What should my upgrade path be?

[hezzajm]

My rig atm is fine but is slow to start but I'd like to be able to upgrade to either a new monitor 144hz or 1440p but I don't know what I should buy first.

[Phllips]

get an ssd first. also you will need a new gpu if you want to take full advantage of 1440p or 144hz at decent settings

[ImBleu]

If you have windows, the 1440p would be a pain in the arse if its on less than a 12 inch screen. Scaling is awful. 144Hz is kind of 'gimmicky' to me and I prefer 60hz 1080p IPS monitors :3.

 

And if your computer is slowing down, rather buy an SSD or more ram, a monitor wont make it faster.

[RamboOC]

Firstly, What are your specs?

I would say to buy an sdd first to make they system more snappier,

then buy the monitor with high refresh rate for games, and you will also need a new gpu to reach the target framerates on the new monitor

[Extingquish]

SSD first, then the monitor

[hezzajm]

What about CPU ?

[hezzajm]

Intel i5 4440 gtx 760 corsair 200r 1tb HDD

[hezzajm]

I have a 60 hz ips monitor lol

[xnoobftw]

I have a 60 hz ips monitor lol

What games do you play?

[Dude]

Intel i5 4440 gtx 760 corsair 200r 1tb HDD

 

Here's how it goes....

 

SSD

Motherboard and CPU

GPU

1440p monitor.

 

Why motherboard and CPU? Because you should get an i5 4690k or the i7 4770k. Why GPU after that? Because 1440p for a few games on a GTX 760 on high settings is absurd.

[xox]

Intel i5 4440 gtx 760 corsair 200r 1tb HDD

I have similar specs, so get an SSD, your processor is fine tbh.

[Ryukrieger]

Intel i5 4440 gtx 760 corsair 200r 1tb HDD

Agreeing with replies above, with this spec, you'd be best off getting an SSD (and put your OS on that)

Afterward, how much RAM do you have? For gaming, 8GB is the current sweet spot, not much more (heavily modded games excluded, watch usage for that)

Both your CPU/Motherboard and GPU are fine, my suggestion is watching the benchmarks and prioritize your GPU when you get unsatisfying performance.

A 60Hz IPS monitor is enough (for me, in my opinion), but if you want, go for 1440p (this may require you to upgrade your GPU roughly the same time depending on games), anything higher than 60Hz is, in my opinion, not a priority. 

 

So yes, because your PC is going slow, first SSD, next is RAM, if it's still going slow.... I think you're going to have to check your software, not hardware.

Personal recommendation on upgrading would be GPU > CPU > RAM (skip if you have 8GB, it's enough for gaming) > SSD/HDD > Everything Else. If you're doing any render-like projects (for example, 3D), then priority depends on programs for GPU and CPU, but RAM is recommended to be 12+GB.