What Should I Upgrade First?

[Boy_Narf]

Hello Everyone,

 

So I've got a bit of an older rig and have been itching to upgrade over the past 6 months or so. 

 

2600K @4.5GHZ

16GB 1600 Ram

EVGA GTX780 in SLI

Asus VE278Q

 

I'm still able to hit 60 FPS with Ultra settings in 1080P in most games, but the video cards are especially starting to show their age thanks to the 3GB of VRAM. I also have to keep settings lower on some games as the top card is of course hotter leading to some quick throttling if both cards are >= 70% usage. I was about to pull the trigger on a 7700K upgrade a few months back but Coffee Lake had me intrigued so I waited. I have been trying to get an 8700k but as we all know there are serious shortages unless you are lightning fast on the checkout button. I've not been so lucky as of yet. So the rig is used mostly for gaming, as well as a bit of music production. I figured a CPU/MB/RAM upgrade would be a good idea now that CL is out. The 780's will most likely gain a bit of performance especially at 1080p. I then got to thinking that it's never the CPU that is letting me down (well except in large SC2 matches), but it's frequently the GPU. So I checked my local MEMX and it just so happens they have a ton of 1080TI's in stock. I was considering a 1080 last December, but now that the 1070ti it out, I don't see much of a point. Also I plan to have the full system done in the next year, and as you can tell upgrade every 5+ years, so I think the 1080TI will have a bit more lasting power. I've also found (after a bit of research) that the general consensus is running a 1080TI with a 2600K is a waste of money. Most people recommend the 1070 to game at 1080P, but then I know when I get a new monitor I'll need the extra horsepower. I then started to research new monitors and I'm digging the ASUS ROG PG278QR. I've tried my 780 sli setup at higher than 1080p but they really can't handle it.

 

I've got $1000 to spend so what would you guys suggest?

 

1. Upgrade the 780SLI rig to a 1080TI, and run all my games in DSR mode (less heat, less noise, no more dropping game settings, save some money on my power bill).

2. Upgrade the 2600K to an 8700K/MB/RAM (improve lowest frame rate and frame time, speed up music rendering, improved everyday performance).

3. Upgrade my monitor and lower game settings (not crazy about this idea, but it's an option. I could most likely eek my FPS up to 75-100 without the 780's getting to angry, loud though).

4. Save my money for a rainy day.

 

I'm leaning towards #1 and living in DSR land until I've got some cash for a new monitor. Then see what happens next fall with Intel. Perhaps they will finally fix the TIM issues who knows.

 

Thanks Everyone

[QuantumBit]

i5 8400 + 1070/ti, sell the old monitor and try getting 1440p?

Maybe get an 8600k if it fits in the budget

[Boy_Narf]

Hey QB,

 

I'll be keeping the old screen for an additional display. I'll check out some benchmarks on the I5. Haven't given them much attention.