Computer upgrade, better gpu vs lower gpu+CPU?

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Ragenrok

Supreme [H]ardness
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Not sure where this post should go so I'm putting it in the gpu section lol. I'm just about done my 3 month schooling for work and get a nice completion grant which means I can finally upgrade my system but I have no idea what to upgrade.

My current system is
I5 2500k @ 4400
16gb ddr3
amd 290

I will have roughly $500 to spend on upgrades and I'm not sure if I should just buy a new gpu or if my i5 2500k even with its OC will hold me back. My original plan was just to grab a gtx 1070 but would it be better to maybe grab a 1060 and scrape up some extra and do a full system upgrade?
 
If a gamer the GPU upgrade will get you more mileage, but don't buy a 1070 right now. Buy a 1070TI or a 1080 -- for the price delta - the performance is worthwhile.

If doing more programming or multi threaded applications, content creation, etc - then a Ryzen 1700 is a good option for a CPU upgrade.

Or buy a used AMD Fury (Fury X preferable) and a Ryzen 1700, and sell your old stuff to pay the delta -- that'd be a significant upgrade all around for less than $500 total. I'd steer clear of Vega right now personally. I don't think the drives are very good at the current time. (I say this as a Vega owner).
 
What resolution and refresh rate do you play at? what games/applications? this is important.

Also, describe some instances where you notice your computer slows down or isn't as fast as you'd like

Generally I'm all about the GPU and would recommend a 1080 with good cooling. I bought a used 1080 FE for $420 and would recommend the used market (just be sure to do a custom fan curve)
 
I upgraded from a 2500k to a 6700k and there was some difference but I think I would have been better off getting a graphics card instead. I originally planned on both but GPU prices skyrocketed so I have been holding off.

Getting a CPU right now doesn't seem like the best idea anyway with Intels low stock and I think there is supoosed to be a Ryzen update in Q1 next year.
 
Always upgrade GPU first.

The GTX 1070 is a great card. You won't be dissapointed (I have one myself).

Thing is if you upgrade your CPU, most of those $500 will be spent on a new mobo, ram, cpu and you'll have little left for a good GPU. And you won't that much of a difference in games anyway.
 
It would be nice to see a current Fire Strike score of system and then I will show you my 290x on a Ryzen platform .
 
Get a Vega56 or a 1070...your cpu is fine for the time being
 
1070 or Vega 56 is way too little performance increase for spending that kind of money.

Go 1080 or Vega 64, or just don't bother.
 
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OP I am in the same boat as you are. I am leaning towards a GPU now and new CPU/Mobo upgrade in 2018. I think 2500K has a bit more legs in it. Also with O/Ced its not a slouch either... I am even debating on waiting for 2XXX cards from Nvidia to hit before scoping up a used 1070ti or even 1080ti.
 
i think you should save up for a whole system upgrade myself. im on a 4770k and i wanna upgrade cuz im missing out on things like m.2
 
Ragenrok said:
Not sure where this post should go so I'm putting it in the gpu section lol. I'm just about done my 3 month schooling for work and get a nice completion grant which means I can finally upgrade my system but I have no idea what to upgrade.

My current system is
I5 2500k @ 4400
16gb ddr3
amd 290

I will have roughly $500 to spend on upgrades and I'm not sure if I should just buy a new gpu or if my i5 2500k even with its OC will hold me back. My original plan was just to grab a gtx 1070 but would it be better to maybe grab a 1060 and scrape up some extra and do a full system upgrade?
Click to expand...
New GPU and that's it. The rest is perfect.
 
Nauseous said:
i think you should save up for a whole system upgrade myself. im on a 4770k and i wanna upgrade cuz im missing out on things like m.2
Click to expand...

There's gotta be more you are missing out on other than m.2, that alone can't be enough reason for a whole system upgrade. Do you really notice a huge difference versus a good SATA SSD?

bigdogchris said:
New GPU and that's it. The rest is perfect.
Click to expand...

