I have a Phenom II x4 955 and a dying HD 4870, what should I do?

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Gizuko

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Jul 8, 2013
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First, I must say my pc is 4-5 years old, and has had some issues here and there, which might have been caused by either the PSU, MOBO, or GPU. However, it seems my HD4870 is dying. It created some visual artifacts while playing LoL some days ago (whenever my youtube playlist changed videos), and froze thrice while playing Dota2 -though the pc when alt+tabbing out of the game was still working, the game did freeze. My pc's specs are the following:
-AMD Phenom II x4 955 3.2 GHz (didn't OC, because my 4870 is rather hot and I'm afraid it could affect the cpu), cooled by a Scythe Katana
-Club 3D HD4870, OCed by default, though I disabled said oc, since it caused flickering.
- Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P MOBO
-6GB DDR3 RAM (can't remember latencies)
-Nox Urano 700W PSU
-Acer P224W screen -I noted the screen here because it runs at 1680x1050-
As you may see, it is "a bit" outdated, so I have two possible solutions for this: Build a new one from scratch, or preserve some parts and save a bit of money. That said, I WILL upgrade the whole pc sooner or later, a 3/4 a year from now, at worst.
As for the new replacements, I have been looking GPUs -since it's the top priority- and came up with the following parts, in order to keep the mobo, cpu and psu:
-GTX 760OC (gigabyte) -255€
-Silver Arrow/noctua NH-D14 (in order to oc my current for starters, but mainly to cool my next cpu)
-NZXT Phantom (love the looks and specs for 116€)

Can I keep the cpu for now, and replace it later, or would the bottleneck make my gtx 760 run worse than my current HD4870 (don't know much about bottlenecks, to be honest)? Is said CPU worth OCing, even? Also, I'm not as experienced with CPU/MOBOs as I'm with GPUs (even though I don't know much about those either, i have reading about the current GPUs for a week now), so knowing what should I expect from a "current-gen" MOBO and CPU would be awesome, even if someone could paste an article or so, IDK what to google when I want raw information.

(Sorry for the wall of text, guys, I really wanted to provide as much information as possible since I'm not sure what could be needed)

Ps. sorry if this is the wrong forum, I'm not used to TH's forums just yet
 
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you should keep the CPU for now, try out the GTX 760 in a new PSU. that phenom shouldn't bottleneck the card that much. i saw a guy with a GTX titan on a C2Q Q6600and got 60+ FPS on most of the games he played. but if you do face bottleneck's you can always get a new AMD CPU like FX 6300 or FX 8320 with a new mobo

oh and if your OC'ing that CPU then you should get CM hyper 212+/evo at most. noctua NH D14 is wayy to extreme. and be sure to check if the CPU is a black edition one. if it isn't you can't OC it.
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DragonChase

DragonChase

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May 22, 2013
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I would REALLY recommend a new system, i have tried a 7950 on a Q6600 which is the same generation of CPU's and it froze frequently because it got stuck on the GPU/RAM speed.

Recommended is that you go for a 1150 socket so you can later upgrade in the future is necessary to a 6/8 core Intel.
please do go for an I7 if you have the money, threads are becoming really really important. I just built my PC so it would last again 5 years like your PC and my previous one.

Keep this PC for some simple games so you can play with a friend in your house, or donate to a family member.

I highly recommend getting a new PC, and a haswell certified PSU, your PSU is not so good... i got a cx750, its a cheap quality certified PSU. The price diffrence between lower wattage was to low to go lower watt.

Esspecially if you buy a new PC now, you could go Crossfire SLI later if the videocard will get cheaper.

I hope i have helped you, and just to say, never too much info in a topic! great job.
 
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thasan1

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Mar 27, 2013
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you should keep the CPU for now, try out the GTX 760 in a new PSU. that phenom shouldn't bottleneck the card that much. i saw a guy with a GTX titan on a C2Q Q6600and got 60+ FPS on most of the games he played. but if you do face bottleneck's you can always get a new AMD CPU like FX 6300 or FX 8320 with a new mobo

oh and if your OC'ing that CPU then you should get CM hyper 212+/evo at most. noctua NH D14 is wayy to extreme. and be sure to check if the CPU is a black edition one. if it isn't you can't OC it.
 
