upgrading graphics card or replace system

[rozijn]

Het I'm currently using an older build : an I7 870 with 6 gigs of DDR3 with a non overclockable mobo and a ATI radeon HD 5870. I'm quite on a budget since I'm still studying but is there a way to give this puppy a second life with a new graphics card? I feel that the CPU isn't that bad compared to current non overclockable CPU's. I know that a PCI3.0 card won't give the full capacity in a PCI2.0 mobo so do you guys have suggestions? Is it actually still worth it to keep this mobo and CPU or should I start looking to replace them asap. 

 

My initial idea was getting an overclockable mobo to pull some extra power out of the cpu if the prices aren't too bad, but on the other side it feels like a waste to pay for an "upgrade" that isn't gonna do very much in the long run. 

Combining that with a 1060 and a SSD. I hope you guys can give me an idea if this CPU is still viable to start overclocking and if it's still a good investment actually.

 

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

id just update you gpu to a 1060 or 480.

 

pcie 2 vs 3 won't hurt performance at all

 

Id get more ram aswell.

[RollinLower]

2 more gigs of RAM and a 480 should work wonders  

honestly, the ol' I7's are still very good chips when it comes to gaming.

[Gonio]

As above. You can do a GPU upgrade now and even if it's not able to perform at 100% of it's potential it should still be good until you can take a new platform.... Hear Q1 of 2017 will  become an interesting time for that

[Carlos1010]

You should upgrade your whole system, who know if your motherboard has the same cpu slot as other things and yeah, so there will be no bottleneck. What is your budget.

[Rohime]

4 minutes ago, Gonio said:

As above. You can do a GPU upgrade now and even if it's not able to perform at 100% of it's potential it should still be good until you can take a new platform.... Hear Q1 of 2017 will  become an interesting time for that

+1

 

GPU Now - take immediate benefit

Rest of system later when you can afford it (and reuse the same GPU).

[Thony]

Upgrade that GPU, i7 seems to hold pretty well 

 

[rozijn]

2 minutes ago, Carlos1010 said:

You should upgrade your whole system, who know if your motherboard has the same cpu slot as other things and yeah, so there will be no bottleneck. What is your budget.

My budget is as little as possible, I graduate next year normally so then there isn't any problem anymore. I just prefer to upgrade on a budget than buying a new system. since if I should buy a new system now it won't be what I want to buy and it would be a bigger waste of money imo