Upgrade path options, which to take?

[val0r0x]

Hi there,

 

So, as the title suggest, I want to know what you all think about my potential upgrade paths. As I see it, I have two and I'm not sure if either are worth it. Perhaps I should just stop trying really hard to spend money... Anyhoo, current build in a nutshell...

 

- 4690K

- MicroITX Motherboard

- R9 390X

- Sad and lonely 1080p Monitor

 

This post is prompted by me wanting a new and improved monitor. But with the announcement of the GTX 1080 and it's arrival right around the corner, I'm a little stuck. It's probably also worth mentioning that I'm a framerate whore and whilst the 1080p monitor does just fine with the 390X, I want to maintain ultra settings where I can when I grab myself a 1440p monitor (make/model undecided).

 

Do I buy an ATX motherboard (case can take it, despite having the MicroITX motherboard at the moment) and simply strap in another R9 390X, keeping all other existing hardware the same? Or, do I spend some (OK, more than "some") extra and move to a 6600K, DDR4 etc. and buy the GTX 1080 to replace the R9 390X? Third option of course is again just running a second R9 390X but in conjunction with the new 6600K.

 

Obviously my concern is that the performance jump between the 4690K and the 6600K is minimal. But I'm worried that spending money on another 1150 motherboard is just a little unnecessary given there's a newer platform out there, so I should just invest in that and go the 6600K.  Yes I'm aware of the pitfalls of dual card setups, hence why I'm considering the GTX 1080, given that it should be more than enough to eat up games at 1440p. But, for half the price I could run Crossfire with my R9 390X, I'm just not sure performance wise, how it will hold up. From what benchmarks I've seen though, pretty well.

 

Hope I've explained this well enough, if not, will clarify any points that don't make sense. If you have any other ideas, other than those I've put forward, hit me with them!

 

Cheers.

[Streetguru]

18 minutes ago, val0r0x said:

 

CPU/GPU are fine, probably buy a 4k or 1440p 144hz IPS display, both are around 500

 

there'd be no reason to get a 1080 with your current display, and buying an nvidia card would mean spending more on an adaptive-sync display in the future

[Guest]

Personally i would try to find a used ATX motherboard and get another r9 390x.

Also keep an eye on the used market, that is your best bet for value.

 

Upgrading to 1151 and gtx 1080 would cost more than i would be personally, willing to spend on an upgrade. And the R9 390X is already a beast in dx12, i would go with Crossfire.

[val0r0x]

8 minutes ago, HydraGaming said:

Personally i would try to find a used ATX motherboard and get another r9 390x.

Also keep an eye on the used market, that is your best bet for value.

 

Upgrading to 1151 and gtx 1080 would cost more than i would be personally, willing to spend on an upgrade. And the R9 390X is already a beast in dx12, i would go with Crossfire.

This is currently my thinking... Especially living in Australia, upgrading is not cheap.