FOR GAMING...GTX 760 SC + FX-4100 vs. Radeon HD 7870 + FX-4100

geetaradam

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I can't make up my mind which of these combinations to go for with my new build. I already have the fx-4100 cpu, so if I stick with that I can spend more on the gpu, but will that cpu bottleneck a gtx 760?
 
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No worries. This is a good decision as long as you know that you will be bottlenecked by your fx 4100 since the gpu you are getting r9 280x is a high end gpu while the fx 4100 wont show this gpu's capabilities. I mean for bf4 check this out http://www.bf4blog.com/battlefield-4-retail-gpu-cpu-benchmarks/ the difference between your cpu and hd 7970 GE (equivalent to r9 280x) is 10 fps, note that when playing online, the game will become more cpu intensive and bottleneck might be larger. I am not holding you back from buying your gpu but im informing you that your cpu will probably bottleneck it so hurry with buying a new one to allow the r9 280x to show what it is capable of but the fx 4100 will do you fine during this year but wont juice...

rubidium

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What is your current gpu? What is your res? What games do you play? If you have a fairly good gpu, then i would recommend upgrading the cpu first as the fx 4100 will be bottlnecking the gtx 760 (which was my answer in the first place) in cpu intensive games you might be playing as bf4. However, if you have an outdated gpu, then get the gtx 760 and would like to inform you that if you are playing at 1080p (at ultra settings ingame), the bottleneck will be probably from the gpu as cpu bottlenecks are noticed at lower res as 1600x900 or 1280x1024, in that case getting a better cpu will most probably have the most increase on performance.
 

geetaradam

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My bad, guys. I didn't type the question correctly. I actually meant GTX 760 + FX-4100 vs Radeon 7870 + FX-6300. That being said, I think I've just about decided to spend $300 on a Radeon R9 280X and keep my FX-4100 for the time being. I can probably afford to get a new CPU within a year, and I think the R9 280X will serve me for a good deal longer than the 760, and certainly the 7870, considering that card can't even max out a lot of the current games. I'll be playing games like BF4, Far Cry 3, GTA5, etc. at a resolution of 1900x1080.
 

rubidium

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No worries. This is a good decision as long as you know that you will be bottlenecked by your fx 4100 since the gpu you are getting r9 280x is a high end gpu while the fx 4100 wont show this gpu's capabilities. I mean for bf4 check this out http://www.bf4blog.com/battlefield-4-retail-gpu-cpu-benchmarks/ the difference between your cpu and hd 7970 GE (equivalent to r9 280x) is 10 fps, note that when playing online, the game will become more cpu intensive and bottleneck might be larger. I am not holding you back from buying your gpu but im informing you that your cpu will probably bottleneck it so hurry with buying a new one to allow the r9 280x to show what it is capable of but the fx 4100 will do you fine during this year but wont juice maximum performance out of the rig. Far cry 3 is not that cpu intensive as bf4 online so dont expect a huge cpu bottleneck at that resolution.
 
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geetaradam

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Thanks for your advice, man. That's a very helpful link. Yeah, I know that cpu is way behind the gpu, but coming from a Radeon HD 6670, I'll still certainly see huge improvements even before I upgrade the cpu. I'm buying a Cooler Master 212 EVO so I can at least over-clock the cpu a bit until I can get a new one.
 

geetaradam

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I originally planned on getting an Intel processor, but I just bought an ASUS M5A97 R2.0 mobo about a week ago, so I'm committed to AMD for the time being. As I got to shopping around for new pc parts, I kept realizing that I needed to upgrade every aspect of my system, and not just the mobo, cpu, and gpu. In order to power all that, I'll need to upgrade from the 350w relic that I'm now using, and I'll need a new case where all the fans work (my chassis fan is kaput), and Windows 8.1, since I'm currently running Vista 32-bit, aaaaand a 120 gb SSD, where I'll just use my current hard drive for storage. About the only think that I can still use is the ram. I have 8gb of Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz ram. 16gb would be ideal, but that's another upgrade that shouldn't have to wait too long. All that stuff kept adding up and, thus, chopping away at the rest of the budget for main components. So, with around $600 to work with, I've opted to go with AMD, and to just spend $35 on a good cooler for my cpu so I can over-clock instead of buying a new one. Still, I know the fx-4100 will be the weakest link in the system, so I plan to get a 6300 or 6350 within the year, unless the new upcoming AMD architecture provides a better option.
 

