Upgrade questions on 5yr-old DS system

I have a busy, home-based graphic design business, heavily multi-tasking, three large monitors and a bit of an open-tab addiction. I spend most of my time in apps from the latest version of Adobe CC, including occasional professional video editing.

I have a 5-year old Digital Storm system, which is holding up like a champ, with some upgrades I've made along the way (better video card, SSDs). I have a Cooler Master case with six fans (top, front, back and side), and it runs quiet, so I'm not really hurting any - but it's time for some more upgrades. I'd enjoy some more speed and more RAM.

I currently have:

* Intel Core i7-3930K (6 cores)
* 16MB DDR3 1600 RAM
* 2GB GeForce GTX760 video card (running 3 monitors)
* OS and primary data files are each on SSDs
* Noctua NH D14 air cooling for the CPU
* ASUS P9X79 Deluxe motherboard


I'm not comfortable building a system from scratch (configuring motherboards and such), but I can obviously install individual hardware components. Now, I can start over with Digital Storm and spend another $2,500-$3,000 and get a great rig (if I reuse my HDs), or I figure I can spend about $600-$1,000 and upgrade a bunch of components.

Here's what I'm considering:

* New RAM: 32MB DDR3 1866 RAM (~$200)
* New CPU cooler (since I have to remove the Noctua in order to swap the RAM anyway): Noctua NH-D15 (~$85)
* New processor (since I'm replacing the CPU cooler anyway): Intel Core i7-6800K (~$400)

Does this sound like the right way to maximize performance increases? Or should I also upgrade the GPU to something with 4MB of VRAM? Should I skip the CPU upgrade?

Thanks in advance for any advice. I feel like swapping the motherboard is a whole different kettle of fish that I'm not able to handle, and this is the most I can do while still keeping the awesome case and airflow I have set up.

bpratt: thanks for the great reply. I did discover after posting that a new CPU isn't compatible, so I'll definitely put those funds towards a new GPU instead.

However, I was reading a bunch last night about "gaming cards" vs. "workstation cards", and it really seems like workstation cards are more useful and effective for any sort of rendering or non-gaming, precision usage. I was looking at the PNY Quadro K2200, which is about $400. I stole this idea from a Digital Storm configuration in the "workstation" section, so presumably this is a recommended card. I really don't game at all anymore. Between having kids, a busy business and a real addiction to binge-ing FPS games, I haven't even had Steam installed in three years, in much the same way that recovering alcoholics don't walk into bars.

Any thoughts about the debate about workstation cards vs. gaming cards? I see that DS does offer the GTX 1070 in their workstation configurations, but only in the more budget models.

bpratt: if I can pick your brain one more time, after much reading + your recommendation, I decided on the GTX 1060. My question now is which one to get? If I look on the egg, for instance, a search for GTX 1060 with 6GB of VRAM gives me 31 results. Even if I just limit it to EVGA I get six. Four of those have dual fans. Of those four, they have product titles that are gobbledygook to me. For instance:

EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING DirectX 12 06G-P4-6262-KR 6GB 192-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Video Card

EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB SSC GAMING ACX 3.0, 6GB GDDR5, LED, DX12 OSD Support (PXOC), 06G-P4-6267-KR

EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 DirectX 12 06G-P4-6268-KR 6GB 192-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 FTW GAMING ACX 3.0 Video Card

EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 DirectX 12 06G-P4-6368-KR 6GB 192-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 FTW+ GAMING ACX 3.0 Video Card


The prices are within about $20 of each other. Should I just eenie, meenie, miney, moe and pick one of these four? Do any of those details in the titles matter? Should I even be looking at the EVGA version vs. Gigabyte vs. PNY, etc.? This is sort of overwhelming.

Thanks in advance, you've been really helpful.

You're freaking amazing. Thanks for the info!