Considering upgrading. Some help please?

[Petroklos]

To begin with, hi! I'm a newcomer on the forums and to be honest, I'm here only to ask about this. (if I'm posting this in the wrong sector, show mercy)

 

So, I'm considering upgrading my PC but before I do that I want to:

A - Be sure if it's worth it.

B - Know what's keeping my system back.

 

My main focus is video game performance. I want to be able to run new games (Skyrim, Lara Croft, Bioshock Infinite, ElderScrolls:Online, StarWars Battlefront 3, the new Wolfenstein, are a few I'm interested in) with 50-60 fps at least. Settings don't really matter as much, though I wouldn't mind Ultra 1080p with maxed AA. 

 

My current pc built is:

 

Intel-Core i5-2310 (2.9GHz, 4Cores/Threads), Stock Cooler.

Nvidia GTS-450 (Graphics Clock: 800MHz, Memory Clock: 675Mhz, Processor Clock 1600MHz, 2GB of Memory).

Two 4GB DDR3 RAMs at 1333MHz.

Gigabyte H61M-D2-B3 MoBo (mITX, 2 RAM slots, 1 GPU slot).

A single 1TB SATA3 Seagate HDD.

550W Power Supply.

And Windows 8.1 64bit.

 

So, I was thinking about upgrading my GPU to a 6XX, and later on upgrading both my CPU and Motherboard. I also have two unused 2GB 1333MHz RAMs that I'm considering installing once I get a new mobo with 4 (or more?) RAM slots.

 

Suggestions? Bottlenecking issues? Any help and advice is welcome. 

[Chriz6097]

Price? Currency? and this should be in new builds section of the forum.

Edit: What I should've said was budget.

[MrGidwani]

What is your budget?

 

Also, wait on Maxwell, and keep your 4Gb sticks and upgrade later if necessary. More than 8Gb really isn't necessary for only gaming and using smaller sized sticks is never a good idea since it limits upgradability in the future..

[coen113]

i would say 670 or 680

[rainbrodash666]

I would upgrade the graphics card to r9 270x or gtx 660ti for 1080p. then upgrade to a hyper212+ heatsink.

[Petroklos]

When it comes to budget, I'd say up to 300 euros for the GPU.

 

The 2Gb sticks where considered as an addition rather than a replacement.

 

The 680 is a no-no thanks to its price. The 670 looks interesting. Yet it costs 300 euros, so I'm wondering if it's worth it.

 

There's no reason to upgrade my heatsink, as my CPU runs rather cool and can't be OC'd.

The 660Ti is at 250+ euros so it looks better than 670 when it comes to price. Also I don't really like AMD.

[Eddprzz]

When it comes to budget, I'd say up to 300 euros for the GPU.

 

The 2Gb sticks where considered as an addition rather than a replacement.

 

The 680 is a no-no thanks to its price. The 670 looks interesting. Yet it costs 300 euros, so I'm wondering if it's worth it.

 

There's no reason to upgrade my heatsink, as my CPU runs rather cool and can't be OC'd.

The 660Ti is at 250+ euros so it looks better than 670 when it comes to price. Also I don't really like AMD.

upgrade ur gpu and I guess that's it ur Guna are huge improvement next thing is prob add ssd

[kristaps552]

AMD prices have inflated massively over the last little while, because of mining.
Now, for 1080p gaming, 670 would do good, because 660ti isn't cutting it anymore on maxed out settings. e.g. bf4 is all set on high on my rig, without any aa, and then im getting 40-60 fps (usually 60, but when shit hits the fan it dips down a bit)
Don't mix and match ram, it's never good. 8gb is enough. but you could do with 1600mhz ram though.
What brand is your psu? trust me it matters.
As for the cpu cooler, the stock one can stay, as long as you don't care about noise.
 

[Petroklos]

I was considering a 128GB SSD and installing Win8.1, Ubuntu and SteamOS on it, but I'll probably get it when SteamOS officialy releases.

 

The PSU is a "whatever" brand. It's branded with the name of one of the local pc makers. I know I should change it too, but it's working surprisingly good so far. (Ofcourse it's not even 80+. No mention of Bronze,Silver,Gold,Platinum or it being modular)

Also, BF4 is a really demanding game, so I'd be ok with 60fps even on low settings. I'm not searching for a beast card, only one powerfull enough to run new games with high fps.

[Petroklos]

Also, would SLIing my 450 with the upgrade (probably the 660ti) do any good? Maybe having the 450 as a dedicated PhysX card?

[rambi36]

Also, would SLIing my 450 with the upgrade (probably the 660ti) do any good? Maybe having the 450 as a dedicated PhysX card?

No. You can't mix and match different nvidia cards. Sli-ing your 450 is not worth it. Just get a GTX 760 and a new psu, and maybe a 120-128gb ssd if you have money to spare

[WoodenMarker]

Where are you shopping/located? Budget?

[Petroklos]

Where are you shopping/located? Budget?

Greece, 300 euros max.

[WoodenMarker]

Greece, 300 euros max.

Any specific shops you're using you can link us to?

[Petroklos]

Any specific shops you're using you can link us to?

http://www.plaisio.gr/ This is the shop I know, use most but its prices are high.

 

http://www.e-shop.gr/ This is a shop I don't use that much but I know that it's a good one and tends to has better prices.

 

http://www.skroutz.gr/ And this is a search engine for most greek shops.

 

 

Also, I've been considering the 770 as I've found it at 300 euros. I've found MSI's GTX770 Twin Frozr IV (factory OC) priced at 310. Should I?

 

In addition, now that I'm getting closer to the 350 euros mark, should I consider the 680? Wouldn't the 770 outperform it?

 

 

 

Aaaaand, one extra thing. I usually run a single 1920x1080 monitor but sometimes I use my second older 1280x1024 monitor too.

[WoodenMarker]

Also, I've been considering the 770 as I've found it at 300 euros. I've found MSI's GTX770 Twin Frozr IV (factory OC) priced at 310. Should I?

In addition, now that I'm getting closer to the 350 euros mark, should I consider the 680? Wouldn't the 770 outperform it?

Aaaaand, one extra thing. I usually run a single 1920x1080 monitor but sometimes I use my second older 1280x1024 monitor too.

The 770 is a slightly upgraded 680 and is a solid choice.

Auxiliary displays use very few resources.