Upgrade Roadmap Help

[Vertigo610]

Hey folks!  A few years back I put together something of a mid-range build, and have been thinking lately about upgrading.  Gaming performance was never through the roof, but it's definitely starting to show its age.  That said, I'm not in a huge hurry and I'd like to stagger out the upgrades (rather than do everything at once), even if it takes a few months, so I don't bust the budget entirely.

 

Here's the current setup:

 

i5-4690k on a Corsair Hydro H75 AiO

Asus Z97-A Mobo

16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 2600

Corsair RM 750 Power Supply

Samsung EVO 250 SSD

Asus STRIX GTX 970

 

Budget and Location: $1200 split into multiple purchases over the next few months; USA

 

Aim: Upgrade my current build, while maintaining backwards compatibility for my existing components (AiO cooler excluded) until they're replaced.  Ultimately I'd like to dramatically improve my gaming performance, and I use my PC almost exclusively for that purpose.  I would like to migrate at least somewhat into the modern world of gaming, experience "ultra" graphic settings in the current environment, dink around with VR, and know what gaming beyond 1080p looks like.

 

Monitors: Currently using a derpy 1920x1080, though I'm a big fan of dual monitors and would like to include at least one new monitor with a better resolution in the budget.

 

Peripherals: Got everything I need. 

 

Why are you upgrading:   Though I can't game as often as I'd like anymore, it's still one of my favorite pastimes and when I *do* have the time, I'd like to do it right.  Or at least a little better.

 

Strange Requests: I'd like the first purchase to include the motherboard and processor, if nothing else.  What happens after that, and in what order, I leave to the creative minds of better informed users.

 

Thanks!

 

Edit - I don't have any particular brand loyalty - looking for bang for the buck, so either AMD or Intel are fine!

 

[Onboard87]

i would update the GPU to a min 1070 and CPU not sure of power supply as i use AMD cpu cards but 750 watts should be enough and call it good

[grss1982]

What games do you play?

 

If it's just esports titles, the rig is more than enough.  Can you name some of your current games and future games you want to play?

 

[Vertigo610]

3 minutes ago, grss1982 said:

What games do you play?

 

If it's just esports titles, the rig is more than enough.  Can you name some of your current games and future games you want to play?

 

Sure thing!  I probably should have done that already.  Truthfully I play a little of everything, but most recently we're looking at Tomb Raider 2013 and Rise of the Tomb Raider, GTA V, Far Cry V, Witcher 3, Skyrim modded to all hell, Bioshock Infinite, the occasional esport game, some WoW and Minecraft for good measure.  The Tomb Raider games were kinda the benchmark for my current rig: it ran 2013 really damn well, had some issues with Rise, and I imagine that Shadow is gonna clobber it good.  Witcher 3 took some sad concessions on my part to get running smoothly, but it works. The thing is, it *plays* all these games (especially the older ones) just fine, even the newer ones when I tune the graphics down a bit - but I'd like to up the detail, up the resolution, and up the performance as well.

[grss1982]

14 minutes ago, Vertigo610 said:

Sure thing!  I probably should have done that already.  Truthfully I play a little of everything, but most recently we're looking at Tomb Raider 2013 and Rise of the Tomb Raider, GTA V, Far Cry V, Witcher 3, Skyrim modded to all hell, Bioshock Infinite, the occasional esport game, some WoW and Minecraft for good measure.  The Tomb Raider games were kinda the benchmark for my current rig: it ran 2013 really damn well, had some issues with Rise, and I imagine that Shadow is gonna clobber it good.  Witcher 3 took some sad concessions on my part to get running smoothly, but it works. The thing is, it *plays* all these games (especially the older ones) just fine, even the newer ones when I tune the graphics down a bit - but I'd like to up the detail, up the resolution, and up the performance as well.

I see AAA titles and the most important thing of all MOAR EYE CANDY!

 

Definitely a platform upgrade. Which means you need to buy the processor, motherboard and the RAM at the same time.  You can't use DDR3 with newer AMD or Intel stuff.

 

Which begs the question do you have any preference? AMD or Intel?

Might want to add these answers to your first post.

I'm not comfortable giving suggestions on newer stuff since I don't have experience with them. Still on an i7-3770 based rig.

[grss1982]

Sorry. Double Post. That edit button and quote button are just too near one another!

[Vertigo610]

4 minutes ago, grss1982 said:

I see AAA titles and the most important thing of all EYE CANDY!

 

Definitely a platform upgrade. Which means you need to but the processor, motherboard and the RAM at the same time.  You can't use DDR3 with newer AMD or Intel stuff.

 

Which begs the question do you have any preference? AMD or Intel?

Might want to add these answers tp your first post.

 

Nah, no real brand loyalty.  I used AMD for a long time, the 4690k was my first Intel processor since a Celeron back in the late 90s.  I'll take whatever works, mostly I want bang for my buck!

[brob]

Upgrading the cpu is not going to improve gaming significantly. That requires an new gpu.

 

Is the cpu overclocked?

 

[Vertigo610]

Well a new GPU is part of the budget, just not right away.  Ideally I'm going for CPU / Mobo / RAM / GPU / Monitor.

 

An no, the CPU isn't overclocked.  It has fought me endlessly over the last three years, nothing seems to work.  To be fair, the motherboard has had a LOT of problems (I should have RMA'd it), so it could just be a bad board.