Hardware Graphics Card Advice

[Castiel]

Hey guys, I am currently running an Asus Desktop with 12GB RAM, 1TB hard drive, AMD A10 Processor, and a Nvidia GTX 760 graphics card. I am wondering, if I were to upgrade from the 760 to something like a 970, how much difference would I actually see? the 970 has 4GB RAM as apposed to only 2GB on the 760, however the clockspeeds aren't very different.

Also, I would like to change the processor to a high end i7, however with the A-10 chipset I would need a new motherboard. Could I swap my other parts over to a new motherboard and only worry about also getting an i7, or would I have to do a custom build?

Thanks for your time,
Matthew

 

[trumpet-205]

You only need to change the CPU and the motherboard (unless you are going for LGA2011-3, which then you'll need DDR4 RAM as well).

It is hard to say how much difference you'll see, since you haven't told us your gaming resolution. A10 will definitely hold back 970's full potential.

 

[Castiel]

By gaming resolution do you just mean the resolution that I play games at? Or do you mean the resolution my card can run at? Currently I'm running at 1600x(something or other) and it runs games decently. Not perfect, but that could be the A10 not being powerful enough.

 

[ILuvGames]

As far as the extra vram is concerned, unless you are trying to play at very high resolutions or have a multiple monitor setup it will make very little to no difference.

 

[Originality]

In 1080p resolution, there is effectively no difference between the two graphics cards. They should both play everything except intensive games (battlefield 4) at maxed settings. You're actually playing less than 1080p, which means you're using even less of your graphics cards potential, so no need to upgrade yet.

You would be better off upgrading to a core i5 and compatible motherboard, since as mentioned in other posts, it's your A10 holding you back. That, and maybe a SSD would give the biggest improvements.