Z97 upgrade, should I upgrade my 770gtx 4gb?

[FalcFalcFalc]

Im planning on upgrading my build soon to a Z97 based build with a i5-4690k. Currently running an i5-2500k. I plan to reuse my 16gb ddr3 ram, possibly my hdd, my corsair cx750 750w psu and my MSI twin frozr 770gtx 4gb. I have some extra money in the budget and I was wondering if anyone has any opinions on possibly upgrading to a 970 or 980.

I want this build to last 3-4 years and I'd like to play dying light, WoW and the new fps games coming out soon on high to ultra settings. I'll also be picking up witcher 3 as well. I'm not sure if I'll be picking up a 1440p monitor or not but for right now I'm playing in 1080p and will be for the foreseeable future.

So basically, keep my 770gtx 4gb or upgrade to a 970/980 4gb? Or wait?

[Sigvard62]

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-...eForce-GTX-770

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-...eForce-GTX-770

judging by those bench marks the 970 wouldnt be much of an upgrade but the 980 would be a pretty decent upgrade.

[Stormspark]

Honestly, if you have a 2500k, I would wait until Skylake. The 4690k will only give you a small boost (maybe 10%), and you can easily overclock the 2500k to make up for that (Sandy Bridge overclocks much better than Haswell does).

I just don't think upgrading from Sandy Bridge to Haswell is a cost effective move at this point when the benefit is relatively minor. I would also stick with your current GPU unless you are actually having problems running things in which case I would upgrade to a 980.

[FalcFalcFalc]

I've OC'd my 2500k to 4.2, I can't go much past 4.3 even with my CM Hyper 212+. My case is a little on the small side and the airflow in my room is atrocious, especially during summer. I'm running into fps drops during raids in WoW even running CMAA at 1080p, no shadows or SSAO. I figured the best upgrade was on the cpu side. Skylake arrives 2nd half of 2015, not sure I can wait that long to upgrade.

EDIT - Also, my Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3P is really confusing to OC so I could probably push it higher but the voltage does weird things. I've tried to get the voltage down to 1.27 in the BIOS but CPUZ says its hovering at 1.29 - 1.3. I guess upgrading to a better less confusing BIOS is also a reason why I was considering.

[Stormspark]

I've OC'd my 2500k to 4.2, I can't go much past 4.3 even with my CM Hyper 212+. My case is a little on the small side and the airflow in my room is atrocious, especially during summer. I'm running into fps drops during raids in WoW even running CMAA at 1080p, no shadows or SSAO. I figured the best upgrade was on the cpu side. When will Skylake arrive?

You're already faster than the 4690k then. The 4690k is only 3.6 GHz. Yes, Haswell is *slightly* more efficient, but the difference is minor. Pretty much all systems will get FPS drops in WOW during raids though. My 4770k still gets FPS drops during raids. It's really unavoidable.

Skylake is expected sometime later this year.

[FalcFalcFalc]

Alright. I mean I'd definitely OC the 4690k as well, hopefully push to 4.5 or so. My current BIOS is just so damn confusing and I've googled relentlessly trying to figure out but the answers are convoluted as well.

If I OC'd the 4690k, would that make it worth the buy?

[Kagthul]

Alright. I mean I'd definitely OC the 4690k as well, hopefully push to 4.5 or so. My current BIOS is just so damn confusing and I've googled relentlessly trying to figure out but the answers are convoluted as well.

If I OC'd the 4690k, would that make it worth the buy?

Not especially, and you'd be stuck having just bought and end-of-life MoBo and CPU. If you wait for Skylake, youll be at the ground floor of a new socket (1151) and will be able to slot in upgrades for at least two years.

[FalcFalcFalc]

Your points are very good. For me, I guess it's waiting that extra 7-9 months when I'd like to be gaming at top performance relatively soon. BF: Hardline comes out in a week, Witcher 3 is out in May. I also have yet to purchase Dying Light because I am pretty sure it will run like crap on my system because it's poorly optimized.

If Skylake was say 3-5 months away, it would be a no brainer. However, in this situation, I'm not sure I want to wait if the system I build now will last 3-4 years anyway. Is that good thinking or am I just being stupid?

[Stormspark]

Not especially, and you'd be stuck having just bought and end-of-life MoBo and CPU. If you wait for Skylake, youll be at the ground floor of a new socket (1151) and will be able to slot in upgrades for at least two years.

Also, Haswell does not OC as well as SB does due to the heat spreader design. I doubt you'd be able to get 4.5 out of it. Yes, if you had something less than Sandy Bridge I'd recommend an upgrade. But with what you've got...you're basically spending a whole bunch of money for a relatively minor benefit.

What you've got right now (with the OC) is within 5% or so of the performance of the 4690k. It's just not going to make a huge difference.

[FalcFalcFalc]

Alright. I'll hold off I guess. Should I grab a 980 instead?

[Kagthul]

Honestly, if your current rig is performing well, i'd wait until Skylake ships and wait until AMD's R9-3XX chips hit the market before doing anything. (And with an overclocked i5-2500/GTX 770 i cant imagine your rig is performing poorly) - the first will mean you get in on the ground floor of Skylake (and can therefore put in upgrades for at least two years on the new socket) and socket 1151, and the second will shift the pricing scheme of both GPU vendors (and nVidia may release a 980Ti or other new part to compete if AMD suddenly takes the lead).

[FalcFalcFalc]

Yeah, I understand. My rig is performing decently well, just some games I'd really like to play at ultra. I'll hold off but damn I've got some money burning a hole in my pocket.

[Stormspark]

Honestly, if your current rig is performing well, i'd wait until Skylake ships and wait until AMD's R9-3XX chips hit the market before doing anything. (And with an overclocked i5-2500/GTX 770 i cant imagine your rig is performing poorly) - the first will mean you get in on the ground floor of Skylake (and can therefore put in upgrades for at least two years on the new socket) and socket 1151, and the second will shift the pricing scheme of both GPU vendors (and nVidia may release a 980Ti or other new part to compete if AMD suddenly takes the lead).

This too. I have a feeling video card prices are going to drastically change once the Rx 300 series comes out. And if AMD does take the lead over the 980 with the 390x, expect prices to drop and a "980ti" to be announced. Basically this is not a good time to go on a round of upgrades. Because a bunch of all new stuff is just over the horizon.