New build or upgrade my current rig?

Greetings, everyone.
I am seeking some professional advice regarding my current hardware setup:

Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Pro, LGA 1155
Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K @ 3.3 GHz
Power Supply: S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V
RAM: 8GB Corsair DDR3 1600 C9 VG
Graphics Card: GTX 560
Case: Thermaltake Element G

While this configuration still manages to meet my basic requirements reasonably well, I have noticed that more demanding modern titles—specifically The Witcher 3—simply do not run as smoothly as they should. Consequently, I have begun contemplating an upgrade in the near future. While I am considering building an entirely new system, my primary question is this: what specific components could be upgraded within my existing framework to achieve a meaningful boost in performance?

Honestly, it’s not even a "new" build, you’ve already got a solid setup. Maybe you’d see a 20% bump in CPU performance if you upgraded, but I guess you could probably just overclock your way out of that.

Your GPU is pretty much the only thing holding your gaming back here. If you drop at least $500 on a new card—though honestly, spending a few hundred more wouldn't hurt—you'll be set for a long time. I’d also suggest grabbing an SSD, maybe $233 for a 250GB drive, just so the whole system feels snappier and your games actually load properly.

I see. What specific criteria should I be focusing on when selecting a graphics card? Should I be aiming for something in the ballpark of a GTX 960 / R9 380?
Furthermore, will my current power supply unit be sufficient to handle the load?

As for the components, I am planning to purchase them here, so please feel free to provide some concrete recommendations.

Don't sweat the power supply. What kind of budget are we actually working with here? I don't want us overspending on something you don't even need.

Roughly speaking, I am looking at approximately $1000 for both a graphics card and an SSD. I wouldn't mind going a bit over that budget if there happens to be a particularly great value proposition out there, though I'm not an incredibly demanding gamer by nature.

http://www.newegg.com/p/graphics-cards/

Looking at the GPUs available on Newegg, these seem like the best bang for your buck:

http://www.newegg.com/p/nvidia-geforce-gtx-960/
or
http://www.newegg.com/p/amd-radeon-r9-280x/

The second one packs more punch, but it's an older card, draws more power, and only comes with a 2-year warranty. Still, the price is solid.

You could easily fit the R9 380x in there with its 3-year warranty, but if you're looking strictly at price-to-performance, it just can't compete with the 280x.

Honestly, he should just grab a GTX 970 and call it a day. He'll be totally fine running The Witcher 3 and those other "low-spec" titles (😬). As for an SSD, if he really feels the need, he can pick one up after he offloads his old GTX 560... or just stick with a basic 120GB model 🍿

Alright, I think I'll take some time to go through a few reviews of the GPUs being suggested before I finally make my decision. Thank you.
Of course, if anyone else happens to have any additional ideas, please feel free to share them.

I'm running a GTX 970, and honestly, it handles pretty much any game I throw at it on 1080p Ultra settings without breaking a sweat. 🙂

It appears I shall take that option into consideration as well, given that it falls right within the range of the aforementioned $1000.

Besides those ideas you mentioned, you could really use an aftermarket CPU cooler if you don't have one already—the 2500K is such a dream for overclocking, and honestly, a cheap LC CC 120 would be plenty to hit that +4GHz mark.

Go ahead and push that R9 390—it’ll handle it fine—but honestly, since you're sticking with 1080p, maybe just grab a GTX 970 instead? That way you'll actually have some breathing room left over to pick up a decent CPU cooler and overclock that little devil.

Anyway, the R9 390 is actually a pretty solid card if you're looking to save some cash while playing at 1440p—assuming you're planning on upgrading to a higher-res monitor or a beefier GPU soon—but for 1080p, it absolutely shreds.

The cooler being used is the Zalman CNPS 5x.

On a separate note, I am already quite clear on the power supply's wattage; I have one (6+2)-pin connector and one 6-pin connector available for the graphics card, and I have taken the time to measure exactly how much clearance I have within the case. Aside from those factors, is there anything else I should be considering before I pull the trigger on a new GPU, or does that cover all my bases?

Furthermore, would this be considered a significant indicator of the card's actual performance?

Since that little Zalman isn't exactly a huge step up from the LC CC 120—I guess—I wouldn't bother with a new cooler right now. Instead, I'd just use it to push that i5 to 4GHz—which should be totally doable, I think—and call it a day.

Regarding the PSU, you've got enough connectors for pretty much any card out there. As for space inside the case—if you have more than about 12 inches of clearance, you can slide basically any model in there. If you're tight on space, then stick to the safe bets like MSI, ASUS, Gigabyte (the dual-fan versions), or EVGA for Nvidia stuff. For AMD, you might want to look at MSI, Sapphire (dual-fan again), or XFX if you're trying to save some cash.

