What to upgrade at a reasonable cost

[Perosteck1967]

Was hoping for some advice, below is my spec and feel it is struggling slightly on games recently, would like to upgrade to a new system but funds are low, can you give me a few ideas on best upgrades for my spec

Many thanks


Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i5 4670 @ 3.40GHz 44 °C
Haswell 22nm Technology
RAM
16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 799MHz (11-11-11-30)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. H81M-D2V (SOCKET 0) 28 °C
Graphics
PHL 272G5DY (1920x1080@144Hz)
Intel HD Graphics 4600 (Gigabyte)
2048MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (Gigabyte) 40 °C
ForceWare version: 376.33
SLI Disabled
Storage
931GB Seagate ST1000DM003-1CH162 (SATA) 34 °C
Optical Drives
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-224DB
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

 

[Frag Maniac]

I would suggest a GTX 1060 6GB if you can afford it. They start at about $240. It has roughly double the performance of a 960 2GB @ 1080p, which is what I assume you're playing at.

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_1060/26.html

Too bad you didn't do this just before the holidays, because even the Gigabyte that is normally $270 was going for as low as $235. Right now it's on sale at Newegg for $255.

You can get the PNY for $240, but it only has a 1 yr vs Giga's 3 yr warranty. It's also clocked lower than the Giga.

^Both the above sales are only good thru today (1/8/17). If you miss the sales, another option is the MSI OCV1 6G 1060 for $250 at Newegg, and that's the regular price. It's also clocked right in between the Giga and PNY. It also has a 3 yr warranty like the Giga.

The 3Gb 1060's run about $210 for the full sized ones, and as low as $195 for the single fan smaller ones. They perform within a few FPS of the 6GB version @ 1080p, but there are already an increasing number of games you can't run max textures with that low VRAM, so they're not exactly future ready.

 

[aquielisunari]

Was hoping for some advice, below is my spec and feel it is struggling slightly on games recently, would like to upgrade to a new system but funds are low, can you give me a few ideas on best upgrades for my spec

Many thanks


Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i5 4670 @ 3.40GHz 44 °C
Haswell 22nm Technology
RAM
16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 799MHz (11-11-11-30)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. H81M-D2V (SOCKET 0) 28 °C
Graphics
PHL 272G5DY (1920x1080@144Hz)
Intel HD Graphics 4600 (Gigabyte)
2048MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (Gigabyte) 40 °C
ForceWare version: 376.33
SLI Disabled
Storage
931GB Seagate ST1000DM003-1CH162 (SATA) 34 °C
Optical Drives
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-224DB
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

The 1070 would be the best option imo. Yes, you have to save longer. A little bit of applied patience. While the 1060 will be a significant boost the 1070 would offer more longevity. Eventually you will upgrade to a new PC. The 4670 will only last so long. You may move over to Skylake or Kaby Lake. The 1060 is a perfect pairing for the 4670 or my 4690K. But for the 66 or 7600 i5 the 1070 would be better qualified.

1060

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GTX-1060-ARMOR-OCV1/dp/B01L9VB642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483910524/

or

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Support-Graphics-06G-P4-6161-KR/dp/B01IPVSGEC/ref=sr_1_9?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1483910645/

1070
https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-GDDR5-Graphics-GV-N1070IXOC-8GD/dp/B01JD2OSX0/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1483910645

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487265&ignorebbr=1

I much prefer the EVGA 1070.

Which card will I buy when I can afford one? The 1070. I have a 970FTW at this point and it fits my needs beautifully.

 

[Frag Maniac]

^Agree with you on the 1070 being more future ready, but when the person asking is on an older platform and says "funds are low", I error on the side of budget.

That said, it's best to always include max allowable budget when asking such things.