Do i need to upgrade my PC?

[Joseph Kingham]

Hi there. I am thinking of upgrading my PC in time for when i start streaming again in August and play Shadow of War

My current setup:

NZXT S340 Mid Tower
Intel i7 4790 3.6 GHz
64 bit Operating System, Windows 8.1 PRO
MSI Z97 Gaming 3 Intel Motherboard
XFX ATX 550 PSU
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
HyperX 120GB Gaming SSD Drive
HyperX FURY DDR3 4 x 4GB RAM
MSI GTX 970
1TB WD Black HDD

What, if anything, would i need to upgrade? I was thinking maybe the PSU and/or graphics card.
My price range is pretty standard and can afford a decent PSU alongside a GPU that can run modern/future games fit for streaming

Hope someone can help,
thanks in advance 😛

 

[Barty1884]

How is it performing for you currently? That'll answer the question.
If it's performing as you'd hope - there's really no need to upgrade.

IF you were to upgrade, I'd look to the GPU for sure, and potentially the PSU.

An i7-4790 has years left. Outside of being a locked skew, there's nothing wrong with it - it's only going to be a small percentage "slower" than the latest offerings

XFX have a few different PSU lineups (all SeaSonic made, I believe). If it's a Pro, XTS, XTR or even a TS - I wouldn't look to change it. If it's the XT lineup, I'd suggest you do.

What resolution are you playing at? If you're stepping up from a 970, I wouldn't look below a GTX1070.
While a 1060 or RX480 would also show gains - personally, I don't think theres enough there to warrant the outlay.

 

[aquielisunari]

In addition to Barty's words of wisdom I would choose the EVGA 550W G2. New card, new PSU and new warranty window. 7 year warranty? Yes please.

I have the 4690K with a 970 FTW. 1070 or better when I upgrade. I'm not going to touch my CPU just yet.

Finally I would make sure Shadow of War is on the SSD. Steam allows for libraries in multiple locations.

 

[Joseph Kingham]

How is it performing for you currently? That'll answer the question.
If it's performing as you'd hope - there's really no need to upgrade.

IF you were to upgrade, I'd look to the GPU for sure, and potentially the PSU.

An i7-4790 has years left. Outside of being a locked skew, there's nothing wrong with it - it's only going to be a small percentage "slower" than the latest offerings

XFX have a few different PSU lineups (all SeaSonic made, I believe). If it's a Pro, XTS, XTR or even a TS - I wouldn't look to change it. If it's the XT lineup, I'd suggest you do.

What resolution are you playing at? If you're stepping up from a 970, I wouldn't look below a GTX1070.
While a 1060 or RX480 would also show gains - personally, I don't think theres enough there to warrant the outlay.

Thanks for the informative reply!

I was definitely looking into buying a different PSU for sure as i feel like when playing up to date games the PSU % goes up pretty high. Which PSU would you recommend that would fit my motherboard?

As far as GPU goes i want to get a better card so that i am set for the next 5 years or so pretty solid. Was looking at the
1050 ti or 1060 as you mentioned. As far as resolution goes i play at 1920 x 1080, but stream at 720p 60fps so other peoples internet can watch

 

[Barty1884]

Thanks for the informative reply!

I was definitely looking into buying a different PSU for sure as i feel like when playing up to date games the PSU % goes up pretty high. Which PSU would you recommend that would fit my motherboard?

As far as GPU goes i want to get a better card so that i am set for the next 5 years or so pretty solid. Was looking at the
1050 ti or 1060 as you mentioned. As far as resolution goes i play at 1920 x 1080, but stream at 720p 60fps so other peoples internet can watch

What do you mean your PSU % goes up high? You shouldn't have a draw of more than 350W (maybe 400W at a stretch).

I wouldn't bother with a 1050TI (most likely a step down, best case it would be a sideways move). The 1060 is a tough call - it would perform a little better, but not proportionate to the cost IMHO.

In addition to Barty's words of wisdom I would choose the EVGA 550W G2. New card, new PSU and new warranty window. 7 year warranty? Yes please.

