Gaming PC Upgrade

batfastard13

Hey lads. I got advice from ye for building a Gaming PC in 2014 and it's still working fairly well. But... it's starting to struggle a little bit with newer titles so I'd like to give it a good upgrade, especially since I just got a new monitor I want to get the most of. My current specs are below. The r9, in particular, is pretty loud and is like a radiator at full blast (grand in the middle of winter for warming my feet, but you'd be sweating from the heat of it any other times :pac:) Any suggestions?

PC Specs:

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790
GPU: Gigabyte R9 290 Windforce 3X 4GB GDDR5
Case: Antec One
Mobo: ASRock H97pro
RAM: 8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport Series DDR3-1600
PSU: be quiet! SYSTEM POWER 7 600W
Monitor 1: Acer Predator XB271HUbmiprz 27-inch WQHD Gaming Monitor - (IPS Panel, G-Sync, 165Hz (OC), 4ms, ZeroFrame, DP, HDMI, USB hub)

Additional Info:

I've got the OS on an SSD and have a few more for games and an HDD for storage of movies etc.

I'm using a stock cooler with the CPU, is it worth upgrading? Note the CPU isn't the OC'able version.

I've got a second monitor I'd like to use for web browsing, videos, files etc. while I use the main one for gaming. Is there an easy way to set this up, a mount or something similar?
Monitor 2 specs: LG 22MP65HQ-P, 1080p.

The case is fairly tight for the r9 290 I have, I had to modify it to fit it in there in the first place (clipped a small part off the HDD tray). I was thinking it might be a good idea to get a new case?

I was looking at getting the 1080ti, but I know there's going to be a release of new cards shortly, is it worth waiting a few weeks before I order?

Budget wise I'd be willing to spend whatever's reasonable to get it set up right for another good few years. Amazon UK would be my choice for parts if possible...hard to beat their returns policy for the prices they are offering .

Cheers!

TerrorFirmer

I'd wait for new cards at this point, the R9 290 is still very decent, sort of between a GTX1060 3GB and 6GB models.

As for whether a CPU upgrade would show major benefits? On a 165hz monitor, definitely yes you would see huge gains from something like a 8600K, but only when paired with a high-end GPU.

Generally speaking the i7-4790 is still a very decent gaming CPU. I'd wait it out for the new cards to see what a) they bring and b) what they do to current gen prices.

If you really can't wait, OCUK have an Inno3D X2 GTX1070 8GB for £329 with free Destiny 2 at the moment, that's pretty excellent value and it's a big upgrade on an R9 290, not just in performance terms but also power consumption/heat.

Inquitus

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

I'd wait for new cards at this point, the R9 290 is still very decent, sort of between a GTX1060 3GB and 6GB models.

As for whether a CPU upgrade would show major benefits? On a 165hz monitor, definitely yes you would see huge gains from something like a 8600K, but only when paired with a high-end GPU.

Generally speaking the i7-4790 is still a very decent gaming CPU. I'd wait it out for the new cards to see what a) they bring and b) what they do to current gen prices.

If you really can't wait, OCUK have an Inno3D X2 GTX1070 8GB for £329 with free Destiny 2 at the moment, that's pretty excellent value and it's a big upgrade on an R9 290, not just in performance terms but also power consumption/heat.

I also have an R9 290X 4gb and I was very surprised at how expensive it is to actually get a card that kicks out better performance even after such a long period of time, granted the new ones run less hot and suck a lot less power, but in terms of raw gaming performance I would have expected it to have aged more in the almost 5 years since it launched!

batfastard13

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

I'd wait for new cards at this point, the R9 290 is still very decent, sort of between a GTX1060 3GB and 6GB models.

As for whether a CPU upgrade would show major benefits? On a 165hz monitor, definitely yes you would see huge gains from something like a 8600K, but only when paired with a high-end GPU.

Generally speaking the i7-4790 is still a very decent gaming CPU. I'd wait it out for the new cards to see what a) they bring and b) what they do to current gen prices.

If you really can't wait, OCUK have an Inno3D X2 GTX1070 8GB for £329 with free Destiny 2 at the moment, that's pretty excellent value and it's a big upgrade on an R9 290, not just in performance terms but also power consumption/heat.

Cheers! I was fairly certain that was the best way to go, I just needed someone to back-up my more rational side. The upgrade itch was getting the better of me!

I'll wait for the new cards to come out and bump the thread for more advice then! Thanks for the input!

I also have an R9 290X 4gb and I was very surprised at how expensive it is to actually get a card that kicks out better performance even after such a long period of time, granted the new ones run less hot and suck a lot less power, but in terms of raw gaming performance I would have expected it to have aged more in the almost 5 years since it launched!

Mine is actually just the plain r9 290 and not the 290X version, but yeah! It's pretty impressive how well it's holding up years later. I got a G-sync 1440p monitor on sale for a good price, so the upgrade is mostly to make full use of that. With a little bit of it to get a quieter card... the r9 290 can sound a bit like a jet when at full blast.