Should I upgrade my pc? (thinking gpu and cooler, getting high cpu temps.)

[NikolaZdravkovic]

Good afternoon,

I have a fairly old pc that I spent a lot of money on 4 1/2 years ago and I am wondering if its worth upgrading. Tried playing Witcher 3 and went over 80 C. I am pretty sure the gpu and cooler can be upgraded, but I want to know if it is worth it. Money is not much of a concern to me if that helps.

Specs
Intel Core i7 i7-3930K 3.20 GHz Processor - Socket R LGA-2011 - Hexa-core
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo Fan for LGA2011
Asus P9X79 PRO Desktop Motherboard - Intel X79 Express Chipset - Socket R LGA-2011
Corsair Obsidian 550D System Cabinet - Mini-tower
Seasonic Power Supply X850 Active PFC 100-240V ATX +12V GOLD Modular 850W 80PLU
Asus Video Card GTX680-2GD5 GTX680 2GB 2048MB DDR5 256Bit

Thanks!
Nikola

 

[imsqam]

First, remove your CPU cooler and re-apply the thermal paste. It sometimes can dry out over time and 80 degrees C is getting a bit too high. If this doesn't help then I would be concerned that something besides the air cooler has changed. As long as the fan is working air coolers should be okay.

Your CPU is still a valid processor coming in at about the same gaming performance as an i5-6600. And in CPU intensive tasks it would excel.

Your PSU is a good one and while getting a bit old is likely still fine.

Your GPU is getting dated, that is where to focus. A lot of games these days needs more than 2GB of VRAM. I believe that with a GPU upgrade you should still be good for another two years. I would suggest either a GTX 1070 or GTX 1080. I would lean towards the 1080.

 

[NikolaZdravkovic]

Thank you very much for your reply. Greatly appreciated. Ideally I would want to get a gpu that would be compatible with my old socket, but hopefully still be able to use in a new rig down the line. If it is not too much to ask, any other air cooler you would recommend? I do have a small tower and air flow may be of concern. Again many thanks! I really do appreciate your time.

Regards,
Nikola

 

[imsqam]

If air flow is an issue then maybe an All-In-One liquid cooler might be a good idea, that way the heat is actively transported from the CPU by the pump to the periphery of the case where it is exhausted. Downside is the liquid coolers are not as durable as air coolers. Up side is liquid coolers with radiators 240mm or more can achieve superior cooling. And you don't have to worry, they will fit in your case. Here are a couple of suggestions:

Air Coolers
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/H3xfrH/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd14se2011
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/DMjG3C/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhu14s
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/YwGkcf/be-quiet-cpu-cooler-bk018
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/qX6BD3/phanteks-cpu-cooler-phtc14pe

Liquid Coolers
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/LVwqqs/id-cooling-frostflow-240l-w-845-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-frostflow-240l-w
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6vTmP6/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rln28l20pkr1
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/FFFPxr/nzxt-cpu-cooler-rlkrx6101
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Dt8H99/arctic-cooling-cpu-cooler-acfre00013a

Regarding GPU, your board has support for 3-way SLI with 3 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 slots. This is the latest revision for GPU slots. Here are Tom's suggestions for 1070's

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1070-graphics-card-roundup,4751.html

and 1080's

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1080-graphics-cards,4725.html

 

[NikolaZdravkovic]

Thank you very much for taking your time and providing a detailed response. Appreciate it!
Thanks
Nikola

 

[imsqam]

You are most welcome