What to do? (Upgrade or New Build)

[wildcat2492]

Hey all. I am currently looking to upgrade my PC but am not sure what to do. My objective is to game at 1080P or 1440 P when i obtain the ability to do so. I have two ideas. The first would be to pick up a new graphics card, preferably the GTX 970. The second is sell my build and start from scratch, this time pursuing an intel build as opposed to AMD. My specs are:

AMD FX 6300 3.5 GHz processor
WB 1TB HDD
8GB RAM
GTX 660
500 Watt PSU
ASRock N68C-GS FX AM3+ MOBO
My question to you is what would you do in this situation? I want to game at ~60fps on ultra settings for BF4 at the very least. My budget for a new build will be $1100 USD.

 

[sammy sung]

I'd in your position prefer to completely build from scratch, especially if you sell your current tower or part it out to bring additional funds to the budget.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.94 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($108.78 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($82.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290X 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower Classic 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($60.00 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1080.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-08 18:40 EST-0500

 

[rowdymoody]

Unless you are really bored and feel like you need a new project to spend money on and work on I see no real reason to start from scratch all over again. playing BF4 at 60fps would be easily achieved on your computer if you upgraded your graphics card. even a gtx 760 with your system should run the game at 60fps on ultra settings.

 

[wildcat2492]

Thank you both for your input, I am concerned about the possibility of bottle-necking if I get just a single GPU. Will that happen if I upgrade to the 970 or 760?

 

[sammy sung]

Absolutely no need to upgrade your CPU for the GTX 970. Just overclock your 6300. The cost/performance ratio to upgrade to a 83xx or jump over to Intel is not worth it, unless money is of no concern. If you can get that 6300 to 4.5ghz (which you likely can) then you will be very happy.

 

[wildcat2492]

I've never thought to overclock my cpu. What would I need? A cpu cooler I would think to start.
I've actually just researched what I need to do to OC and have decided to do so and upgrade my GPU. Not looking for a larger than needed investment at this point. Thank you for your help!