Will Radeon HD 7850 improve my performance?

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Lumpy4ever

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Jun 8, 2013
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Will the Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 give me a noticeable increase in gaming performance compared to my current graphics card? and will my current system be able to run this card properly?

AMD Phenom™ II X4 925 Quad-Core CPU

Liquid CPU Cooling System [AMD] - Standard 120mm Fan

8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module

AMD Radeon HD 6870 - 1GB - Single Card

[CrossFire] ASUS M5A97 -- AMD 970 w/ 2x PCI-E 2.0 x16

Motherboard default USB / SATA Interface
700 Watt -- Standard

1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive
 
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Swordkd
Well, since your motherboard is a socket AM3+ you'll be able to eventually upgrade to the next series of FX chips once AMD releases them. If you buy a 7950 you are looking at around 290 dollars for the one I'd recommend, which isn't too bad, and that WOULD be quite an upgrade over the 6870.

So, options would be buy a 7850, but you won't notice much of a gain most likely. Buy an FX 6350 for about 140'ish, or FX 8350 for 195'ish and you'll see a performance gain in games, but probably about to the extent of just buying the 7850 alone. You'll also notice an improvement in every other task, and you can overclock those Cpu's as well. You can overclock the 925(if you aren't doing so already) and they do overclock well, and buy a 7950...
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Swordkd

Swordkd

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Oct 3, 2012
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Honestly, the 6870 is still slightly faster than a 7770, as is of course the 7850. I mention that just to give you an idea of something that you can make a direct comparison to. I wouldn't spend the money to upgrade to a 7850 from a 6870. The gain in performance isn't worth the money spent, assuming you are gaming at 1080p. Of course it depends on what games you'll be playing, some games there is quite a bit of difference.

I would actually recommend upgrading your Cpu to an FX8350, or at least an FX6350. You'll get slightly better performance in games, as well as any other task you perform with your computer. Then, when the 8xxx series of Radeons hits the market, look to upgrade your video card to one of them.
 
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Vyrisus

Vyrisus

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May 31, 2013
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I actually like the suggestion of upgrading your CPU the most. That would give you the biggest advantage because you could then put better cards with it without bottlenecking anything.
 
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Lumpy4ever

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Jun 8, 2013
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so this is kinda toward swordkd and Vyrisus. What if i got the cpu and the card? Honestly 90% of the reason i want that card is because it comes with a few games so the money toward the card would only be about $100. would i be better off getting the 7850, only spending $100 (theoretically because of the games) and upgrading when a new series comes out. or should i just get the 7950 and let that last me a while?
 
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Vyrisus

Vyrisus

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The only problem I have with you buying the 7950 is that you will have some bottleneck there with your current processor and I think you'd be wasting the extra money on the 7950. I don't know if you overclock your CPU or not, but if you do, that obviously helps erase some of the bottleneck, but I still don't feel the 7950 is the best option for you if you stay with your current processor.
 
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circularpromise53

circularpromise53

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his cpu wont bottleneck it too much. besides he'll notice gains of improvments
 
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Vyrisus

Vyrisus

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It is true that the Denebs OC pretty well. Ultimately OP it's up to you. I can say the 7950 is a great card but I would recommend a healthy overclock on your CPU to get the most out of it.

 
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016ive

016ive

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What is the Brand of your PSU, If it's a quality PSU you would be more than fine Even when you overclock your CPU as your current system won't even draw 550W under full load
 
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Lumpy4ever

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Jun 8, 2013
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how exactly would i figure out the brand of my psu.... i am just looking at my old order details
 
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Swordkd

Swordkd

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Well, since your motherboard is a socket AM3+ you'll be able to eventually upgrade to the next series of FX chips once AMD releases them. If you buy a 7950 you are looking at around 290 dollars for the one I'd recommend, which isn't too bad, and that WOULD be quite an upgrade over the 6870.

So, options would be buy a 7850, but you won't notice much of a gain most likely. Buy an FX 6350 for about 140'ish, or FX 8350 for 195'ish and you'll see a performance gain in games, but probably about to the extent of just buying the 7850 alone. You'll also notice an improvement in every other task, and you can overclock those Cpu's as well. You can overclock the 925(if you aren't doing so already) and they do overclock well, and buy a 7950 for 290 or so. I honestly think I like the last option the best. Even with the next release of Radeons, the 7950 will still be relevant, and next year you can throw in a new FX chip that will still be supported by socket AM3+.
 
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Lumpy4ever

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Jun 8, 2013
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one last thing.... what exactly should i be shooting for when overclocking? how much to use 7950 well?

oo also when looking at the 7950 there seems to be many different brands. any quick opinions on the different brands? I see Power color, HIS, sapphire, msi, xfx, gigabyte
 
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Swordkd

Swordkd

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This one: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-100352vxsr It's from Sapphire, which is one of the better Radeon card manufacturers, it has the highest base core clock, and it also comes with 4 free games.

I had an older Deneb based Phenom II( 940) which had a base clock speed of 3.0ghz, and I had it easily stable at 3.5 on air cooling. I hadn't even tried to push it any higher, and I know I could have. I'd honestly expect you to hit 3.4ghz if you tried somewhat, and possibly higher.
 
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