Which should i upgrade next?

[dency45]

CPU : Intel G630
GPU : Sapphire Vapor x HD 7770 OC 1GB
MOBO : Asus P8H61 - MLX New h61 b3 revision
RAM : 4 GB 1066 Mhz
PSU : iMaster PRO 500watts
Casing : mini atx
HD : 1 TB seagate barracuda
LCD TV's nature resolution is 1920 x 1080 but it hurts my eye so sometimes i play at 1680x1050.
My main goal is for gaming.

 

[jessterman21]

Looks pretty balanced. You could slap a cache-SSD in there. I got the 50GB version of the Mushkin Catalyst and it works like a dream - just installed, downloaded the software, rebooted and no more waiting on my hard drive

The 100GB version is supposed to be faster - and it can cache twice as much of your frequently used data (probably all of your frequently used data.) I'd advise that. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226336

^Don't let the low reviews fool you. These folks didn't know what they were buying. It's perfect for a machine with Windows 7, 1 hard drive, and someone who doesn't want to go through the hassle of reinstalling everything including Windows to get SSD speed.

However if you don't mind reinstalling everything, get this SSD - it's the fastest on the market right now, and the price cannot be beat (absolutely worth the money). It will hold all your programs and games, no problem. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147164

 

[dency45]

Thank you but what is SSD for? what its purpose?

 

[jessterman21]

Thank you but what is SSD for? what its purpose?

Oh, haha. A solid-state drive speeds up your entire computer, as a mechanical hard disk drive is by far the slowest component of any system. Windows will boot in less than 30 seconds, shut down in less than 10, you can open folders, files, programs in less than 1 second, and it will cut your game load times in half. The whole experience is much snappier.

If you want super-speed for everything, all the time, you'll need to do a fresh install of Windows on the SSD of your choosing (I recommend the $200 Samsung 830 256GB) and reinstall all your programs and personal files. This is the best solution.

A cache-SSD uses software to intelligently save your most frequently-used programs and files to itself - up to the capacity of the SSD, and you don't have to do a fresh install of Windows 7. This is a good compromise to get SSD-speed if you don't want to go through the arduous process of starting from scratch.

 

[jessterman21]

If this doesn't sound like something you want to invest $100-200 in, then I'd say a Radeon HD 7870 is a great upgrade right now, and it will allow you to play all games on Ultra at 1080p. Or you could upgrade to an quad-core i5. Both of those are over $200, though. Like I said - you have a good balance right now - are you dissatisfied with your gaming experience? Any particular game? What is your goal for this next upgrade?

 

[dency45]

Wow, thanks a lot for the information. Maybe i'll get that SSD after i finalized all the components of my gaming rig. I play games like Batman, Assassins creed, skyrim, COD, borderlands, dead island, fable 3, dota 2, etc. right now im playing sleeping dogs, and im not quite satisfied with it, i play it with 1680 x1050 with everything max out except for AA at normal, i get a low fps of 17 - 20 sometimes, and the avgfps is 30.

This is the options i am thinking. I will have a budget of around $300.
A) Upgrade my video card, and PSU? ( My psu only have 1 PCIe power connector)
B) Upgrade my processor to quad core i5 (3570k) and to 2x4GB Ram (1333mhz)

What do you suggest?

 

[jessterman21]

Wow, thanks a lot for the information. Maybe i'll get that SSD after i finalized all the components of my gaming rig. I play games like Batman, Assassins creed, skyrim, COD, borderlands, dead island, fable 3, dota 2, etc. right now im playing sleeping dogs, and im not quite satisfied with it, i play it with 1680 x1050 with everything max out except for AA at normal, i get a low fps of 17 - 20 sometimes, and the avgfps is 30.

This is the options i am thinking. I will have a budget of around $300.
A) Upgrade my video card, casing (tower) and motherboard( for 1600 ram support and better chipset) ?
B) Upgrade my processor to quad core i5 (3570k) and to 2x4GB Ram (1333mhz)

What do you suggest?

A) If you want better average framerate, you need a new graphics card.

B) If you want better minimum framerate (drops), you need an i5.

Your motherboard and RAM are fine - you will not see any difference in gaming if you upgrade them.

Your case is fine, unless when gaming, your CPU temps are above 70C, your hard drive temps are above 45C, or your GPU temps are above 80C.

Your HD 7770 isn't really built for maxing out current games - it should run High settings (usually doesn't look much different than max settings) with or without AA. You can always leave MSAA off and force Morphological AA through the driver - it does a pretty good job at smoothing lines (tho with some blurring). I play with that on if MSAA causes too much of a framerate hit. If you can live with Medium-High settings in your games, then get any LGA 1155 Core i5 - your framerate will never drop too low. If you have to play everything on Ultra with AA, then you need an HD 7870 or GTX 660. If you can afford both a CPU and GPU upgrade ($400+), then go for it - you won't regret it.

 

[dency45]

Thanks a lot. I edited my post haha. I think i need a PSU too, it only have one 8 pin PCIe power connector. For the casing, i don't like the looks of my casing, i want it to be look so cool like this one http://www.legitreviews.com/images/reviews/1036/corsair_installed_complete.jpg . My chassis is old, i think it is bought last 2005.

Yes, i hate that framerate drops! So i will go for i5 - 3570k. Thank a lot!

 

[dency45]

Best answer selected by dency45.

 

[dency45]

Btw, if i upgrade my G630 to i5 3570k. Will i have a GPU bottleneck? The 3570k must be too fast for the HD 7770?

 

[jessterman21]

Btw, if i upgrade my G630 to i5 3570k. Will i have a GPU bottleneck? The 3570k must be too fast for the HD 7770?

Right, but that's what you want: a system where your gaming performance is limited only by your GPU. The great thing about the i5-3570K is you can buy the best GPU you can afford without worrying about a CPU bottleneck (not allowing the GPU to work at its maximum.)

Oh, and you should swap your RAM for 8GB DDR3-1600. It's incredibly cheap right now. And it will allow your new i5 to work at its maximum.

 

[dency45]

Ahh. Okay. My motherboard only supports memory of 1066 and 1333. Its my mistake for buying it without looking its specs.

 

[jessterman21]

Ahh. Okay. My motherboard only supports memory of 1066 and 1333. Its my mistake for buying it without looking its specs.

Don't worry about it - RAM speed doesn't make more than a 2% gaming difference on LGA 1155.

 

[dency45]

Thanks. And btw, can you please explain to me more about bottlenecking. So if i upgrade my CPU to i5 3570k. I will have a GPU bottleneck. So will this upgrade decrease the current performance of my current system because of the bottleneck?