StarTools

Sorry mods, I know this is not really software troubleshooting - I think this is the most appropriate forum - but feel free to move if I'm wrong!

Currently I run Startools on a Win 10/64 machine, ASUS Z170A mobo, Intel I5 6500 CPU, 16GB DDR4 @ 2133MHz, Nvidia GTX960 GPU.

I'm thinking, both to speed up StarTools and to provide a TPM which means I can run Windows 11, of swapping the mobo and processor to something like an Asus Prime Intel H570 plus and an Intel i5 11600 or 11600K with UHD750 graphics. I want a CPU with integrated graphics so I can use that in setup and don't end up being stuck cos I can't see any video from the mobo before I install the card drivers, and generally debug the mobo talking to the GPU card.

My questions are -
1. will I still see a benefit from using the GTX960 as a separate video card compared to using the UHD750 that the 11600 has "on chip"?
2. at the price point I'm looking at (£125 for mobo and around £220 for CPU) are there better options to run StarTools which I should be considering for mobo and CPU?

Thanks for any input!

Paul

Seems like a strong upgrade to me. Just looking at CPU userbenchmark and putting in the two i5's, I imagine you would see significant speed-up of the CPU intensive tasks, like the new HDR for sure. Also would probably speed up stacking, if you do that on the same machine, and particularly if all is done on a nice nvme SSD.

Using the same site to compare the GPU's, again taking the GTX960 over with you looks to show greater speed than the integrated option, and should help with ST's GPU acceleration. Absent some kind of bottleneck? But you'd also have to check for compatability with Win 11 and things like the supported DirectX or whatever, I think. That's one reason why I haven't yet moved my older N460GTX over in place of my OEM GTX745, even though specs show it to be a good bit faster. So for now I've just bumped up the 745 some using Afterburner.

If only GPU prices were normal...

Thanks Mike. Some good points to consider there. I'll probably look to upgrade early in the new year.

Paul