Which parts of my rig do I ABSOLUTELY have to upgrade?

[GGNN]

Hey guys, so here's what I have at the moment :

 

• CPU : Intel i7 920
• Motherboard : Asus P6T Deluxe V2
• RAM : Corsair 9Gb
• GPU : Gigabyte GTX 660 Windforce
• Case : Antec Twelve Hundred
• Storage : Samsung 250Gb SSD + WDC 1Tb
• PSU : Antec 550w
• Display : HP 22" 1080p
• Operating System : Windows 8.1 (until 10 comes out)

 

For know, I only intend to buy a 144Hz 1440p display to replace my current one, and a medium to high-end GPU to run things smoothly

 

Any suggestions as to what are the things that I need to buy first? Some of the things I'm most worried about are :

 

-will my CPU bottleneck a high-end GPU?

-if so, should I overclock it?

-in that case,  should I get better cooling to make sure that I can OC both CPU and GPU?

-and if not, should I just buy a better CPU?

 

I'm open to all suggestions, and I have no brand preference (I've always gone with Nvidia until now but it doesn't mean I won't consider AMD)

 

[DarkBlade2117]

Better GPU, invest into some cooling like a NZXT x41 or x61 kraken, then yeah it will bottleneck but it can wait to be upgrade. After like a month upgrade the CPU and mobo. Something like a i5-4690k would be good assuming you game. If you do more intensive things like editing or what not a 4790k would fit,your needs.

[Lord_Karango17]

Buying a better cpu will also need a new motherboards, so you might be better off just overclocking it. there are many cheap yet efficient air coolers like the hyper 212 evo out there.

 

for gaming the 660 is not bad, but if you want to be using the 144hz capability of your monitor without running at med settings/ lower than 1080p, a gpu upgrade would be recommended. something like an r9 290 (really cheap now), or a gtx 970 would do you very well at 1080p.

[LucidMew]

How'd you manage to get 9gigs of ram? 4+4+1?

 

Assuming you're getting something along the lines of a 390(x)~980(ti) then your cpu probably won't be a bottleneck as much, as long as you overclock. But seeing that that's nearing 5 years old, you might think about upgrading that. If you really need one now, then like @DarkBlade2117 said, a 4690k/4790k will be good, or if you can wait until September or so, get a skylake i5 6600/i7 6700. You're going to get a new motherboard (and potentially new ram as well)

 

Oh, almost forgot, you probably will need to get a new PowerSupply. 550W is pushing it too close for my comfort for a high end cpu+gpu, especially when it's a number of years old. 

[Maslofski]

what games do you want to play? 1440p ultra 60fps on AAA games takes both my 970s, so for 144Hz youll need a great system. but ive its less demanding games then youll need less

[Tagiau]

How'd you manage to get 9gigs of ram? 4+4+1?

 

i am going to guess 1gbx3 and 2gbx3.

[Aphala]

CPU for user the first iteration of i3/5/7s are really bottle necking these days.

[Leonard]

1. PSU

GPU

A new CPU cooler for OCing the CPU

[GGNN]

How'd you manage to get 9gigs of ram? 4+4+1?

 

Assuming you're getting something along the lines of a 390(x)~980(ti) then your cpu probably won't be a bottleneck as much, as long as you overclock. But seeing that that's nearing 5 years old, you might think about upgrading that. If you really need one now, then like @DarkBlade2117 said, a 4690k/4790k will be good, or if you can wait until September or so, get a skylake i5 6600/i7 6700. You're going to get a new motherboard (and potentially new ram as well)

 

Oh, almost forgot, you probably will need to get a new PowerSupply. 550W is pushing it too close for my comfort for a high end cpu+gpu, especially when it's a number of years old. 

I got 3x1Go + 3x2Go RAM, works like a charm.

To be honest, I'd much rather try to overclock my CPU (the i7 920 can OC pretty nicely from what I've read) than buy a new CPU + motherboard. I'd rather spend that money on a nice GPU.

 

 

what games do you want to play? 1440p ultra 60fps on AAA games takes both my 970s, so for 144Hz youll need a great system. but ive its less demanding games then youll need less

I want to play 60+fps on AAA games, but also 144fps on older games like cs:go

[GGNN]

 

1. PSU
2. GPU
3. A new CPU cooler for OCing the CPU

 

550W won't be enough ? Do I absolutely have to upgrade my PSU if I want to get a high-end GPU ?

[GGNN]

Also, forgot to mention I've already got a pretty big Noctua fan on my CPU, won't that be enough to cool it if I OC?

[Praesi]

550W won't be enough ? Do I absolutely have to upgrade my PSU if I want to get a high-end GPU ?

550W arent enough for a Highend GPU. 650W minimum, sry Dude.

[HoiDaniel]

550W arent enough for a Highend GPU. 650W minimum, sry Dude.

Especially AMD cards are not champions in power efficiency. Nvidia is Okay-ish.

[GGNN]

550W arent enough for a Highend GPU. 650W minimum, sry Dude.

Ok then, I guess I need to spend at least 1500 bucks to upgrade a rig that already cost me more than $2000 when I got it six years ago

 

I guess it's go hard or go home with the PC gaming master race

[LucidMew]

Also, forgot to mention I've already got a pretty big Noctua fan on my CPU, won't that be enough to cool it if I OC?

do you happen to have the exact model number? They range from "pretty good, in range with the 212evo" to "damn good, competes with some AIO liquid cooling".

