Opinions on upgrading GPU CPU and Motherboard

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Tomahawk1

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Dec 31, 2014
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I guess I am looking for any feedback on how I should handle my next upgrade. First Current system:

Intel 4790k CPU - Hydro series H100
EVGA GTX 980 ti Hybrid (bought less than a year ago few months before 1000 series came out D'oh)
MSI PC-Mate z87-41 Motherboard
4k Monitor at 60hz
Antec 850 PSU
1 TB SSD
16 gb DDR3 ram

Okay, I mostly use it for gaming, about a year behind title release dates. I like pretty graphics, and I am starting to notice frame rate issues at 4k and think its about time for an upgrade. The obvious choice is to upgrade the GPU (was thinking of a Gigabyte 1080 ti aorus xtreme edition). One concern is getting screwed by next the Nvidia series drop again. Another is that I know the my old CPU will be a bottleneck and should upgrade it as well. I have read good things about the coffee lake and though it would be a good fit, but it uses the lga 1151 v2 chipset right? So it will need a 300 series motherboard? and the ones I looked at are no backward compatible. This is where I run in the other problem, Money. I could afford to buy the new GPU now, or the new MB and CPU now. Not both. Does it make sense to buy the GPU first, and run it on my older board, until I can sell the 980ti (I just had it RMA's so I am hoping to get a couple hundred for it maybe ) and upgrade the MB and CPU (and probably ram) then? After 1080 release this year I am skittish about spending such a large sum, and can probably stick it out if anything that's going to change the game is coming down the pipeline in the next 6 months or so.

P.S. For gaming alone (not the aesthetics or extreme OC) would it be worth it to do a full on liquid cooling system?
 
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animemangamer
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animemangamer

animemangamer

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Sep 18, 2017
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I believe if your goal is 4k gaming then you should focus on overclocking your CPU as high as you can while using an upgraded custom liquid cooling system. If you want to purchase a new part then go ahead and get 1080 ti preferably one with built in waterblock (if you plan to custom liquid cooling) or at least a hybrid version = these types of cards run cooler and overclock easier.

Your issue right now with frame rate relies heavily on your GPU. While I wouldn't recommend finding another GTX 980Ti to SLI. The GTX 1080Ti is the fastest card you can get right now that rivals Titan Pascal..etc. IMHO Your CPU is still good until the 8700K shortage is over in 2-3 months then go and upgrade the CPU/Mobo then. Custom liquid cooling kits are an excellent investment because you can keep using them no matter what you upgrade on your computer like a GPU. So if you can fork out the funds then go ahead and get a new GPU + Custom Liquid Cooling Kit.

Here are some options for a good start:

EKWB Complete Liquid Cooling Kits

This is what I used when I got started with custom loops and I'm still using some of it (except for this uses an X4 pump rather than my D5 pump that's why this kit is cheaper):

XSPC RayStorm Photon AX360 Kit

As for the size I recommend at least 360mm kit if your cooling both CPU & GPU or 240mm if solely CPU (This will still greatly outperform your AIO closed loop H100)

Some people will advise you to get parts separately but in my experience these parts can get more costly when purchased separately and I mean costly really fast.

Radiator - $50~150
Pump/Reservoir Combo - $100~200
CPU Waterblock - $50~100
Fittings $5~10 each (minimum 6 pcs need)
Tubing $10~20

Sure you can save by getting the cheapest options but that's not always the best route either.

Here is a pretty good kit with D5 pump if you want to do a fancy aesthetically made PETG hardline tubing loop:

ModMyToys OEM Raystorm Pro Photon D5 AX360 PETG Cooling Kit Featuring XSPC
 
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Lucky_SLS

Lucky_SLS

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Dec 16, 2016
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Yeah, agree with animemangamer. For a 60hz 4k, the 4790k is more than enough. If you can get by with reducing the filtering details to maybe 4x and maybe have the textures to high instead of very high can help. U can still have all the effects option turned on.
A 1080ti is enough for 4k 60hz now, I would advice you to go for evga since they have their upgrade plan when the next gen comes out.
 
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animemangamer

animemangamer

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Sep 18, 2017
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Yes these cards are powerful check them out OP:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=evga+1080+ti+hybrid&N=-1&isNodeId=1
 
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Tomahawk1

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Dec 31, 2014
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Yes, What really bothered me was dropping $800 dollars on a card then have a new one released in a few months that out preformed it for half the cost (1070 and 1080). I know new cards keep coming out, but the for the cost to drop so much it hurt and it was just outside of the 90 day upgrade policy :)
 
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animemangamer

animemangamer

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Sep 18, 2017
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Understandable, I know it affects me less because I'm coming from a GTX 980. The 1070/1080 were so scarce several months after release it was so hard to get one. I finally got a chance to nab a 1080 at the start of this year but once I found that I'm struggling with 4K I quickly returned it to the store. Ever since then I've been enduring several months now with my GPU-less PC (Yup there's nothing on my PCi-e slots since I sold my 980 before I bought the 1080) I just saved my refund from the 1080 but I was so tempted by the Titan Pascal. Even so, I endured knowing that when the 1080 Ti comes out it'll surpass even the Titan.

The 1080 Ti is already available but the version I want is still out of stock so I'll wait a bit more. I just think about it like this: When I get the 1080ti I won't be upgrading for at least 2-3 years. I'm sure Nvidia will come out with a faster one later on but at the current tech everyone just wants to play at stable 4K like you and me. Unless you guys already have budget for 8K OR 16K displays then for me it wouldn't be viable to upgrade to anything more past the 1080ti at least for a couple years.
 
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