Buying a GTX 970: What else should I change?

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Aheradrim

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May 13, 2015
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Hello there. I really need upgrading advice and I felt like these forums were the best place to get some :). My current setup is as follows:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4 GHz, 3.8 GHz Turbo Mode (4 CPUs)
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 760 Windforce 3x OC Edition (GDDR5 2GB)
RAM: DDR3 1600Mhz 2x4 8GB Corsair
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77-D3H
PSU: CoolerMaster B600(W)
HDD1: WD 500GB
HDD2: WD 2TB
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

and with all those great games coming out this year, I thought I should upgrade my PC and change my GTX 760 to a GTX 970. However, I am kinda worried. Is there anything else I should change to make the most out of the card I intend to buy? For example:
- Will my PSU suffice for the particular card?
- Will my Intel i5 3570 bottleneck the new card?
- What changes would you propose?

Thanks in advance for all the answers and the time each one devoted to helping me. I will be around to update the topic as well as provide any additional information you tech gurus could need :D.
 
Solution
Noah Siano
"- Will my PSU suffice for the particular card?"
The 970 has a lower TDP than the 760, so you're good there.

"- Will my Intel i5 3570 bottleneck the new card?"
This processor is only one generation old, and while I do not know much about it, I know the next generation does a great job at keeping up. I assume you'll be fine, so it's worth keeping it and seeing how it goes. You have an LGA 1155 motherboard, so to get the nice, new chips, youll also need a motherboard upgrade, and at this point I'd say its not worth it yet.

"- What changes would you propose?"
Only thing I recommend is getting a Gigabyte, MSI, or Asus 970 if you plan to overclock it.
Also, buy an SSD and put your OS on it. You will love it. a 120gb one costs about $100...
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Sergeant_Sneaky

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- Your PSU is perfectly fine for a single 970.
- Your i5 at stock won't bottleneck a 970, except maybe in very CPU intensive games like BF4 and GTA 5, but it would be slight and only if you're aiming for 120/144fps.
- I wouldn't make any changes to your system, you should save the money for when you need to upgrade later on.
 
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Noah Siano

Noah Siano

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"- Will my PSU suffice for the particular card?"
The 970 has a lower TDP than the 760, so you're good there.

"- Will my Intel i5 3570 bottleneck the new card?"
This processor is only one generation old, and while I do not know much about it, I know the next generation does a great job at keeping up. I assume you'll be fine, so it's worth keeping it and seeing how it goes. You have an LGA 1155 motherboard, so to get the nice, new chips, youll also need a motherboard upgrade, and at this point I'd say its not worth it yet.

"- What changes would you propose?"
Only thing I recommend is getting a Gigabyte, MSI, or Asus 970 if you plan to overclock it.
Also, buy an SSD and put your OS on it. You will love it. a 120gb one costs about $100, and it's the best thing you can do for your pc.
 
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Aheradrim

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I did not get that part, Noah. Would you care to clarify it? (if you feel there is room for clarification of course)

 
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Noah Siano

Noah Siano

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Sure!
your motherboard has the LGA 1155 socket, so it can only fit CPUs that are LGA 1155. The newer processors, like the 4690K or the 4790K, are socket type LGA 1150. Very similar, but you cannot cross the motherboards. They use the same coolers, but you have to use different motherboards.

Now, I could be mistaken about newer cards not being LGA 1155. There could be some Haswell/Haswell Refresh cards that use the LGA 1155 socket.

But all of that aside, I really do not think you'll need to upgrade your cpu. I would wait until the next generation, Skylake, comes out with some stuff before you consider a motherboard/cpu upgrade.
 
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Aheradrim

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But that won't be a problem for the GTX 970. It 's only for the CPU, isn't it?

 
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Noah Siano

Noah Siano

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Correct. The 970 will work on motherboards as long as they have a PCIe lane, and that has been the standard for many years.
 
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cst1992

cst1992

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I second this. Skylake will have a different chipset(H170/Z170), a different socket(LGA1151) and a die shrink(14nm) so getting a new motherboard now doesn't make sense. You could upgrade when H/Z170 motherboards become mainstream. Anyway, processors aren't getting too much faster these days, your i5-3570 would still be fast enough for most games.
 
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