Time for an upgrade. Need help please!

[Ren.182]

Hi all,

So, it's been a while since I've upgraded my computers CPU, Mobo and RAM and I feel it's time to give them some love. I've not upgraded these in at least 4 years so I have no idea what the latest and greatest parts are.

First up, my current specs are:

- i7 2600k
- Decent motherboard (Can't remember specs off the top of my head, I can update when I get home if people need)
- 8GB XMS3 RAM
- GTX 970
- 850W PSU

I use my PC primarily for games and I also like to stream every so often. I also do some pretty intensive game development tasks (3D, rendering etc...) so I need something suitable for these tasks.

I'm looking at spending around £600 but can go further if the extra money spent is worthwhile.

I take it Intel are still the best for CPU's? Which is the latest Intel? Haswell? Devil's Bridge? Or are the 2011 socket Intel's newer?

I'm thinking of getting some nice fast 16GB of memory (2x8GB sticks so I can upgrade to 32GB if needed in the future) and a good motherboard to go along with the CPU and RAM.

Any suggestions are very appreciated, I'm really lost at the moment!

Thanks all!

 

[Ren.182]

Ok, so I wouldn't see that much of a performance increase over an overclocked 2600k?

I have an Akasa Venom CPU cooler on the 2600k (This but with just the one fan: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-080-AK) and I have taken the CPU up to 4.3GHz if I remember correctly. Would water cooling allow me to go that much further? Something like the Corsair H1xx series of water coolers?

If a water cooling solution would give me a nice boost along with some more RAM then I might go that route, since it is much cheaper

Thanks for the input guys!

 

[Ren.182]

My temps are pretty good at 4.3GHz with the air cooler to be honest. I have the Coolermaster HAF X case so the airflow is pretty good throughout the whole case. Never had a problem with the temps. I have tried pushing the CPU higher but if I remember it started to hang in games and such so I don't think it would actually go any higher Maybe if I play with the voltages it would help? Would faster RAM help at all?

Wouldn't another 970 be bottlenecked by this current set up? Is a single one bottlenecked?

I have a BenQ XL2720Z (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-098-BQ&groupid=17&catid=1851).

 

[Ren.182]

Pretty sure my CPU never goes above say 65 degrees and the 970 hovers around the 65 degrees mark too. I can run some tests though.

I've never really messed with the volts on my CPU, just gone into the bios and upped the multiplier etc to give me a nice and simple overclock. I shall read into the volts to ensure I do it properly and see if I can push my CPU further then.

I don't really have a problem with my build. I mainly play CS:GO and depending on the map I can get a stable 250+ fps. But some games like DayZ or ARMA 3 and some other CPU intensive games can get laggy at times. So I thought that maybe an upgrade would help.

But since you guys have said I wouldn't see much of a gain from upgrading my CPU I'm just thinking about getting faster + more RAM and maybe splash out on a good sized SSD for games which should help.

Depending how my MOT goes on my car I thought I'd treat myself to some PC parts, hence this thread!

 

[Ren.182]

I knew I'd be close to stock with an overclocked CPU, I just wasn't sure if the newer CPU's had any additional benefits or actually had much of a gain in power over the older ones. Thanks for clearing that up guys

I do have an SSD already, but that's for windows, a few select programs and maybe a game or two if I can squeeze it on. I think I may buy a additional one for some other games along with a new hard drive. Windows has been saying my games hard drive has been dying for a few years now which probably doesn't help the slow down in some of the bigger games haha.

My RAM is Corsair XMS3 (8GB - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-290-CS). I may bump it up to something faster though.

 

[Ren.182]

Wow, thanks for that link. You probably just saved me a few quid as I was looking at the faster memory.

Some extra RAM and a bigger SSD for me then.

Thanks a lot for the help guys!