my technical consultants and assistants while discussing the configuration and setup of the new PC. Maybe someone will find it interesting.

But first, I would like to sincerely thank Oleg Kasich, Serhiy Svitlychnyi, and Taras Mishchenko, who were involved in this upgrade in one way or another. Thank you, guys!

Old system

First, I should tell you about the old system, especially since it served me faithfully (with two not-so-pleasant exceptions) for almost 7 years.

I know exactly the date of my last upgrade because for some time now I have been buying almost all my computer hardware from the same store (no, sorry, I won’t advertise it because it’s just my preference, although it’s really a very reliable store with moderate but not the lowest prices). So, I ordered the main hardware for my previous PC (CPU, motherboard, memory, HDD, SSD, cooler) on October 24, 2016. Two days later, the hardware arrived (the case and video card were already waiting), and in about a week Serhiy Svitlychnyi and I assembled the PC, so we can assume that its “life” began on October 30, 2016.

Configuration of an old PC (Mk. I, 2016)

In 2019, a SeaSonic power supply and a Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H motherboard burned down, separately from each other. It seems that the power supply was the cause, as the motherboard failed first. In addition, in 2019, a second capacious SSD was added for fast game loading, and later, in 2021, the monitor and almost all peripherals were replaced. The updated configuration looked like this.

Configuration of an old PC(Mk. II, 2021)

This is how my PC met 2023, i.e. the seventh year of its life.

Periphery

And a bit about peripherals. As for me, replacing individual components and peripherals sometimes gives a greater emotional effect from an upgrade than even a complete PC upgrade. Because switching from downloading heavy games from HDD to SSD is two big differences, as they say in Odesa. A 27-inch monitor with a 2560×1440 resolution is not the same as a 22-inch monitor with a 1650×1080 resolution. The first impression of playing games on the new monitor is simply incredible, as if you were playing a sequel with a new engine. The same can be said about using a joystick instead of a gamepad in Microsoft Flight Simulator – it’s a completely different experience. So peripherals are important, and that’s what I’ve come to 2023 with. Almost all of the connected devices, except for the printer, are different than when this PC started in 2016.

Periphery (2023)

I’d like to say something about the multifunctional Canon PIXMA MP280. This is the oldest peripheral device connected to my PC, which was purchased back in 2012 and has already gone through 4 upgrades. It’s the best $50 investment of my life, not counting the drone fees, although Canon branded ink is certainly not cheap.

As for the Logitech MX Vertical mouse, I bought it in 2020 when I realized that it was getting harder to deal with wrist pain. The vertical mouse didn’t cure my carpal tunnel syndrome, but it stabilized the situation and turned out to be quite comfortable to play even online shooters with.

Obviously, the first candidate for replacement among peripherals is Xbox 360 gamepads. But before I figured out how to repair the receivers that regularly fail with this model, I had already accumulated several of these devices. So I’m going to wear them out and replace them with the Microsoft Xbox Series X|S Wireless Controller when I can.

And not to get up twice. I have two routers connected to a Mesh WiFi network – ASUS RT-AX58U (90IG06Q0-MU9B00-V1) and ASUS RT-AX55. The Internet connection speed is 1000 Mbps.

Why now

In fact, I first thought about upgrading back in 2019, 3 years after the previous one, in the upgrade cycle I was used to. I don’t replace components partially, but upgrade the entire PC, leaving only the case, monitor, HDD, and peripherals, which I replace every other time, i.e. every 6-8 years.

Usually, at the time of assembly, my PC is slightly better than the “Optimal Gaming PC of the Month” offered by Oleg Kasich, which costs about $1200-1600 without peripherals.

However, in 2019, thanks to cryptocurrency fans, the prices of video cards skyrocketed, and even a moderate upgrade cost $2000-2200. Moreover, there was a real shortage of video cards. I wasn’t going to overpay speculators because of a bunch of geeks, so I decided to postpone the upgrade, limiting myself to replacing the failed components and adding a second SSD.

Time went on, prices for video cards didn’t fall, and then there were the problems with the coronavirus and logistics, launching a new website, etc., and in 2022 a full-scale war broke out and I was a little short on upgrades.

