Upgrading my PC

[Terra]

This is my current specs:

 

Motherboard: P8H77-M LE

CPU: I5-3450 3.1GHz
RAM: Kingston 8GB DDR3 (The normal one)
GPU: AMD Radeon 7770 
HDD: Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB
PSU: Seasonic 600w

 

It's already 3 years old.

 

Going to upgrade it into:

 

Motherboard: P8H77-M LE

CPU: I5-3450 3.1GHz
RAM: Corsair Vengeance/Hyper X Fury
GPU: Nvidia GTX 970 G1
HDD: Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB
PSU: With a new Seasonic PSU

 

is the upgrade build good for 1080 gaming? i'll probably add a new SSD if i have to.

[Tac127]

what refresh rate is your monitor if its around 60 the 970 might be a bit overkill but will still be good for future proofing 

[Senzelian]

The GTX 970 is a good card for 1080p gaming.
You can also have a look into the R9 390 if you want. Those come at a very similar price point, but with 8GB of VRAM instead of 4GB.

New RAM probably won't increase your performance. The differences between RAM are pretty small and not noticeable while gaming.

 

A new PSU is probably a good idea because of the new GPU, but your current SeaSonic PSU should get the job done.

Instead of upgrading the RAM I would buy a SSD for your operating system, so your boot times will be much faster and your whole system quite a bit snappier.

[AllBoxerNoShorts]

Seeing the wattage of your components, unless the Seasonic unit is ancient, I wouldn't recommend replacing it. SSD's won't help in any way WHILE RUNNING games, but can be an enormous lift while your system boots up and loads large games. Unless you're going DDR4, or are just a speed freak/want better looking units, you don't really need to get new ram. Beyond that, you should be able to rock 1080p, and even venture in 1440p with that 970. Have fun, and hope I could help.

[The_Stig]

Keep the RAM and just upgrade the GPU, as ram barely affects performance in games. 

[mata-pombos]

yeah keep the ram and instead get an SSD, a crucial bx 100 is a great choice

[TheCaptain53]

Pretty much what everyone else has said. Go for a 970 and keep the Seasonic, that will be fine. Plenty of wattage for a 970 that's been overclocked. 

 

I would make your next upgrade after this a new CPU and motherboard (and potentially RAM if you go Skylake). If you had a K-series chip, you could just overclock and keep your platform for longer. But seeing as you don't, a 4690K or 6600K would be a worthy upgrade after this one.

[Terra]

what refresh rate is your monitor if its around 60 the 970 might be a bit overkill but will still be good for future proofing 

 

i'm debating to get the Asus VS247HV or the Dell S2415H.

 

 

Pretty much what everyone else has said. Go for a 970 and keep the Seasonic, that will be fine. Plenty of wattage for a 970 that's been overclocked. 

 

I would make your next upgrade after this a new CPU and motherboard (and potentially RAM if you go Skylake). If you had a K-series chip, you could just overclock and keep your platform for longer. But seeing as you don't, a 4690K or 6600K would be a worthy upgrade after this one.

 

i am looking on to upgrade my motherboard by next year, probably going to get the 6600K with it.

 

by the way, the reason for me to upgrade to a newer Seasonic is that, the current GPU that i have, the 7770, is dead or there is something wrong with it.

 

whenever i load a game, it freezes and my PC monitor went dark. i asked in some forums, most people indiciate that the problem might be the GPU or PSU.

 

Currently i'm using my Intel HD to play my games, only playing LOL at the moment since Intel HD won't handle a lot of games. 

 

So basically this will be my upgrade build:

 

Motherboard: P8H77-M LE

CPU: I5-3450 3.1GHz

RAM: Kingston 8GB DDR3 (The normal one)

GPU: Nvidia GTX 970 G1

HDD: Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB

SSD:  Crucial BX 100 

PSU: Current Seasonic.

[TheCaptain53]

i'm debating to get the Asus VS247HV or the Dell S2415H.

 

 

 

i am looking on to upgrade my motherboard by next year, probably going to get the 6600K with it.

 

by the way, the reason for me to upgrade to a newer Seasonic is that, the current GPU that i have, the 7770, is dead or there is something wrong with it.

 

whenever i load a game, it freezes and my PC monitor went dark. i asked in some forums, most people indiciate that the problem might be the GPU or PSU.

 

Currently i'm using my Intel HD to play my games, only playing LOL at the moment since Intel HD won't handle a lot of games. 

 

So basically this will be my upgrade build:

 

Motherboard: P8H77-M LE

CPU: I5-3450 3.1GHz

RAM: Kingston 8GB DDR3 (The normal one)

GPU: Nvidia GTX 970 G1

HDD: Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB

SSD:  Crucial BX 100 

PSU: Current Seasonic.

