Don't need to upgrade anything so this is purely just out of interest, current spec is i5-6500 with AIO cooler, XFX R9 390, 8GB DDR4 2400mhz.
The CPU isn't overclocked yet, the GPU has been tweaked a bit with MSI Afterburner but the voltage hasn't been raised.

So far it's handled everything I've thrown at it with ease, I'm not running 1440p or 144mhz at the moment so there's a ton of head room if I stayed with 1080p.

BUT for some reason I have the urge to just go out and swap the CPU for a K chip, new GPU, and custom watercooling. There's really no reason at all lol. I used to wonder why people spend thousands on a system when a £600-800 PC is enough for most, but now I get it, just can't stop looking at custom builds and coming up with ideas on what to do.

So lets say in a few years time, prices of current tech goes down, so an i7-6700k is affordable, and there's a new gen of GPU's out so RX480's and GTX 10X0 are available 2nd hand, I've upgraded the RAM and got a custom watercooling setup.

What would be an ideal affordable GPU for overclocking, just a straight GTX 1070 or 1080 or maybe two RX480's? If I was careless with money then I'd be out there now buying some new shit just for the fun of building a new system lol.

save ur money or get a new gpu/monitor

That would be the build I gave you in the first place... http://pcpartpicker.com/list/VxQkXH

Waiting a 'few years' may be a bit too long...there will be even faster tech out by then. This is one reason we try to get ppl to max their budget. We KNOW they will soon get the urge to.....experiment. Muahahahaha.






This post was edited by Ghot on Aug 20 2016 08:46am

peripherals

keyboard/mouse then monitor

In reality I have to stick to a budget (within reason) but yea.. the urge is real lol. I can see now how people end up with builds that are really overkill for what they need. I will probably go all out on my next one when the current system can't keep up anymore. Probably build some sort of custom case or maybe build it into the desk or on the wall.

Actually, I just looked at some prices - I paid around £205 for an XFX R9 390 a couple of months ago, there's a couple on ebay 2nd hand around £240-260. 8GB RX480's and 6GB GTX 1060's are £250-260, so I could upgrade to one of them. Say I made £220 from the R9 390, is it worth the upgrade to a RX480/GTX1060 or should I just wait until the next generation of GPU? The R9 390 already handles 1080p easily and I'm not going to be using a 1440p monitor. Atleast not yet anyway.
Do prices tend to hold like this or is now the time to get rid of the R9 390 if I do want to change it?

Just use this site to make your comparisons...


http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1747?vs=1771



....from a 390 to either a 480 or a 1060 would not be that much of a jump. To a 1070 yes.

prices of current tech dont go down, they actually go up or stay relatively the same because they're discontinued.
especially CPUs

I thought the 1060 would have performed considerably better than the R9 390 considering the jump in core clock speed, but even if the performance gain is minimal, the power draw, less heat, and therefore less noise as I'd be able to run the fans slower would be nice. For what it's worth I'll probably just wait another couple of years until the next gen comes out.

Also, the 1060's range from under £200 for the 3GB version, to around £375-£420 for ones with full-cover water blocks which is exactly in the price range of 1070's. So is a heavily overclocked and watercooled 1060 on par/better than a mildly overclocked aircooled 1070?

This post was edited by ste91 on Aug 21 2016 07:49am

Don't think so. And remember, that there is NO SLI with the GTX 1060.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1771?vs=1731