Suggestions for upgrading an early 2015 rig.

[sys0s]

Hi folks,

I was hoping to get some suggestions on what would be worth an upgrade here, can I upgrade one or 2 components to stay ahead or should I opt for a new build?

Components currently in use:

Intel i7-4790K at stock 4.00Ghz with Coolermaster Hyper 212x
Memory: Gskill Ripjaws C9 1600mhz DDR3 8GB
Mobo: MSI Gaming 5 Z97
GPU: MSI GTX970 4GB DDR5 (I have not OC)
Fans: 4 Noctua fans
HD: 1 SSD Samsung 840 Evo 12OGB and WD Black 1TB 7200rpm
PSU: Corsair 650W

My intended uses are for:

1. Occasional gaming, nothing overkill but I don't want to suffer from any lags or major drops in FPS and I want to have the ability to not think about whether my computer is capable of playing that game or not.
2. Intense intense web surfing, multiple youtube channels open with excel, multiple putty connections running etc

I'm more biased to opting for upgrading 1 or 2 components, so my heuristic would be: short to medium term.

Your help is much appreciated!

Cheers

P.S - I live in Australia, so components are scarce and carry a hefty price. No newegg or Amazon for me

 

[jgustin7b]

Knowing you like the intel-Nvidia-combo, I would say upgrade your gpu into the 10 series. A gtx 1050 (do the Ti one as it matches the vram of previous gpu.) would do you good and has dx12 capabilities. If you want, you can upgrade the cpu to a later gen, but overall, the gpu may be holding you back in terms of games playable. Not going to be a crazy beast, but this setup can do some gaming.

 

[jgustin7b]

https://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814137056&cm_re=Gtx_1050_Ti-_-14-137-056-_-Product

It’s in the Newegg Australia site. Using a currency converter, it’s the same price as the us version (150 usd to 200 AUD)

 

[The Paladin]

The GTX 970 i better/faster than a 1050 in any testing, it is the equal of a 1060 3GB,
If he wants increase of performance he should be looking at a GTX 980Ti or a GTX 1070

Obvious upgrades I see, your memory is just not sufficient for gaming anymore, get 16GB (total) at least
next video card that give >20%$ improvement.


as per passmark scoring
note how much lower the 1050 ti, and even lower is the 1050 in score compared to a 970...

 

[sys0s]

The GTX 970 i better/faster than a 1050 in any testing, it is the equal of a 1060 3GB,
If he wants increase of performance he should be looking at a GTX 980Ti or a GTX 1070

Obvious upgrades I see, your memory is just not sufficient for gaming anymore, get 16GB (total) at least
next video card that give >20%$ improvement.


as per passmark scoring
note how much lower the 1050 ti, and even lower is the 1050 in score compared to a 970...

Cheers Paladin. Definitely will be going with a memory upgrade.

Yeah, I've seen the Passmark benchmarks, but why do you suggest 980Ti or a 1070? If I may approximate (if its a fair comparison), I see a 980M appear on the graph..

Could I OC the 970 to last say the next 6 months?

 

[Lucky_SLS]

If you are gaming in a 1080p 60hz monitor, yes u can make do with that cpu/gpu combo. All you need to do is get extra rams.

 

[redfaction95]

Actually you have a very nice set of motherboard, CPU, RAM, they all work in harmony, upgrading to lets say 8th gen will not be worth the price and very less performance gain, I say stick to it for at least 2 more generations, at least. Upgrade your GPU to gtx 1070 or 1070ti and you will see a massive difference and totally worth it.

 

[The Paladin]

the 980M is a mobile cpu for latop doesn't fit in desktop motherboards