What to look for in an upgrade

[Pyo]

Hi TH Community,

Before I get started, I would like to say thanks for all the helpful information here. Last night came to the realization that I can be an effing idiot while trying to figure out why my CPU running 65 degrees in idle.

Thanks to some posts on the forum I looked at the cooler(CM V6) and if it is seated correctly, enough paste ect. Only to find that the plastic film cover, that is on the heatsink to prevent scratches while in the box, was never removed . After removing this helped reduce the heat on the CPU with 35 degrees.

OCed it to 4.2Ghz and ran a few test with prime through the night and all is stable. Now running at 75 degrees high load.

[Insert laughs here]

My current setup is the following :

CPU : i5 760 @ 4.2Ghz
RAM : 8GB Transcend Memory
GPU : Asus 295Gtx
MOBO : Socket 1156 - GA-P55-UD4P

After OCing the CPU I have had a huge performance gain, but in some newer games I am starting to see a drop in FPS.

I have looked at quite a few price/performance reviews, however I am still uncertain on what the main things are which I should look for if I want a good overall upgrade. The next upgrade that I am looking at is just the GPU but I am awaiting on the new Kepler range.

When I buy parts I look at the price tag, naturally more expensive = better. However with some articles I have read it seems that this is not always the case.

Is there anyone who can advise on what to look for that will help in identifying a good upgrade or even an article on the forums with some advice.

Thanks for the help in advance.

Kind Regards,

 

[amuffin]

When upgrading, you want to find a part that makes the biggest impact on your system.

 

[Pyo]

I had a look at the 'CPU Buyers guide' thread and it did have very helpful information(apologies for not spotting this earlier). I think I will stay with the i5 760 and look for an upgrade in the next 2 years for CPU/MOBO.

I do however think that right now my best upgrade would be the GPU as it would be DirectX upgrade too. Once the new Kepler range comes out I will look forward to what Nvidia have to offer.

Was thinking about getting 2 GT 560 TIs but from what I read on the CPU guide the LGA 1156 chipset could be a bottle neck for Dual SLI as it will only run at 8X/8X, if I understood correctly.

One GT 560 Ti is a marginal increase from what I have seen when the Gtx 295 and 560 was compared.

I'll go have a look on the GPU forums to see if there is a similar 'Guide' post.

Thanks for the help

 

[amuffin]

8x/8x has a 1% performance difference than 16x/16x, right now I sugggest you get another 560ti. Your cpu has plenty enough speed to deal with 2 gpu's.