Upgrade RAM or GPU first?

[MR_MU53NDO]

Right i haven't got enough money to upgrade both my graphics card and RAM at the same time (being 16 i have a pretty tight budget...), so which one would be better to upgrade first?

At the moment i have:
> gtx 660 ti 3GB (possibly buy another manufacturer refurb one for SLI)
> 8GB Kingston HyperX 1333mhz (upgrade to 16GB RAM 1600mhz)

I understand that by upgrading one it becomes bottlenecked by the other, but which upgrade will make the most difference to performance?

(with regards to the need for SLI, my uncle has given me his old 29" monitor so having 1 660 ti makes for sluggish performance.)

 

[SoulWings]

Well it all depends on how much money you have to spend.. but if anything ill upgrade the GPU, 8GB Ram is more than enough to play games with.

 

[McstylisT]

Defo the graphics mate. !!!! Though what processor you using at the moment ?

The ram speed make minimal real world difference. It'll maybe be a few micro seconds extra load speed and benchmark improvements. Nothing worth upgrading now.

Add more of your complete system spec and we will help you out.

 

[MR_MU53NDO]

Complete Spec as Requested:

> Asus Gryphon Z87
> i7 4770K
> 8GB Kingston HyperX
> GeForce GTX 660 Ti (3GB)
> Samsung 830 128GB
> 2X Seagate Barracuda 250GB
> 700 Watt PSU (forgot brand...)

 

[McstylisT]

Complete Spec as Requested:

> Asus Gryphon Z87
> i7 4770K
> 8GB Kingston HyperX
> GeForce GTX 660 Ti (3GB)
> Samsung 830 128GB
> 2X Seagate Barracuda 250GB
> 700 Watt PSU (forgot brand...)

Good system. The 660ti for sure.

So what's your budget ?

 

[mickyflinn]

Get a 280x or sell your 660 and put the money towards a 290, you wont notice any difference in upgrading your ram.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Powercolor Radeon R9 290 PCS+ OC 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £269.99
1 x XFX Radeon R9 290 DD Black Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (R9-290A-EDBD) £269.99
1 x XFX Radeon R9 280X DD Black Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (R9-280X-TDBD) £199.99

 

[Randomface74]

Better off keeping the money - current spec is still very good.

Never spend money 'just because you can'.

Better things to save it for:
- House/Rent deposit
- Suit (for job interviews)
- University Fund
- Car (for getting to work)
etc..

 

[mickyflinn]

my uncle has given me his old 29" monitor so having 1 660 ti makes for sluggish performance.)

Better off keeping the money - current spec is still very good.

Never spend money 'just because you can'.

Hes not spending money just because he can, he said the 660ti is slugish on a 29" monitor.

 

[MR_MU53NDO]

I haven't really got a budget as such, basically the more expensive the part is the longer it takes for me to save up. £250 is probably the MAX limit for the graphics card.

Unfortunately some software I use requires Physx so I can't really buy 280X or 290 (as far as i know ati cards don't support physx??)

 

[ShakeNBake]

get a £170 GTX 760 if ur on a budget, should run most games well at 1080p 60fps.

get a £240 GTX 770 if u want something that will last a bit longer.

what resolution is the monitor? what games are you having problems with?

 

[MR_MU53NDO]

get a £170 GTX 760 if ur on a budget, should run most games well at 1080p 60fps.

get a £240 GTX 770 if u want something that will last a bit longer.

what resolution is the monitor? what games are you having problems with?

Screen resolution is 2560X1600, so games like GTA 4 are a bit laggy at times (lowest is about 26 FPS). CS:GO however runs flawlessly (i guess it's less 'complicated' than GTA.)

From what I've read, two 660 Tis in SLI will outperform a gtx 770 and since buying another 660 ti is cheaper it may be the better option...