Would it be worth it to upgrade my CPU/GPU?

[Garytaylor]

Hello and thank you for taking the time to read my issue.

I have recently wanted to upgrade my rig that I built about a year ago now, I mainly play MMOs such as Archeage, but I'm not fully satisfied with the performance in such games. I can run the game on medium settings without any FPS drop unless I am in a large scale PvP battle where every character on screen appears to teleport around the screen due to the major loss in FPS.
I would also like to be able to run most new games at decent settings which is why I also want a new GPU.

Here is my current build running windows 7 64 bit:

CPU: AMD FX 6300 Six-Core Processor
GPU: Sapphire HD 7870
RAM: 8GB Kingston Hyper X
PSU: Corsair CXM 500W
Motherboard: Asus M5 A97 LE R2.0
Storage: 1TB WD Caviar Blue

I was thinking of upgrading to an intel CPU (perhaps i5-4690k) as I've heard that games only use up to 4 cores so I'm not getting great performance from my current six core AMD.
The GPU I wanted was the R9 280x, but was unsure whether or not this would be a worthwhile upgrade from my 7870.

I have a budget of about £700 as I understand I'll have to buy a new motherboard. I was recommended the MSI Z97 Gaming 3, but once again I'm totally unsure of what to do here.

As you can tell, I'm entirely new to upgrading my PC and just want to know what you think I should do so thank you for your patience in reading my problem, any recommendations would be great as I'm obviously clueless at the moment.

 

[viewtyjoe]

MMOs are typically more CPU driven than single player games, so I would suggest getting the i5 and new motherboard first, because realistically, you should be able to run the game with the settings cranked all the way up on that GPU. I would also recommend not getting the K and Z97 unless you're planning on overclocking, in which case you'll want a good cooler as well.

 

[Garytaylor]

sorry, I forgot to mention. I was considering overclocking the CPU and getting the Hyper 212 evo CPU cooler. Not sure if I should make a new question for this as I don't want to try anyones patience. I've never overclocked before you see and I'm unsure whether or not it would be worth it or do-able for me. My zalman z9 plus case is fan cooled (6 fans) and are unsure if this would be good enough.

 

[zxt827]

Your budget allows an i5 upgrade, get a non k i5 and a non z board, the rest of the cash goes to GPU.

 

[viewtyjoe]

Overclocking is mostly a personal preference. If you're comfortable doing it, you can get a good chunk of extra performance out of your parts, but it also is more likely to lead to failed components. That's just the trade-off. Light overclocks are pretty no-brain from my understanding, though, and fairly stable/safe to boot.

 

[boosted1g]

Shoule be very easy to get an i5, z97 board and r9-280x in your price range. Should even be able to get GTX 770 with your budget.

The 280x would be a decent step up from the 7870, and the i5 would be a good step up from the 6300

 

[zxt827]

sorry, I forgot to mention. I was considering overclocking the CPU and getting the Hyper 212 evo CPU cooler. Not sure if I should make a new question for this as I don't want to try anyones patience. I've never overclocked before you see and I'm unsure whether or not it would be worth it or do-able for me. My zalman z9 plus case is fan cooled (6 fans) and are unsure if this would be good enough.

6 fans is enough for regular OC. if are lucky, get the i5 4690k to 4.5 is possible, and you will see an overall performance gain of around 10-15%, you will have to do some research about overclocking, each board is a little different, but they are all same idea.

 

[Garytaylor]

Before I start, thank you all for your help. It's all greatly appreciated. I like the idea of going ahead and buying a 4690k and doing some light overclocking (as I'm terrified of breaking anything). Would it be beneficial to still purchase the MSI 797 for about £93 from Amazon or would I be ok with a cheaper board?
Also (sorry for yet another question) is there much difference between the GTX 770 and the R9 280x? also, would I need a larger PSU than 500w if I upgrade all these parts?