But in 2023, it became clear that the old computer was no longer up to the task. As a game journalist, I have access to almost all the latest releases, and starting in 2022, I could no longer launch some of the new games. They either turned into a slideshow or crashed right after the splash screen. It became clear that it was time for an upgrade. Moreover, in the fall/winter of 2023, several games that I am very interested in are due to be released: Starfield, The Crew Motorfest, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Forza Motorsport, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and, of course, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl (for example, it has already been postponed to 2024, but when I was preparing for the upgrade, we were still hoping for the end of 2023). And in the end, waiting by the sea for the weather, you never see Cyberpunk 2077 with RT, waiting for some Shahed or goddamn Dagger instead. So the time to upgrade has come.

Moreover, according to the forecast of Microsoft and Sony, the next generation of consoles is expected no earlier than 2027-2028, so by upgrading now, you can use this hardware at least until 2027, and most likely until 2029. I think it’s a good perspective.

Configuration options

So the idea was to change everything except the peripherals and the case, and I was going to spend a little more than usual, $1600-2000, to ensure that I got a configuration that would live to see 2027+.

I decided to keep the case for two reasons. Firstly, I like the Fractal Design Define Mini, it’s made of high-quality metal, has built-in soundproofing, and generally looks good. Second, it fits perfectly into the small niche under my corner desk, leaving room for airflow and easy access to USB. I wasn’t going to remodel or change the furniture I like.

But the Define Mini has one big drawback – it really is a Mini, small and a bit cramped, and not every modern video card will fit in it. In addition, we thought that one of the HDD baskets in this case was not removable, and no one in the newsroom knows how to work with a dremel, and we don’t have a dremel. So we had some limitations when it came to choosing a video card and CPU cooler.

As usual, I asked Oleg Kasich about the upgrade. As I’ve always said, our Editor’s Choice is really Editor’s Choice because we buy and use it ourselves, and we follow our own advice. So, I asked Oleg for advice.

After taking some time to think about it, Oleg offered me two configurations, a cheaper one using some old components and a more expensive one with all new ones.

The first version from Oleg Kasich

The second option from Oleg Kasich

Keeping in mind my goal to “live” with the new PC until the next generation of consoles, I chose the second, more expensive option. But given that my old system had a total of 3.5 TB of disk space, I added another 2 TB SSD to Oleg’s configuration. Please note that there is no alternative video card in both configurations, this choice is due to the size of the Fractal Design Define Mini case.

New system

Given the limitations of the case, the choice of specific components was not very difficult. When choosing specific brands, within the framework of Oleg Kasich’s recommendations, I was guided by my own preferences and usage history. Here’s what I ended up with.

Configuration of a new PC (Mk. I, 2023)

It came out a little more expensive than Oleg suggested, but there are two SSDs, and remembering the problems with the power supply of the previous PC, which cost me some money and nerves, I decided this time to buy a more powerful PSU and of a brand I trust, which is more expensive than other PSUs.

As you can see, the memory is a bit slower than the one I’ve selected. But I got it as a gift from the editorial office, which saved me about 5,000 UAH, and the difference in performance is not really that big.

In addition to UAH 71,273 for hardware, I planned to spend another UAH 5,399 to buy Windows 11 Home, but it turned out that my boxed Windows 7 Ultimate, which Microsoft gave to media representatives back in October 2009, would easily upgrade to Windows 11 Pro. The activation system perceives the Windows 7 license key as a Windows 11 key. If I had updated Windows on the same hardware in time, it would have been a seamless version of Windows, with only the interface and version number changing. On the other hand, even the previous PC didn’t want to update the OS anymore because of the outdated hardware, primarily because of the lack of support for Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0.

Assembly details

I invited Serhiy Svitlichny to help me assemble the new computer, which happened to be my birthday. In fact, it was he who assembled all my last PCs, and given the experience he gained from constantly testing new hardware, he seems to be able to assemble and disassemble computers blindfolded.

When disassembling the old system, it turned out that both HDD baskets of the Fractal Design Define Mini are quite easily removable, which makes the seemingly cramped case quite spacious, simplifies assembly and, in addition, allows you to install video cards of any size. If we had known this in advance, I might have paid attention to other video cards with three slower and quieter coolers.

Personally, I was impressed by the installation of NVMe SSDs. They simply hide under the radiators on the motherboard and take up less space than RAM – they are not visible at all.

A small problem during assembly was with the installation of a really big BE QUIET! Dark Rock Pro 4 (BK022). To put it in and close the case, we had to tear off a piece of sound insulation that covered the space for an additional fan. But we knew about this in advance.