Perfect might be taking it a bit far, haha, it's a 5+ year old platform after all. Nothing wrong with it, but it's not perfect.
 
greyboxer said:
Honestly this changed my life and outlook on gaming. Going to ride this Asus P8Z68V-Pro Gen3 with Sandy and Ivy Bridge CPUs straight to hell :D
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Yeah, there's a reason K-series chips for Sandy and Ivy are still relatively expensive. They can still hang. Which is awesome to me after 5 years of owning my system.
 
yowen said:
Yeah, there's a reason K-series chips for Sandy and Ivy are still relatively expensive. They can still hang. Which is awesome to me after 5 years of owning my system.
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Yea... will I ever get a decent price on a 2600k/2700k/3770k to upgrade my 2500k? I doubt it. I don't care that I'm missing M.2.
 
CombatChrisNC said:
Yea... will I ever get a decent price on a 2600k/2700k/3770k to upgrade my 2500k? I doubt it. I don't care that I'm missing M.2.
Click to expand...

With a 2500k is that a worthwhile upgrade? It may be in a few specific cases, but for gaming for instance, would it really be worth the trouble?
 
yowen said:
With a 2500k is that a worthwhile upgrade? It may be in a few specific cases, but for gaming for instance, would it really be worth the trouble?
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More and more games are using more and more threads. And again, worth while kind of depends on the cost. For $160, no way. For $75, sure.
 
CombatChrisNC said:
More and more games are using more and more threads. And again, worth while kind of depends on the cost. For $160, no way. For $75, sure.
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Yeah for those cases a 2700k or 3570k those would be nice. Especially at $75, lol.
 
The 1070 or Vega56 will provide about a 70-80% performance improvement in games over your 290.

If you can swing it, go for a Vega64, 1070Ti, or 1080.
 
greyboxer said:
I found a 3770K new for $150. I had someone offer me one for $130, gotta go to reddit HW swap though.
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man that's still a lot of cash for an old platform, But a way better deal than I've seen on ebay. I honestly couldn't say if there's $-amount at which I'd upgrade my 1155 versus putting the money toward a new platform.

From a nostalgia point of view it's super-tempting to just buy a 1080 and a 3770k and see what I can squeeze out of my system, to which I definitely have an emotional attachment.
 
greyboxer said:
^^ thats what I did :D
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Nice! I have a feeling that when PUBG gets better optimized and/or I am tired of playing it, my desire for a faster processor will go away with it. My system should be able to handle any game at 1080p at lower settings, with the exception of PUBG being on the edge.
 
Will be selling one of my 2 evga 1080 classifieds soon. The better out of the 2 will be sold and it clocks to 2190mhz! The other that I'm keeping for my son's rig clocks to 2164mhz.

It's a massive card with a massive cooler.. still a 2 slot card but a tall card and cooler.

Top of the line evga 1080. And I have 2 ek 780 classy water blocks that fit them. Just cleaning up the blocks now and need to put the heatsink on the one I'm selling.

Solid cards as they were cherry picked out of 4. 3 year warranty with 2 years still left and I believe the warranty carries over to the new owner.

Custom 1080 cards with massive power phases over the fe cards is important to keep stable clocks! The norm on pascal cards is the clock dance (yoyo effect) which the clocks constantly change up and down every 1-2 seconds.
 
Kind of want to see where your at now with your system as maybe a switch to Ryzen platform would be what I would do with the 1400/1600x on sale .. noting wrong with a 290 as my 290x is as fast as a 980/ 390x /580 or 1060 on Ryzen..
 
I went from a 2500k to a 3770K and my fps in bf1 when up 20 fps in the min fps average. Much smoother. I have a 980 too. Anything at 1080P is butter.
 
I don't care myself for higher fps but a nice flat line between min and max as that's a smooth playing game even if it was only 60fps at all times as why consoles are such a great hit with consumers !
 
I'd suggest getting an i7-2600k, and overclock it. You can get one for around $120, then sell off your i5-2500k.

But an others have said, upgrade the GPU first, sandy bridge was a near magical CPU that is still very relevant today.
 
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