Upgrading Advice - GPU, Motherboard CPU

Qfimeister · Mar 24, 2014

Hey everyone;
I am quite indecisive on upgrading my gaming PC setup. I have been thinking to upgrade certain parts; however, I need a friends advice before proceeding to do so.

Budget Range: I have about £500 to Spend on anything
System Usage is for gaming.

Parts to Upgrade: Looking to upgrade CPU, GPU or my motherboard -
Current parts:
Motherboard: ASUS P6T-SE
CPU: Intel i7 930 Bloomfield
GPU: Nvidia GTX 480
Corsair DDR3 Rams 3G on Windows 7

Parts Preferences: by brand or type : For upgrading I would prefer Nvidia GPU and Intel CPU's.
Overclocking: Maybe
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I am aiming to upgrade 1 or 2 parts if required then slowly add on any extras needed. For extra information I have Corsair watercooler for the CPU, and Toughpower 750W PSU.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I am posting this thread to get advice on whether I need to upgrade certain parts or will any upgrade will be minor upgrades? Please give me advice on what would be a wise choice to upgrade or if my setup is fine for gaming at the moment to play most of the games?

geofelt · Mar 24, 2014

You have a reasonably competent and balanced rig.
I might consider adding some ram.
And a SSD for the os is a wonderful performance enhancer.

For gaming, the graphics card is all important. If you upgrade, make it a big jump or you may be disappointed.
Look for a GTX770 or possibly GTX780 class card.

Some games may well be cpu limited.

To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:

a) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.

Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
set to 70% and see how you do.

You could also experiment with removing one core in the bios. This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many cores.

If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.

If you determine that a cpu upgrade is warranted, look for a i5-4670K, a Z87 based motherboard and a 8gb kit of ddr3 ram. Your budget should permit that.

If both cpu and gpu upgrade is needed, I would upgrade the gpu first. You get the improvement now, and it can later be carried forward to a new cpu/motherboard later.

Guest · Mar 24, 2014

I have a similar rig. I use a i7 960 with 12GB of RAM and a GTX 680. The SSD won't really do you any favors as far as gaming goes, but it will make your system feel more peppy compared to a traditional hard drive. More memory and video card were my first upgrade choice as I had 6GB with my original build. I have yet to run into any bottlenecks. I'm going to run with my current rig until the next generation of new processors come out before I decide if I am going to upgrade or not.

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Upgrading Advice - GPU, Motherboard CPU

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