Upgrading my PC

[Unicode]

Hi! It's been 4-5 years since I last did an upgrade on my system.

My budget is approx. 450 Euros / 320 GBP

I am currently running:

CPU: Intel i7-3770k @3.50 GHz  +  Stock fan

Motherboard: Asus Maximus Gene V

RAM: 8GB DDR3 @ 1600 MHz

PSU: Chieftec CFT-650-14C (650W)

GPU: Asus GTX570

Storage: 1x 120GB SSD Intel SSDC2CT120A3   1x 1TB WDC @7200 RPM    1x 500GB WDC @ 5400 RPM

 

I was considering upgrading:
GPU: http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-GTX-970-Graphics-Express/dp/B00NOP536Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447185199&sr=8-1&keywords=MSI+GeForce+GTX+970
    or

         http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-NVIDIA-Gaming-Graphics-Express/dp/B00NQ862GY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447187055&sr=8-1&keywords=gigabyte+gtx+970+g1+gaming
 

RAM: 16GB DDR3 @ 1866 MHz  http://www.amazon.co.uk/HyperX-FURY-1866MHz-Memory-Module/dp/B00J8E8YZC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1447187153&sr=8-2&keywords=hyperx+fury+white

 

Was considering changing the case too because mine is a bit battered and it started falling apart and fans are starting to die on me but it would go a bit over the budget  was thinking a cheaper Zalman Z1 / Z3 would be good?

This is my first DIY build so I'm not really that accustomed to PC building.   

The upgrade serves multiple purposes. Being able to play modern games at medium - high settings (ultra wherever possible) @ at least 40FPS. I also plan on using it for moderate 3d illustration/modelling work (Zbrush/maya/blender/photoshop and the likes).

 

Thank you in advance for any answers

        

 

[Starelementpoke]

Hi! It's been 4-5 years since I last did an upgrade on my system.

My budget is approx. 450 Euros / 320 GBP

I am currently running:

CPU: Intel i7-3770k @3.50 GHz  +  Stock fan

Motherboard: Asus Maximus Gene V

RAM: 8GB DDR3 @ 1600 MHz

PSU: Chieftec CFT-650-14C (650W)

GPU: Asus GTX570

Storage: 1x 120GB SSD Intel SSDC2CT120A3   1x 1TB WDC @7200 RPM    1x 500GB WDC @ 5400 RPM

 

I was considering upgrading:

GPU: http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-GTX-970-Graphics-Express/dp/B00NOP536Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447185199&sr=8-1&keywords=MSI+GeForce+GTX+970

    or

         http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-NVIDIA-Gaming-Graphics-Express/dp/B00NQ862GY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447187055&sr=8-1&keywords=gigabyte+gtx+970+g1+gaming

 

RAM: 16GB DDR3 @ 1866 MHz  http://www.amazon.co.uk/HyperX-FURY-1866MHz-Memory-Module/dp/B00J8E8YZC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1447187153&sr=8-2&keywords=hyperx+fury+white

 

Was considering changing the case too because mine is a bit battered and it started falling apart and fans are starting to die on me but it would go a bit over the budget  was thinking a cheaper Zalman Z1 / Z3 would be good?

This is my first DIY build so I'm not really that accustomed to PC building.   

The upgrade serves multiple purposes. Being able to play modern games at medium - high settings (ultra wherever possible) @ at least 40FPS. I also plan on using it for moderate 3d illustration/modelling work (Zbrush/maya/blender/photoshop and the likes).

 

Thank you in advance for any answers

Get a 390 instead. 8 gbs of ram will still be fine for now. Use money to upgrade psu.

[pokechat8978]

-snip-

What exact country are you located in?

I'd think an R9 390 and a better PSU is needed here.

[Mcmole]

I would get these and save for a S340 Case later to put them all in. I would wait till Friday the 13th though to buy this stuff may get a bit of a discount.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Kingston Beast 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£60.86 @ More Computers)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card  (£264.97 @ Aria PC)
Total: £325.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-10 20:44 GMT+0000

[Unicode]

Thanks a lot for the fast replies! .

I really considered the R9 390. But I've never used an AMD gpu before so i went for the bang/buck ratio in the nvidia branch. As for the PSU, it is quite old and I thought that since it still worked ok i'd just keep it. As for PSUs what qualities should I look out for when picking one?  I guess it goes a lot beyond wattage . 

 

@pokechat8978 I live in Romania.

 

Also, there was a mistake in my first post, the RAM is actually an old Kingston @ 1333 MHz  9CL.

 

Again thank you for the fast replies

[Mcmole]

Thanks a lot for the fast replies! .

I really considered the R9 390. But I've never used an AMD gpu before so i went for the bang/buck ratio in the nvidia branch. As for the PSU, it is quite old and I thought that since it still worked ok i'd just keep it. As for PSUs what qualities should I look out for when picking one?  I guess it goes a lot beyond wattage . 

 

@pokechat8978 I live in Romania.

 

Also, there was a mistake in my first post, the RAM is actually an old Kingston @ 1333 MHz  9CL.

 

Again thank you for the fast replies

 

At the moment the 390 will be around 10-15% better in all games and because it has 8 Gig VRAM it will last you much longer in high end games needing alot of textures.

And so you know the 970 only has 3.5gb VRAM and then another 0.5 1/7th the speed chunk of VRAM which degrades performance in demanding games.

Video about that here:

 

So I would still go with the 390.. Plus the extra 10-15% performance. AMD GPU's are very good. and with there new Driver Interface its pretty temping.

 

 

Like I said about.. Get these too things and save up for a nice case like the S340 to put everything in later on.

 

 

Edit: Just check how many Watt's your PSU is before buying the GPU.. Make sure it has around 650 Watts. If not. Then I would suggest that you get a new PSU...

[Unicode]

Thanks for all the replies. Haven't had time to update the thread, but yeah, I decided on the 390 for my gpu, got a cheap thermaltake midtower, and a 750W Coolermaster that was on a 35% discount. Also upped the budget by 70 Euros and grabbed the RAM too. It's probably going to be a few years until my next upgrade but i feel at ease now. Cheers!