Advice on possible GPU upgrade.

[zushiba]

I'm want to upgrade soonish and I'm thinking about the 970 vs the 980 but it occurs to me that my aging CPU may be a bottleneck. I'm currently running a Core i5 2500 on a ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3.

 

I'm actually in a good place with my current GTX 770 but I'm getting a real nice 4k gsync monitor for free and want to take some advantage of it. Am I shooting myself in the foot even bothering with the new 900 series while maintaining the CPU?

[TheKDub]

The 980 would be better for 4k than the 770 or 970, though I'd suggest upgrading that CPU to something such as the i5 4690K.

[Hendrics]

If you are wanting to run at 4k, I don't think just one 980 would really work well with game settings on 'high' or 'ultra', but yea definitely a fresher i5 or i7. Id also recommend maybe a 2nd 980, or two 970s, or at least a MB that is ready for it for the future

[I/O]

If you are wanting to run at 4k, I don't think just one 980 would really work well with game settings on 'high' or 'ultra', but yea definitely a fresher i5 or i7. Id also recommend maybe a 2nd 980, or two 970s, or at least a MB that is ready for it for the future

Indicative of LTT forum members general knowledge .... Sigh !

[zushiba]

So then the real crux of the issue is what path to upgrade. If I'm upgrading the CPU at all there's little reason to stick with the 1155 socket, I might as well spend the extra $350 and jump up to a newer motherboard and a newer i7 such as the 4790k. But do that before or after the gpu, that is the question.

 

I'm not interested in attempting to be cutting edge, I've got too many bills for that. I mostly program and play crap like WoW, though currently I am playing Shadow of Mordor.

[I/O]

So then the real crux of the issue is what path to upgrade. If I'm upgrading the CPU at all there's little reason to stick with the 1155 socket, I might as well spend the extra $350 and jump up to a newer motherboard and a newer i7 such as the 4790k. But do that before or after the gpu, that is the question.

 

I'm not interested in attempting to be cutting edge, I've got too many bills for that. I mostly program and play crap like WoW, though currently I am playing Shadow of Mordor.

The higher the resolution the more biased toward the GPU ... Your i5 2500 is plenty at that rez.

[Real_PhillBert]

I gotta agree with @I/O that I think your CPU is just fine. Although if you really want smooth 60+ FPS game play on a 4K monitor you are going to need more than a single 970 or 980 if you really want to push the settings up to the high/ultra levels.

[zushiba]

I gotta agree with @I/O that I think your CPU is just fine. Although if you really want smooth 60+ FPS game play on a 4K monitor you are going to need more than a single 970 or 980 if you really want to push the settings up to the high/ultra levels.

I hear the 970/980 are quite good on power, is a 750 watt PSU strong enough to run either of them in SLI?

[Real_PhillBert]

I hear the 970/980 are quite good on power, is a 750 watt PSU strong enough to run either of them in SLI?

A 750w PSU should be just fine for your system with an SLI 970/980 setup. I have a 760W psu and plan on a pair of 980's myself. 

[zushiba]

Excellent you guys have been most helpful, thank you. I'll need to wait and see what Amazon gets in stock soon. I think 2X 970's is doable.

[Hendrics]

Indicative of LTT forum members general knowledge .... Sigh !

Just trying to help bro...