Can I hold onto my GTX970?

[Anthony Baker]

So I'm looking to upgrade my CPU, motherboard, RAM, and eventually my GPU. I currently have an i5-4590 and 16gb of DDR3. There is a deal at a Microcenter near me to for a i5-8600k with a compatible mobo for a little over $300. My only gripe is that RAM is pretty high at the moment. I only play at 1080p with a 144hz monitor. Will it be fine to upgrade the other core components and hold off until getting a new GPU or is it a waste to upgrade without getting a new GPU? Looking to get a 1070 ti in a few months.

 

[Barty1884]

Totally viable to upgrade the platform and leave the GPU alone for noe.

A 970 is still a strong 1080p (and to a lesser extent 1440p) card.

As an FYI, I'd probably reconsider the step the 1070TI....... while stronger, no doubt, upgrading within one gen from a x70 to (the equivalent of the next gen's) x80 card doesn't usually make a whole lot of sense.

Might be smarter to hold off through the end of the year and see what happens. The "next gen" x70 card (assuming priced similarly) would likely be a more sizeable jump in performance.

 

[RaidHobbit]

i5-4690 is still a good chip and you could get another year out of it if you really wanted to. If you have your heart set on upgrading now and want the coffee lake then go for it. I went from i5-4690 to i7-8700k two months back and I`m not disappointed.

I still use my 970 and I nearly have almost everything maxed out on ultra in 1080p. Going from 970 to 1070 is kind if a waste especially seeing as the 1170 will be out in July. Also you should ask if over the next 3-4 years will you be staying 1080p or making the transition to 4K? If you are staying you will only the 1160, if you will me moving across then a 1170.

8GB DDR4 is still enough for gaming, you dont really need 16GB DD4 yet. I suspect over the next 1-2 years the gaming standard will go up to the 16GB. So you could get one stick now, note what the brand, speed, CAS, and capacity are. Then get another one of them in a couple of months. For a gaming PC dont go above 3000 MHz, the best bang for your buck is the 2666.