Upgrading Advice

[iblakeyx]

First things first, My current setup is a few years old very first pc i ever made i went into that very uneducated so now that im upgrading it i feel like i should definitely be getting advice so that i can get the most bang for buck. 

 

My current computer contains; 
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
Processor: Intel Core i7-2600 CPU @ 3.40GHz ~3.7GHz
Motherboard: Gigabyte H67MA-USB3-B3
Memory: 12288MB RAM
120gb ssd
1TB HD

I have no idea what my power supply is and would definitely not be against getting a better one. 

I have mostly just been told that a new graphics card will solve my issues but im sure my motherboard could do with an upgrade aswell. 

I have wanted to try water cooling for a while also. 

1. Budget & Location

I am willing to spend about $1000AUD for the upgrades, I would prefer to use my current case Aerocool xpredator Devil Red and keep the build with a red/black theme. Obviously looks arent everything and i am flexible on this. 

2. Aim

My System is mostly used for gaming however i am doing a graphics/software engineering degree currently so allowing for that is highly appreciated. I tend to play all types of games mostly newer ones that require more power and my current graphics card just isnt cutting it anymore. 

3. Monitors

Currently using two monitors main one is 1680 x 1050 secondary is 1366 x 768 (mainly just used for web browsing) 

4. Peripherals

No peripherals are needed for this. 

5. Why are you upgrading?

Upgrading due to my system being pretty old and seriously wanting to play new generation games with higher graphics settings. 

 

Thanks for the help in advance. Cheers. 

[suchamoneypit]

Honestly I think you would just have to upgrade your GPU.

 

Upgrade your GPU and get a nice monitor (it seems the ones you have are really sub-par for today).

 

If you want really high end go with a 980 ti or a Fury. You could upgrade your CPU, but I think the one you have should be good enough. You could upgrade the motherboard, CPU, and GPU, but then you would have to get something like a 390 for budget reasons.

[iblakeyx]

What do you think would give me the most performance improvment? Just upgrading GPU and Monitor or cpu motherboard and gpu?

[Leonard]

I would get like a FURYx/980Ti/390,a newer PSU, preferably gold rated and a larger capacity SSD like a 500GB-1TB because install size for AAA games have .become larger.

[Gumi Rokkaku]

Snag a nice monitor and throw a 970 in that badboy. Maybe upgrade your power supply too. It's probably fine, but you'd want to make sure.

[DarkBlade2117]

R9 390 witha  nice monitor, also whats the PSU? Is it some cheapo one?

[iblakeyx]

Just now, DarkBlade2117 said:

R9 390 witha  nice monitor, also whats the PSU? Is it some cheapo one?

Yeah its just a cheap one, couldn't even tell you anything about it besides that.