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[JohnnyFootball]

Hello GAF,

The last time I upgraded my PC was back in 2012 and I figure it is time to do it:

Current Rig:
Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H (Intel Z77 chipset)
Intel i7 3770 (3.4Ghz)
16GB RAM
EVGA Geforce 670

Looking at that, it is obvious that my graphics card.

I was initially interested in upgrading to a:
Z170 chipset motherboard (probably by Gigabyte) -$125-$175
Intel i7 6700K - $350
16GB DDR4 - $60-$100

and I would upgrade to either a 1070 or an AMD Polaris


THE QUESTION:
At first I was going to save up and upgrade all of it: motherboard, CPU, memory, and video card. However, after crunching the numbers and examining specs of my current MB/CPU (Z77/i7-3770) combo and comparing them to what I want (Z170/i7-6700K) it's starting to seem like it would be better to save the money and go for something like a Geforce 1080.

What does GAF think? Will the performance benefits of going from my current to my dream rig with a 1070 be worth it OR am I better off just keeping my current rig and ungrading to a 1080?

 

[Bsigg12]

Head here

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1094682

 

[UpDownLeftRight]

Keep your rig and get a new card. I had a 2600k and would have stuck with it had it not burned out. Went to a 4790k and couldn't tell a difference until I got a new GPU.

 

[Woorloog]

Just upgrade the GPU. The CPU is just fine for now. Depending on the memory's clocks, OCing it or swapping to faster memory might give small boost to performance.

 

[Omnipunctual Godot]

I'm kind of new to the PC space myself, but is a 6700k the best option for a gaming rig?

I was under the impression that it was a CPU better suited towards work, and there are cheaper CPUs for gaming that should be just as efficient, but I could be wrong.

 

[MikeE21286]

Head here

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1094682

This.

 

[Woorloog]

I'm kind of new to the PC space myself, but is a 6700k the best option for a gaming rig?

I was under the impression that it was a CPU better suited towards work, and there are cheaper CPUs for gaming that should be just as efficient, but I could be wrong.

6600K i have is enough for most games easily. 6700K is probably slightly more future-proof (ie lasts a bit longer). Ultimately GPU is the biggest deal for now.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

I'm kind of new to the PC space myself, but is a 6700k the best option for a gaming rig?

I was under the impression that it was a CPU better suited towards work, and there are cheaper CPUs for gaming that should be just as efficient, but I could be wrong.

To my knowledge the i7 CPUs haven't evolved all that much in the last five years and I am seriously doubting that there is a huge difference between the i7-3770 and the i7-6770K.

While, there would certainly be some performance benefits in going from 3.4Ghz to 4GHz
it just seems to me that far and away the most bang for the buck in terms of improving performance would be to just upgrade to a 1080 and keep the current mobo and CPU.

 

[bathsalts]

What display do you plan on using, do you have money for a nice 4k or 1440p panel? a 1080 would be utterly wasted on something other than a 1440/4k/144hz panel.

That said the 1070 is sitting in the same sweet spot the 970 did and would likely be a very solid pickup.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

What display do you plan on using, do you have money for a nice 4k or 1440p panel? a 1080 would be utterly wasted on something other than a 1440/4k/144hz panel.

That said the 1070 is sitting in the same sweet spot the 970 did and would likely be a very solid pickup.

I am not really interested in 1440/144Hz.

I am perfectly happy with a steady 1080p/60fps.

 

[Woorloog]

I am not really interested in 1440/144Hz.

I am perfectly happy with a steady 1080p/60fps.

In that case, save your money and get 1070, should be more than enough.

You could upgrade your CPU cooling and overclock it a bit if you need CPU boost. Cheaper than replacing mobo and CPU certainly.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

In that case, save your money and get 1070, should be more than enough.

You could upgrade your CPU cooling and overclock it a bit if you need CPU boost. Cheaper than replacing mobo and CPU certainly.

Sadly, my CPU does not have its multiplier unlocked.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Something else, is that I could get decent money for the old CPU/MB/memory combo, I bet I could get at least $150 (probably $200) and another $100 for the Geforce 670. People always want them on ebay.

 

[Omnipunctual Godot]

6600K i have is enough for most games easily. 6700K is probably slightly more future-proof (ie lasts a bit longer). Ultimately GPU is the biggest deal for now.

I built a new rig with a 6700k a couple of months ago. I got a 980 ti Classified, but after reading some posts I was worried the CPU might've been overkill for gaming.

 

[knitoe]

I built a new rig with a 6700k a couple of months ago. I got a 980 ti Classified, but after reading some posts I was worried the CPU might've been overkill for gaming.

No, it's not "overkill." In fact, you should overclock to be faster since it makes a difference.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

No, it's not "overkill." In fact, you should overclock to be faster since it makes a difference.

Well damn.

Thats making me want to do the entire upgrade.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

While my Z77 is fine in terms of features, I do very much find the features of Z170 to be tempting in that it has support for SATA3 on all SATA ports (only 2 of the 6 ports on Z77 support SATA3) and far greater USB3 ports as well.

But based on research, the motherboard and CPU upgrade just doesn't seem worth it at this time and if things keep going the way they do, it could be a few years before it becomes a necessity.