PC Upgrade Help

[dylan22]

Hey so I built this probably 2-3 years ago. And I wanna have a look at upgrading a few things. I dont wanna end up bottle necking or anything like that. So i was hoping the computers wizards out there could tell me what parts I would be better off upgrading.

[jeremy103]

That's a bitching build for 3 years ago. Must of cast a fortune. Anyways, I would definitely change that graphics card to the latest and greatest 980 4gb, better benchmarks and more power efficient. I don't believe you can upgrade your cpu. I think you have the best cpu for your motherboard so I wouldn't worry about that. I think that's about it worth of upgrading, but that's my opinion. I'll get peter to look at this because I trust him with everything about computers. And plus I don't think you can get anymore upgrades out of that pc. Unless you build and whole new computer. I think you are rock solid with that build. Hope this helps you out. Nice build btw.

See what i'm talking about with the gpu's here ---> http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-980 ... ce-GTX-680

[dylan22]

Thanks mate, Yeah I pretty much built it with what was the best available parts at the time. How much better is the 980 compared to the 970? The Australian site I use has this http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... 1464bd15f7

980's are $200-300 dearer here.

[Pumaxcs]

An i7 and 680? Why would you want to upgrade it? What about it is the problem. Most people here would kill for an i7 and 680.

-680 performs like a 770, and a 970 performs like a underclocked 770. There is nothing wrong with the performance you get from a 680 but, a 980 is a upgrade.
-The monitor, I have one too. Honestly, I loved it when I first got it but I'm really tired of its shit these days. The response time and colors just aren't what they used to be to me. If you have the money the ASUS ROG Swift Gync 1440p is the absolute tits. I'll be upgrading to a 1440p once Gsync/Freesync start bringing each other down in price.
-The case is a little dated but its a case. There really isn't any reason to upgrade a case other than you want to look at something else. If you like white cases maybe the Corsair 760T or Enthoo Luxe/Primo?
-850W PSU has no need to be replaced, especially since its fully modular. Unless you are super picky how its 80+ rating, which you shouldn't be, then keep it. Worst case get some stickers or vinyl and cover a logo or something.
-I use an external drive with USB. My case is on my desk and I keep it tucker under it, doesn't take up room and doesn't ruin the front panel look. Love it.
-2TB HDD is what I'm running. Regardless of what we say about WD or Seagate, a 7200rpm drive will perform within a second of any other 7200rpm drive. Don't replace unless it dies or you need more space.
-The SSD could be replaced. Not sure what controller it uses, look at the read/write speeds of that one and compare to newer ones. Regardless a upgrade to 250GB wouldn't hurt.
-16GB of memory is still hella, don't change.
-Sabertooth and 3770k still performs. Don't change.

[dylan22]

Cheers puma. Yeah I dunno. Mainly all I play now is Assetto Corsa and if I have 10+ cars I get a few frame hits and lag spikes sometimes. Was just wondering if that's out dated equipment or what the problem could be. I'm going to go a bigger ssd and a different screen for sure. Then probably not much after that.

[jeremy103]

-680 performs like a 770, and a 970 performs like a underclocked 770.

I have to disagree with puma here. I believe the 970 is an underclocked version of a 780 ti. Why would they downgrade the 900 series from the 700 series. But that's my opinion. I have seen the 970 vs the 780 ti, and they are very close (sometimes the 970 wins ) So if you get a 980 think of the performance upgrade you will be getting. Like I said this is my opinion from what I have seen.

[Pumaxcs]

That's a fair point. I got caught in my analogy (and it was wrong looking at it again. 680-770-960ish) that I actually didn't think about actual performance. The 970 is closer in performance to a 780, but the 970 is more power efficient allowing a lower TDP (heat) meaning it can OC better. So stock they are close but they OC something fierce.

[dylan22]

Alright. Sounds good. I would've thought my 4gb 680 would tackle Assetto Corsa with ease though. Was surprised with the lag. Surely it's not that outdated already.

[SMR 510RR]

970 is a 980 that didn't bake quite right, at least that is what I got from the whole 4GB situation. My understanding is that they make all the boards to be 980 boards and the ones that dont come out quite right get a few components shut off (the ones that wouldn't work) and they call it a 970. Its good for them because they don't have a bunch of waste. In all the tests I have seen the lack of texture memory has not been an issue because if the textures were loaded to fill the full 4GB the card couldn't spit out frames fast enough anyways. When the detail is turned down to get decent frames it no longer uses the full 4GB anyways.

I do agree tho, a 970 is not a $350 upgrade from a 680 the performance increase would be minimal for the $$$. Of course if you sell the 680 then it seems like a better deal.

[dylan22]

Would this monitor be any good? More in my price range http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... 1afed8b3b3