Upgrading My PC

[MrPulsee]

This is my first post on this forum and seeing as how I watch LinusTechTips, I decided to check out the forum.

 

Anyway, I have a mid-tier gaming PC

 

CPU: Intel i5 4690k

GPU: EVGA GTX 960 4GB SSC

HDD: 500GB Toshiba drive

RAM: 16GB Corsair Vengeance 1666Mhz

Mobo: MSI PC Mate z97 ATX

3 Stock fans

CPU Cooling: Stock

PSU: 500W EVGA 

Peripherals

- Logitech G602 Wireless mouse

- Logitech G910 Orion Spark Mechanical Keyboard

-Headset Steeleseries wired headset

- Monitor HP Compaq LA2205wg  

 

Now that i've got that out of the way, I'm starting to look for upgrades for my build. I have looked at CPU coolers, a SSD, and a new monitor. If anyone has any ideas, comments, or concerns please let me know.

[Rocdaboss]

If you are looking for better gaming performance you could upgrade your gpu to a gtx 970 and if you want you could get a hyper 212 evo for your cpu

[Dzzope]

Budget and usage?

[Senzelian]

I think the best you can do is to get a new CPU cooler and a SSD.
That way you get the most out of your i5-4690k, because you can achieve higher overclocks and an overall quicker and more responsive system.
 

[Vercii]

SSD

[Dylan94]

as the other say I think you should take a ssd and a a cpu cooler so you can also overclock the cpu.... I would say that maybe another hdd cause for me 500gb are a bit tight... it depends also on your budget! but pay attention to the limit of the psu...

[MrPulsee]

SSD

 

 

I think the best you can do is to get a new CPU cooler and a SSD.

That way you get the most out of your i5-4690k, because you can achieve higher overclocks and an overall quicker and more responsive system.

 

 

 

Budget and usage?

 

 

If you are looking for better gaming performance you could upgrade your gpu to a gtx 970 and if you want you could get a hyper 212 evo for your cpu

Thank you all for your responses. My budget is going to be around 100-200. I did have a Zalman heatsink similar to the hyper 212 but it does not fit with my case without me having to remove a stick of ram.. (more is better am i right) So I am leaning heavily towards liquid cooling. I have narrowed it down between an SSD, liquid cooling, and a monitor. If anyone can give me specific suggestions that would be great

[Dzzope]

Personally I'd go ssd / monitor... SSD adds so much overall snappiness to a pc it's nearly a must these days... That said if you don't like your screen it is the main thing you use and see.

[Shanara]

Hands down, SSD. 

Also, yes, an Evo 212 would mean you could use that CPU for what its made for

[Matias_Chambers]

Get an SSD and a better GPU.

[Dzzope]

Thank you all for your responses. My budget is going to be around 100-200. I did have a Zalman heatsink similar to the hyper 212 but it does not fit with my case without me having to remove a stick of ram.. (more is better am i right) So I am leaning heavily towards liquid cooling. I have narrowed it down between an SSD, liquid cooling, and a monitor. If anyone can give me specific suggestions that would be great

Personally I'd go ssd / monitor... SSD adds so much overall snappiness to a pc it's nearly a must these days... That said if you don't like your screen it is the main thing you use and see.

 

For the cooler.. there is bound to be a way to get it on with the ram...

 

If the ram has heat-spreaders on it you can remover them (hairdryer / heat gun and it should peel off) or use a different slot for the ram or change the orientation of the cooler or move the fans up... try everything before replacing it.

[Senzelian]

I would suggest you at least 256GB of SSD storage, whether it is by Samsung (850 Evo) or SanDisk or Kingston, the differences are minor in everyday usage,

 

Finally someone that understands that.

But why would you suggest at least a 256GB SSD? I think 128GB are totally fine as long as you keep track of what you're installing and where you're installing it. I mean I'm even doing fine with a 60GB SSD.

[MrPulsee]

Personally I'd go ssd / monitor... SSD adds so much overall snappiness to a pc it's nearly a must these days... That said if you don't like your screen it is the main thing you use and see.

 

For the cooler.. there is bound to be a way to get it on with the ram...

 

If the ram has heat-spreaders on it you can remover them (hairdryer / heat gun and it should peel off) or use a different slot for the ram or change the orientation of the cooler or move the fans up... try everything before replacing it.

Well.. I 3 hours yesterday attempting everything to get the heatsink on. It turned out that the bracket didn't even match my motherboard and there were so many minor issues that it just was not worth it. I got the heatsink for free from my uncle so I am not losing any money with it. Also for the monitor I have is this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824276060 giver or take a little. I would like it to be around the same size but I am clueless on how much MS response time matters and all of that.

[pedro69]

The only component that would give you any significant performance upgrade is the SSD (faster startup, apps are more responsive). Liquid cooling only makes sense if you are going to overclock your CPU further than an Aircooler could go, but keep in mind that there are aircoolers who are on par with AIO's performance and quieter. Monitor could be an upgrade if you are going from 1680*1050 to 1920*1080 but you will take a slight performance hit due to the higher resolution.

[Dzzope]

I'd be getting a monitor... Then an SSD. Or if the monitor doesn't bother you an SSD then monitor.

[Shanara]

I think in most territories, 256GB(ish) is about the sweet point for price per GB currently. A 128 may suffice, but the price difference between the two generally shouldn't be a deal breaker. 

[MrPulsee]

Thanks everyone for your help. It looks like i'll be getting an SSD