Is it time to upgrade my PC, what would you recommend?

[budmonster]

I built this PC (https://pcpartpicker.com/b/s6gLrH) back in 2014. I was wondering what upgrades would benefit me? If you where me what would you upgrade? Now that the holidays are here and a lot of sales will be going on I'm ready to upgrade. Add another SSD? Boost my memory or graphics card? Upgrade to Windows 10? Curious on your thoughts.

Thanks

 

[gussrtk]

Upgrades that would make sense would be gpu, and ram.

Other components are not too bad, although yeah they are not the greatest, but they don't make sense to be upgraded from financial point of view

 

[guanyu210379]

Choose one or more or do all:
Add more RAM to 16GB.
Add a new GPU GTX1060/RX480 or higher.
Upgrade the SSD with something bigger e.g. Samsung 850 evo 500GB.
Upgrade the HDD to bigger ones e.g. 4TB.
Get a mechanical keyboard.
Get a better monitor e.g. 27" 1440p 144Hz IPS.

Among those above: the RAM and new GPU are the most effective ones.

 

[Isokolon]

depends what you're doing with it.

upgrading the CPU to a 4790k would be one possibility, if you need more CPU power
upgrading to 16GB RAM can be nice, though it's not always needed
upgrading the GPU to a GTX 1060/1070/1080 or a Rx480 would be a major leap forward for more intensive gaming, otherwise not necessary
adding another SSD - depending on how the storage situation is for you

I suggest upgrading the CPU to a 4790k. this will get you more speed and make use of your board's full potential.
as for RAM - monitor if you need more. if so, upgrade.
as for storage -- do you need more storage? Get more. are you fine with your current storage? No need to invest.
as for the video card, it depends what you're doing with it and how much you're willing to spend.

 

[budmonster]

Upgrades that would make sense would be gpu, and ram.

Other components are not too bad, although yeah they are not the greatest, but they don't make sense to be upgraded from financial point of view

How man ram are we talking about? And what type of GPU? My PC seems to play most games without issues as of late. However the graphics card obviously isnt the best.

Should I just stick with the same RAM I have just get more of it? With graphics card what do you recommend. I'm really not trying to break the bank.

Also, would you stay on Windows 7 or upgrade?

 

[budmonster]

- Should I just stick with the RAM I have? Just buy 2 more 4gb sticks of the same brand? I'm not really tech savvy so I don't know what 1600 is, etc. I do a lot of multitasking and having Photoshop open along with 10 other applications crushes my PC.

- The CPU scares me as I didn't put my current one in. I wouldn't know the firs thing about removing and installing a new one. The mistake with this PC build, I mistakenly bought a MOBO that allows OC but didn't buy a CPU that can be OC'd.

- I def could use more storage. Should I just buy a bigger SSD or get a larger HDD as well? Dumb question, I would still keep my current SSD & HDD in my PC I would just add whatever I get into an open slot?

- Last would you stick with Win 7, I was told back then it was the way to go. Now that 10 is out should I upgrade?

depends what you're doing with it.

upgrading the CPU to a 4790k would be one possibility, if you need more CPU power
upgrading to 16GB RAM can be nice, though it's not always needed
upgrading the GPU to a GTX 1060/1070/1080 or a Rx480 would be a major leap forward for more intensive gaming, otherwise not necessary
adding another SSD - depending on how the storage situation is for you

I suggest upgrading the CPU to a 4790k. this will get you more speed and make use of your board's full potential.
as for RAM - monitor if you need more. if so, upgrade.
as for storage -- do you need more storage? Get more. are you fine with your current storage? No need to invest.
as for the video card, it depends what you're doing with it and how much you're willing to spend.

 

[guanyu210379]

Upgrades that would make sense would be gpu, and ram.

Other components are not too bad, although yeah they are not the greatest, but they don't make sense to be upgraded from financial point of view

How man ram are we talking about? And what type of GPU? My PC seems to play most games without issues as of late. However the graphics card obviously isnt the best.

Should I just stick with the same RAM I have just get more of it? With graphics card what do you recommend. I'm really not trying to break the bank.

Also, would you stay on Windows 7 or upgrade?

Which GPU? I already mentioned, at least RX480 or GTX1060...or higher. Your PSU is strong, don't be shy.
R9 270 struggles a bit if you play new heavy AAA games like Witcher 3, GTA V, etc., if you wanna set everything to the max.

RAM? Also mentioned, go for 16GB total. 8GB is only the minimum for today's standard.
You have already 2x4GB. Just try to find that RAM kit again and add 2x8GB again. You can try to mix and match or simply get a new 2x8GB kit. RAM is cheap.

As For upgrading from Win7 to Win10, I will leave the decision to you, just do not go for Win8/8.1.

 

[Isokolon]

as with RAM, usually it's recommended to buy a complete new set as it's not guaranteed that just adding more RAM will work. however I did so twice myself and never had any issues. but it's important to add the exact model of RAM you're already using, down to the last minor detail.

well, you put in your current CPU, didn't you? the new one will look just the same and is basically just the same (externally). you remove your cooler, unclamp the old chip, put the new one in, fix it and reset the cooler (after applying thermal compunt). I was scared to death the first time as well. but it's really not that big of a deal. watching videos on youtube how to do it best, helps.

depends how much storage you need and what kind of storage you need. if it's just real "storage", things you'd put in your garage or on a shelf in the hallway, you can go with a nice HDD.
if it's something that you need continuously and would, if it was a real object, place somewhere in your home where it's easy and quick to access, I recommend a SSD.
And yes, add it additionally to your existing storage.

I'm using Win7 myself so I'm maybe not the best person to ask 😀
generally: if you decide to only upgrade RAM and storage, you won't have to reinstall Windows usually. so investing in a new Windows license is throwing money at an already rich corporation without the need to.
however if you do a complete overhaul, get a new CPU, a new GPU you'll most likely need to reinstall Windows anyway. if you're using an OEM and not a retail version of Windows as many users do, you'd need to buy a new license. in that case there's no need to invest in an old Win7 copy.

 

[gussrtk]

My answer still stands. You said that for your needs your pc is still running pretty good. So why start upgrading everything? (Unless I missed something, was lots to catch up on).

Get yourself a decent gpu, you got the choices that were listed, gtx1060/rx470 or rx480. This comes down to your willing budget to spend, you'll be happy with either choice, but I think it's between 1060 and rx480. If you will be thinking of keeping this gpu for next 3 years and play more AAA games coming years, take the higher vram cards, gtx-6gb or rx-8gb. I would take the 480-sapphire, or asus.

This cpu upgrade.. why?

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2952820/6600k-4790k.html

Why invest into old system? If you start doing more upgrades then just gpu and maybe ram, then you should plow right into the current gen. I know the 4790 or whatever was suggested is a nice cpu, nothing wrong with that, but again, building into the old.

As far as ram, just look for some 1866mhz+ ram kits. With price in mind, your motherboard is quite good, so it will handle higher speed ram. Don't need to go crazy and buy 3000mhz (example) but a bit faster will help (you have 1600mhz right now). Ram is starting to play a bigger roll in gaming, that's why I suggest a bit faster. You could explore options of buying used ram. Many people upgrading to ddr4 and they are selling their old parts.

I still think you should just upgrade what you need, and get a complete system when it's not performing well enough for you.

I'm pretty much on same page as Isokolon on this.

About windows. Right now, 7 is all that you need,. No reason to upgrade. In a couple of years you will want to get the win10 because a lot more games will utilize direct x12 (which runs under windows 10). Majority of games use dx11 for now, so really nothing to worry about right now.