GPU or Processor upgrade

[Mike_153]

I have Intel i3-3240 and a ASUS GTX 750ti and i am looking to upgrade either one or both and was wondering if anyone has suggestions as to what you would do. My ram is Crucial Ballistix Tactical 16GB DDR3. Motherboard is ASRock Z75 Pro 3

 

[Forever Oleg]

Budget?

 

[Mike_153]

Nothing really in particular i know everyone's been talking about the GTX 970. but whatever you can suggest

 

[kardkoach]

Upgrade your GPU first. R9 280/GTX 760 or better would be a healthy upgrade.

 

[Tradesman1]

A 970 would be a great upgrade, and then decide on a CPU or CPU/mobo

 

[Mike_153]

i just dont see is the 970 really worth the almost 400 bucks or are there others that can get the job done and not be that much?

 

[Karadjgne]

Any gpu upgrade will probably require a psu upgrade too unless that 750ti is seriously overpowered. So a gtx970 is looking at a decent 550w or better. Part of the issue currently is that cpus haven't really made any huge leaps in performance, so your board will handle upto a i7 3770k, which is still a very respectable cpu for gaming, as is the i5-3570K. Even as old as they are, there is still a demand for those cpus, so prices are still high, around the cost of much newer cpus, so the only advantage for the Lga1155 is not having to replace the motherboard, just the cpu. A new, decent lga1151 board will run about $150, last gen lga1150 Haswells run around $100+, so definitely a budget decision. If you want to try your luck on eBay (I did, got a 3770k for $50 used) that would be a decent option for getting an older cpu to fit your board without paying ridiculous retail prices.

A decent gtx970 is @$280-320, and for that price, you'd be looking at an AMD r9 390 as well, which basically performs the same, but either would be a massive leap in performance and ability over a 750ti

 

[Mike_153]

i was planning on upgrading my Corsair 500cw to a 700or750 if that would be good enough.

 

[Mike_153]

if I go with the EVGA GTX 960 4gb. What else will be required to be upgraded at a reasonable price. And of those said upgraded pieces what would the suggested upgraded parts be? sorry for the questions.

 

[Mike_153]

with the i5-3570K cpu

 

[Karadjgne]

If you go with the gtx960, you won't need to upgrade the psu, it'll be plenty big enough, the 960 requires a 430w is psu. For cpu I'd recommend the i7 3770k or i5 3570k, although the i7 does have advantages when streaming or other high core use apps

 

[Mike_153]

What if i used these two PSU upgrade or no

EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC Gaming ACX 2.0+ Cooling Graphics Card


Intel Core i7-3770K Quad-Core Processor 3.5 GHz 8 MB Cache LGA 1155

 

[Karadjgne]

It'll run on a 500w, but OC of that cpu will not be advised, and you'll end up close to the limits of the psu. Corsair CX psus are not high grade psus and not really designed for the high instant draw of gaming gpus. On the flip side, Corsair psus do tend to die quietly, so chances of damage to other components is extremely slim

 

[Mike_153]

i dont plan on ever overclocking never have nor will.