What specifically are you looking for regarding GPUs? Which exact models are you eyeing? Let me know and I'll give you my take—I've tested most of these newer cards at both 1080p and 1440p.

I certainly understand that a card like the GTX 970 is objectively more powerful than a GTX 960, yet I find myself struggling to visualize just how significant that performance gap actually is. Furthermore, I am somewhat unsure of the most accurate way to weigh NVIDIA cards against their AMD counterparts.

At this stage, my current considerations include the GTX 960 4GB and the R9 280x, while looking toward the R9 380, R9 390, or the GTX 970 as my higher-tier options.

To put it simply: the R9 380 goes head-to-head with the GTX 960, while the R9 390 is more of a rival to the GTX 970.
Right now, the 280X and 380X don't have any direct competition from Nvidia. For instance, the 280X used to compete with the GTX 770, but that card is long gone; logically, the 380X should be facing off against a GTX 960Ti, though there's no guarantee that thing will actually hit the market.

You can find here a performance summary covering about 15 different games (based on 1080p resolution). You might see some minor fluctuations of a few percent depending on driver updates or game patches, but that gives you the general idea.

Honestly, you could just toss a GTX 960 and an R9 280x into one pile; forget about the 380X, it’s not worth the hassle compared to the 280x. The R9 390 and GTX 970 belong in a higher tier altogether. If you're asking me, I'd start by overclocking the CPU to around 4GHz, then since this is a gaming rig, I'd grab the R9 390 and save the SSD for later. 😉

In his specific situation, even a GTX 970 makes more sense than an R9 390—it puts less strain on the power supply (which gives him some much-needed breathing room since his PSU isn't exactly top-tier), plus he mentioned playing The Witcher 3, which is a game that really leverages Nvidia GameWorks technology.

But if he’s looking to stay on a tighter budget, IMO I'd go with one of those two options plus a 250GB SSD.

Timothy Kim60 said:Even a GTX 970 makes more sense for him than an R9 390—it puts less strain on the PSU (giving it some breathing room, since it's not exactly overkill for that setup), plus he mentioned The Witcher 3, which uses Nvidia GameWorks.

But if he's looking to be budget-conscious, IMO, pick one of those two cards plus a 250GB SSD.

A Seasonic PSU having issues with an i5 2500K and an R9 390? No way, you're good to go. At least regarding the power supply. If The Witcher 3 is the reason for the upgrade, maybe the GTX 970 is the way to go, I don't know.

Just let him deal with the fallout—personally, I know a guy who ran an R9 290 on a 500W OCZ power supply, so you can see what SmartThings is trying to pull with that pathetic 360W unit of theirs

Regarding the R9 390 versus the EVGA GTX 970 in The Witcher—if you turn off Hairworks, both cards hover around 50fps. There are moments where the R9 390 pulls ahead, then moments where the GTX 970 takes the lead, and so on. Honestly, I think it's just silly to pick a GPU based on one or two specific games.

In most titles I've played at 1080p, the R9 390 leads by maybe 5 or 6 fps. The real edge for the 970 is that it runs cooler and quieter—though I wouldn't say the R9 390 is bad in that regard, since it stays under 75-76 degrees and the fan noise is actually tolerable. For 1080p, both cards absolutely crush it; if you don't have a high refresh rate monitor, you can easily cap the FPS via drivers to stay under 60, which helps keep temperatures down on both.

The true gap between the 390 and the 970 shows up at 1440p—it's obvious. Those 8GB of VRAM, regardless of what people claim about them being "unnecessary," actually do their job at higher resolutions in VRAM-hungry games. As for frame rates, I played about 4 or 5 AAA titles at that resolution on max settings (though I disable MSAA because it does nothing for visuals while devouring 15 fps like crazy), and the FPS didn't dip below 40—it usually sat around 48-50. In less demanding scenes, it easily clears 60. This card is a genuine surprise for budget 1440p gaming, and the GTX 970 is noticeably weaker there.

All in all, the biggest hurdles for the R9 390 are the outdated drivers and less game support, but this card really performs wonders. Compared to Maxwell and the GTX 970, which is already hitting its limit, I’m convinced the R9 390 will only get stronger over time—especially with DirectX 12 right around the corner, where Intel dominates.

As for the GTX 960 and the R9 380, the R9 380 is more powerful; you can tell that superior memory bandwidth makes a difference against the GTX 960. Both are fine for casual gaming, but a huge plus for the GTX 960 is how incredibly cool and quiet it is—it doesn't even cross 56-57 degrees. That said, if you care about raw performance, the R9 380 gives you those extra 4-5 fps overall, though the GTX 960 might edge it out in certain specific titles.

Anyway, hope that helps. If you need anything else, just ask.👍