The 550W G2 (or G3) are quality options too, but there's really no need to replace a 550W XFX Pro, XTS, XTR or TS. If you're going to, there's lots of options.
SuperNOVA G2/G3, B2/B3, SeaSonic G550, Rosewill Capstone G650..... all are quality options and generally you'll find one of them for <$65

 

[Joseph Kingham]

In addition to Barty's words of wisdom I would choose the EVGA 550W G2. New card, new PSU and new warranty window. 7 year warranty? Yes please.

I have the 4690K with a 970 FTW. 1070 or better when I upgrade. I'm not going to touch my CPU just yet.

Finally I would make sure Shadow of War is on the SSD. Steam allows for libraries in multiple locations.

I will definitely looking into the EVGA! Not fussed about the brand, but really whether or not it fits the motherboard. I also agree on the new GPU and PSU after receiving Barty's response so those will be changed

And yeah, Shadow of War was going to be put onto a 500GB SSD i was gonna buy

 

[Joseph Kingham]

The 550W G2 (or G3) are quality options too, but there's really no need to replace a 550W XFX Pro, XTS, XTR or TS. If you're going to, there's lots of options.
SuperNOVA G2/G3, B2/B3, SeaSonic G550, Rosewill Capstone G650..... all are quality options and generally you'll find one of them for <$65

EVGA is 100% affordable by the looks of things. Gonna buy that for sure!
Thanks once again, my man 😛

 

[aquielisunari]

The 550W G2 (or G3) are quality options too, but there's really no need to replace a 550W XFX Pro, XTS, XTR or TS. If you're going to, there's lots of options.
SuperNOVA G2/G3, B2/B3, SeaSonic G550, Rosewill Capstone G650..... all are quality options and generally you'll find one of them for <$65

EVGA is 100% affordable by the looks of things. Gonna buy that for sure!
Thanks once again, my man 😛

Glad Barty and I could help 😀

 

[Barty1884]

EVGA is 100% affordable by the looks of things. Gonna buy that for sure!
Thanks once again, my man 😛

Just make sure you get a B2/B3, G2/G3, GQ, P2, T2 etc.

Avoid the NEX lineup, the 430W/500B, 500B/600B - those are definitely more "affordable", but they'd be a poor, poor purchase.

 

[Joseph Kingham]

Thanks for the informative reply!

I was definitely looking into buying a different PSU for sure as i feel like when playing up to date games the PSU % goes up pretty high. Which PSU would you recommend that would fit my motherboard?

As far as GPU goes i want to get a better card so that i am set for the next 5 years or so pretty solid. Was looking at the
1050 ti or 1060 as you mentioned. As far as resolution goes i play at 1920 x 1080, but stream at 720p 60fps so other peoples internet can watch

What do you mean your PSU % goes up high? You shouldn't have a draw of more than 350W (maybe 400W at a stretch).

I wouldn't bother with a 1050TI (most likely a step down, best case it would be a sideways move). The 1060 is a tough call - it would perform a little better, but not proportionate to the cost IMHO.

In addition to Barty's words of wisdom I would choose the EVGA 550W G2. New card, new PSU and new warranty window. 7 year warranty? Yes please.

The 550W G2 (or G3) are quality options too, but there's really no need to replace a 550W XFX Pro, XTS, XTR or TS. If you're going to, there's lots of options.
SuperNOVA G2/G3, B2/B3, SeaSonic G550, Rosewill Capstone G650..... all are quality options and generally you'll find one of them for <$65

I was wrong in saying the PSU % goes up. I can't remember where i saw it, but there was this program on my PC that allowed me to see heat %'s of fans and CPU. Just when i was playing BF1 it went up to around 96%. Not sure what it was called again

 

[Barty1884]

Could be fan speed, component utilization etc - lots of things can dispaly the %.

CPU intensive tasks, for example, could see your CPU utilization push up near 100%
Fans can ramp up to near 100%

Without knowing exactly what you saw & what you were doing/running when you saw it, it's a little tough to suggest anything.