More Ram or New CPU?

BeadyRoller · 19 Feb 2014 at 12:19

I'm thinking of upgrading my computer by either getting another 8GB so I have 16GB of RAM or upgrading my CPU, I have a i5 3570K at the moment. I use it solely for gaming so what would give me the best improvement? I have a 7970 GPU so that will do me well for a few years yet.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks.

kefan77 · 19 Feb 2014 at 12:21

get a SSD. nothing else needs changing.

is that 3570K OCed?

David Bisset · 19 Feb 2014 at 12:22

None of the above?

8GB is plenty ram for almost all gaming now.

a 3570k (I assume this is what you have) is likewise plenty, you'd see some gains by upgrading to a 3770k but unless you got a good deal it'd probably not be worth it. What speed are you running it at?

a 7970 is a decent graphics card, but it still probably the biggest weakness in your current setup. I'd not upgrade it either myself, but were I to upgrade anything that'd be it.

Got an SSD?

Edit: Curses, kefan beat me to it.

BeadyRoller · 19 Feb 2014 at 12:24

kefan77 said:
get a SSD. nothing else needs changing.

is that 3570K OCed?

What would I gain from an SSD mate?

No it isn't because I've never overclocked anything before, is it worth it?

BeadyRoller · 19 Feb 2014 at 12:26

David Bisset said:
None of the above?

8GB is plenty ram for almost all gaming now.

a 3570k (I assume this is what you have) is likewise plenty, you'd see some gains by upgrading to a 3770k but unless you got a good deal it'd probably not be worth it. What speed are you running it at?

a 7970 is a decent graphics card, but it still probably the biggest weakness in your current setup. I'd not upgrade it either myself, but were I to upgrade anything that'd be it.

Got an SSD?

Edit: Curses, kefan beat me to it.

So you think my best bet is getting an SSD as well? I just want to make my PC durable for the next few years. Would you suggest the next upgrade being a GTX 780 card then maybe?

kefan77 · 19 Feb 2014 at 12:30

BeadyRoller said:
What would I gain from an SSD mate?

No it isn't because I've never overclocked anything before, is it worth it?

speed.

you better get a decent cooler and look into it asap. yes it's worth it. hope you got a Z77/Z68 mobo though.

BeadyRoller · 19 Feb 2014 at 14:23

Yeah I've got a Z77. Would the intel fan not be enough to overclock?

kefan77 · 19 Feb 2014 at 14:25

no, absolutely not.

Baron C · 19 Feb 2014 at 14:37

Aftermarket cooler for the cpu so that you can overclock it. ( my 3570k runs at 4.6 ghz on Air)
Look at silverarrow, phanteks, Noctua D14.

Like others ...got SSD?
Single best upgrade , faster search times, loading quickly. Stick your Operating system on it, and rest of stuff on another drive. ( depending on size of ssd,)

In its current state you haven't come anywhere close to what your system can do.

I personally, cannot see anything giving your GPU problems. Stonking performance. ( You run at what resolution?)

VKleita · 19 Feb 2014 at 14:39

Far be it for me to stick my head in here but I suggest maybe having a good bit of a read before going further.

You have purchased a Overclockable CPU and for a little more outlay you can get more performance but it involves time and effort

I have to say your pc is well above the average game player, I really don't think you are going to see some massive improvement, you have a good solid system there.

Yes a SSD makes a massive difference to boot up time and basically moving about in windows, more so than a CPU or RAM upgrade will.

8GB of RAM should be more than fine for more than most tasks.

I hope that makes sense