Looking to upgrade existing build

[Havokmoobii]

Budget: 200 - 600$
Resolution: 1920x1080
Games / Settings Desired: WoW at max settings while streaming and any newer games on max settings.
Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc): no
Country: US
Parts that can be reused: pcpartpicker.com/user/Havokmoobii/saved/fCzp99 (sorry cant post full links!)
Do you need an OS?: no
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)?: no

I built this computer a few years ago and would like to slowly upgrade it over time to keep up with newer games and whatever else I need. I have been considering getting a 3rd monitor for a while so suggestions on second video card and a larger main monitor would be nice. Other than that, just whatever upgrades would improve performance the most.

Thanks in advance!

[Kagthul]

... a GPU upgrade maybe.

Everything else seems fine. OC the CPU if you haven't.

The 290 will run WoW at max settings though.

If you're trying to run everything at setting 10, you wont get 60fps solid no matter how much money you spend. There isn't a computer out there that can do it.

[Havokmoobii]

Any recommendations for a second video card and third monitor?

[Thunderball]

Any recommendations for a second video card and third monitor?

You're gonna need a different PSU to run R9 290 Crossfire. I dont see any point in a bigger monitor as both going for 144Hz and higher resolution are pointless with your current hardware.

[thunterman]

... a GPU upgrade maybe.

Everything else seems fine. OC the CPU if you haven't.

The 290 will run WoW at max settings though.

If you're trying to run everything at setting 10, you wont get 60fps solid no matter how much money you spend. There isn't a computer out there that can do it.

Erm.. that's kinda incorrect, I get a solid 60FPS at 1440p with everything maxed.

If I were you I'd OC the CPU, get a water cooler *Example*
Get a new GPU 1070
For sake of more "future proofing" I'd say go with the 1070, if you insist on upgrading just to get a couple extra years out of it, you would also get away with not even replacing your GPU right now aswell. prioritise getting a good cooler and a decent OC, because you will notice more benefit from doing so, considering WoW is, always has been and probably always will be a CPU intensive game. Skipping the cooler and throwing a 1070 in your PC isn't going to net as much a benefit at that cooler and an OC will alone. at 1080 a R9 290 should suffice.

I wouldn't go near Xfire either, it's just horrid. Xfire and SLI are both a last resort in my mind, if no single card can do what you need, you get multiple, if a single card can, ALWAYS get that single card. You could get another 290, for not much less than a 1070, and that single 1070 will beat to 290's 50% of the time, and 10% of the time you'd be running only 1 card anyway because not everything supports it, somethings support it so badly that the second card causes a performance loss.. it's just so, so bad.

TL;DR - Get a watercooler and OC your CPU, upgrade in a couple more years.

[Kagthul]

Any recommendations for a second video card and third monitor?

Just get a third monitor and plug it into your existing GPU (if all you care about is WoW; if you want to upgrade your experience in other games, as i said before... a GPU upgrade is in order). At that point... just get the new GPU and plug all three monitors into your GPU. The second/third monitors will take almost zero horsepower.

Monitors not also running a 3D/gaming application take next to zero horsepower. It wont affect your gameplay at all.

That being said, trying for 144hz and higher than 1080p, you're going to need a new GPU regardless. Your CPU, however, is fine, if you OC it.

Maybe a ~10% performance delta between your current chip OCed to ~4.5ghz and a modern i5 or i7 at the same clock speed.

Just be comfortable with the fact that you wont nail a solid 60fps in WoW 100% of the time no matter what.

Erm.. that's kinda incorrect, I get a solid 60FPS at 1440p with everything maxed.

No, you don't. People with LN2 cooled rigs at 6+ Ghz dont hit 60fps solid in WoW. Feel free to post some video evidence of max settings 1440p 60fps with no dips, though.

You will -literally- be world eFamous, as it has quite literally never been done. Even at 1080p.

If I were you I'd OC the CPU, get a water cooler *Example*

Dont waste your money on a liquid AIO. They dont produce significantly better temps than good air cooling for consumer parts. A Cryorig H7 or CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO (or one of the newer variants) will do you just fine (both have a ~180w TDP cooling rating, and your CPU wont hit more than ~120 OCed). Often times, they aren't even any quieter than a good air cooler, either, as the pumps can often make more noise than the fans. If you want some bling without breaking the bank, Cryorig has a new version of the H7 called the Quad Lumi with RGB lighting. I put it in my wife's new rig a month or two ago, and it holds her overclocked i5 6600K (@4.5Ghz) below 60c even under stress testing, and the ambient in my house is easily in the mid-80s farenheit in the summer.

Get a new GPU 1070
For sake of more "future proofing" I'd say go with the 1070, if you insist on upgrading just to get a couple extra years out of it, you would also get away with not even replacing your GPU right now aswell. prioritise getting a good cooler and a decent OC, because you will notice more benefit from doing so, considering WoW is, always has been and probably always will be a CPU intensive game. Skipping the cooler and throwing a 1070 in your PC isn't going to net as much a benefit at that cooler and an OC will alone. at 1080 a R9 290 should suffice.

I wouldn't go near Xfire either, it's just horrid. Xfire and SLI are both a last resort in my mind, if no single card can do what you need, you get multiple, if a single card can, ALWAYS get that single card. You could get another 290, for not much less than a 1070, and that single 1070 will beat to 290's 50% of the time, and 10% of the time you'd be running only 1 card anyway because not everything supports it, somethings support it so badly that the second card causes a performance loss.. it's just so, so bad.

TL;DR - Get a watercooler and OC your CPU, upgrade in a couple more years.

Ill agree with the skip-Xfire/SLI argument. It's spotty support wise, often doesn't give any benefit or actually harms performance, and is even less supported as time goes on because with DX12 Multi-GPU support has to be done at the game engine level, not in the drivers like in the past, and VERY few developers are wasting man hours on the sub-5% of gamers with Multi-GPU rigs.

Just get a single, more powerful GPU, a good aftermarket cooler, and OC your CPU to 4.2+ Ghz (it should land somewhere between 4.2-4.7 depending on silicon lottery). Youll be fine.

[Havokmoobii]

Ok for now I'll just look into OCing my CPU. I'll buy another monitor like the ones I have and a heatsink. I kinda overlooked the displayport on my card and assumed I would need a second card to support 3 HDMI monitors. I'll probably upgrade the GPU sometime next year. Thanks for the suggestions!

[Unsubtlex]

In for video evidence of solid 60fps at max settings.