But a really unexpected problem arose when I tried to transfer information from the old system’s SSD. It turned out that the 860W Fractal Design Ion+ 2 Platinum power supply (FD-P-IA2P-860-EU) works only with native cables and does not accept cables from its predecessor, the Fractal Design Integra M 550W (FD-PSU-IN3B-550W-EU). It was really strange, because the system simply refused to boot. It took us half an hour and a couple of glasses of wine to figure out what was going on (remember, it was my birthday). But eventually everything worked.

Testing

Oleg Kasich is known for his passion for testing, numbers, and graphs, so Oleg insisted that I test the old and new systems in some synthetic benchmarks and games.

The synthetic benchmarks include 3DMark Time Spy, Cinebench R23, CPU-Z, Geekbench 6, CrystalDiskMark. For those who like graphs, I hope Oleg will help me build them, and for those who, like me, are better at quantitative comparisons, I’ll say this: 3DMark Time Spy gives 4.25 times more points; Cinebench R23 – 7.2 times more; CPU-Z – 6.9 times more; Geekbench 6 – 4.45 times more for the CPU and 4.4 times more for the GPU. The CrystalDiskMark copy speed has increased by 12.5 times.

As for video games, I naturally compared the speed of some projects that have built-in benchmarks (dear developers, please add benchmarks to your games!). Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Forza Horizon 5 – because I’ve played both games a lot in recent years, and I still play Forza Horizon 5 now. Cyberpunk 2077 – because it was worth checking what the new system was capable of before the release of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Sid Meier’s Civilization VI Gathering Storm because I love big turn-based strategies and I’m curious what the new system will demonstrate in such games. Among the 2023 games, I chose Returnal because of its fantastically detailed benchmark and high system requirements, and F1 23… because I love Formula 1.

The results can be seen in the graphs, and again I hope that Oleg will help me here. But the thing is, it’s a bit of an unfair comparison. On the old system, I usually played with the High setting, increasing only the quality of textures and lighting to Ultra, and even then not always. On the new system, I can play with Ultra High/Extreme settings, just pushing all the parameters as far to the right as possible. So you can look at the comparison and see a 3-4x performance boost in most games on High settings, but even on Ultra, in games with RT and DLSS support, we have a 2-3x fps boost. And games on Ultra are a completely different experience.

Undervolting and optimization of air flows

During the test, Oleg Kasich noticed that the Cinebench R23 test scores do not correspond to what a system like this should show. Theoretically, the Intel Core i5-13600KF 3.5GHz s1700 processor should have gotten 24,000 points in Cinebench R23, but I only managed 22,500. So Oleg assumed that there was throttling, meaning that the cooling system was not working properly.

Indeed, temperature and performance monitoring with AIDA64 showed that at the end of the 10-minute Cinebench R23 test, throttling accounts for up to 8-10% of the processor’s performance. So BE QUIET! Dark Rock Pro 4 was not enough for this super-hot CPU. It should be borne in mind that “not enough” refers purely to my conditions. The cramped Fractal Design Define Mini case, the small niche under the desk with poor airflow, where the computer was placed. It should also be noted that all this happened during an abnormal heat wave in August 2023, which even the air conditioner could not cope with well (at the maximum and target temperature of 18°C, it only reduced the temperature in the room to 25°C).

So we had to do something, and we decided to start underwriting. Oleg consulted me in the messenger, and I dug into the BIOS. It turned out that it was actually much easier than it seemed at first glance, so I was wrong to worry.

The BIOS of all modern mid-range/upper-end motherboards has a separate section for controlling the voltage on the motherboard components, and ASUS TUF Gaming B760M-Plus has it as well. After several iterations of changing the VRM Core voltage with each iteration tested in AIDA64 and real games, we settled on a value of 0.115 V. This reduction made it possible to completely eliminate any throttling and reduce the processor temperature by 10-15°C to a moderate 80-90°C instead of 90-100°C in Cinebench R23 and to 55-75°C in real games.

But we failed to get higher values in Cinebench R23, the indicators remained at 22,500 points, although no trotting was observed. Perhaps this is a feature of this particular processor (and they are not really the same at all, each particular “stone”, especially in hi-end models, has its own limitations and peculiarities), or the influence of a slightly slower memory than it should be. On the other hand, Cinebench R23 is a completely synthetic test with a maximum load, so if you don’t do rendering, you will never get such a load in real games.

