I want to upgrade my GPU, with my motherboard+cpu, is it worth it?

Zettai

Commendable
May 12, 2016
2
0
1,510
Hi all!

First of all, thank you in advance for your input in this, here is my PC right now:

Intel Core i7-950
ASUS Rampage III Extreme
GeForce GTX 770
16gb RAM

I have an SSD and a HDD and I run Windows 10.

I am planning to upgrade my graphic card to the new and shiny GTX 1080, but I really do not know if it is worth it with my Motherboard+CPU. Right now, I can run most games with high settings, but I am planning next year to buy a VR headset so I want to be ready.

What do you think? Should I upgrade everything or can I upgrade my GPU and use my motherboard and CPU a bit longer?

Many thanks,

 
Solution
I'd buy it,

yeah your CPU is a bottleneck, but not a horrible one, but I'd add a caveat that I'd buy it with the intention of upgrading my motherboard/cpu within a year. Because you will possibly quickly start running into new games that don't run very well with it.

Rogue Leader

It's a trap!
Moderator
I'd buy it,

yeah your CPU is a bottleneck, but not a horrible one, but I'd add a caveat that I'd buy it with the intention of upgrading my motherboard/cpu within a year. Because you will possibly quickly start running into new games that don't run very well with it.
 
Solution
Rogue Leader makes a good point. You will need to upgrade your CPU in order to take full advantage of the raw power of the 1080, however, you don't need to do the whole upgrade at once. You can upgrade your GPU to the 1080 now, and then upgrade your CPU MOBO and maybe RAM/PSU later.
 

Barty1884

Retired Moderator


Good suggestion there Rogue, it certainly wouldn't hurt to pick it up initially. That being said, if you want to take full advantage of it, you might want to wait until you CPU+Mobo+RAM won't hold you back. If you have the funds initially, just upgrade it all at once. If you don't, I'd suggest just holding off - you might even see the 1080 come down in price a little while you save up for the full new rig.




I wouldn't suggest the OP uses a DDR3 board going forward, especially if their RAM supports XMP - it definitely shouldn't be used. DDR3 XMP profiles have the potential to provide too high a voltage to the IMC on the CPU, degrading it over time.

Skylake should be the only consideration now, pricing being essentially the same as Haswell chips.

IMO Skylake (and likely Z170/Unlocked CPU to pair nicely with the 1080) + DDR4 should be the only option for an upgrade in 2016 (unless AMD's Zen release gives a good alternative)

As for the PSU, that entirely depends on what it is. Make/Model & age. Would hate to recommend somebody runs a shiny new 1080 on a 5 year old junk PSU.
 

Zettai

Commendable
May 12, 2016
2
0
1,510
Thank you all for your messages!



Thank you so much! That is exactly what I was thinking. My plan was to upgrade the motherboard and cpu next year, depending on the next intel generation.



Thank you! Just to add some info, here is my RAM:

nQvXRtQ.png


And I have this PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 1000W.

Many thanks,