rubidium

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I think your ram is very very sufficient for gaming, make sure that it is the last thing to buy. About the cpu, i dont completely agree with you. Great idea to OC the 4100 to get the most out of it for the next period of time but about the new cpu, i think you should save a bit more and get fx 8350 or even 8320 and oc it to 8350 levels but i dont think that the 6300 is suitable for a gpu like the r9 280x. That being said its all up to you, if you are in a hurry to get the new cpu so as soon as you afford the 140 hop on the 6300 but i dont want you to regret a buy for just not waiting for couple of weeks or even months to get the best buy. This all arguement in case the new architecture of amd wasnt impressive enough to make you grab a cpu from it. When you have the money you can even create a new thread asking if its suitable to buy it immediately or wait and save for the other cpu, games might change by that time. Finally, have fun with your gpu buy :)
 

geetaradam

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Thanks. That is good advice. Considering I'm already gonna be waiting at least several months, I don't mind waiting a bit longer to get something that will be a bit more future-proof.
 

You're talking about balance but recommending an Intel CPU? With his budget, he can barely afford a newer AMD CPU, nevermind an overpriced Intel. The ironing is delicious indeed.

To the OP: Get the faster card. The FX-6300 is only $120 and you'll be able to save up for that quickly. The FX-4100 will bottleneck your GPU somewhat but you can overclock that to minimise the bottleneck. It's always better to go GPU-heavy when gaming. If you take a weaker GPU, the cost of upgrading it will be far more than the cost of upgrading the CPU.

There's another thing to consider. You're not comparing apples-to-apples regarding the price of the cards. The EVGA GTX 760 SC costs $260 (no rebate) and the HD 7870 costs $180 ($150 after rebate) which is an $80 difference ($110 if you include the rebate). The R9-280X costs $300 and that is a fact. However, there is a loophole. The R9-280X is a rebranded HD 7970, we know this to be true. It's considered a good value for $300 because the HD 7970 was $500 when released. But things aren't always what they seem because you can get an HD 7970 for $280 (-$30 rebate) which will be much faster than any GTX 760 (OC, SC or otherwise) and you might just be able to find a way to fit that FX-6300 into your budget that way. After all, $50 is almost half the cost of the FX-6300.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131468
To make things even better, you get three free games with it. I bought two HD 7970s so I got six games. I would recommend Tomb Raider 2013, Saints Row IV and Far Cry 3. If one of those isn't available anymore, Hitman: Absolution would be good substitute. This would be your best bet. I hope it helps you.
 

rubidium

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I agree with avro that the hd 7970 will have free games that are awesome and increase its value, frankly i forgot about this point. However, i dont agree with him about that the r9 280x is a rebranded hd 7970, its a rebranded hd 7970 Ghz edition, which differs from the normal hd 7970 in terms of performance and price. The MSI gaming r9 280x is for 310$ http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_280X_Gaming/ while its better than the hd 7970 by 11% and better than the hd 7970 ghz by 3%, i mean that the r9 280x performs on par with the 7970 ghz not the normal one. Its really difficult to find a hd 7970 ghz edition even near the 300$ price range http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=hd+7970+ghz+edition&N=-1&isNodeId=1 . If you are interested in the games, then a hd 7970 would be nice but if you want more performance for what you are paying for and think about games later, then stay with the r9 280x. If you need an r9 280x with sharp 300$ you might consider this sapphire http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202046 or gigabyte http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125475 (sapphire is better for AMD), hope this helped.
 

geetaradam

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I agree that you guys make some good points. From what I've read, the R9 280X is much closer to the 7970 GE, as one person said. However, will the 7970 be compatible with Mantle? I'm not sure.
 

geetaradam

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Just an update, guys. The recent douchebaggery with bitcoin and AMD cards has made the GPU decision an easy one. I almost got a gtx 770, but decided that would be overkill until I upgraded my cpu. I'm gonna get an MSI 760 tomorrow. With the new Cooler Master 212 evo, I've got my CPU running stable at 4.5 ghz @ 1.4v. I've noticed significant improvements in a lot of tasks like loading times and such, so hopefully, it won't bottleneck the card too much and I can actually reap the benefits of the new GPU.