Contemplating a new gaming build, what would you do?

Just as the title says. I'm able to build a new machine. My budget is somewhere between $1200-$1500, but I have some wiggle room if it is worth it.

My current build is approximately 5-6 years old, and consists of the following:

• Intel i5-2500k OC @ 4GHz
• 16gb DDR3 1866mem
• MSI GeForce GTX 970 4G

I'm currently playing games such as BF1, and also Mass Effect Andromeda. Not sure what other new games will be coming out but I'm sure I'll play them. I can play both of the above games at high settings for about 60FPS @ 2560x1440.

In doing my research, I have come across a few different realizations and questions. It certainly seems like I'm available to upgrade during a bad time with the CPU market.

1) If I can't build the full system in one shot, and have to break it up... would you build the new system and carry over the GTX970? Or would you upgrade to one of the latest video cards and then build the new system later?

2) What kind of processor would you go for? I'm looking for something that may give me longevity. I thought the i7-7700k was the answer, but apparently it may not be. The reviews for Ryzen chips and gaming seem pretty terrible right now... but that could also change when games begin utilizing multiple cores more. What would you do?

Thanks!

Well, I suppose the question to ask is what are you trying to do that you can't? Really the 970gtx is like the gtx 1060 / rx 480 and the 2500k @4ghz is probably like a skylake quad core @ ~ 3ghz... so you could probably double your graphics performance with a 1080ti, and get a healthy boost by getting a 7700k in the 4.8ghz range, but there is a ton of cost to get those gains... if you are still getting in the 60fps range at 1440p, then maybe wait it out a little longer as time only makes better parts.

Just my 2c though as I upgrade all the time

OP, I'm running a 2500k system (at 4.5 Ghz) with a GTX 1070, as my GTX 970 died over the summer.

I really want to upgrade my 2500k, I really do, but I'm happy with the performance as-is and the step up to Ryzen/7700k just doesn't seem to be there for the games I'm currently playing. Sure, there will be games coming up that will tax my system, but I'll wait till that time comes to determine if an upgrade is worth it.

Is there anything you want to do that your system can't currently do? Perhaps a video card upgrade would be a good compromise as we wait for the next gen of CPUs?

Honestly, if you're already cranking at 4Ghz, just about anything you buy isn't really gonna feel like a HUGE boost to you. Sorry.
Rhansen is mostly right. If you can pull down a decently overclocking 7700K and slap a 1080ti on it, you'll get a healthy performance boost.

It's just really hard to justify a complete new platform with your current one still being so usable and relevant.

If you cannot build the system in a single shot, yeah. Go ahead and grab the 1080ti up front. Worry about the base system later.

Just upgrade your GPU. Best bang for your buck and it'll give you the most noticeable improvement.

I'd buy a 1070.