Help needed in deciding if eGPU is a good fit

[dheerajpant]

Hi,

I have an old PC (circa 2015), that I had built for gaming.
I did used it for around 1-2 years and then life happened.
Now I want to renew my hobby (AAA FPS) and also dive in PC VR (hopefully by using Quest 3).
As I already have a PC I want to use it and don't want to assemble a new one, main reasons for trying to reuse the old PC is don't want to spend extra money on things that I already have, reduce eWaste, and I believe the computer has more to give .

My PC config is (main components only):

• Corsair VS550 550W ATX Power Supply
• Intel Core i5 4460 Quad Core LGA 1150 3.2GHz CPU Processor
• Gigabyte H97N-WIFI H97,LGA1150,2DDR3-1600,RAID,PCIE3.0,SATA6Gb,Atheros 8161B GbE,USB3.0,2XHDMI,DVI-D
• Kingston HX316C10FBK2/16 16GB Kit HyperX Fury Black 1600Mhz DDR3
• Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming 4GB Video Card

I think the biggest bottleneck is the GPU so I was planning to introduce an eGPU.
I had a few questions regarding eGPUs:

• Is my current system capable enough to take advantage of eGPU?
• Can I use my existing GPU along with new eGPU?
• If I can use eGPU what is the recommendation?

I would also open to any other ideas or recommendations.

~ Thank you

 

[quicky008]

the cpu is not fast enough to take advantage of the newer,more powerful gpus.So before gpu upgrade,consider upgrading the cpu.

 

[omega44-xt]

• Is my current system capable enough to take advantage of eGPU?
• Can I use my existing GPU along with new eGPU?
• If I can use eGPU what is the recommendation?

No
No
Not applicable

eGPUs are for laptops mainly & connect via TB3 or newer. So not an option. Not to forget, eGPU enclosures are very expensive, like 20k+, not easily found in India for obvious reasons.

You can build a R5 5600 based core rig around 35k, then get a GPU for it. That's the bare minimum you need.

PC VR is very demanding, so need 6750XT realistically IMO if you plan to play games like F1 or Hitman on it. At least get 3060 12GB for 25k, so realistically you will end up spending 60-70k.

pcpricetracker.in/b/s/f0f2360a-1bd8-4c33-b012-dd7ddf6defbc

 

[Nerevarine]

eGPU is never a good idea.

 

[quicky008]

Would 12400F be a better choice than R5 5600?

 

[dheerajpant]

No
No
Not applicable

eGPUs are for laptops mainly & connect via TB3 or newer. So not an option. Not to forget, eGPU enclosures are very expensive, like 20k+, not easily found in India for obvious reasons.

You can build a R5 5600 based core rig around 35k, then get a GPU for it. That's the bare minimum you need.

PC VR is very demanding, so need 6750XT realistically IMO if you plan to play games like F1 or Hitman on it. At least get 3060 12GB for 25k, so realistically you will end up spending 60-70k.

pcpricetracker.in/b/s/f0f2360a-1bd8-4c33-b012-dd7ddf6defbc

ah, so it seems I can't just upgrade to RX 7800 XT 16GB as processor will be a bottleneck and unfortunately as I can't upgrade the processor on this motherboard, so I am stuck and should build a new system instead .

Edit: Will upgrading to 4790k along with 1080ti be of any help? Just trying to exhaust all my options at this point

 

[SaiyanGoku]

Yeah, you need a new PC. eGPUs are not a good option.

 

[dheerajpant]

Yeah, you need a new PC. eGPUs are not a good option.

Yeah I mean like not going the eGPU route, but to replace my 970X with 1080Ti and the processor with a 4790k.

 

[omega44-xt]

Would 12400F be a better choice than R5 5600?

Similar, but good B550 mobos are cheaper hence recommended R5 5600. Also that mobo can handle an upgrade to 5800X3D easily whereas budget B660/B760 can't handle an i5 13600K or any CPUs at 150W+ power draw.

ah, so it seems I can't just upgrade to RX 7800 XT 16GB as processor will be a bottleneck and unfortunately as I can't upgrade the processor on this motherboard, so I am stuck and should build a new system instead .

Edit: Will upgrading to 4790k along with 1080ti be of any help? Just trying to exhaust all my options at this point

No

The 5600 + 3060 rig I suggested can potentially outperform i7 4790K + 7800XT as CPU bottleneck will be that large at 1080p.

I see no reason buy used parts when you were willing to spend upto 60k for 7800XT, just make a new build for 70k.

 

[quicky008]

i had purchased a 4790k for an old 4th gen pc i had once-however i had to return it shortly thereafter because it was overheating fast and reaching very high temps (80-90 C) within mins.

it seems older i7s like the one above had a propensity to generate too much heat and required heavy duty cooling to keep temps within acceptable limits.Also their performance is quite lackluster as compared to even some of the entry level i3s of today.