Upgrading gaming PC, need advice!

claypigeon101 · 10 Jan 2014 at 18:38

Hey guys! It's that time again... I love this part

ADVICE NEEDED ON UPGRADING GAMING PC!

Current specs:
i7-2600 3.4ghz
24GB Teamgroup RAM (don't ask)
Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3
1TB HDD partitioned 50/50 half OS+files and half game files
ASUS GTX560Ti
Corsair GS700 (practically brand new)

This is my friend's system and I have some ideas to upgrade it (namely wait for GTX800 series then buy a 770 and upgrade CPU and mobo. Also get an SSD for OS and keep game install files on the current 1TB drive)

However I just wanted to put it to you guys to see what you think, upgrade budget is about £500-600 although not strictly limited, just ideally within that.

GPU definitely is struggling now with Far Cry 3 really cooking it, and with GPU upgrade new CPU is likely needed right? I'd like to keep it Intel+nVidia because in my experience that just seems to work a bit better... AMD alternatives welcome though!

Look forward to your thoughts.
Thanks!

Fulax · 10 Jan 2014 at 18:48

New GPU plus an SSD and you'll be sorted. To be clear: is that CPU a 2600 or a 2600k?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 WindForce 3x OC Rev2.0 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (GV-N780OC-3GD) £379.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £143.99
Total : £533.58 (includes shipping : £8.00).

claypigeon101 · 12 Jan 2014 at 00:53

Fulax said:
New GPU plus an SSD and you'll be sorted. To be clear: is that CPU a 2600 or a 2600k?

Thanks man, it's a 2600 according to Device Manager. Do you not think that needs updating? I thought a 780 or an 870 when they come out would need a better i7.

thanks

Fulax · 12 Jan 2014 at 01:28

Nope, nothing wrong with your 2600. (The reason I asked if it was a 2600k is that a 'k' processor can be overclocked for a bit of performance boost).

Obviously a 4770k would be an improvement, but nowhere near enough to warrant the £350-400 it would cost you to upgrade.

Havana_UK · 12 Jan 2014 at 09:36

If you're set on changing the processor then look for either a 2nd hand 2600K/2700K or 2nd hand 3770K. All of these will work in your current motherboard and allow you to unlock extra performance through overclocking.

There's been relatively little gain in processor performance since Sandybridge, and they're still very capable processors today.

claypigeon101 · 18 Jan 2014 at 17:01

Thanks guys. That's brilliant advice. So do you think I should get a 780 now or like I said wait until the 800 series comes out and get one then? Is there usually a vast difference in the price of the current newest series (700) when the new one comes comes out around spring.

Doomedspeed · 18 Jan 2014 at 17:19

The price do come down. Maybe by about £50/£70 on a 780 id say.

PhysicsMan94 · 18 Jan 2014 at 17:22

claypigeon101 said:
Thanks guys. That's brilliant advice. So do you think I should get a 780 now or like I said wait until the 800 series comes out and get one then? Is there usually a vast difference in the price of the current newest series (700) when the new one comes comes out around spring.

I find that it's best to upgrade at odd GTX series (i.e. GTX5**, GTX7** etc) so I'd avoid Maxwell until the 900 series arrives as that's when a lot of the possible issues will have been addressed and solved. So it might be worth getting a 770/760 or something while you wait for the 900 series. But it's up to you, and you definitely wouldn't regret getting a 780 - I have one and it's a brilliant graphics card.