Should i upgrade my entire system

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sn_191

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Apr 3, 2015
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Right now im on a i5 4690k running at 4.2ghz. Have a gaming 7 mobo, 8gb ddr3 ram, air cooling, and the s340 case. Thinking of a new case and cpu/mobo and adding in 16gb ddr5 ram. Basically the only parts i will be keeping is my psu, gpu (970) and hard drives. Think its worth the upgrade or should i make it last till it cant run newer games? Everything plays good, but i notice i cant max everything out especially on aaa games, and i would like to get high frames for my 144hz monitor. I also have a vive and it runs good but not the best with some games. If its not worth upgrading parts, i will probably just get a new case and put a liquid cooler in my system.
 
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You could buy another 2x4GB kit and there's about a 50/50 chance of a hassle free install, but I recommend just buying a 2x8GB kit to replace your current memory.

Gaming at lower resolutions like 1080p does shift some of the load from the graphics card onto the CPU. However, you...
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weberdarren97

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Aug 10, 2015
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DDR5 is actually still a twinkle in Nanya's eyes. I've not even seen any official conceptual testing yet. It'll be several years before it comes to market. I'm going to assume you meant DDR4.

Right now, I still consider the i5 4690K to be a great gaming chip. Sure, it's IPC is a little lower than Skylake, but Kaby Lake has the same IPC as Skylake. Wait for Intel to pull their crap together before considering a rebuild.

Is there something about your system that has you really unimpressed? Low performance, quirks you can't figure out? Us experts can help with these things.

What power supply do you have?
 
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Harsh_11

Harsh_11

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I would recommend you to upgrade your graphics card instead of your processor. If you want ultra settings on 144hz monitor then get a gtx 1080 for future proofing or a gtx 1070 if your budget is not that much. Only a gtx 1070 will be capable of producing desirable frames that you want. Get another 8gb ram stick. No need to waste money on a new processor and water cooling.
 
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boosted1g

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Jun 12, 2013
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Your specs are still pretty good.

Your 970 is just a little insufficient for 144hz at 1080p.
I would upgrade to a 1070 or 1080 and leave the rest as is for the moement and you wont see near enough gain from going to a kabylake i5 to remotely justify the $400-500 in cpu/mobo/ram.
 
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Dunlop0078

Dunlop0078

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Feb 13, 2014
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I personally wouldn't upgrade a 4690k system yet, that is still a very capable cpu. And what do you mean ddr5? No such thing, we are at dd4 as of right now. If you cant max out your games its likely due to an inadequate gpu not cpu, you would more than likely see the most gains by upgrading your gpu.
 
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weberdarren97

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Aug 10, 2015
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Graphics upgrade? Good idea.

Throw in another stick of memory? Not such a great idea. Mixing memory produces unpredictable results. Even two of the same stick may not get along with each other. To ensure total memory compatibility, buy a kit that offers the capacity you desire and use the kit to replace the old memory, instead of adding to it.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Apr 16, 2015
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While a 970 is still a good card, maxing new AAA titles with it and achieving 'high' FPS is not really achievable with the majority of titles. A GPU upgrade would help get you there.

8GB is a little low for some titles too. Games aren't getting close to hitting 16GB, but some are exceeding 8GB marginally (like 8.5GB), so additional RAM would be a good option, paired with a little bit of luck - replacing your RAM with a new 2x8GB 'kit' would be preferred though, potentially for a more 'hassle free' upgrade.



It's not always unpredictable, as sometimes adding additional RAM simply 'works', but the risk remains.
"May not" work together as intended is definitely more accurate.
 
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weberdarren97

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Aug 10, 2015
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It seems you got my point though.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Oh, absolutely. Wasn't knocking your post WD - was just posting for the OPs benefit that adding more RAM is an option and doesn't guarantee instability issues.... it's just not recommended/ideal, and has the potential to be more hassle than it's worth.
 
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sn_191

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Apr 3, 2015
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Thanks for the input, sorry for the mess up i meant ddr4 ram (was typing on phone). But i was thinking the same, keep my cpu till a new one is needed and upgrade to 16gb of ram and maybe a new gpu. I wouldnt be able to just add another 2x4gb of the same ram i have? Or get a whole new kit? Also, i can deal with the 970 now but would i be better to wait till the next gen of gpu's are out to upgrade. I dont plan on 1440p or higher monitor for a while either
 
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weberdarren97

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Aug 10, 2015
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You could buy another 2x4GB kit and there's about a 50/50 chance of a hassle free install, but I recommend just buying a 2x8GB kit to replace your current memory.

Gaming at lower resolutions like 1080p does shift some of the load from the graphics card onto the CPU. However, you have a CPU that offers four powerful cores and a great amount of cache. A new graphics card would be more beneficial to your current setup than a CPU upgrade. Definitely upgrade the RAM.
 
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