Should I upgrade my rig?

[thedom]

Coming from:

Mobo: MSI P55M-GD41
Proc/cooling: i5-750 w/ Corsair H50 cooling @ 4ghz (200 x 20)
Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 1600
HD/OS: Seagate 320gig // HITACHI Deskstar 2TB 32MB Cache // 2 x external 1TB Drives for backup Windows 7 x64
Power Supply: Corsair 620HX
Case: Antec 900 w/ 3x120mm and 1x200mm fans
Monitor: 2 x 23" Dell IPS Displays
Sound: M-Audio Studiophile AV 40's powered by an X-FI Xtreme Music
Video:Nvidia GTX 480


I am thinking about the following upgrade:

MSI Gaming N770 TF 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 770 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card

ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K

Total cost is $684.97

Worth it for 1080p gaming?

 

[Termie]

What you really need to add to the build is an SSD. That will make a huge difference for level loading and everything else you use your system for other than counting frames per second. I'd get that and the 770, which is approximately 60-70% faster than the 480.

While your OC'd 750 will hold back a 770 slightly, it's actually a fairly good match. Once you have the video card and SSD, then you can pick up a Haswell-based CPU/MB down the line. No reason to get a 3570K now.

 

[lehtv]

I am thinking about the following upgrade:

MSI Gaming N770 TF 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 770 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card

ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K

Total cost is $684.97

Worth it for 1080p gaming?

That actually looks like a very good upgrade for 1080p. I say yes it is worth it. And if it's in your budget, get an SSD as well.

No reason to get a 3570K now.

Have to disagree, the i5-750 even at 4GHz will slow down a GTX 770 in pretty much any game that runs on two threads or is otherwise very CPU intensive.

 

[RaistlinZ]

I think Termie means no reason to buy an Ivy Bridge chip instead of a similar Haswell chip.

OP, I think you'll be pleased by the upgrade. I just switched from an i7-930 @ 4.0Ghz to Haswell 4770K @ 4.5Ghz. Paired with my GTX770 I noticed a difference in gaming.

Consider Haswell over Ivy Bridge since you're staring from scratch. Also, be sure to put an SSD in there. Prices are so low there's no reason not to.

 

[lehtv]

You're absolutely right, I didn't even notice it was an Ivy Bridge chip. I'll take back what I said above, the OP should upgrade to 4670K and a decent Z87 board like Z87 Extreme4 or Z84 G45 Gaming.

 

[Termie]

Yup, yup, I meant Ivy Bridge. But I'd still say that he doesn't need to upgrade everything at once. Start with GTX770 and an SSD, and then move on to the platform. If he has the budget, then yes, get everything, but sacrificing an upgrade to an SSD just to get a new CPU/motherboard is a mistake in my opinion.

 

[mfenn]

Yup, yup, I meant Ivy Bridge. But I'd still say that he doesn't need to upgrade everything at once. Start with GTX770 and an SSD, and then move on to the platform. If he has the budget, then yes, get everything, but sacrificing an upgrade to an SSD just to get a new CPU/motherboard is a mistake in my opinion.

I agree with this. For everything except framerate, the SSD is the best upgrade that you could make. Then GPU for increased framerates in intensive games. Finally CPU/mobo to remove any chance of CPU bottlenecking.

As for which SSD, the Crucial M500 240GB is a good deal at $150.