Need help with upgrade path

[draconis123]

I currently have some extra uncle sam money that I want to put towards upgrading my pc. My specs, found here: http://pcpartpicker.com/b/KWG

CPU: AMD FX-6300 OC: 4.4GHZ
Motherboard: Asus m5a99x evo r2.0
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 770 2gb
RAM: 1 stick 4GB (Will be upgrading)
PSU: Thermaltake TR2 600W

I am currently running without a case (no intention on doing so) and wanted an opinion between upgrading CPU and Chipset vs GPU and PSU.

The choices are either i7-4770k with an accompanying motherboard switch or adding a second GTX 770 along with a required power supply upgrade.

I've been switching back and forth and can't really decide so I'll let you know a little bit about what it is being used for.

My main game of play is Arma 3 which is a rather cpu intensive game. I also play a bunch of others ranging from stuff like Assassins Creed to Age of Empires. I do some 3d modeling occasionally as well and I always have things up in the background such as recording, teamspeak, etc. I'd also like to be able to play Metro:Last light at maximum settings which I am unable to do at the moment.

I also know that I can get around a 5 to 10 frame increase in Arma 3 just by upgrading the cpu.

I am currently using a 1080p monitor which would benefit the processor upgrade but will be getting a 1440p monitor along with the upgrade which would put the ball back in the GPU's court.

So I'm stuck. I really want that 4770k to oc but I would love to have an sli setup. Any advice for me?

Thanks

 

[DarkSable]

AN i7 is pointless. There's no reason to go with an i7 over an i5-4670k - they will perform pretty much exactly the same for gaming. (And NO, that will not change in the future, for the posters who I'm sure will come after me saying that hyperthreading will become relevant.)

I would absolutely recommend going with an i5 and 8GB of ram. 16GB of ram is not needed, since 8GB is enough to simultaneously run battlefield 3, photoshop, AND 30 tabs in chrome.

Also, for your monitor upgrade, I highly highly highly recommend you not do that until you can buy the Asus Swift that's going to be released in Q2 of this year. Ignore people who don't know what they're talking about when they say the monitor won't be good because it's TN - a high quality TN panel like that looks just as good as an IPS panel that makes sacrifices to game, and a photo-quality IPS panel is absolutely horrible for gaming.

The Asus Swift is going to be a 1440p, 120Hz monitor with a strobed backlight AND g-sync. Those are four HUGE points in its favor - and you gain another two when you consider that TN panels have way lower input lag and actually have better color when the brightness is low in a low-light environment.

1440p is obviously a huge benefit, but those other three are what make it. When you're playing competitive shooters, starcraft, ect, you have the advantage of having a 120Hz screen with a strobed backlight, meaning incredible responsiveness and absolutely zero ghosting. (see blurbusters if you want more information on that.) Then when you're playing games like Crysis or other visual games, you have G-sync, meaning your graphics muscle goes WAY further... a solid 40 fps with G-sync will actually look better than 60 fps with stutters and framerate drops.

 

[draconis123]

Thanks for the response.

My upgrade choices are pretty much set in stone. I just want to know if I should go with the cpu upgrade vs the gpu upgrade based not only on current settings but also for future use such as short term (Watchdogs/Witcher 3) and long term (Crysis 27) as I won't be upgrading for a while. I will be getting 16GB of ram. I should have added that I do mess with virtual machines a bit.

I wasn't going to buy the monitor right away. I was actually waiting for some g-sync monitors as they seem to be the way to go.

 

[DarkSable]

...okay, if you want to spend the money for an i7, it's your choice, but if all you're doing is gaming, it's an absolute waste of money that does not give you any more performance than an i5. Just saying.

That being said, for what you're doing, I would upgrade the CPU first - a 770 will give you plenty playable settings and framerates at 1440p, especially if you get a g-sync monitor. (And the asus swift is going to be the 1440p g-sync monitor to go with, hands down.)

 

[draconis123]

Thanks! That's what I thought might be the case. Appreciate the help.

 

[DarkSable]

Of course, glad to be of service!

 

[XxXGunXxXGraveXxX]

i completely agree with dark sable on the CPU, i have an i5 4670K(OC to 4.0Ghz) combined with a R9 280X and i can run metro last light max settings at a solid 30-40 FPS. Thats with AA all the way up and all the other stuff besides just setting max textures and details. The i7 would be a waste of money and i still have a hard time with the 16 GB of ram, especially when i went from 4GB of G.skill ripjaws low latency ram to 8GB and noticed NO difference in any games i play.