If your PC isn't having unexpected shut downs, it's probably something wrong with your GPU. To confirm this, run on the Integrated Intel graphics for a while, and if the same happens, then something else is wrong in your system as well (possibly your PSU). But your current PSU should be absolutely golden.

[Terra]

If your PC isn't having unexpected shut downs, it's probably something wrong with your GPU. To confirm this, run on the Integrated Intel graphics for a while, and if the same happens, then something else is wrong in your system as well (possibly your PSU). But your current PSU should be absolutely golden.

i have been using the intergrated intel graphics for more than 2 months already, no unexpected shut downs at all.

[TheCaptain53]

i have been using the intergrated intel graphics for more than 2 months already, no unexpected shut downs at all.

Most likely your GPU then. Just get a new GPU and boom, job done.

[Terra]

Most likely your GPU then. Just get a new GPU and boom, job done.

 

that's an awesome news then. looks like i'll just have to get the 970 and SSD for the OS.

 

now, i just have to pick the right monitor. i'm going to use the monitor for my PC and PS4, PS4 will be used for playing exclusives games only

[TheCaptain53]

that's an awesome news then. looks like i'll just have to get the 970 and SSD for the OS.

 

now, i just have to pick the right monitor. i'm going to use the monitor for my PC and PS4, PS4 will be used for playing exclusives games only

If you're getting an SSD, you will probably have to reinstall Windows, so prepare for that.

[Terra]

If you're getting an SSD, you will probably have to reinstall Windows, so prepare for that.

 

yeah, i'll have to reinstall the Windows as well but, should i put my games into the SSD or leave the SSD for OS only?

[TheCaptain53]

yeah, i'll have to reinstall the Windows as well but, should i put my games into the SSD or leave the SSD for OS only?

It depends on your tolerance for loading times. Whilst I'm not overly bothered about loading times (with the exception of BF4 and GTA V, they take a damn long time), I keep all of my games on my 1TB hard drives and my OS and common programs on my SSD. This is to reduce the amount of writes to the drive, as constantly moving to and from the SSD and reduce its overall lifespan. More budget oriented SSDs, at around the 120GB mark, I wouldn't want to put any games on that anyway. Windows updates will take up more and more space over time, so I'd say 120GB is about right for just the OS and a few core programs.

[Terra]

It depends on your tolerance for loading times. Whilst I'm not overly bothered about loading times (with the exception of BF4 and GTA V, they take a damn long time), I keep all of my games on my 1TB hard drives and my OS and common programs on my SSD. This is to reduce the amount of writes to the drive, as constantly moving to and from the SSD and reduce its overall lifespan. More budget oriented SSDs, at around the 120GB mark, I wouldn't want to put any games on that anyway. Windows updates will take up more and more space over time, so I'd say 120GB is about right for just the OS and a few core programs.

 

what about the monitor that you are using? is 144 way better than 60?

[TheCaptain53]

what about the monitor that you are using? is 144 way better than 60?

I don't have a 144Hz monitor. Mine is a 1440p 60Hz monitor. I found that 1440p was a good resolution for the GTX 970, though if you're one of those people who HAVE to have every setting to the max, then 1080p might be better for you. I personally don't mind, so I found the 970 was good. In terms of 144Hz vs 60Hz, I haven't made the jump yet, because everyone who uses a high refresh rate monitor says the same thing. Once you go high refresh rate, you don't go back. I'm happy with games running at 60 fps for now.

 

As a side note, ignore the Titan X in my signature. I was recently using an EVGA GTX 970 SSC, but I got the Titan X for cheap. The 970 is an awesome card, and I only hear good things about the Gigabyte GTX 970 G1.

[Terra]

I don't have a 144Hz monitor. Mine is a 1440p 60Hz monitor. I found that 1440p was a good resolution for the GTX 970, though if you're one of those people who HAVE to have every setting to the max, then 1080p might be better for you. I personally don't mind, so I found the 970 was good. In terms of 144Hz vs 60Hz, I haven't made the jump yet, because everyone who uses a high refresh rate monitor says the same thing. Once you go high refresh rate, you don't go back. I'm happy with games running at 60 fps for now.

 

As a side note, ignore the Titan X in my signature. I was recently using an EVGA GTX 970 SSC, but I got the Titan X for cheap. The 970 is an awesome card, and I only hear good things about the Gigabyte GTX 970 G1.

 

yeah, i'm going for a 1080p monitor, kinda like to set everything max if it's possible for me to do. just need to decide whether to get the 144Hz or 60Hz

 

Anyway, thanks for your help!

[TheCaptain53]

yeah, i'm going for a 1080p monitor, kinda like to set everything max if it's possible for me to do. just need to decide whether to get the 144Hz or 60Hz

 

Anyway, thanks for your help!

There's no disadvantage to using a 144Hz monitor beside them being generally more expensive and the reason I mentioned previously, so if you can get a high refresh rate monitor, I say go for it.