Some advice on if to upgrade GPU and to what?

[Nighthaunt]

Hi guys,

I'm now upgrading my PC as my current AMD package (emergency buy from Maplins when my I5 760 set died suddenly and OU work due in) has gotten very slow. I'm looking to re-use some bits to save where don't fancy upgrading immediately.

What I'm going to (and ordered) is this:

I5-6600K
Gigabyte Z170XP-SLI motherboard
16GB Hyper Fury DDR4 2400 MHZ Ram
And decided to replace my venerable ~HAF 912 case with NZXT H440 (will pick up external DVD drive)
OCZ 500w bronze power supply

using onboard Audio which leaves me with the graphics card - Currently using a Sapphire Dual-X R9 270X 4GB card which seems alright (bottleneck was CPU).

I tend to play RTS (Xcom 2 and Homeworld Dessert of Kharak on order), some MMO's (Star Trek Online), World of Tank and World of Warships and Starcraft 2, DOTA, and the most graphical demanding is X3 / X Rebirth / Elite and other space empire building games and have been able to get very good quality settings.

So not massively graphics intensive but I like to be futureproof (hence 4GB version) - my question is should/do I need to be looking at upgrading the graphics card immediately or should I wait for the next major updates to AMD and Nvidia's ranges - and if so what's a good midrange choice for a budget of £150-£250 (Would rather spend towards lower end unless major performance boost for going higher).

Any advice / Help much appreciated as I'm not sure if I would see a significant improvement to justify the cost of upgrading? Running on a 26" Samsung monitor at 1920 x 1200 resolution if that helps?

Alex

 

[Nighthaunt]

Thanks P.B other than fleasite not used any others. How reliable is it getting a GPU second hand? Sorry to sound a bit nervous

 

[Nighthaunt]

Monitor is 1920 x 1200 Samsung SyncMaster T260 26" LCD bought in 2009 - done 7 years sterling service but definitely think its time to think about an upgrade - not planning on upgrading in near future (mind you its 7+ years old) but may well do if a decent deal on replacement 27" + monitor for stunning price pops up.

Alex

 

[Nighthaunt]

390 will be faster out of 970 at that rez......

just depends on if you want to spend now; or wait for Polaris which should be hitting shortly.....at least small....

Honestly I'd take look how games play; if they aren't what you want then go for 390....

Very good advice - will see what comes about - I know Company of Hero's 2 really struggled - but think that's more about the 2 core 4 logical thread processor that GPU. I've included the link to graphics card which was a good mid range last year so think it may well be more than adequate for now. link here to graphics card technical specification

 

[Nighthaunt]

Fear not on the SSD front, current spec:

Kingston SSDNow V series 128GB (SATA 2) OS drive
Samsung HD103SJ 1TB (SATA 3) games and data drive

New setup:

Kingston HyperX Fury 120GB SSD (SATA 3) OS Drive
Kingston SSDNow V series 128GB (SATA 2) Steam drive or ???
Samsung HD103SJ 1TB (SATA 3) bulk drive and larger games

Think it's probably sensible to wait from what I'm hearing until next gen is out and either grab a current gen 970 or 980, or 390 at discount prices or upgrade to the new generation depending upon performance comparisons.

I don't like AAA FPS on PC (use Xbox One for Battlefront, Battlefield and Titanfall etc...) So PC is space empire building sims or RTS / 4X so not hyper demanding upon graphics.

Many Thanks to everyone who's replied - all advice and help really appreciated.

Alex

 

[Nighthaunt]

Well as a quick update - managed to bag a very cheap S/H R9-290 )not X variant) but a large part of the attraction was the XFX DD design with the lit up XFX logo (which in white will match the NZXT logo in H440 lighting).

Certainly not the most powerful card - but cheap enough that I don't mind losing it after a year or so and a solid step up from my R9-270X.

Now got to source a 750W power supply form reviews I've been reading - looking at Corsair CX750M (semi modular).

Regards and thanks for advice - got me at least looking at second hand but 390's and 770's going for too much for me and this 290 seemed a step up for not serious money.

Alex

 

[Nighthaunt]

Might well end up going to future proof next year with the new equivalent of Fury or Titan - but having just coughed up for rest of components having to watch pennies currently /