Looking to Upgrade my machine

[LTR]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I am a computer science student, so I use my desktop for coding (Java, C++, ect.) and I also like to play FPS games.


2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Looking to spend around 800 dollars all in.


3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
I am located in Central NJ thankfully I can drive to a Microcenter.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
This is where I am struggling I know for $800 I can't really do a total rebuild, but am looking to do a refresh. Definitely looking to upgrade my graphics and not really sure where else I can find some more performance.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Here is my current set up.
Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3
Intel 2500k running at 4.5ghz with an Kühler H2O 620
16gb (4x4gb) G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series
2x EVGA GTX 560 1gb VRAM in SLI
I have a couple of Samsung 830 SSDs (256gb [Windows Drive] 64gb[Linux Drive])
A couple of Seagate HDDs for storage.
Asus Xonar Sound Card
A pair of Optical Drive a Lite-On Blu Ray Player and ASUS DVD Burner



6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
I have a 29in AOC 21:9 monitor running at 2560x1080

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
This week or next week definitely before Christmas

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
E-Sata, RAID, SLI, USB 3.0

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes I have a key for Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit, and Windows 8.1 64 Bit although I think I will be keeping this machine on Win 7.

Basically I'm just looking for the best way to increase my performance. I definitely want to upgrade my graphics to something more powerful. I'm just not sure if I should also get a new Mobo and Processor or maybe just put an Ivy Bridge i7 with Hyper Threading in my current Mobo. I guess I should also state that I really prefer Nvidia over AMD, so I know that will hurt my already tight budget, but its just my preference.

Thanks in advance for all of your suggestions.

 

[cortexodus]

Basically I'm just looking for the best way to increase my performance. I definitely want to upgrade my graphics to something more powerful. I'm just not sure if I should also get a new Mobo and Processor or maybe just put an Ivy Bridge i7 with Hyper Threading in my current Mobo. I guess I should also state that I really prefer Nvidia over AMD, so I know that will hurt my already tight budget, but its just my preference.

Thanks in advance for all of your suggestions.

Everything you already have is still pretty much excellent gear. Drop in some new GPUs and get your game on. With the pricing on AMD cards being what it is right now, it's probably better that you're interested in Nvidia since that's probably what's available.

 

[Dangman]

What power supply do you have?
What case do you have?

 

[LTR]

What power supply do you have?
What case do you have?

Whoops I probably should have mentoned that in the OP.

I have a OCZ ZT Series 750W Fully-Modular PSU

and its all housed in a Vengeance C70 mid-tower PC case in Military Green.

 

[Dangman]

Hmmmm....I would recommend regularly cleaning your PSU and keeping it cool as possible as that PSU series doesn't like high temps at all:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/12/20/ocz_zt_series_650w_power_supply_review/9#.UqgHq_T_zNJ

As for what upgrades you should do, A new Ivy Bridge CPU Core i7 CPU really wouldn't provide that much of a noticeable performance increase unless you spend 50% or more of your time on the PC doing multi-threaded programming. So you're pretty much looking at new GPUs as your most cost-effective upgrade.

Though I really can't recommend a new SLI setup considering how......dicey your PSU is. At most, I'd recommend an upgrade to the GTX 770 2GB. But I highly recommend reconsidering your stance on AMD: The GTX 770 is just priced too high considering that the R9 280X and the R9 290 cards have better performance yet are priced lower and not much higher than the GTX 770 respectively.

 

[LTR]

Hmmmm....I would recommend regularly cleaning your PSU and keeping it cool as possible as that PSU series doesn't like high temps at all:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/12/20/ocz_zt_series_650w_power_supply_review/9#.UqgHq_T_zNJ

As for what upgrades you should do, A new Ivy Bridge CPU Core i7 CPU really wouldn't provide that much of a noticeable performance increase unless you spend 50% or more of your time on the PC doing multi-threaded programming. So you're pretty much looking at new GPUs as your most cost-effective upgrade.

Though I really can't recommend a new SLI setup considering how......dicey your PSU is. At most, I'd recommend an upgrade to the GTX 770 2GB. But I highly recommend reconsidering your stance on AMD: The GTX 770 is just priced too high considering that the R9 280X and the R9 290 cards have better performance yet are priced lower and not much higher than the GTX 770 respectively.

I am not sure why I wouldn't go for Nvidia I can this 770 SuperClocked from Amazon with 4gb of VRAM for $409.
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclo..._2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386784710&sr=8-2&keywords=770

Where the 280x is $380 with 3gb of VRAM and very similar in benchmarks
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclo..._2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386784710&sr=8-2&keywords=770

I have really good airflow in my case and have yet to have any issues with my PSU. I really want to run 2 cards and I have just read about to many driver issues with AMD Crossfire while I have had good luck with SLI for a couple of years now.

 

[Theultimateeye]

I say it's too early to upgrade your system yet. I know you've got the itch like we all get for new gear but stick with what you have for now. Like the 2500k. Definitely don't go Haswell it's a waste of money. I made the mistake of switching from a 2600k setup to a 4770k setup and noticed a very minor upgrade. Actually with the crappy Haswell chip I got it wasn't even an upgrade. Looking at your system i'd say upgrade the video cards (or card) to something like a GTX 770 or maybe a GTX 780? If you're an Nvidia guy. The 2500k wouldn't really bottleneck it and would pretty much decimate any FPS game you're playing.

 

[Dangman]

I am not sure why I wouldn't go for Nvidia I can this 770 SuperClocked from Amazon with 4gb of VRAM for $409.
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclo..._2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386784710&sr=8-2&keywords=770

Where the 280x is $380 with 3gb of VRAM and very similar in benchmarks
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclo..._2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386784710&sr=8-2&keywords=770

Because the MSRP of the 280X is actually $300 and the $380 pricing you're seeing is price gouging due to the limited stock of AMD cards as a result of the Litecoin craze. Not to mention that the MSRP price of the faster R9 290 is $400. Again, the Litecoin craze is unfortunately driving up the pricing of that card as well.

In other words, I guess if you have to buy RIGHT NOW, the Nvidia route does make some sort of sense. If you can actually wait a bit for pricing to drop back down, you might be better off in the long run with the AMD route. Especially if Mantle provides even half the promises AMD made.

I have really good airflow in my case and have yet to have any issues with my PSU. I really want to run 2 cards and I have just read about to many driver issues with AMD Crossfire while I have had good luck with SLI for a couple of years now.

Either way, I still wouldn't recommend SLI or CFX with that PSU of yours. It's your risk to take though.