PC Upgrade Advice

[Esoteric]

Hey CP,

I was hoping that you guys would be able to assist me in my PC upgrade dilemma.

My current build is the following;
• I7 920 @ 2.67 (stock) – I do have a thermalright 120 cooler for this
• BFG GTX 295
• 6 GB RAM DDR3 @ 1333 mhz (tri-channel)
• ASUS P6T Motherboard
• Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W Power Supply

I’m stuck on how I should proceed with an upgrade and could use your advice here. I definitely feel like my ram and GPU are holding my system back (followed by the CPU). Newer games (such as bioshock infinite) are only runnable at medium.

My options are as follows;

• Upgrade RAM – upgrade current RAM to either 12 GB (3x4gb), 16 GB (2x8 GB), or 24 GB (3x8 GB).
• Upgrade Graphics Card – Currently looking at a GTX 780 Ti (I enjoy future proofing – games are played at a minimum of 1920x1080)
• Overclock the CPU – I don’t have any experience with this, but imagine with my setup I could achieve a stable 3.6 ghz
• Replace the CPU/Mobo – look at either an i5 4670K or i7 4770K, along with an ASUS Sabertooth Z87 Mobo
• Build a new unit – combine all of the above parts (sans overclock of the current CPU) into a new system

Some other questions I have are;
• Given that the power supply is now 4.5 years old, should I look at a replacement? If I get a new unit I definitely will, but would this be recommended for upgrades?


If you have any advice on the best route to take, I’d definitely appreciate it.

Thanks!

[Rathji]

I would do the video card as first priority and then RAM. No real reason you need anymore than 12-16GB of RAM though, unless you are running some memory intensive stuff while you game

For reference, my Q6600 with a Raedon 7870 and 8GB of RAM runs Bioshock Infinite very well, so I doubt you would get much gain from upgrading or overclocking your current processor. To clarify, my processor is way worse than yours and RAM is essentially equal. The 7870 benchmark is about 4200 compared to 1049 for the GTX 295, so that's the big difference.

[Esoteric]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I would do the video card as first priority and then RAM. No real reason you need anymore than 12-16GB of RAM though, unless you are running some memory intensive stuff while you game

For reference, my Q6600 with a Raedon 7870 and 8GB of RAM runs Bioshock Infinite very well, so I doubt you would get much gain from upgrading or overclocking your current processor. To clarify, my processor is way worse than yours and RAM is essentially equal. The 7870 benchmark is about 4200 compared to 1049 for the GTX 295, so that's the big difference.

Wow, I didn't realize how old my graphics card is! Thanks for the chart. I'll probably look at upgrading my RAM and Graphics Card at the same time (since RAM is dirt cheap right now, and 6 GB no longer cuts it).

Would there be any issue with not upgrading the power supply?

[LockedOut]

The GTX 780 ti uses less power than the GTX 295. 250 watts vs 289 watts. No worries there.

[Esoteric]

Originally Posted by LockedOut

The GTX 780 ti uses less power than the GTX 295. 250 watts vs 289 watts. No worries there.

Thanks. I was more concerned about having a PSU fail on me, and the potential impact to my system because of it.

[cKy]

I have nothing to add that Rathji didnt cover. I have that Z87 board and it is pretty awesome. Make sure you get the protective covering for it - only because it looks awesome.

Spoiler!

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by cKy

I have nothing to add that Rathji didnt cover. I have that Z87 board and it is pretty awesome. Make sure you get the protective covering for it - only because it looks awesome.

Spoiler!

I don't get it, what is that supposed to do?

[To Be Quite Honest]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

I don't get it, what is that supposed to do?

[Esoteric]

I must say, thanks for the advice, but I decided to spoil myself;

i5-4670K @3.40Ghz w/6MB Cache (w/ CPU cooler)
Asus Z87-Plus MOBO
Kingston HyperX 16 GB DD3-1600Mhz RAM
Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB SSD
Seagate 1TB Desktop HDD
$20 DVD Drive - whatever
Asus GTX780ti 3 GB PCI-E
Antec 850W PSU
Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 Case

Going to have a blast playing this over the break

[TKB]

Originally Posted by Esoteric

I must say, thanks for the advice, but I decided to spoil myself;

i5-4670K @3.40Ghz w/6MB Cache (w/ CPU cooler)
Asus Z87-Plus MOBO
Kingston HyperX 16 GB DD3-1600Mhz RAM
Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB SSD
Seagate 1TB Desktop HDD
$20 DVD Drive - whatever
Asus GTX780ti 3 GB PCI-E
Antec 850W PSU
Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 Case

Going to have a blast playing this over the break

Not that its a bad thing but why such a big power supply? Major over kill if only running a single video card.

[Esoteric]

Originally Posted by TKB

Not that its a bad thing but why such a big power supply? Major over kill if only running a single video card.

Future proofing more than anything - this allows me to put in another 780 ti if I want.