Interestingly, in the end, even after lowering the temperature and defeating the trotting, I had to rearrange the room and pull the computer out of its niche under the table. The thing is that even after the underwhelming, the air coming out of the PC case during an intense game was still quite hot, especially when it was +35°C outside. And this hot air was getting right into my right knee, causing quite unpleasant sensations. So I had to move the desk out of the corner (and it’s a corner desk, remember), creating a 50 cm niche where my PC “settled”. Now it is surrounded by clean air on all sides, and my knee is separated from the hot “exhaust” by the table wall. As a bonus, noise and resonance are reduced under load. Win-Win.

Personal impressions

I’ve been using my new computer for almost two months now and I’m very happy with the upgrade. First, the new PC boots up instantly – 12-15 seconds from the moment you press the button (cold start). Game loading speeds have increased 3-5 times, especially with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, which used to take a while to load, and I could make tea and make myself some sandwiches.

Of course, on the new system, I run all games in Ultra High and was able to play the games I had to miss because my PC could not handle the graphics. I finally completed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (a great game that showed the true nature of Russians to a Western audience). I tried Need for Speed Unbound (terrible, just terrible, it’s unbelievable how low Criterion Games has fallen), Returnal (actually very good, although I don’t like boss battles), Doom Eternal (good, and on the new system it gives more than 150 fps in Ultra High), Cyberpunk 2077 with RT (cool, but for a full game we’ll wait for Phantom Liberty and the Ukrainian localization), Forspoken and Immortals of Aveum (both very weak) and Halo Infinite (very pretentious).

As for new games, I played a little bit of Baldur’s Gate 3 (sorry, I got bored playing complex role-playing games that require concentration and a lot of time) – everything flies, no brakes. Now I continue to explore space in Starfield and I can’t say anything about poor optimization, I have 60-90 fps on maximum settings, depending on the scene.

RT support and additional power make it possible to improve even old games. For example, I was happy to play Portal with RTX, which looks like a full-fledged and very good remaster of the original Portal. And in American Truck Simulator, which I’ve been playing for 7 years, I increased the rendering resolution to 200% and it’s like the game got a new engine, which it really needed for a long time.

So far, only two games have managed to bring my new PC to its knees. This is Microsoft Flight Simulator, which on Ultra High settings produces a shameful 15-20 fps over large photogrammetric cities like New York or London. Thankfully, the MSFS settings are really flexible, and you can get 50-60 fps even in such scenes without much loss of quality. The second game that turned into a slideshow when trying to set the Ultra High setting is Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. But it’s a hi-end port from PlayStation 5, customized for some of the console’s technological features, so it’s not surprising. It is said that normal fps in this game can only be obtained on video cards with 16 GB of memory, and my Asus DUAL-RTX4070-O12G has only 12 GB. On the other hand, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is also quite well tuned and with minor sacrifices in quality, which only a specialist will actually notice when comparing screenshots, you can get a very pleasant 50-60 fps from the game.

Overall, I’m very happy with the upgrade and seem to be ready for the new releases of fall 2023 and all the years to come. Let’s see if my prediction about the longevity of this configuration comes true. Will it last until 2027-28?

Commentary from Oleg Kasich

According to Oleh’s wishes, the new configuration required the selection of components that would not require replacement for a long time and would have sufficient performance for comfortable gaming in top projects. At the moment, the Core i5-13600KF (6/12+8; 3.5/5.1 GHz + 2.6/3.9 GHz) has good potential for such conditions. This is the most affordable chip in the 13th generation Core lineup, which has an improved microarchitecture for performance cores (Raptor Cove) with increased cache capacity. Additional energy-efficient cores have also received an increased L2 buffer, which will add to the overall CPU power when needed. Games are the most resource-intensive tasks on Oleg’s PC, so we didn’t consider even more powerful Core i7/i9 processors with more computing units.

Instead of a liquid cooling system, which is generally quite appropriate in the case of the Core i5-13600KF, we relied on a large air cooler with a large dissipation area and a pair of fans. In practice, the Be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 basically coped with the 12-core 20-thread processor without power limitations, although we had to do some basic underclocking to reduce the operating temperature at maximum load.

