Upgrading my rig, don't know where to start

[farmeeli]

Hi, this is my current rig: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/farmeeli/saved/QWqZxr
It's starting to age, and I'd ideally like it to keep up with the rising tide of specifications of newer games. Games like Fallout 4, where on Ultra I get 60fps in buildings, but when I'm wandering around outside I go as low as 25fps. I'd like to get 60fps on Ultra in an ideal world. Also, my CPU is overclocked to 4.1ghz and I have three fans, and it's pretty noisy.

So where should I upgrade? Would it be worth it to replace my GPUs with something from the Geforce 900 series or something similar? Should I double my RAM, or get a new CPU? I'd like to buy smart, because I don't have a huge budget, and I probably won't be upgrading more than one thing at a time, especially if it's over 350-400$. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks and happy holidays!

 

[DonkeyOatie]

A single GTX 970, perhaps refurbished or open-box, will own 1080p, and run on your PSU. That will simplify things and reduce noise. Then you can see where to next. 8Gb RAM is enough. GTX970 also overclocks well.

 

[wildfire707]

That is a problem. Your CPU and memory are still fine for modern games, especially since your resolution is 1080p.

For newer DX11 games you would get about 10% better performance using a single GeForce GTX 970. In DX9 games you would get about 50% lower performance, though. It gets a little better with a GeForce GTX 980 - +20% in DX11 games and -35% in DX9. A single GeForce GTX 980 ti would only be around 10% slower (well, 12 to 15%) in DX9 games, and around 35% faster in DX11 ones.

And then price becomes an issue as well. A GeForce GTX 970 costs around $300 right now, and you can get a deal on an MSI GTX 980 for $430, but a GeForce GTX 980 ti still starts at $600.

Your system is actually very high end, if a little old. Other than saving on power usage, your DX9 game performance will suffer with any single card solution I could find. It is true that newer games will perform better, but it looks like older ones will not do as well.

Good luck! I hope this helps.

 

[farmeeli]

A single GTX 970, perhaps refurbished or open-box, will own 1080p, and run on your PSU. That will simplify things and reduce noise. Then you can see where to next. 8Gb RAM is enough. GTX970 also overclocks well.

I actually ended up upgrading my RAM yesterday during a cybermonday sale. Got Corsair Vengeance Pro 2x8gb, but now I'm worried about power draw. If I upgrade to a 970 or 980, I should be fine. Thanks!

 

[DonkeyOatie]

The 520W PSU is close for an overclocked i5 and a GTX970, but I'd still do it. I use a locked i5 and a GTX970 on a good 450W PSU.

 

[farmeeli]

That is a problem. Your CPU and memory are still fine for modern games, especially since your resolution is 1080p.

For newer DX11 games you would get about 10% better performance using a single GeForce GTX 970. In DX9 games you would get about 50% lower performance, though. It gets a little better with a GeForce GTX 980 - +20% in DX11 games and -35% in DX9. A single GeForce GTX 980 ti would only be around 10% slower (well, 12 to 15%) in DX9 games, and around 35% faster in DX11 ones.

And then price becomes an issue as well. A GeForce GTX 970 costs around $300 right now, and you can get a deal on an MSI GTX 980 for $430, but a GeForce GTX 980 ti still starts at $600.

Your system is actually very high end, if a little old. Other than saving on power usage, your DX9 game performance will suffer with any single card solution I could find. It is true that newer games will perform better, but it looks like older ones will not do as well.

Good luck! I hope this helps.

Hmm. Definitely something to consider then. Keeping in mind that my performance with the cards I have now is unnecessarily high on older games, I think a 980 ti would be an excellent choice, considering that the performance drop on older games won't be detrimental. Hopefully the 980 ti's will magically lower in price . Thanks for your help!

 

[farmeeli]

The 520W PSU is close for an overclocked i5 and a GTX970, but I'd still do it. I use a locked i5 and a GTX970 on a good 450W PSU.

If I put in my new RAM with my current build, I'm fairly certain that I won't have enough power. But if I upgrade my card to a 980 or 970, I should be fine. Considering I may have to upgrade my GPUs in a few years if I keep the 660 ti's, it might be cheaper to just upgrade to the 980 so I don't have to buy a new power supply.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

I mentioned a GTX 970 and that's close. That's a 140W GPU. A 980 is 160W GPU, so that's even closer, and not really enough if you choose to overclock both the CPU and GPU. It's certainly not enough for an overclocked i5 and a 250W GPU like the GTX980ti, if you plan to play any demanding games. You will quickly overwhelm your main capacitors.

That's a good PSU, and I'd figure out how to move it to another system.

Magic happens here http://www.evga.com/Products/ProductList.aspx?type=8 GTX980ti for $580.

 

[farmeeli]

I mentioned a GTX 970 and that's close. That's a 140W GPU. A 980 is 160W GPU, so that's even closer, and not really enough if you choose to overclock both the CPU and GPU. It's certainly not enough for an overclocked i5 and a 250W GPU like the GTX980ti, if you plan to play any demanding games. You will quickly overwhelm your main capacitors.

That's a good PSU, and I'd figure out how to move it to another system.

Magic happens here http://www.evga.com/Products/ProductList.aspx?type=8 GTX980ti for $580.

Thanks for the link! Was hoping I wouldn't have to upgrade my PSU, but that's the way it goes I suppose. I don't plan on overclocking my GPU, mostly because I don't know how to do it safely :/

 

[DonkeyOatie]

You may want to some day. In many ways, if you use something like MSI's Afterburner (which works with any GPU), it is easier than CPU overclock. Using MSI's Kombustor tests and benchmarks gives you good feed-back on how much improvement you have achieved.

 

[farmeeli]

You may want to some day. In many ways, if you use something like MSI's Afterburner (which works with any GPU), it is easier than CPU overclock. Using MSI's Kombustor tests and benchmarks gives you good feed-back on how much improvement you have achieved.

I'll have to look into that. Do you think my motherboard might bottleneck my GPU if I upgrade to a 980ti?

 

[DonkeyOatie]

No. You have a 3.0 x 16 slot for the card. Under extreme circumstances a GTX 980ti can saturate a x8 slot, but x16 is good to go.

 

[farmeeli]

No. You have a 3.0 x 16 slot for the card. Under extreme circumstances a GTX 980ti can saturate a x8 slot, but x16 is good to go.

Okay cool. Thanks for your help, it's given me a lot to think about.