$300 for an upgrade. Not sure what would be the best bang for my buck

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
A

AQuebman

Distinguished
Jan 6, 2012
70
0
18,630
Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: ASAP

Budget Range: $300 before rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Everything else

Are you buying a monitor: Maybe


Parts to Upgrade: That's the question though probably CPU or Video Card

Do you need to buy OS: No
Please note that if you're using an OEM license of Windows, you will need a new one when buying a new motherboard.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Whichever is cheapest usually unless there is a reliability concern

Location: City, State/Region, Country - Cincinnati, Ohio 45240 (work right next to a Microcenter)

Parts Preferences: No preferences

Overclocking: If its simple sure but I don't go too in depth with OC'ing cause I can't afford to replace a part if something breaks

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe I don't do this currently but i'm not opposed

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 24 inch monitor - I imagine if I upgrade this it will be to a 4k monitor of some sort

Additional Comments: I play games that range all over the place so I try to keep a pretty decent rig that can handle most things I throw at it. Reliability is more important to me then being the best of the best if that makes any difference

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Got some extra cash for my birthday and looking to see if I can make a nice upgrade

CPU: I7-4770k
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116901
Memory: 8192 MB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GGM6RB2?tag=price1180107-20&ascsubtag=wtbs_5948072c8acaf119bf1de196
MB: ASROCK Z87M Extreme 4
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157373
OS: Windows 10
Monitor: 24 inch HD 1080p 1920x1080 resolution
 
Solution
Eximo
Not a bad monitor. Not sure I would get a 24" 1440 display, rather have it at 1920x1080 if the plan is to keep the 780. Though monitors last longer than GPUs, so it has that going for it.

Increasing your resolution and max refresh rate might be appealing, but keeping it the same size might be a little disappointing. Given that it is primarily a TN gaming monitor it won't be great for other purposes.

If you are only doing one or the other, I still say to wait. If you do the monitor now, and then upgrade your GPU, you might regret what monitors are then available. All depends on how long it will take you to do both.
Sort by date Sort by votes
atljsf

atljsf

Honorable
BANNED
Jun 17, 2015
4,910
46
12,990
perhaps i would upgrade gpu, but what you have for 1080p is quite decent

forget sli or crossfire, it is not worth the money, better just a single strong gpu than fight with two gpus, double noise, heat and problems to just discover that the game you play doesn't support 2 gpus

perhaps, perhaps, sell the 780 and buy a 1070
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,277
4,134
174,240
Your i7-4770K is almost as good as it gets.
If you will overclock, you can do even better.
If you want to oc, and it is easy and safe, buy a decent cooler to replace the stock cooler.
$35 buys you a cryorig H7.

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.

Your GTX780 is also quite good.
If you were to upgrade the graphics card, you need to make it a significant jump, perhaps to a GTX1070 which will exceed your budget. I would defer here until you find a game that the GTX780 can not play decently.

One of the most satisfying performance upgrades you can buy is a ssd for windows.
Look at a 240 or 500gb Samsung 850 evo.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
B

boosted1g

Titan
Jun 12, 2013
14,846
8
74,965
At 300 you are going to get only a very marginal upgrade, a 6gb 1060 and your current 780 are fairly close in performance ability; thus making it an almost laterial "upgrade".

Get an SSD and save rest of money for full platform upgrade in the future.
Otherwise you will have to increase budget to get a GTX 1070 for any noticable gains.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

AQuebman

Distinguished
Jan 6, 2012
70
0
18,630


I knew I forgot to put some specs I have a 250 gb ssd and a 500 gb HDD. Okay sounds like I should just stick with where im at until prices start to drop and make it worth upgrading.

Thanks for the info i appreciate it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

aquielisunari

Judicious
Mar 31, 2011
6,499
14
33,015


Let's just completely go off road here. You were thinking GPU or CPU. What would I upgrade if I had about $300? https://www.amazon.com/AOC-AG241QX-Gaming-Monitor-2560x1440/dp/B01NCTHS6E

After that would be a 16GB RAM kit.

After that would be a 1070 or a 1080.

We have a MAYBE!!!! next to buying a monitor :D That's my recommendation.

Have you monitored your VRAM(system RAM according to MSI AB) and RAM usage during gaming with MSI Afterburner?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

AQuebman

Distinguished
Jan 6, 2012
70
0
18,630
I havent monitored my ram usage during gaming though I tend to bounce to various games so its not always something pushing my hardware. That monitor while slightly out of my price range is tempting. I know this is subjective but is that monitor the best monitor for the price others would recommend?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Eximo

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
May 27, 2010
25,816
4,164
139,340
Not a bad monitor. Not sure I would get a 24" 1440 display, rather have it at 1920x1080 if the plan is to keep the 780. Though monitors last longer than GPUs, so it has that going for it.

Increasing your resolution and max refresh rate might be appealing, but keeping it the same size might be a little disappointing. Given that it is primarily a TN gaming monitor it won't be great for other purposes.

If you are only doing one or the other, I still say to wait. If you do the monitor now, and then upgrade your GPU, you might regret what monitors are then available. All depends on how long it will take you to do both.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom