Looking to upgrade my rig, suggestions would be appreciated.

[Marshall Hurtado]

Looking to upgrade my rig in a number of ways. Unsure if what to upgrade first, what might bottleneck what, etc. Open to all suggestions and help


The Current Rig:



OS: Windows 8 Pro

GPU: Radeon PowerColor HD 6870 1GB (stock)

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition (OC'd at 4GHz, cooled with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus with dual 120mm fans)

PSU: Corsair Builder Series CX600 600W

MOBO: ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

MONITORS/TVs: Acer 60Hz 21.5 LED monitor, Walmart branded 32 inch 60Hz TV




Possible Upgrades:





Operating system is just fine. 8.1 is coming out soon and i'm pleased.





Definitely want to replace my current AMD GPU to an Nvidia card. Choosing Nvidia for their drivers, adaptive vsync, txaa, etc. Going to be gaming at 1920 x 1080. Hoping to game at fps rates at and above 60 fps (See monitor below). I have tons of mods for Skyrim, lots are texture based so 4GB of VRAM could be justifiable. Considering SLI'ing also, whether that's two 660ti's or getting any of the listed cards below and getting a second at a later date (most likely that)




Looking at these cards:




- GTX 670 FTW Signature2 2GB

(Core Clock: 1006MHz Boost Clock: 1084MHz Cuda Cores: 1344 VRAM: 2GB)

- GTX 670 Superclocked+ w/Backplate 4GB

(Core Clock: 967 MHz Boost Clock: 1046 MHz Cuda Cores: 1344 VRAM: 4GB)

- GTX 680 Classified 4GB

(Core Clock: 1111MHz Boost Clock: 1176 MHz Cuda Cores: 1536 VRAM: 4GB)






I currently have two screens in use. The "main" screen is an Acer 21.5" monitor with a 5ms response time and a 60Hz refresh rate. It has a 9.5/10 contrast ratio IMHO. The "secondary" screen is for any kind of movies or videos, any games i play with my xbox controller. It's a 32' walmart branded TV with a horrible contrast ratio (compared to like all TVs and of course monitors). I'd rate the contrast an honest 6 or 7/10. It's bad but I can live with it.




Looking into these monitors:





- ASUS VG278HE 27" monitor with it's incredible refresh rate of 144Hz. Match that with adaptive vsync on a killer GTX card and those are some serious frames.


- Any 27' monitor with a great contrast ratio, quick response time, and a refresh rate over or at least 120Hz









Debating on replacing the CPU to get a few more frames.
Looking at the Intel i5-4670K Haswel @ 3.4GHz Stock (Most likely will OC it)











As for everything else, i might have to replace the mobo and possibly the power supply.






any help in any of these categories to upgrade would be really appreciated

 

[Dhampire01]

----1st)i7 3770k and a ASRock Z77 Extreme6 mobo (If you buy from newegg it also gives you free 8gb RAM)
----2nd)Buy that monitor its really good. ASUS VG278HE 27"
----3rd)The card you should take is 2 gtx 760.They have the 4gb VRAM memory buffer EACH so you can have a 8gb VRAM memory buffer as you requested and max out all games with 40-200fps.Also a single 760 is cheaper than a 660 ti and has better performance.Also keep in mind that with future drivers the gtx 760 will probably reach the 670
----4th)Buy a 700 or 750W power supply for the hungry 2 gtx 760

Tell us your budget in reply please.This is the perfect build for you.If you cant spend so much money,tell us and we will choose something different

 

[JRAtk94]

Some more RAM and a GTX 760 would be ideal.

I wouldn't bother with the GTX 670, as the 760 can out-perform it after some overclocking has been done. The 760 is considerably cheaper as well.

If you want something a bit more powerful, a 770 would be better. There's not much reason to buy a GTX 6xx anymore (except for the 690).

Dhampire pretty much beat me to it. :lol:

 

[Marshall Hurtado]

----1st)i7 3770k and a ASRock Z77 Extreme6 mobo (If you buy from newegg it also gives you free 8gb RAM)
----2nd)Buy that monitor its really good. ASUS VG278HE 27"
----3rd)The card you should take is 2 gtx 760.They have the 4gb VRAM memory buffer EACH so you can have a 8gb VRAM memory buffer as you requested and max out all games with 40-200fps.Also a single 760 is cheaper than a 660 ti and has better performance.Also keep in mind that with future drivers the gtx 760 will probably reach the 670
----4th)Buy a 700 or 750W power supply for the hungry 2 gtx 760

Tell us your budget in reply please.This is the perfect build for you.If you cant spend so much money,tell us and we will choose something different

i appreciate your help. ill look more into the sli 760's for sure. also if anyone can tell me how good the contrast levels in the asus monitor is id REALLY appreciate it. also if id be bothered by the 1920 x 1080 scaling because people say it isnt very crisp.

BUDGET wise, honestly anything really. obviously not trying to pay thousands but, its definitely negotiable. these upgrades are going to be happening over time as well. any little bump in price thats justifiable is definitely welcome.

still unsure if i should replace my amd card with the sli cards first, or get the power supply first, or a mobo, etc. any help with that would be great

and thank you JRAtk94

 

[fkr]

yep dhampire is right about everything.
the gtx760 is the card to beat right now with the tahiti LE right there also when it is closer to $210.
If you want to SLI you really need to get a 3-4 gig GDDR GPU .
the gtx 760 is only 2 gigs for a couple more months.

