Upgrading PC with Zen for 1440p gaming

Hello there,
I’m from germany and new here in the Forums.
It’s time to upgrade my PC after 4 years and I would like some input on my hardware choices.

My current Hardware:
i5 4460
Asrock H97 Pro4
Msi Gaming GTX 780
16gb DDR3 1600
Monitor: 1440p
PSU: Superflower Leadex Gold 650W
Some SSD’s and HDD
CPU Cooler: Dark Rock 3

Why do I want to upgrade?
Because my past me wanted to get a 1440p Monitor before the Hardware was out there to support it properly. I play mostly graphic intense Titles like Battlefield 1, Destiny 2, Deus Ex Mankind Divided etc. With my current hardware it’s a challenge to get 45 - 60FPS even on the lowest settings.
Depending on the title my CPU and GPU are bottlenecks.

What do I want to upgrade:
CPU, mainboard, GPU, RAM

My criteria are:
1440p 60 FPS in BF1 and hopefully in BF5 with Medium to High settings.
I don’t do Video editing but some CAD in Fusion 360.
Motherboard with “upgrade path” (support for min. one future CPU generation).
DDR4 16gb because i dont want to go back to 8gb.
No blowerstyle GPU.
Around 400€ for the GPU.
Budget is around 800€<1200€
Spending between GPU and CPU should be balanced. The “Spend most of your budget on the GPU cuz gaming!” mentality brought me in my current Position where a GPU upgrade is Pointless because the CPU is the bottleneck.

What I have in mind:
GPU: Vega 56 Power Color Red Dragon (its around the same Price (399€) as the cheapest 1070’s and 7% cheaper than the cheapest 1070TI)
CPU: 2700x (Current Intel CPU’s are imo. not an option because of the recent price rises and Intels chipset policies regarding upgrading to an new CPU generation. )
Mainboard: x470 Taichi from Asrock (I’m open to other recomendations)
RAM: here I need some help because i don’t know which kits are good with Ryzen.
https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/pL84J8

Another option I’m thinking about is taking a 2600(x) instead of the 2700x until the 7nm Zen is released.

German Intel CPU prices:
https://geizhals.de/?cat=cpu1151&v=e&hloc=at&hloc=de&sort=-p&bl1_id=30&xf=820_1151+v2
German AMD CPU prices
https://geizhals.eu/?cat=cpuamdam4&xf=820_AM4

What do you think, is a 2700x and Vega 56 sufficient for my needs?
Which RAM kit would you recommend?
Could I get away with a 2600x until Zen2 is here?

For gaming only, the 2600X is probably the better choice.
As AMD said AM4 to be supported until 2020, you could always pick up a better CPU later.

GPU wise, Vega56 should work, alternatively you can look at V64, the GTX 1070ti or GTX1080

Edit: Will make this post more in-depth when I get home.

As your CPU cooler is good, it would be a shame to leave it behind. BeQuiet sells an upgrade kit link

CPU: 2700X
Mobo: ASRock X470 Taichi
RAM: 2x8 GB GSkill Aegis 300Mhz
GPU: Sapphire RX Vega56
Misc: BeQuiet AM4 mounting kit
Price: ~1.110€
Mindfactory link
PCPartpicker Link

1 Like

thanks for your detailed answer!
I looked up some benchmarks it seams the Pulse and Red Dragon don’t have a big performance delta.
But the Pulse seems to be more energy efficient. I will consider both.