Gaming Upgrade CPU/GPU

[Tbone255]

Hey I was wondering if anyone has some ideas about what the best way to upgrade my current gaming rig would be. I have a GTX660 with a FX6300 overclocked to 4.5 and 12 gig of ram. I play mostly total war games and would like to see a notable performance increase in these games, I feel an intel cpu may provide that boost but I am also considering a GTX970. Hope you have some ideas!

 

[spot35]

660 -> 970 will be a massive increase in performance. 12GB of RAM should be enough. You'll obviously have to splash out in the mobo as well and I think an i5 will be plenty for your needs.

Are you gaming at 1080p?

 

[Tbone255]

You think an i5 4690k and gtx970 plus decent mobo would get this running well ? Any reccomendations of a good mobo? Not an expert on compatibility. Have plenty of cooling etc. Gaming at 1080p for the time being anyway!

 

[ALXAndy]

Your CPU and its clock speed are absolutely fine, you don't need a new CPU.

Depending on your board if you're really itchy then just wait for the 8310 or whatever AMD are calling it (the £80 8 core chip).

GPU yes. I would either SLI yours (cheapest option) or 970 or possible second hand 780/TI/290/X.

Other than that I wouldn't change anything else. If your board is not SLI capable then don't fret, HyperSLI will take care of that for your

 

[Tbone255]

For the games I am looking to play I need an improved single threaded performance thats why I am considering an Intel upgrade. You think SLI with two gtx 970's with my current board and cpu would exceed performance with a new i5/i7 and gtx 970?

My current motherboard is an Asus M5A97 LE. 2.0.

 

[BurntProc]

I think total war games are more cpu bound than gpu, I'd take an i5+970 over fx+sli for them. Other games will differ...

 

[Tbone255]

I ended up getting the MSI GTX970 Twin Frozr and the i7 4790k due to its performance in the single threading. Should handle most things decently!

 

[dfour]

I ended up getting the MSI GTX970 Twin Frozr and the i7 4790k due to its performance in the single threading. Should handle most things decently!

The i5 4690K would have given you exactly the same improvment as the i7 for less money. Should be a good upgrade overall though.

 

[elrasho]

I would have gone for the i7 4790K too, more threads is a good thing as I think newer games are going to benefit from them.

 

[ginjaninja]

For the games I am looking to play I need an improved single threaded performance thats why I am considering an Intel upgrade. You think SLI with two gtx 970's with my current board and cpu would exceed performance with a new i5/i7 and gtx 970?

My current motherboard is an Asus M5A97 LE. 2.0.

surprised you need more cpu performance.isnt your current cpu 3.5ghz (my old [email protected] is often not cpu limited even on recent AAA titles.)..
that said i have read comments that SLI benefits from cpu cores.
1x 970 on your current setup to start with would be more than enough for 1080p gaming id of thought...then go from there if you need to.