[UPGRADE] What part first?

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alex8699

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Mar 7, 2016
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Ok so December last year I built my own PC, only had a 150$ laptop off ebay previously, and was very happy with it, it was meant for gaming but I also do graphic design so it has worked perfect for the most part, but I would really like to upgrade some parts, but I dont know which will have the biggest impact.
SPECS:
CPU: FX-6300 Black edition
GPU: GTX 950 FTW 2.0
RAM: 8gb Crucial Ballistix
PSU: SeaSonic S12II 520W Bronze edition
MB: MSI A55M-E33 (I think, its been awhile but im 90% sure)

Ok, so I know its not the best build but I was barely 16, and didn't have a job/had to get the money on my own so it was more of a budget pc, but now that I have a job(junior in highschool so I only make around 200$ a week), I want to make a few upgrades so I have a couple questions...

1. Ram is getting upgraded to 16gb regardless, but should I get another of the same and dual channel? Or a diff brand for the other 8gb?

2. GPU vs PSU, if I got a better GPU I think I would go for the GTX 980 ti, but I know nothing about CPU's and realize mine isnt the best, do you think it would be more impactful to upgrade that first?

3. PSU, is the SeaSonic S12II 520W able to fully support a gtx 980 ti (or a good gaming cpu) with my current build?

4. the motherboard, are gaming motherboards really that much better? like would it really change much or should i not even worry about the mb, atleast not at first?

Thanks for any and all help!
 
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xFeaRDom
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xFeaRDom

xFeaRDom

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Jul 28, 2016
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I wouldn't go for a GTX 980Ti, not really worth it anymore to be honest, if you want a GPU such as that, go for a GTX 1070, and also a 1440p Monitor, which is recommended for the GTX 1070 (The performance is basically the same I believe, but why not just go for the newer option.

Another upgrade, is to get an SSD if you do not have one already, something such as the 250GB Samsung Galaxy 850 Evo, that will greatly increase booting time, and if you get a larger option, such as the 500GB version, you can install a few games onto that drive for again, increased booting time, and read/write speeds.

Your PSU can be upgraded, something similar to the 650W EVGA Supernova G2, or other recommended PSUs can be used, you can also upgrade to the same version of your current PSU, but to 620W.

Finally, the last upgrade, is to upgrade to a 6th Generation Intel Processor, such as the i5-6600K, and if you're willing/wanting to overclock, a Z170 Motherboard and maybe a Noctua DH-15 Cooler, or 14 for a little cheaper. There are cheaper options such as the Cryorig H7 or the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo.

 
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alex8699

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Mar 7, 2016
11
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I was leaning towards the 980 ti just because its cheaper, and still a pretty big upgrade to my current 950.

forgot to mention my ssd, but its a 1TB western digital green, if my memory is right, and booting speed would be really nice, would the evo increase overall pc startup, or just programs that i put onto it?

Psu, shouldnt i wait til i upgrade more parts before i upgrade wattage? my pc can technically run on just 300w so i have some to spare atm.

And yeah my cpu is a bit outdated, but would it show a greater increase in performance to up the cpu to an 15, or a gpu to the 950?

 
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xFeaRDom

xFeaRDom

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SSD, fair enough, the Evo will not improve too much over that, and would not be noticeable.

PSU, you can recommend after your GPU upgrade, when you upgrade your CPU/Motherboard (If you plan on overclocking, too, if not then you should be fine)

Not sure where you're looking for the 980Ti, but everywhere I look, the 980Ti is double the price of the 1070, and the 1070 is most likely better.

Greater performance increase would come from a GPU upgrade, but the CPU upgrade would also be great, doing from an old FX to a new i5. Not wanting to start any wars, but at the current moment, i5's are similar to the high-end AMD CPUs (I believe) and they have much stronger cores and are built more better for performance, that is just my opinion though. And it will feel generally quite refreshing when you do upgrade it to something like that.

When you upgrade your CPU/MoBo, you will most likely also need to reinstall Windows, or it is recommended at least, unless you purchase your own copy, not an OEM copy of Windows, you should be fine. But reinstallation is recommended, but it can run without in some cases.
 
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alex8699

Commendable
Mar 7, 2016
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I can get a 980 ti for 260$ via amazon, where as I see the 1070 for 350-400$ range, and I think I might go with a ram and gpu upgrade, and then in a month or so upgrade to an i5. Thanks for the help
 
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xFeaRDom

xFeaRDom

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Jul 28, 2016
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So it is probably a used GTX 980Ti then, correct me if I'm wrong, but that is kinda cheap :p

If you're comfortable with buying a used GTX 980Ti, don't forget about all of the abuse it may have received, such as overclocking too far and causing high temperature increases, decreases in performance etc, this may have been missed by Amazon when it was tested, as they will simply do a stress test at stock settings and see if it works, that is my guess anyway, it is always better to buy new rather than used.

A RAM upgrade will do nicely from 8GB to 16GB, I recommend buying a 2x8GB Kit of DDR3-1600 RAM (You probably knew this already) but don't forget, if you upgrade to the i5-6600K, you'll need to buy DDR4 RAM, so to counter that, you can upgrade to an i5-4690K, or similar, like a 4690 or 4590 - Remember to always buy CPUs new unless you trust the seller completely.
 
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