What would you upgrade if this was your PC

[seductivedream]

Hi everyone,

I am thinking of upgrading my PC for new games but not sure what I should buy. I know the EVGA Gtx 560 isn't a bad card but I think it's time to upgrade. Would you upgrade the card or the CPU? I have no OC either of the two Specs below:

CPU: i5 2320 3.0 ghz
GPU: Gtx 560
power supply: Antec HCG 750w
Acer G246HL Abd 24-Inch Screen LED
MB: Z77 Extreme4 Chipset: LGA 1155
OS: Windows 7 64 bit
4 Gbs of Ram- will def upgrade this lol

 

[tigerg]

Do you even need to yet? What new games are you planning on getting? I would get the game first and see if that system runs it OK before you waste money on hardware. You are limited in the CPU you can get because of the motherboard. The new stuff is on a new socket/chipset.

But if you really need to, perhaps the GPU.

 

[seductivedream]

Do you even need to yet? What new games are you planning on getting? I would get the game first and see if that system runs it OK before you waste money on hardware. You are limited in the CPU you can get because of the motherboard. The new stuff is on a new socket/chipset.

But if you really need to, perhaps the GPU.

I plan on getting BF4 and others. BF4 will probably be the most taxing though. so, I guess my system isn't that bad, I was thinking the GPU but I can't see myself spending more than 150 for a new one.

 

[Meoricin]

I think you're locked into a similar situation as me, where your components are fairly well-matched, so any upgrade is going to cost a substantial amount and leave one component significantly stronger than the other - OR upgrade the lot, but only get a minor upgrade overall.

Personally I'm running an i3 2120 with a 6950 - if I want to upgrade my GPU I'll need a new waterblock, and then the i3 will hold it back. If I upgrade my CPU I'll need a new motherboard as well - and the upgrade would need to be a jump from i3 to i5k, so I'd be looking at £250~ for something which won't really increase performance that much right now, but will allow me to upgrade the GPU later without the CPU holding it back.

When I do upgrade, I'm leaning in favour of the GPU first - but it's only edging it because my 6950 is a 1gb version, and I'm feeling that limitation.

 

[Vic 40]

But if you really need to, perhaps the GPU.

I was thinking the GPU but I can't see myself spending more than 150 for a new one.
[/quotemsg]

What are you talking about when you say "150" ? I mean dollars/pounds/euro's.

 

[seductivedream]

I think you're locked into a similar situation as me, where your components are fairly well-matched, so any upgrade is going to cost a substantial amount and leave one component significantly stronger than the other - OR upgrade the lot, but only get a minor upgrade overall.

Personally I'm running an i3 2120 with a 6950 - if I want to upgrade my GPU I'll need a new waterblock, and then the i3 will hold it back. If I upgrade my CPU I'll need a new motherboard as well - and the upgrade would need to be a jump from i3 to i5k, so I'd be looking at £250~ for something which won't really increase performance that much right now, but will allow me to upgrade the GPU later without the CPU holding it back.

When I do upgrade, I'm leaning in favour of the GPU first - but it's only edging it because my 6950 is a 1gb version, and I'm feeling that limitation.

But if you really need to, perhaps the GPU.

I was thinking the GPU but I can't see myself spending more than 150 for a new one.

What are you talking about when you say "150" ? I mean dollars/pounds/euro's.[/quotemsg]

Sorry, I am referring to 150 dollars.

 

[seductivedream]

I think you're locked into a similar situation as me, where your components are fairly well-matched, so any upgrade is going to cost a substantial amount and leave one component significantly stronger than the other - OR upgrade the lot, but only get a minor upgrade overall.

Personally I'm running an i3 2120 with a 6950 - if I want to upgrade my GPU I'll need a new waterblock, and then the i3 will hold it back. If I upgrade my CPU I'll need a new motherboard as well - and the upgrade would need to be a jump from i3 to i5k, so I'd be looking at £250~ for something which won't really increase performance that much right now, but will allow me to upgrade the GPU later without the CPU holding it back.

When I do upgrade, I'm leaning in favour of the GPU first - but it's only edging it because my 6950 is a 1gb version, and I'm feeling that limitation.

Well eventually I plan on moving up to the GTX 780 next year sometime. With that being said, upgrading the CPU will prob be the best bet for now. I can OC the GPU and getting better performance for now.

I am leaning towards buy Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 now and maybe get a refurb evga gtx 660 on sale.

 

[Vic 40]

Looking at how gpu's perform in Bf4,
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/battlefield_4_vga_graphics_performance_benchmark,7.html
you could take a look at the next one,

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FjYH

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FjYH/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FjYH/benchmarks/

Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $129.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-24 10:42 EST-0500)

I think your cpu should still do fine.

 

[seductivedream]

Looking at how gpu's perform in Bf4,
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/battlefield_4_vga_graphics_performance_benchmark,7.html
you could take a look at the next one,

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FjYH

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FjYH/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FjYH/benchmarks/

Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $129.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-24 10:42 EST-0500)

I think your cpu should still do fine.

Wow Thanks Vic 40,

I checked specs between that card and the Nvidia gtx660 I was looking at and it seems like a better card for a lot cheaper price.

GPU compare:
http://www.hwcompare.com/13302/geforce-gtx-660-vs-radeon-hd-7870/#comments

Now I have EVGA card now and I am not familiar with the MSI brand. Do you have any experience with them? do they last long, any issues? Evga has been good to me but I don't mind changing for better performance/price.

 

[Vic 40]

Do you have any experience with them? do they last long, any issues?

No experience,but from what i read they are good cards with good coolers,with that i mean not to loud and good cooling capabilities.
It shouldn't give problems.It has,afiak,a three year warranty so that should cover any "inconveniences".

 

[seductivedream]

Do you have any experience with them? do they last long, any issues?

No experience,but from what i read they are good cards with good coolers,with that i mean not to loud and good cooling capabilities.
It shouldn't give problems.It has,afiak,a three year warranty so that should cover any "inconveniences".

Awesome, thanks again. I will look into that card and possibly a better CPU if I find a good price.

 

[Vic 40]

and possibly a better CPU .

Like i said,from what i know your current cpu should still decently perform.
Just try it out first with that new gpu before upgrading.