I think you would have to SLI at 3 gigs:
gtx 660 at $220: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130911
hd 7950 boost $250: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131478

4 gigs:
hd 7850 $260: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161432
gtx 670 $370: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130784
gtx 770 $450: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125462
gtx 680 $450: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130801

I do not like the AMD crossfire solution till they fix things in a month or so.

I really think the gtx 760

there is one 4 gig out there but it is always sold out at $280
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130937&Tpk=gtx760&IsVirtualParent=1

 

[Dhampire01]

1080p is very good.The human eye cannot tell the difference between 1080p and bigger resolutions.
Be aware if you dont upgrade all at once you will sure have mulfunctioning PC and lag.I suggest buying the monitor now and then save money and buy motherboard(with free RAM),i7 3770k,power supply and gtx 760 SLI altogether during the christmas holidays.

 

[Marshall Hurtado]

1080p is very good.The human eye cannot tell the difference between 1080p and bigger resolutions.
Be aware if you dont upgrade all at once you will sure have mulfunctioning PC and lag.I suggest buying the monitor now and then save money and buy motherboard(with free RAM),i7 3770k,power supply and gtx 760 SLI altogether during the christmas holidays.

i definitely agree. from what ive gathered, the 760 (with slight OCing) is faster than a 660ti? how about faster than a 670? i mean obviously the price is amazing for the 760, easily could get two and blow bast a single 670 or 680 even. pretty sure SLI 760s can beat a TITAN which is insane.


gonna go with the new haswell 4770k i7 as well, should be the same price as the ivy bridges by the time christmas comes around.


also going with that ASRock Z77 Extreme6 mobo. i currently have an asrock and i feel like its sketchy. i mean idk im not the best at mobos at all. looking at that asus sabertooth makes me feel safer but then again, thats just me. anyone have any advice about the mobo? again, will be housing the new haswell 4770k i7


as for the monitor, still semi worried about the scaling, as well as the black levels. maybe someone can ask someone who has this monitor about their experience with it? this is like my first thread on here so, unfortunately i dont know anyone who has the ASUS 27' with 144hz refresh, but, if anyone knows someone who has it, please ask. id really appreciate it.


found a great power supply. the CORSAIR HX Series HX850 850W. modular, trusted brand, more than enough power, also

 

[Dhampire01]

1080p is very good.The human eye cannot tell the difference between 1080p and bigger resolutions.
Be aware if you dont upgrade all at once you will sure have mulfunctioning PC and lag.I suggest buying the monitor now and then save money and buy motherboard(with free RAM),i7 3770k,power supply and gtx 760 SLI altogether during the christmas holidays.

i definitely agree. from what ive gathered, the 760 (with slight OCing) is faster than a 660ti? how about faster than a 670? i mean obviously the price is amazing for the 760, easily could get two and blow bast a single 670 or 680 even. pretty sure SLI 760s can beat a TITAN which is insane.


gonna go with the new haswell 4770k i7 as well, should be the same price as the ivy bridges by the time christmas comes around.


also going with that ASRock Z77 Extreme6 mobo. i currently have an asrock and i feel like its sketchy. i mean idk im not the best at mobos at all. looking at that asus sabertooth makes me feel safer but then again, thats just me. anyone have any advice about the mobo? again, will be housing the new haswell 4770k i7


as for the monitor, still semi worried about the scaling, as well as the black levels. maybe someone can ask someone who has this monitor about their experience with it? this is like my first thread on here so, unfortunately i dont know anyone who has the ASUS 27' with 144hz refresh, but, if anyone knows someone who has it, please ask. id really appreciate it.


found a great power supply. the CORSAIR HX Series HX850 850W. modular, trusted brand, more than enough power, also

We dont know yet.It is definately better than the 660 ti in everything.It surpasses for a few fps also the ATI radeon HD 7950.
Gtx 670 has been out for over a year.In 1 year the gtx 760 will have same,or like 4 fps worse performance than the gtx 670.You should know its all about the drivers.The 760 is just released and has not very good drivers.However,in 5 months to 1 year the gtx 760 will have 20-70% better performance (more FPS) in modern 2013 titles.
About the monitor,get any monitor 1080p you want.Every monitor is really good.
If you choose to go with haswell CPU then you have to buy a different motherboard.Haswell have different socket.Haswell (lga 1150) Ivy bridge and sandy bridge (lga 1155)I suggest buying this motherboard:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128593
Of course if you can put more money on the system this is the best of the best:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130689

 

[Marshall Hurtado]

i agree about the drivers in the future. i could either SLI two 4gb 760s for 560$ which (before any future drivers) is a bit below double the performance of SLI'd 670's, or i could go with the single 670 or 680 for 450-550$ and then stick with that until i decide to SLI it. but like you said, the 760 is going to be near identical if not a little better than the 670 after overlocking nad future driver updates, so i think the dual 760s is the way to go


glad thats been decided