Is it worth the upgrade?

[Nyancoil]

Hello all - I finally signed up to the forum after being a long term sub to the channels!

I'm not sure if this is the right location for this thread as it isn't strictly a new build, but it is a potential upgrade plan I'm coming up with!

 

I currently have the following:

 

CPU: i3-4160 (LGA 1150 - Cooled by a Hyper 212 EVO, with stock fan)

Mobo: Z97-GD65 Gaming (MSI)

GPU: MSI GTX970 4G Gaming (Overclocked +170MHz on the core and +500MHz on the Memory)

RAM: 8GB 1600MHz G.Skill RipjawX

Storage: 250GB OCZ SSD, 1TB WD Blue, 1TB WD Green (For redundancy and unused stuff)

PSU: 500W EVGA 80+ Bronze

OS: Window 10 Home Edition

Case: NZXT H440

 

(If any other specs are of use give me a shout!)

 

So, onto the meat of my question I guess, I have a few ideas in mind here:

 

1. Upgrade to a second GTX970.

2. Upgrade to another CPU, staying on the 1150 platform as the mobo was a recent upgrade (less than 6 months).

3. Add 8GB more RAM for a total of 16GB.

 

In terms of the first upgrade idea: I'd require a new PSU -- I'm pretty sure 500W can't run two cards AND my CPU.

RAM is cheap, so that'll probably happen anyway -- Although the fan on my 212 EVO isn't leaving my first DIMM much clearance (if any) 

 

Would any of these upgrades be worthwhile, or should I just hold off a few more years until a second revision of the new intel CPU's and then take a larger plunge then?

 

In all honesty my system works perfectly as is, but I'm just curious about how I can get the best for my money meaning I'll have to do less upgrading in the future -- maybe until I have to build a whole new rig in 5 years for example?

 

Thanks for reading and taking the time to reply!

Hope it isn't a massively dumb question really!

[aries757]

12 hours ago, Nyancoil said:

Hello all - I finally signed up to the forum after being a long term sub to the channels!

I'm not sure if this is the right location for this thread as it isn't strictly a new build, but it is a potential upgrade plan I'm coming up with!

 

I currently have the following:

 

CPU: i3-4160 (LGA 1150 - Cooled by a Hyper 212 EVO, with stock fan)

Mobo: Z97-GD65 Gaming (MSI)

GPU: MSI GTX970 4G Gaming (Overclocked +170MHz on the core and +500MHz on the Memory)

RAM: 8GB 1600MHz G.Skill RipjawX

Storage: 250GB OCZ SSD, 1TB WD Blue, 1TB WD Green (For redundancy and unused stuff)

PSU: 500W EVGA 80+ Bronze

OS: Window 10 Home Edition

Case: NZXT H440

 

(If any other specs are of use give me a shout!)

 

So, onto the meat of my question I guess, I have a few ideas in mind here:

 

1. Upgrade to a second GTX970.

2. Upgrade to another CPU, staying on the 1150 platform as the mobo was a recent upgrade (less than 6 months).

3. Add 8GB more RAM for a total of 16GB.

 

In terms of the first upgrade idea: I'd require a new PSU -- I'm pretty sure 500W can't run two cards AND my CPU.

RAM is cheap, so that'll probably happen anyway -- Although the fan on my 212 EVO isn't leaving my first DIMM much clearance (if any) 

 

Would any of these upgrades be worthwhile, or should I just hold off a few more years until a second revision of the new intel CPU's and then take a larger plunge then?

 

In all honesty my system works perfectly as is, but I'm just curious about how I can get the best for my money meaning I'll have to do less upgrading in the future -- maybe until I have to build a whole new rig in 5 years for example?

 

Thanks for reading and taking the time to reply!

Hope it isn't a massively dumb question really!

first , upgrade cpu, i think that cpu is bottlenecking the gpu, then once u make it like an decent i5 or i7, u can add another gpu, if ur just doing gaming 8 gigs is fine, 

thats about it. 

[TheRandomness]

The 970 is already being slightly bottlenecked by your CPU, i suggest getting an i5-4690k before doing anything with graphics cards. Also, that PSU is very sub-par for a build like this, choosing something from tiers 1 to 4 on this list would be nice:

 

[Nyancoil]

1 hour ago, TheRandomness said:

The 970 is already being slightly bottlenecked by your CPU, i suggest getting an i5-4690k before doing anything with graphics cards. Also, that PSU is very sub-par for a build like this, choosing something from tiers 1 to 4 on this list would be nice:

 

 

Would this: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w-antec-edge-80plus-gold-fully-modular-atx-psu-japanese-capacitors-5-year-warranty! be a better choice for PSU in the long term?

 

Did a quick check using the http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator and it worked out about 730W recommended with an i5 4690k and 2 GTX970's, so would 750W cut it? I know you usually want to leave some headroom? How much headroom?

 

Ninja edit: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B011RGX5MU/?tag=xov-uk-21 or this 850W SuperNova, never had a modular before.

[TheRandomness]

4 minutes ago, Nyancoil said:

 

Would this: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w-antec-edge-80plus-gold-fully-modular-atx-psu-japanese-capacitors-5-year-warranty! be a better choice for PSU in the long term?

 

Did a quick check using the http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator and it worked out about 730W recommended with an i5 4690k and 2 GTX970's, so would 750W cut it? I know you usually want to leave some headroom? How much headroom?

 

Ninja edit: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B011RGX5MU/?tag=xov-uk-21 or this 850W SuperNova, never had a modular before.

Any of the EVGA G2/GS/GQ/P2 series' are fine. Also, why do you want 2 970s? A single 1070 or 1080 would be better because SLI doesn't always work, you know... That Antec PSU appears to be good according to various reviews (OEM Seasonic)

[Nyancoil]

9 minutes ago, TheRandomness said:

Any of the EVGA G2/GS/GQ/P2 series' are fine. Also, why do you want 2 970s? A single 1070 or 1080 would be better because SLI doesn't always work, you know... That Antec PSU appears to be good according to various reviews (OEM Seasonic)

It was just an idea really, purely because I already have one 970, I feel like a second would be a better shot (especially if I can get one on the cheap, used?) rather than dropping £400+ on a brand new card again - or I could just stick to the one until I do another major upgrade of platform in 3-5 years most likely?

 

It's more a futureproofing idea - although the support for SLI seems to be slowly disappearing I guess with the recent changes to 3&4 way.

 

Also might be worth noting that I'm planning on investing in more monitors soon - currently running an Acer XB240H, but feel like I will benefit from monitor space for work (and gaming) - so was also looking at needing more GPU power to drive them, although I guess a single 970 does the job fairly well.