How to upgrade from my current build

[George Mooey]

My current build is this.
GPU sapphire R7 260x
CPU Pentium g3258 OC'd to 4.4ghz
Heatsink Zalman CNPS5X Performa
8 gig 2x4 DDR3-1600 memory
1 tb HDD
Mobo ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150
Case Zigmatek recon atx mid tower case
PSU XFX 550W 80+Bronze certified atx power supply.
OS windows 8.
I initially made this rig in november of last year on a 400 dollar budget and currently want to upgrade as time goes on. I already ordered myself an I5-4460 to upgrade to a quad core for future gaming. What should I upgrade my GPU to? 1080P gaming isn't really possibly on my current monitor, but I do plan to upgrade that as well. I also don't care about 4k gaming, playing absolutely every triple A title at ultra settings at 60 fps. I just care about playing everything mid-high at 60fps at 1080p.
Right now, I have my eye on either a r9 280 or a gtx 960 4gig. If I do upgrade to one of these gpu's in the future, should I also upgrade my PSU?

 

[Garon Booth]

A 960 is great for its price and low power usage. Your Power supply is plenty for either of the cards.

 

[George Mooey]

A 960 is great for its price and low power usage. Your Power supply is plenty for either of the cards.

thanks for the info. Another question if you dont mind. Is waiting longer for the gpu necessary for a lower price? Like if i were to plan to buy this at the end of the year, would there be a chance that the price would drop for it?

 

[Wolfshadw]

Personally, I'd say your current graphics card is probably fine for your current monitor. Too high of a card is wasted on your lower resolution monitor and too low of a card doesn't provide enough performance increase to be worth the cost.

Unless you're really attached to your current monitor, I'd probably recommend upgrading that first to a 1080p display. See how your current card and new processor handle that resolution and then consider upgrading to a new, high-end graphics card.

As for your current power supply, it would be sufficient for just about any single graphics card solution (save for the top end cards).

-Wolf sends

 

[George Mooey]

Personally, I'd say your current graphics card is probably fine for your current monitor. Too high of a card is wasted on your lower resolution monitor and too low of a card doesn't provide enough performance increase to be worth the cost.

Unless you're really attached to your current monitor, I'd probably recommend upgrading that first to a 1080p display. See how your current card and new processor handle that resolution and then consider upgrading to a new, high-end graphics card.

As for your current power supply, it would be sufficient for just about any single graphics card solution (save for the top end cards).

-Wolf sends

Yeah im not too attached to this monitor. It was just the only one I had at the moment and I do plan to upgrade it eventually. And i figured my gpu was fine for it since i hear higher end gpus are just really for higher res for games. Currently i was more focused on cpu for better performance fo rgames at the resolution my monitor can go on. 1260x786

 

[Garon Booth]

A 960 is great for its price and low power usage. Your Power supply is plenty for either of the cards.

thanks for the info. Another question if you dont mind. Is waiting longer for the gpu necessary for a lower price? Like if i were to plan to buy this at the end of the year, would there be a chance that the price would drop for it?

considering the 980 ti just coming out it may drop, but I don't see it dropping much. and in regards to your gpu I would highly recommend upgrading. The new games coming out these days the r7 260x will be chugging hard at 1080p at least.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Personally, I'd say your current graphics card is probably fine for your current monitor. Too high of a card is wasted on your lower resolution monitor and too low of a card doesn't provide enough performance increase to be worth the cost.

Unless you're really attached to your current monitor, I'd probably recommend upgrading that first to a 1080p display. See how your current card and new processor handle that resolution and then consider upgrading to a new, high-end graphics card.

As for your current power supply, it would be sufficient for just about any single graphics card solution (save for the top end cards).

-Wolf sends

Yeah im not too attached to this monitor. It was just the only one I had at the moment and I do plan to upgrade it eventually. And i figured my gpu was fine for it since i hear higher end gpus are just really for higher res for games. Currently i was more focused on cpu for better performance fo rgames at the resolution my monitor can go on. 1260x786

Then I'd definitely look at upgrading your monitor first (if not both monitor and graphics card at the same time).

-Wolf sends

 

[George Mooey]

another question when upgrading. Would using my aftermarket cooler be necessary when upgrading my cpu, or should i stick with the stock cooler that comes with the cpu?

 

[Garon Booth]

another question when upgrading. Would using my aftermarket cooler be necessary when upgrading my cpu, or should i stick with the stock cooler that comes with the cpu?

Stick with the stock fan. Yours is locked at 3.2ghz so no real need for one. You could get some good thermal paste which should last you awhile. But that is optional.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Agreed. Unless you intend to overclock a processor, there's no need for a third party cooler. The stock cooler works just fine.

-Wolf sends