FX 8350 + Asrock 990FX Extreme 4 VS. Sapphire hd 7950 W/boost (or HD8000)

TheImperator520

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Apr 27, 2013
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I improved and old computer some months ago, but now i'd like to improve it for gaming and for it to last me a long, long time :). I was wondering about upgrading part of my PC next month, but I'm not sure about what to upgrade first, my mobo and processor (actually Athlon II X3 and asrock 960G mobo :heink: ) or my video card (HD 6450 :ouch:). If ithe answer is the second option, should I get the 7950 or wait till the HD8000 series are released? as well if I choose the first, should i wait till Steamroller release? Here are my other PC specs:

-Wndows 8
-SSD Crucial m4 128Gb (main one)
-HDD 2tb Seagate
-LC Power 650W Green Silent Giant (80PLUS Bronze)
-Zalman Z11 case
-Stock cooler (i'd upgrade it too :D)

PD: Sorry for bad english :sarcastic:
PD: PD: And no, i'm not going intel :pfff:
 
Solution
Your current build looks nice.
I'm running a similar build with FX-8350, HD7950, CX600W PSU, but using an ASUS M5A97 R2.0. If you really really want to upgrade now, I would suggest you get the motherboard/processor first.
If I were you, I'd get a cheaper motherboard, maybe an ASUS one since ASUS makes good motherboards and the customer support is amazing. Save some money. It's always good to have some spare cash.
Now about the GPU. The price will drop when they release new GPUs, so you can probably use your current 6450 until then.
HD8000 or HD7950? I'd stick with a 7950.

Hope this helps! :D

olvrsxsmth

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Mar 30, 2013
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Your current build looks nice.
I'm running a similar build with FX-8350, HD7950, CX600W PSU, but using an ASUS M5A97 R2.0. If you really really want to upgrade now, I would suggest you get the motherboard/processor first.
If I were you, I'd get a cheaper motherboard, maybe an ASUS one since ASUS makes good motherboards and the customer support is amazing. Save some money. It's always good to have some spare cash.
Now about the GPU. The price will drop when they release new GPUs, so you can probably use your current 6450 until then.
HD8000 or HD7950? I'd stick with a 7950.

Hope this helps! :D
 
Solution

TheImperator520

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Apr 27, 2013
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Yeah, I think i'll do that :)

But I heard ASUS mobos had a problem refering to bulldozer/piledriver processors, which made them run a 30% slower (or something like that), so I thought I could get the 970 Extreme4 (same price here as M5A97 EVO R2.0) in order to evit that, is it a good idea?

PD: Thanks a lot for replying, it's my first post in this forum (or anyone), and the experience couldn't have been better :):):):):):):)
 

olvrsxsmth

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Actually, you don't need the EVO version. The regular M5A97 R2.0 will do.

Now with the problem of running 30% slower: I haven't experienced that before and I haven't heard of it. I'll look it up.

Asrock 970 Exreme4 is good, but there have been reports of a bunch of faulty motherboards. I'm not saying you shouldn't get the Exreme4, but just be prepared to send it back. If I were you, I'd stick with ASUS. In my experience, ASUS has the best customer support ever. Maybe it's because I'm in Taiwan, I don't know.

When building my build, I had two choices for motherboard: Asrock 970 Exreme4 or ASUS M5A97 R2.0. (We're pretty similar ;D) Now why did I get the M5A97? Because it was cheaper. xD

In the end, it's all up to you to decide. :D
 

TheImperator520

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Ok, I think I'll go with the ASUS :)
One thing, could you tell me the difference between the EVO and the non-EVO version? Because I've only heard about the first one, which is same price as the Asrock. Respect to the faulty motherbords, I' ve only heard good things about that motherboard, nothing about defecting units (almost here in Spain =P)
Despite from this, I'll follow your advise since you've got a good experience of that board. Thanks a lot for your opinion, it's helped a lot :D
 

olvrsxsmth

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EVO vs non-EVO? Well, there are definitely differences, but I am not so sure what they are. All I know is that the non-EVO version is cheaper than the EVO version. xD

You can go to the ASUS site and compare those two boards using the comparison function.

Oh and I just realized you're using Windows 8. Remember to update all drivers!!! And be prepared for the BSoDs!!! Man, I'm having a bad time with Windows 8. Keeps BSoD on me! D:<
 

TheImperator520

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I'll look for the differences there =), but I think BSods aren't a problem in Windows 8, cuz I haven't had one since I were using my laptop years ago, which was Vista (YEEEAAH WINDOWS VISTAAA). Now, I've been using Windows 8 for, I don't know... 4 months or something like that? And I haven't experienced none of them =P (no in my PC, almost yet XD)

Thanks again for answering my (probably) silly questions about this :)