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jessterman21

jessterman21

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Dec 14, 2010
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+1 to thasan1

Your CPU will bottleneck the GTX 760 a little, but games will still definitely be playable at the highest settings. Modern video cards run much cooler, so definitely overclock that CPU. One comment, make sure you are using your RAM in pairs - I assume you have 4 sticks, otherwise you're running in single-channel mode, which reduces performance.
 
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Gizuko

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Jul 8, 2013
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I really appreciate your help, guys. I do have 3 sticks, but that is because I wanted to get another 2GB stick, though I ended up not doing so, because I hesitated on said latencies and went through a bit of financial hardships (I had to prioritize other things over the missing 2GB, and in the end, it fell into oblivion). Should I find a similar 2GB stick, would it be good to get it? Or simply buy a new set of RAM? I do have a little sister to pass this old pc to, and since she is not into gaming, I guess she could do with less RAM (meaning, I could buy the missing 2GB, keep my RAM, and get her 2-4GB). Also, while we are on topic, what is the average RAM a gaming pc could need? A friend of mine recently got 16GB or so, and I think that is a bit overkill, but that is because I'm not so into RAM usage either.

Also, excuse me being a complete ignorant, but I can't manage to remember wether I bought a black edition or not, so I'm trying to find it out.

As for the CM vs Noctua, the noctua was mostly for the next cpu, but it is true I read that CM's model offered huge performance for a low price. Will it do well when I purchase my next CPU? Also, is the Thermaltak Frio worth the investment?

Also, yes, I was planning on getting a SLI, once the gpu starts to fall behind in performance.

Although I understand the need of a new CPU, it's not like I'm going to wait a lot, but that I would rather get a case, PSU (if needed), GPU and maybe a cpu cooler as soon as possible, to avoid breaking mine beyond repair/usability (since I could reuse it, like DragonChase said), and then take my time to pick a suitable CPU and MOBO.

While we are at it, is there any substantial difference in the technologies used by Intel/AMD in the 150-300€ CPU price range (leaving clocks aside)? I remember trusting AMD with my phenom, and so far, I really like it -although I'm no expert so my opinion really doesn't count a lot.

Thank you very much guys, you are being a huge help here!
 
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DragonChase

DragonChase

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May 22, 2013
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If your planning on SLI/Cross a new mobo is an absolute must at this point you will be bottlenecked hardcore.
For you 8GB is enough, if you would plan like going crazy in the future (eyefinity 6 screens) then yes please go 16gb but it seems like i am one of few that really benefits from 16gb.
Good Ram modules nowadays are 1600mhz ddr3 - CL 9-9-9-24.

AMD: Good price way lower performance then Intel
Intel: Pricey, always huge steps beyond AMD.

Like i said, if your tight on budget a i5 would suffice (haswell lga 1150).
Why is everyone talking about the PSU? thats because low quality PSU can fry your other PC components if your luck is out, also lower brands cant give the same effciency conversion of power. (in short 600 watt on sticker might be 400watt).

On the other hand remember, you CAN buy the GPU plug it into your PC and it will run! you can save for a nice PC while using it.


One other notice, i have noticed Cases from 5 years ago were somewhat smaller and the GPU's these days have became huge, you might want to be worried about airflow?. You should be fine but just saying, i left my panels off the PC to make sure it stays in nice temp range.
 
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Gizuko

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Jul 8, 2013
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Yeah, that was what I was thinking about, summer is right here, and I might need a bit of cash here and there, so I would prefer not to run on a tight budget, in neither the computer nor the holidays. The SLI will come in years time, unless the new games really start leaving the gtx760 behind.

Also, I wanted to get a good PSU and case, since they might last even when I upgrade the rest of my components (unless things start to grow out of control, and stop fitting in), but I didn't know if it could wait until I got the second set of components. I will take a look at those i5, specially since I read the haswell models where OC-able now? Due to an AsRock MOBO (H87, I believe). If I where to find a nice offer I would buy them. I think I would have to take a look at prices, but maybe I could get an i7, it's all about the prices, but I have a somewhat fair margin.

As for the PSU, I was thinking one of those super flower with 5 year warranty could be good. 5 year warranty is no joke, since I want to build the pc to last. I don't know how old the nzxt phantom is, but would you recommend me anyother cases over it? Or maybe a brand would be fine as well, since I'm noticing prices here (I'm from Spain) differ a lot with the ones in the UK, USA, etc Some thigns are cheaper, but I'm having some trouble with case, sonce most appear to be pricier than they should.
 
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