System upgrade advice needed (totally out of touch with PC tech nowadays)

[Mrsmiley]

Good people of Tom's Hardware,

long time ago I've discovered this place and you helped me to build a PC system, which faithfully serves me to this day, but, as you might guess, slowly turned into a dinosaur.

I, once again, ask for your advice on which parts should I look at to upgrade my old buddy.

Everyone, meet GERTY:
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Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
CPU
Intel Core i5 2400 @ 3.10GHz
Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology
RAM
8,00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-24) (http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/blt8g3d1608dt1tx0)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. Z68AP-D3 (Socket 1155) ( http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3897#ov )
Graphics
BENQ E2220HD (1920x1080@60Hz)
Intel HD Graphics Family (Gigabyte)
1023MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Gigabyte) ( http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-560ti/specifications )
ForceWare version: 375.70
SLI Disabled
Storage
698GB SAMSUNG HD753LJ ATA Device (SATA)
119GB Samsung SSD 840 PRO Series ATA Device (SSD)
Optical Drives
LITE-ON DVDRW LH-16A1S ATA Device
DTSOFT Virtual CdRom Device
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio
Power Supply
Seasonic 620W ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151096 )
Case
Cooler Master HAF 912 ( http://us.coolermaster.com/product/Detail/case/mid-tower/haf-912.html )
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What GERTY needs is basically horsepower injection for gaming at 1920x1080@60Hz.

I don't need a high-end machine which can run Arkham Knight (or whatever the latest demanding game is) on ultra, but it should be able to run it fairly easily with some graphical compromises.

I don't feel the need to change my monitor, in fact, I would add a second exactly the same one for twin monitor usage (this time for anything BUT gaming), but that's lower priority and I'm probably able to do this without you help 😛.

My thoughts: I think the motherboard is fine and can handle some upgrading, so I'll keep it. RAM 8 GB should be still enough (right..?). What obviously needs a change is a Graphics Card, Processor and another SSD, at least 100 GB (my OS is still on HDD).

Budget. Would greatly appreciate If you could provide different setups for different budget limits.
300-400 EUR
400-600 EUR
600-800 EUR
800-1000 EUR
The closest prices to what I can get can be found in my local webstore browsing system https://www.salidzini.lv/ (sorry, no English version apparently, but it's very standard and the search window should do the trick).
I should also mention that I do have an acquaintance which can apparently get PC components at cheaper prices, hence the few price upgrade plans request ^^.

Please share your knowledge and advises. I am sure this is an easy one for folks who are in touch with current state of PC parts and prices.

Help GERTY to get to 2.0 (not literally).

Thank you in advance!

 

[TMTOWTSAC]

The ssd you have right now is large enough for Windows, as long as everything else goes on your hard drive. If you're planning on having more than 1 game at a time on it, then yeah upgrading makes sense. As far as the rest, I would probably recommend doing it in stages, and seeing how it works out before committing to the next upgrade.

The GPU should be first of course, it's definitely a bottlneck. From what you say I'd suggest either a 480 or 1060 (6 GB) depending on which is less expensive in your country. That alone might be enough to make GERTY feel young again.

If upgrading the GPU isn't enough, then it gets a lot more complicated. You'd need to seriously consider the costs of upgrading on LGA 1155 vs going to a newer platform. That's why I'd recommend upgrading in stages, and starting with components that would work with your existing build as all as any future upgrades.

 

[Mrsmiley]

The ssd you have right now is large enough for Windows, as long as everything else goes on your hard drive. If you're planning on having more than 1 game at a time on it, then yeah upgrading makes sense. As far as the rest, I would probably recommend doing it in stages, and seeing how it works out before committing to the next upgrade.

The GPU should be first of course, it's definitely a bottlneck. From what you say I'd suggest either a 480 or 1060 (6 GB) depending on which is less expensive in your country. That alone might be enough to make GERTY feel young again.

If upgrading the GPU isn't enough, then it gets a lot more complicated. You'd need to seriously consider the costs of upgrading on LGA 1155 vs going to a newer platform. That's why I'd recommend upgrading in stages, and starting with components that would work with your existing build as all as any future upgrades.

Thank you for the excellent advice! I didn't really consider upgrading in stages, but the more I'm thinking of this, the better it I like it.

A brief scan of local prices shows that both Radeon 480 (8 GB) and Geforce 1060 (6 GB) are in the same price range, somewhere between 250-300+ EUR which depends on the manufacturer. It seems like both cards come in quite different shapes and forms and now I'm wondering, which ones are better and is the difference between manufacturers even that noticeable?

I have also checked the LGA 1155 processors landscape and the best ones (from what I get anyway) i7 2700K and i5 3570K are quite sold-out and mostly come in a pre-built PC. The prices start at around 270 EUR. I get the feeling that it's not the best value for the price.

What would be a good motherboard/processor combination to consider if upgrading GPU isn't good enough?

 

[TMTOWTSAC]

The 1060 tends to perform better in DX11(which is most existing titles) games, but the 480 sees an advantage in newer DX12/Vulkan/Mantle games which also reduce CPU load. Both are more than capable of 1080p@60fps with the right visual settings. The main differences between manufacturers have to do with cooling solutions and noise output, so "best" will be subjective.

For 270 EUR, yeah, you may as well go with a current gen product since they'd be close to the same price. You would also gain the benefit of all the platform advances, DDR4 RAM, USB 3, etc. From the Intel side of thing Kaby Lake and the 270 chipset have made their debut, and on AMD's side Ryzen availability was confirmed for 1H 2017 at CES today. Either would make a fantastic upgrade. If you can hold out long enough, competition between those products could improve pricing.

 

[Mrsmiley]

The 1060 tends to perform better in DX11(which is most existing titles) games, but the 480 sees an advantage in newer DX12/Vulkan/Mantle games which also reduce CPU load. Both are more than capable of 1080p@60fps with the right visual settings. The main differences between manufacturers have to do with cooling solutions and noise output, so "best" will be subjective.

For 270 EUR, yeah, you may as well go with a current gen product since they'd be close to the same price. You would also gain the benefit of all the platform advances, DDR4 RAM, USB 3, etc. From the Intel side of thing Kaby Lake and the 270 chipset have made their debut, and on AMD's side Ryzen availability was confirmed for 1H 2017 at CES today. Either would make a fantastic upgrade. If you can hold out long enough, competition between those products could improve pricing.

Thank you a ton! Now I have to do some diggin' and some calculatin' and with your help now I know what directions I should go.
Two thumbs up!