Upgrade Advice Needed

xianate · 31 Oct 2014 at 00:18

I have a bit of spare cash at the moment and i am looking to upgrade my system. my current specs are:

FX 8320 @4.3ghz
H105
MSI GTX 970
8GB 1600mhz
Cheap gigabyte MATX motherboard
Cheap PSU
1TB HDD
120GB SSD

Its a pretty nice system apart from the motherboard and PSU which i will upgrade when i order new parts. I mainly use my computer for gaming and some video editing.

Here is the part where i need help, i know i want to upgrade but getting another GTX 970 whilst only having an FX 8320 would be a bit silly and upgrading the processor to something like a 4770k would be overkill with only a single GTX 970 and unfortunately i can't get both.

Do you think i should get a second 970 or upgrade my CPU? i have worked it out and both options would cost roughly the same once i include a new motherboard and PSU. If you have any other suggestions i would love to hear them.

stulid · 31 Oct 2014 at 00:23

What board do you have?

May not even support sli

deano-5 · 31 Oct 2014 at 00:50

Tell us more about that PSU too

Doomedspeed · 31 Oct 2014 at 01:17

'Cheap PSU' + SLI = costly..

A CPU can't really be overkill for a GPU.

What resolution to you use? If its 1080p 970 SLI is pointless, the 970 will Max it easy, even 1080p 144hz.

tamzzy · 31 Oct 2014 at 10:01

save the cash and upgrade fully in a few months?

xianate · 31 Oct 2014 at 11:12

My motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P and I have a CIT 850w PSU. As I mentioned, when I order new parts they will be replaced to something suitable, either a 990FX-UD3 if I choose to stick with AMD or an MSI Z97 Gaming 5 if I choose to upgrade to an Intel processor. I have heard good things about Superflower PSU's and will probably pick one of those up.

@Doomedspeed

Yes, I only use a 1080p display.

tamzzy · 31 Oct 2014 at 11:17

your rig should have no problems at all at 1080p
upgrading anything is silly, unless you want the epeen

only thing worth upgrading is the psu and (possibly) a bigger ssd

mickyflinn · 31 Oct 2014 at 11:22

CIT = fully star out swear words. i would get a new PSU especially if your going SLI

stulid · 31 Oct 2014 at 11:23

If you have a matx board now, can your case take a atx sized board?

If you go Intel you can get board+cpu bundles, or a board that comes with a free £40+ keyboard,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-SLI - Devils Canyon Core i5 4690K Bundle **£14 Saving** £258.58
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £109.99
Total : £378.17 (includes shipping : £8.00).

DaleTheWhale · 31 Oct 2014 at 12:21

You don't need SLI 970's on a 1080p screen.
Moving over to Intel would be a good move though.

Fallen god · 31 Oct 2014 at 12:33

I would personally hold my money for a while, at least till boardwell so you get more for your money.

Right now I would get a better PSU and SSD.

YOUR BASKET
1 x SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 750W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £95.99
1 x Seasonic M12II EVO Edition 850W '80 Plus Bronze' Fully Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 750W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £79.99
1 x Crucial MX100 256GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter (CT256MX100SSD1) £79.99
Total : £350.96 (includes shipping : £12.50).

One of these PSU is what I would be looking at, maybe not the first one as its not modular but its rock solid unit.

Also what Case do you have?

xianate · 31 Oct 2014 at 12:46

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions

@stulid
@Fallen god

I have a Thermaltake Urban S31 ATX case.

stulid · 31 Oct 2014 at 13:00

If you have the money now this is a good deal - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18633585

But needs a better 550+PSU to go with it.

Or get £30 off this R9 290 - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18631947

Still needs a a good 550W+ PSU.