What to do...

[Arphenyte]

So I'm on a dilemma right now. Before saying anything I'ma post my specs below.

 

CPU: i7 920 @ 3.67Ghz

Motherboard: EVGA X58 SLI LE

GPU: GTX 660

RAM: DDR3 I don't even know it myself to be honest, I bought them 8 years ago (probably some Kingstons).

HDD: Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM.

Case: I don't know, I tried searching for it on the internet, but without success. All I know it's a Raidmax, mid tower case. (Also bought 8 years ago.)

PSU: Semi-modular 850W +80 gold Cooler Master.

 

My motherboard does not support USB 3.0 (since it uses SATA II 3.0 Gb/s), so that means I won't benefit from getting an SSD at all. As you can see, it's an old build. I use it for gaming, programming, photo editing, and normal productivity stuff. So now onto my question. I got enough money for either getting 2 970s, or getting a new motherboard (I've been thinking about the Z97 HERO/FORMULA from ASUS), a i5 4690k or i7 4790k depending on which board I go with, and an SSD. I can't decide, should I upgrade the GPU, and enjoy FPS performance? Or should I get a new CPU, MOBO, SSD, and enjoy the speed of it?

[WoodenMarker]

Random read speeds and random access times aren't bottlenecked by Sata 3gb/s which are what make the ssd feel snappy.

Get a ssd. 

If your cpu is performing well enough for the games you play, just upgrade your graphics card.

[Rebelattack]

How about a 4690k a decen not overpriced motherboard and maybe even a 970. Also SATA III = 6.0 Gb/s so you probably meant Sata II.

[Arphenyte]

How about a 4690k a decen not overpriced motherboard and maybe even a 970. Also SATA III = 6.0 Gb/s so you probably meant Sata II.

You are right on that, my bad.

[Rebelattack]

You are right on that, my bad.

 

Lol no problem, only 6 moths ago I didn't even know we used SATA and about sockets. I don't judge

[Arphenyte]

Random read speeds and random access times aren't bottlenecked by Sata 3gb/s which are what make the ssd feel snappy.

Get a ssd. 

If your cpu is performing well enough for the games you play, just upgrade your graphics card.

Would getting an SSD make Windows 8.1 boot at 3 secs maybe? Since, with my hard drive it takes 10-15 seconds to boot. Just curious if it's worth it.

[WoodenMarker]

Would getting an SSD make Windows 8.1 boot at 3 secs maybe? Since, with my hard drive it takes 10-15 seconds to boot. Just curious if it's worth it.

No, Windows boot times with ssd's are optimally ~6-8s.. 

You're probably not timing boot times correctly. You should be starting the timer when you press the power button or when the bios splash screen is done for measuring Windows boot alone.

[jfing14]

Just get a single 970 (G1 gaming if you want decent performance, they are nicely binned, the only limitation being the silicon lottery, VRM's, the buck IC and everything else aren't going to hold you back overclocking), an asus z97-a and a 4690k. decent stuff and headroom for expansion (you won't notice any difference between the 4790k or 4690k, they have the same architecture, only the 4790k is higher binned [only noticeable under sub zero or really good water cooling] and hyper threading enabled (minimal real word difference)) also chuck in a mx100 ssd in there (note that the 512gb up are faster and performance decreases as you go down in size due to the way the controller reads the flash memory). DDR3 memory will make barely any difference so just stick with what you have and chuck a XMP on if you want to.

[Arphenyte]

No, Windows boot times with ssd's are optimally ~6-8s.. 

You're probably not timing boot times correctly. You should be starting the timer when you press the power button or when the bios splash screen is done for measuring Windows boot alone.

 

Ok, you are right. It took 31 seconds to boot, since pressing the power button. I think I'll follow your advice, I'll get a standard MX100 256GB, and 2 970s. Thanks.

 

Just get a single 970 (G1 gaming if you want decent performance, they are nicely binned, the only limitation being the silicon lottery, VRM's, the buck IC and everything else aren't going to hold you back overclocking), an asus z97-a and a 4690k. decent stuff and headroom for expansion (you won't notice any difference between the 4790k or 4690k, they have the same architecture, only the 4790k is higher binned [only noticeable under sub zero or really good water cooling] and hyper threading enabled (minimal real word difference)) also chuck in a mx100 ssd in there (note that the 512gb up are faster and performance decreases as you go down in size due to the way the controller reads the flash memory). DDR3 memory will make barely any difference so just stick with what you have and chuck a XMP on if you want to.

 

I honestly think my CPU is fine, but was wondering if my motherboard was bottlenecking my reading/writing speeds, but I guess not.

[WoodenMarker]

Ok, you are right. It took 31 seconds to boot, since pressing the power button. I think I'll follow your advice, I'll get a standard MX100 256GB, and 2 970s. Thanks.

I'd suggest sticking with one 970 and add another later if you're not satisfied with the performance.