Improve or start fresh?

[JoBear]

I've got a setup right now that I would call "middle of the road" and I want to improve it, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to go about it or if I should start fresh... Currently the setup is used for gaming and photography and not much else

Current specs:
Windows 10
12GB RAM
1TB HDD
GTX 760 2GB GPU (Zotac)
Quad i5-3350P @ 3.1
DeepCool Liquid Cooled CPU
750w Power Supply

My main concern is for gaming of course, but some extra power for editing and rendering would also be nice... What should I upgrade in your opinions?

Also I'm not against building a new rig, but please recommend a case that is good for cable management and has a ton of USB room since I use a lot of peripherals.

 

[IntelTurtleFan]

Make and model of the PSU? Wattage is not that important. A CPU upgrade might help depending on your budget. I might consider selling and building new if it suits your budget.

 

[JoBear]

PSU is a Thermaltake (can't remember model). My budget for building a new rig is tight but doable over the course of a few months (can put in $3-400 a month towards it)... As for selling and starting fresh, I can't because I run my business off of that computer lol

 

[Eximo]

A new GPU would pretty much cover gaming performance. Unless you are playing some of the new CPU intensive titles, then you might push for a Xeon or i7 to gain hyperthreading and a little clock speed. Unless you have a Z77 or P68 board you won't be able to really utilize a K class CPU.

 

[JoBear]

Eximo what would you recommend GPU wise? The affordable solution would be to SLI another 760, but that seems almost like a waste to me... Whats the best GPU for the buck? (has to be Nvidia, Nvidia is life 😛)

 

[Eximo]

That comes down to budget. To see a significant performance increase the minimum would probably be a GTX970, they are available for as low as $250 right now. The GTX1070 is about to come out though. Should be worth waiting for, but it will be in the $350+ range, and it will likely be very hard to get one on the release day.

 

[JoBear]

I'm seriously considering SLI 970's... After looking at benchmarks etc they certainly seem worth their low cost and would probably measure up easily to a 980. I also run dual screens for editing so SLI seems like a logical move. Opinions?

 

[Eximo]

SLI 970 is quite a bit better then a single 980, they are the same GPU class. SLI 970 even compares favorably to a 980ti. However, they are limited when it comes to higher resolutions.

970 13/16 SM Units 3.5 GB 256 bit bus 7Ghz memory 2x = 26
980 16/16 SM Units 4GB 256 bit bus 7Ghz memory
980ti 22/24 SM Units 6GB 384 bit bus 7Ghz memory
1070 15/20 SM units (larger though) 8GB 256bit bus, 8Ghz memory
1080 20/20 SM units (larger though) 8GB 256bit bus, 10Ghz memory

A single GTX1070 is going to rival a GTX980Ti and be a roughly the same price as a pair of low end 970. I would see if you could get one.

 

[IntelTurtleFan]

Book specs never tell the truth. Only real tests tell the truth.

The GTX 760 had better book specs faster clocks / more width on the memory and so on but it performed slower than the 960. You cannot just go off book specs.

 

[Eximo]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1070-8gb-pascal-performance,4585-6.html

Toms quick look had a "Reference" 1070 doing as well or better then a Titan X, Fury X, and 980Ti, so I would say the numbers are justified.

Besides, If you assume straight gains in terms of silicon, you can effectively multiply the Pascal numbers by 50% or more.

 

[Eximo]

When the non-reference 1070 are out, they will be the card to have.

I'm trying to track down/ waiting for an EVGA ACX 3.0 or EVGA ACX 3.0 SC GTX1080 myself. Possibly two.

I only seem to have SLI support on my 980s with older titles. All the new game engines aren't bothering, so I may just get the single card.