PC upgrade, or put money in savings?

[Greysonj]

Hey guys,

I've recently come across some extra cash after my 14th birthday. $540, to be exact. I'm torn as to what do with it. I have 2 main options; put it towards college, or upgrade my PC. I have just enough to upgrade to a 4790k and a new mobo, and I am a very avid programmer. The extra CPU power would be extremely beneficial to me. Anyways, I figured the best way to express my conflict would be to list the pros and cons of each (in my opinion).

Put Money Towards College

Pros:
-Greater benefit in the future
-Parents will double it
-Every bit of money helps

Cons:
-No instant benefit

Put Money Towards PC

Pros:
-Instant benefit
-Faster render times when rendering video and 3D scenes
-Technology/programming is what I'm passionate about right now

Cons:
-No future benefit
-Less important than college


So as you can see, they will both benefit me, just at different times. I know a lot of you will say "nothing is more important than education," and I get that. But the PC upgrade should set me up (and keep me entertained!) for the next 3-4 years. Also, please know that I am extremely grateful to have the money to have make this decision in the first place!

 

[caqde]

I'm guessing your system is the one in the signature. If that is true save it. Your system is plenty fast for those tasks and currently upgrading from the FX-8350 to the 4790K will not improve your performance enough to justify the $500 spent on doing so. With that type of system I would say wait till DDR4 boards are common till you upgrade (Intel Skylake/AMD Zen micro architectures). If you need extra performance you could always up the clockspeed a bit if you haven't.

EDIT: edited due to noticing the non stock cooler

 

[guanyu210379]

FX8350
GTX770
8GB RAM
hmmm...
Basically, your rig does not need urgent upgrade for gaming and rendering.
I can only think of optional upgrades for now.
The best upgrade is an SSD.
Getting another 8GB RAM is also nice.
Another good upgrade path is to go for E3-1231V3 and a new mobo, while selling your current proc and mobo. (I would rather wait for the next gen tho')
Another possibility is getting a GTX970 and sell your GTX770.