What should badger upgrade?

[Badger]

Since it's my birthday (and later Christmas) coming up, I was considering upgrading my PC. The problem is they I'm not sure what to upgrade.


Current specs:
i5 2500k (Sandy Bridge) @ 3.3GHz
nVidia GTX 570 1GB
8GB DDR3 669 MHz


What I was thinking of upgrading to:
i7 3770k or i5 3570k (Both ivy bridge)


or


msi nVidia GTX 680 2GB Twin Frozr


or
​
16GB DDR3 Kingston Hyper X


Any thoughts? Which would give me the most benefit in terms of FPS (Particularly for Arma 2/Counter Strike GO)? Thanks for your time.

[HurricaneAndrew]

What are you looking to enhance? Multi-tasking? Graphics quality? General speed?

If you want better multitasking, then get the i7. If you want better graphics quality, upgrade the graphics card, of course. More RAM would help the all-around performance.


If it's just for sh**s and giggles and no specific reason, I'd go for more RAM.

[SKBT]

http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcforme/

[Badger]

@HA I'm planning on getting a 120hz/144hz monitor, so I 'need' over 120FPS on Counter-Strike. And I was thinking that upgrading the slowest part of my PC would reap the biggest rewards.

[HurricaneAndrew]

Then it sounds like you should upgrade the graphics card. It does seem to be the weak point anyway.

[Sol Vector]

Perhaps you should merely optimize your system, as my Laptop from 2006 gets a constant 70+ fps at 1680x1050 in CS:GO with an Intel x6800, 9600m GT, 3gb DDR2-800. Your hardware should be able to pull off 120 fps easily. FYI, CS:GO is a 32bit program (not sure on Arma II) and as such can't access more than 4gb of memory, so unless you need the other 12 for background processes, don't waste your time. The only reason I have 16gb is because its quad channel, which unless I am mistaken isn't available for your chipset if you have an i5. I would say the GTX680 is going to help most with frame rate in gaming, and if your board supports it and you have the power, you could keep the GTX570 as dedicated physics.

My Current Desk Setup: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2ox2n