Keep the i7 870 & upgrade the video card, or upgrade the whole thing

[Tom22]

I am looking into improving performance on some games: Rift and Wildstar, namely. I have a i7 870 @ 2.93 Mhz, and a Radeon HD5700 series. My dilemna is this:

Do I keep this rig for a year or two and just upgrade the video card? If so, can you recommend a reasonable video card (because I plan on having a complete system built in a year or two, and would prefer not to reuse the video card).

Should I just go and have a new system built now? If so, I was leaning towards the i7 4770k, 4790k or 4980k. Any reasons to pick one over another? And which GPU would work well? I was thinking the Radeon R9 290, but is that overkill? Could I go with the 280 or 270?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ps3hacker12]

i'd say upgrade now, there is nothing revolutionary on the horizon and the performance upgrades in the next generation i'd expect to be <10% region changes.

Assuming you'e got a nice case, PSU, HDD and optical drive, something like this is what i'd go for:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($82.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($339.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $716.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

the 4790k doesn't have any gaming performance improvements over the 4690k so I don't know how you'd justify the cost of a 4790k for gaming.

 

[Tom22]

Thank you for the response. I should add that I intend to use the new computer also for video editing, music editing and photo editing in my home studio, but that will not be built until next year. So to your comment about the i5 4690k, is there a performance reason to go with an i7 over an i5 for those added applications?

 

[ps3hacker12]

Thank you for the response. I should add that I intend to use the new computer also for video editing, music editing and photo editing in my home studio, but that will not be built until next year. So to your comment about the i5 4690k, is there a performance reason to go with an i7 over an i5 for those added applications?

in that case, the hyperthreading offered by the 4790k would be to your advantage, I can see you don't have an idea for budgt, but what resolution are you planning on gaming at because with an r9 290 it'd be for max settings gaming on a 1440/1600p monitor.

 

[Tom22]

I intend at gaming at 1080. I currently have a BenQ XL2720T, which I believe is maxed at 1080.

 

[ps3hacker12]

I intend at gaming at 1080. I currently have a BenQ XL2720T, which I believe is maxed at 1080.

at that resolution a 280X would max out on pretty much anything:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($304.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G43 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.79 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($269.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $782.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

the price difference between the 4770K and the 4790K is $35, which would be better spent buying an aftermarket cooler and a 4770K, you can easily get to 4Ghz+ with an 212 EVO.