When choosing a motherboard, we were guided by the principle of rational sufficiency. We needed a mATX model for DDR5 memory, with a sufficiently powerful VRM, a pair of fast M.2 ports, and normal general equipment without any excesses. ASUS TUF Gaming B760M-Plus met all these needs.

As for the video card, we should have taken into account that the system uses a monitor with a resolution of 2560×1440. For such conditions, the GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB now looks like a reasonable minimum. Of course, in the NVIDIA lineup, an even better option would be the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12 GB, but this would require a significant increase in budget (~$300), and it also did not solve the main complaint about the Californians’ solutions at this level – the model also has “only” 12 GB of memory. This capacity is still enough for 1440p, and Oleg has already appreciated DLSS support, which adds fps and significantly reduces the need for a local buffer. And if necessary, it won’t be a big problem to change the graphics settings, which will allow you to get comfortable performance. An interesting alternative here would be the Radeon RX 7800 XT 16 GB, but at the time of choosing the configuration, it was not even known about the exact timing of the announcement of this model.

The need for 32 GB of RAM was a no-brainer. Initially, we focused on a DDR5-6000 kit, but as it turned out, the dual-channel DDR5-5200 2×16 GB kit already available in the editorial office came in handy and will still work with benefit.

For a system of this class, we offered a choice of proven 2TB M.2 PCI-E 4.0 x4 drives. Given the number of games Oleg usually has to “process,” it’s no surprise that he wanted to equip his system with a pair of these SSDs right away. 4TB SSDs still require a surcharge for maximum capacity, so if the board allows you to install two 2TB SSDs (in our case), then this is a more rational option.

In general, the resulting configuration looks quite balanced and capable of providing comfortable performance in 1440p. For super-heavy future projects, you can always use intelligent scaling, which has been actively implemented recently and is really an effective way to increase fps. So I hope that the new PC will allow Oleg to fully immerse himself in stories and game universes, delighting us with another interesting review. And for the next few years, we won’t hear him say something like: “I won’t be able to play this game because my PC won’t pull it off.”

Old/new system

As for my old system. Sometime before 2005, I gave my old PCs to my wife’s younger brother, who used them to upgrade his own systems. But he’s grown up now, not really interested in gaming, and can buy his own components. So lately, I’ve just been selling extra components on OLX. By the way, even faulty components are quite well bought there, the question is the price. And it’s better than storing old components at home or throwing them away anyway.

But recently, I got new relatives and it turned out that one of them needed a computer to learn graphic programs. She draws very well with her hands, but she hasn’t mastered the PC yet. So my old PC got a new monitor, a new case, and a new life. This PC was also assembled by Serhiy Svitlychnyi, who, among other things, updated the thermal paste on the video card, which was already 7 years old. By the way, Serhiy advises doing this from time to time on all old components.

This upgrade was done on a tight budget, so we chose a fairly cheap case and monitor. They’re actually not bad, but the metal of the Deepcool CC560 Limited case is a bit thin, and the Philips 275E2FAE/00 monitor has a low refresh rate of 75 Hz, which is too low for gaming. On the other hand, no one seems to be going to play games on it.

Configuration of the old/new PC (Mk. III, 2023)

This PC has quite an eclectic set of peripherals, collected from various sources, but I have always believed that peripherals are a personal matter. Everyone chooses what works for them, so the new owner will eventually find the devices she feels comfortable with. As for the drawing tablet, she already has one. It’s still an entry-level one, but you have to start somewhere.

Instead of conclusions

I am still very upset by the fact that during the war I spent a fairly significant amount of money not on drones or turnstiles, but on a personal computer. The only thing that reassures me a bit is that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, I have spent a much larger amount of money on helping the military and I am not going to stop doing it in the future. In addition, a powerful PC is my working tool, without which I cannot perform my direct duties. If this PC is enough to play/work normally for another 4-5 years, it is a justified investment.

And finally. Yes, it seems that pampering yourself during the war, when soldiers and civilians die every day, is not good, but if you focus only on difficulties and hardships all the time, you can quickly get depressed or another mental disorder. So gaming as a consolation is necessary at least to maintain your own mental health. Everyone advises us not to put our lives on hold because of the war, and I think it makes sense to listen to this advice. But, of course, don’t stop donating for the victory.

Thank you for your attention. Everything will be Ukraine!