[Leonard]

550W won't be enough ? Do I absolutely have to upgrade my PSU if I want to get a high-end GPU ?

It really depends on the PSU's quality however i am almost 100% sure that a PSU of x58 era even if it is an Antec will produce coil whine in newer mid-high end GPUs not to mention that you won't be able to do a high end GPU on a 550w, they need 600-650w and above for stability, i am talking the 980s, 390s and furys.

 

I am not sure if the Noctua would be enough because you did not mention what the model is. <------things like this are needed to do a more accurate assessment of your system.

[Praesi]

Ok then, I guess I need to spend at least 1500 bucks to upgrade a rig that already cost me more than $2000 when I got it six years ago

 

I guess it's go hard or go home with the PC gaming master race

2000€ in 6 Years is ok. When you upgrade now, you are done for the next Years.

[GGNN]

It really depends on the PSU's quality however i am almost 100% sure that a PSU of x58 era even if it is an Antec will produce coil whine in newer mid-high end GPUs not to mention that you won't be able to do a high end GPU on a 550w, they need 600-650w and above for stability, i am talking the 980s, 390s and furys.

 

I am not sure if the Noctua would be enough because you did not mention what the model is. <------things like this are needed to do a more accurate assessment of your system.

Ok so I checked and turns out my Noctua is just an NF-P12 CPU heatsink/fan so I might want to get something bigger

[Maslofski]

a 980TI should be ideal

[LucidMew]

Ok so I checked and turns out my Noctua is just an NF-P12 CPU heatsink/fan so I might want to get something bigger

 

Uh, the NF-P12 is a fan. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YSONMO

[D2ultima]

How'd you manage to get 9gigs of ram? 4+4+1?

As another user said, 3 x 1GB + 3 x 2GB. 1st gen enthusiast i7s used triple channel memory.

 

 

• CPU : Intel i7 920
• Motherboard : Asus P6T Deluxe V2
• RAM : Corsair 9Gb
• GPU : Gigabyte GTX 660 Windforce
• PSU : Antec 550w

For know, I only intend to buy a 144Hz 1440p display to replace my current one, and a medium to high-end GPU to run things smoothly

 

Any suggestions as to what are the things that I need to buy first? Some of the things I'm most worried about are :

 

-will my CPU bottleneck a high-end GPU?

-if so, should I overclock it?

-in that case,  should I get better cooling to make sure that I can OC both CPU and GPU?

-and if not, should I just buy a better CPU?

Everything I left in the list should be changed.

 

Because of this.

 

First and foremost, you want to buy a GPU. Your 660 is not even going to be close to cutting it at 1440p 144Hz.

 

Yes, your CPU will bottleneck at high FPS counts.

Will help, but not enough. The jump from 1st gen i7 to 2nd gen i7 is massive, and the cumulative jump from 1st gen to 4th gen (or 6th gen if you go skylake) will be so large that you can expect no less than 60% of a boost in power. 1st gen i-series chips are pretty weak all things considered.

You're going to need a new mobo and everything for a CPU upgrade, so... yup.

The last 3 points suggest to buy a new CPU

[GGNN]

As another user said, 3 x 1GB + 3 x 2GB. 1st gen enthusiast i7s used triple channel memory.

 

Everything I left in the list should be changed.

 

Because of this.

 

First and foremost, you want to buy a GPU. Your 660 is not even going to be close to cutting it at 1440p 144Hz.

 

Yes, your CPU will bottleneck at high FPS counts.

Will help, but not enough. The jump from 1st gen i7 to 2nd gen i7 is massive, and the cumulative jump from 1st gen to 4th gen (or 6th gen if you go skylake) will be so large that you can expect no less than 60% of a boost in power. 1st gen i-series chips are pretty weak all things considered.

You're going to need a new mobo and everything for a CPU upgrade, so... yup.

The last 3 points suggest to buy a new CPU

Well, ok then... Even the RAM has to be thrown away ? Gosh that just hurts At least I can keep the Twelve Hundred case I guess

[D2ultima]

Well, ok then... Even the RAM has to be thrown away ? Gosh that just hurts At least I can keep the Twelve Hundred case I guess

Well you'll need dual channel DDR3 with better speed/timings for Haswell, or DDR3L/DDR4 for Skylake.

[Razarza]

Well, ok then... Even the RAM has to be thrown away ? Gosh that just hurts At least I can keep the Twelve Hundred case I guess

Well you could always just upgrade your graphics card and if performance is unsatisfactory than you will know if you need to upgrade your CPU.

[Leonard]

Ok so I checked and turns out my Noctua is just an NF-P12 CPU heatsink/fan so I might want to get something bigger

The NF-P12 is just a Noctua fan and not a heatsink and a fan. If you already have an OC, or when you do an OC on your CPU and whatever you have is cooling good enough for you then you can definitely keep it. If it isn't you will need to change it but you will have to ensure it can fit in your 12hundred, which i doubt you will have a problem anyway. When choosing heatsinks, you don't really need bigger but more efficient, for example, a bigger air cooler maybe about say $80 but there may be a more efficient air cooler for less, then it would be wise to just get the cheaper one if it cools the same or better.