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Wondering if I should call it good or go ahead with an upgrade?

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Vishera

Vishera

Member
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Joined
Jul 7, 2013
So in January I built my current rig. It runs amazingly, it's the first rig I've had that's been completely composed of parts I bought aftermarket. But I'm in a bit of a situation.

I need to upgrade my GPU, I already decided on the 970 with your guys' help and will get to that when my wallet decides to stop dieting (unfortunately things cost money, who came up with THAT idea?). I also have the second lowest Haswell i5 there is, the 4460. While it's definitely good, a lot of times when I line my computer up in comparison to specs lists for newer games like Witcher 3 (just as a reference for how new we're talking) it falls short of the minimum specs usable, indicating I most likely cannot play the game.

What this would indicate is that after just 3 months of having the rig, I'm finding that in order to start getting into its purpose, gaming, as heavily as I would like I already need to pull the CPU. The GPU (GTX 750 1GB) was carried over from the last computer I had so I always planned on upgrading it. But this seems like a bit of a money hog, so my question is...

If I buy an i5-4690K and then a GTX 970 over the course of the next two months, with a potential i7-4770k or 4790k in the next year or so, how long will it last me into the future, and how many years will I be able to keep up before I NEED to upgrade again? I know Skylake is already out and this means Haswell is a generation behind, but it's what I could afford. My concern is dumping money into something that just might not last long enough for it to be worth it.
 
I would hold out for a 4790K, then you will not need to buy it later

This platform will probably last two to three years depending on your expectations

if you are using Intel stock grab a cheap cooler like a CM 212 Evo

Your board does not support SLI so you will not be able to get a used 970 on the cheap next year to boost performance.

How long the 970 will last will be subjective to the settings you like or are willing to play at , having a 1920x1080 monitor will aid in it's longevity
 
Witchdoctor said:
I would hold out for a 4790K, then you will not need to buy it later

This platform will probably last two to three years depending on your expectations

if you are using Intel stock grab a cheap cooler like a CM 212 Evo

Your board does not support SLI so you will not be able to get a used 970 on the cheap next year to boost performance.

How long the 970 will last will be subjective to the settings you like or are willing to play at , having a 1920x1080 monitor will aid in it's longevity
Click to expand...


So let's put this into a scenario: I swap the board, the CPU, and the GPU between now and, say, end of summer. For safe measure I get a 650W PSU to replace my 500W. This is what I've put together: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Qn7pdC

I'm not worried about grinding out hundreds of FPS at 4k. I would LIKE 60 FPS. But to me, upgrade required means you're getting 30 FPS on lowest graphical settings possible. As long as I'm able to stay on at least medium settings getting 40 FPS+ I don't consider the build as needing an upgrade. How long could I meet those expectations with the parts in that list, of course including an eventual second 970? The same amount of time, or longer?
 
I would rather see you with a single 980, not 970's in sli.
I have and game both setups, the single, better card setup is just more pleasant to game on because I only have to clock one card.
it's quieter because there is less heat in the case.
 
Vishera said:
Like I said, I've no interest in 4k. My eyes aren't good enough to notice the difference, lol. I'm fine with my good ol' 1080p.
Click to expand...
Actually, you said you aren't interested in "hundreds of fps at 4k, just 60fps". Which says you want 60 fps at 4k in English. ;)

Anyway, I'd follow what witchy and caddi said. I don't see a point in 2 970s at 1080p. Grab a single 980.
 
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Alright so I get a 980 instead. I'm still concerned about putting money into this and it running down in a matter of two years. It's impossible to avoid the need to upgrade, I know that, but I'd like to be able to spend money on something that will last me more than the life cycle of your average Intel cpu line. My idea of needing an upgrade is when you're getting 30 FPS or lower with the graphics settings as low as they can go with the game resolution running at your monitor's default resolution. Mine is 1080p. Running at that resolution, how long will it be before I hit that 30 FPS on low settings on new releases?

The reason I ask is because I would love to be able to game, and keep up with the newest titles. It bonds me with my little brother, as well as gives me an excuse to keep adding to my computer. But I'm kind of concerned with dumping money into this when it's not even gonna last me but two to three years. Money doesn't grow on tress (again, who came up with that idea?) and while I can certainly spare a little each month, roughly $360, I don't want to waste it on something that's obsolete in 2 years.
 
I would imagine a 980 would keep you there for two years, even with your current processor and mobo. probably would too... 980 is only several % faster than a 970 but you do get 4GB of 'fast' vram unlike the 970. THere is not a huge gap like there is from 980 to 980ti.
 
EarthDog said:
I would imagine a 980 would keep you there for two years, even with your current processor and mobo. probably would too... 980 is only several % faster than a 970 but you do get 4GB of 'fast' vram unlike the 970. THere is not a huge gap like there is from 980 to 980ti.
Click to expand...

So it's the GPU that I'd have to upgrade in two years? Not the whole system?
 
Depends. Only time will tell. Two years from now, in some titles, I bet the locked CPU puts a glass ceiling on things, but it wont render games unplayable. Most of it is in the CPU. A 2500K is still viable, even more so when overclocked.
 
I've dabbled in overclocking before but prefer not to mess with it. A reference to your Haswell OC guide linked in your sig, the 4790K would be on the upper end of the bell curve right? But reading about those temps makes me even more concerned with OC'ing, because I refuse to buy water cooling. I'd rather be limited by air coolers that have a water leak fry my system.
 
Though there is always more risk, it really isn't that much, particularly if you go with a sealed AIO. You can reach a moderate overclock with an inexpensive cooler (Hyper 212 EVO). That should take a 4790K to 4.5Ghz depending on the quality of the CPU.
 
Isn't it possible to overclock the non k i5s and i7s by 400 mhz? Which I assume is amount added by Turbo Boost.
 
EarthDog said:
Though there is always more risk, it really isn't that much, particularly if you go with a sealed AIO. You can reach a moderate overclock with an inexpensive cooler (Hyper 212 EVO). That should take a 4790K to 4.5Ghz depending on the quality of the CPU.
Click to expand...

Any risk is too much risk for me. This is all of the spare money I have, I don't want any chance of liquid ruining the system I've been working on since September of last year. On that note, an i7-4790K, a 650W PSU, and a GTX 980. Is there anything else I should worry about?
 
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