An upgrade possibility?

[Pucman]

Hey guys,

 

I have bought a used rig from my friend and have been using it for quite some time. Now after binge watching Linus channel, I know something more about PCs in general, so I was thinking about planning future upgrades. 

 

I would like to know, what might be the first bottleneck that I should upgrade

 

The computer:

CPU: i7 920

GPU: Gigabyte GTX 660 TI 2GB

Motherboard: GA-X58A

RAM: 16 GB DDR3 (1066 or 1333)

Storage: 256 SDD and 1TB HDD

 

I was thinking about getting another GPU to have them in SLI, perhaps that could be a cheap boost. However, I have no idea (nor experience) to say, if CPU and motherboard are ok for that setup. Maybe they are the bigger bottlenecks right now.

 

What do you guys think?

[Viper9]

I would upgrade the GPU, what's your budget ? 

[Guest Philosophy]

I am pretty sure that CPU will bottleneck most current gen CPUs, I'd invest in a Mobo + CPU. 

[Pucman]

Ok...

Well, I am quite happy with the performence for now, so I guess around 100-150 USD (I live in Poland). That's why I was thinking about 2nd 660.

With 2 660s I naturally presume that CPU and Motherboard have to go, but do you think that instead of the GPU, I should first upgrade them?

[X_Rated_Box]

Ok...

Well, I am quite happy with the performence for now, so I guess around 100-150 USD (I live in Poland). That's why I was thinking about 2nd 660.

With 2 660s I naturally presume that CPU and Motherboard have to go, but do you think that instead of the GPU, I should first upgrade them?

Hard to say in your case (<--did you sea what I did there)

I'd rather wait and save up money you are still more or less okay with your build

[BaxterTheFly]

I am pretty sure that CPU will bottleneck most current gen CPUs, I'd invest in a Mobo + CPU. 

Man its 1366 socket, it was ment for extreme builds, it wont bottleneck... it is still quite strong... 

[Guest Philosophy]

Man its 1366 socket, it was ment for extreme builds, it wont bottleneck... it is still quite strong... 

It was meant  to be, meaning it no longer is.  It is on par with Ivy Bridge i3s. Which is a bottleneck to a modern high end GPU, and a low end gpu would not be an upgrade. 

[BaxterTheFly]

It was meant  to be, meaning it no longer is.  It is on par with Ivy Bridge i3s. Which is a bottleneck to a modern high end GPU, and a low end gpu would not be an upgrade. 

I had 990x proc on x58, it ran 3% slower with 2x290x  than a friends 3770k... 920 shouldn't be much slower if overclocked... whatever, proc isn't a priority for him, at least that is my opinion...

[Guest Philosophy]

I had 990x proc on x58, it ran 3% slower with 2x290x  than a friends 3770k... 920 shouldn't be much slower if overclocked... whatever, proc isn't a priority for him, at least that is my opinion...

920 is not as good as a 990x. 920 performs about half as well as a 990x. 

[StainlessSR]

920 is not as good as a 990x. 920 performs about half as well as a 990x.

I agree with you. A 920 (for gaming) is beaten by a newer gen I3. An upgrade to 965, -975 Extreme, -980X Extreme, -990X Extreme would allow you to keep your motherboard. But due to the age of those chips and your location you may not be able to get any (for less than a fortune), so just getting a new CPU / motherboard may be cheaper.

 

All that said, if you are happy with your performance right now, I would just save the money. Spending on computer parts for gaming comes down to what would make you happy and if you are happy with the performance you are getting right now then all is good.

[Guest Strangerbob]

Cheapest haswell i5 cpu will remove all bottlenecks for the next 3 years.

 

And a gsync monitor will be like SLI`ing that 660ti, except better.