Advice for Upgrades

[Momar6887]

I'm sure you get these questions all the time so I apologize in advance!

I've been looking to upgrade the computer a friend of mine pretty much put together for me 4-5 years back but am not really sure where I'd get the most bang for my buck. Or if the motherboard needs to be upgraded to really make use of newer equipment. Or if I should just stick it out and wait for something newer etc... you get the picture. I utilize the PC primarily for gaming and work (which is not computing heavy at all).

I know I should probably get a SSD first but I'm kind of hoping that good quality 1Tb versions will be dropping in price sometime soon, that way I don't have to worry too much about having the two.

My monitor was also purchased around the same time as the computer was built but it supports the current video card quite nicely (as far as I can tell.)

Here are the specs:
MSI Z97-G55 SLI (MS-7921)
PSU - 750W Thermaltake SP750
i5 4690K 3.50GHz
DDR3 1866? 8Gb x2
GTX 770 4Gb
1Tb HD


Thank you all for your advice, let me know if you need any other information!


EDIT: Budget - I'm not really looking to spend a LOT of money, but the budget is kind of open right now. I'd like to get an idea of what you all think is necessary/a good idea and go from there.
PSU- 750W Thermaltake SP750
Thanks!

 

[aquielisunari]

I'm sure you get these questions all the time so I apologize in advance!

I've been looking to upgrade the computer a friend of mine pretty much put together for me 4-5 years back but am not really sure where I'd get the most bang for my buck. Or if the motherboard needs to be upgraded to really make use of newer equipment. Or if I should just stick it out and wait for something newer etc... you get the picture. I utilize the PC primarily for gaming and work (which is not computing heavy at all).

I know I should probably get a SSD first but I'm kind of hoping that good quality 1Tb versions will be dropping in price sometime soon, that way I don't have to worry too much about having the two.

Here are the specs:
MSI Z97-G55 SLI (MS-7921)
i5 4690K 3.50GHz
DDR3 1866? 8Gb x2
GTX 770 4Gb
1Tb HD


Thank you all for your advice, let me know if you need any other information!

Can you please provide us with a budget?

You have the 4690K. It's still a very nice processor to have and isn't the weakest link in your PC. I use the same CPU.

You have 16GB of RAM and games these days aren't exceeding that. No upgrade necessary.

The GFX card is what can be upgraded. There are more than a few choices. The 480 8GB, 1060 6GB, 1070 8GB and a few other very high end cards.

Imo the 1060 would provide you with a very noticeable. performance increase. As will the 480 8GB. The best upgrade path imo is the 1070. It will provide a huge performance increase and will give you power to spare for at least a few years. The longevity is also valuable.


Will it have enough food? What's the make and model of your PSU?

 

[AgentLozen]

I was going to reply to this, but aquaielisunari hit the nail right on the head.

 

[aquielisunari]

Then I can only reiterate my initial suggestion. The 1070 8GB will provide the biggest boost without breaking the bank like a 1080 or 1080Ti can.

https://jet.com/product/GIGABYTE-GeForce-GTX-1070-DirectX-12-GV-N1070WF2OC-8GD-8GB-256-Bit-GDDR5-PCI-Exp/b979579e8c504f119b87289be0f4b26e is one option. Enter the promo code spring15 and you get $35 off that price.

Just make sure it has enough to eat.

 

[aquielisunari]

I was going to reply to this, but aquielisunari hit the nail right on the head.

😀 Thanks for that.

 

[Momar6887]

I was going to reply to this, but aquielisunari hit the nail right on the head.

😀 Thanks for that.

I just updated the post: PSU - 750W Thermaltake SP750. Thanks for the great input! I was thinking along the same lines.

 

[10tacle]

Definitely get the 1070 over the 1060. While the 6GB 1060 is generally good enough for most games at 60+ FPS average at 1080o, in a handful of today's AAA games like Watchdogs 2, the 6GB 1060 only averages in the low 50s in FPS. You should get 2-3 more years out of your 4690K with that GPU.

Heck, people are still running six year old Sandy Bridge and four year old Ivy Bridge builds on new GPUs. Finally, you'll have a GPU that is ready for a 1440p monitor should you want to move up to 2K from 1080p. But your PC wasn't built 4-5 years ago since the Haswell Devil's Canyon refresh 4690K was introduced three years ago this summer.

 

[Momar6887]

Definitely get the 1070 over the 1060. While the 6GB 1060 is generally good enough for most games at 60+ FPS average at 1080o, in a handful of today's AAA games like Watchdogs 2, the 6GB 1060 only averages in the low 50s in FPS. You should get 2-3 more years out of your 4690K with that GPU.

Heck, people are still running six year old Sandy Bridge and four year old Ivy Bridge builds on new GPUs. Finally, you'll have a GPU that is ready for a 1440p monitor should you want to move up to 2K from 1080p. But your PC wasn't built 4-5 years ago since the Haswell Devil's Canyon refresh 4690K was introduced three years ago this summer.

Thanks for the input! The 4-5 years was kind of an estimate based on when I first had the purchasing power for the build. Good to know my past wasn't impulsively purchasing ha.