What To Upgrade First

[Sneb]

Hi everybody, how are we all? I'll get right to it, I'm looking to upgrade my PC, but don't know what I should upgrade first, or what to upgrade to better suit my needs. A couple of my friends and I have been gaming together for years now, and usually one of the other guys would host a server if we needed one because up until recently, I was playing on a crappy net-book. Well, this past Christmas I finally built a decent rig for myself. Over night I went from having the worst computer to the best in our little group. Naturally, it has fallen on my shoulders to host servers from now on. Makes sense, but my rig just can't seem to handle it. Servers lag (less than when other people hosted, but still, it's annoying) and we frequently have to wait for everything to catch up before proceeding. So my question is, what can I upgrade to improve my hosting capabilities?
I currently have:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 @3.1GHz (3.3GHz Turbo)
GPU: Sapphire AMD R9 280X
Mobo: MSI H81M-E33
RAM: Crucial Ballistix 8GB DDR3
1 TB HDD @7200rpm

I'm thinking the RAM would be the best thing to upgrade, but I'm really not sure. Thanks for any and all help!

 

[i7Baby]

I'd get a SSD first

Then a Z97 mobo that can take SLI

Then a good 750w power supply.

Then a gtx 970

Then another gtx 970

Then a better case.

 

[Sneb]

I'd get a SSD first

Then a Z97 mobo that can take SLI

Then a good 750w power supply.

Then a gtx 970

Then another gtx 970

Then a better case.

I was kind of looking for some real help, thanks.

 

[HiggsPrime]

Hello Sneb,

U have good PC specs. It may be your internet connection. You need a good internet speed download and upload both. Ur RAM is alright. Use RJ45 ethernet cable instead of wireless router. Stop internet application like youtube, netflix, chrome.Open Task Manager and see which one is using most the internet close the ones which is not needed.

Also I use ww.Evolve.com app to host and play with friends.

 

[herrwizo]

The primary thing I'd add to this rig is an SSD for a system drive. The rest looks good, and lags are mostly due to your internet connection, not the rig.

 

[thrus]

Consider a second/third hard drive. one for OS, one for game. If you play a lot of the same game and it has a dedicated server a drive for that but I have never needed to do this.

I am in the same situation host at least one a game night every week (last night fore example). I run a SSD for my os and then have all my games on a Western Digital Black drive. Your processor is a bit better then mine, rami am not sure if i have ever used more then 8gb despite having 16gb in my rig. What game are you playing that you are waiting on?

What Higgs said can be an issue cabled is better then wireless. But keep in mind that it can be someone else killing the network not just you torrents, downloads (windows updates for example) and Steam are our usual issues if a game is stuttering.

 

[Karadjgne]

If you are primarily looking for server upgrades, I'd be looking at a cpu designed more to handle server chores such as a Xeon 1230v3 or i7 cpu. You are gaming at the same time as running a server, and thats heavy usage on the cpu, so an i5 will suffer some as resources are used up. I'd also be looking at more ram, 16Gb to start. This'll free up ram being used by the cpu for your game vrs what's being used for server time. An SSD will only help you in your game, really wont do anything for the server, unless the game/server is stored on the SSD, in which case it'll help with repetitive tasks. Use a good modem/router hardwired for service, not wireless, and dedicate bandwidth for the server using QoS etc, so your game or other background net tasks don't infringe on the server space and possibly cause more lag.

Hope that helps.

 

[Sneb]

Thank you all for your answers. I'm pretty sure it's not my internet, but if it is then oh well. A wired connection isn't an option right now because I can't run wires across the house. Anyway, thanks for your help everybody. If hosting wasn't my main goal and just general game performance was my focus, what would I upgrade first besides getting an SSD?

 

[herrwizo]

If hosting wasn't my main goal and just general game performance was my focus, what would I upgrade first besides getting an SSD?

Nvidia GTX970. You already have a very nice CPU, enough memory and so on. Nothing else will improve the framerates except the new graphics card. Still, 280X is a very good card. If you feel like it's not good enough, sure, go ahead and upgrade. I own this one as well, and find it perfectly good with any game I can play today on 1080p.

 

[Karadjgne]

SSD is all you could consider. The i5 is plenty strong enough to handle any game and gpu is good for 1080p u less you really want ultra settings on everything, beyond the capabilities of your monitor.

 

[i7Baby]

I'd get a SSD first

Then a Z97 mobo that can take SLI

Then a good 750w power supply.

Then a gtx 970

Then another gtx 970

Then a better case.

I was kind of looking for some real help, thanks.

It is real help. It outlines a short term and long term plan. Depending on your finances.

You need to get more specific eg budget.