Help picking parts to improve my gaming rig.

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tensai27

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Sep 22, 2013
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I'm trying to get the most performance as possible without having to spend that much. I use my desktop for gaming only(I own several computers). I'm only looking to play games at 60fps at 1920x1080 which is the max res of my screen(40 inch vizio hdtv). I feel like one or 2 of my components are holding me back from getting the most out of my system. Here is what I have:
FX 6300 -4.2ghz w/hyper 212 evo
MSI R9-280x -1120mhz core, memory untouched
8gb team 1333mhz ddr3 memory (8gbx2)
ASUS M5A97 R2.0
Toshiba 500gb 7200rpm hdd
SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W PSU
Cooler Master K280 (dual usb 3.0)
I know the r9 280x isn't at fault. CPU isn't the best but it is overclocked and would prefer not to replace it.
Should I upgrade to a better case?(One with more cooling options) Should I upgrade my ram to 1866mhz? Open to any suggestions. Thank you for your time.
 
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Supahos

Supahos

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Nov 11, 2013
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This is a first for me I actually will say that you should upgrade your memory to 1866 with a good CL, is there any headroom left to OC the processor a bit more, if its the weakest link, every mhz you can get out of it will help. Your system should be fine, The weaklink is certainly either memory, or Processor, and it'll cost less to upgrade the memory :p though that typhoon did jack up the price of memory (hopefully) temporarily
 
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burdenbound

burdenbound

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You should see a nice improvement with a better CPU, if your motherboard supports the 8350 that would probably be the cheapest upgrade path.

If not you may want to look into an intel i5/mobo combo. You may see a slight improvement with faster RAM but the CPU would give you much better performance than new RAM.
 
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tensai27

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Sep 22, 2013
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Unfortunately, not much room for additional oc'ing on the CPU. Anything over 4.2ghz required too much volts to get stable. Memory is still the same price here in Taiwan so I might give that a shot. I heard though that the difference was minimal(like 2-4fps) between 1333 and 1866 though.

 
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james77

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Depending on the game that you will be playing, upgrading your RAM may or may not improve your performance. But on most games, you will see an average of 3% performance increase. What I would suggest is that you get an SSD. Getting an SSD will make your computer seem really really fast. Almost anything you click on your desktop will load instantly and your games will load significantly faster.
 
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tensai27

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Sep 22, 2013
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How about the 8320? I could overclock that up to a 8350. Would my psu be enough? I know I am kind of border-lining it with the r9 280x.

 
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tensai27

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Sep 22, 2013
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I noticed you have the NZXT phantom 410, I was looking at it the other day. Would you recommend that case?
 
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NormH

NormH

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it will load faster but once running the ssd has no effect. best bet is to upgrade the ram or cpu. whichever you choose you should replace the other as soon as your budget allows. thats where you will see the best increase.
 
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tensai27

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Sep 22, 2013
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Nice, thanks for the site but I don't think they send stuff here(Taipei). I will definitely go check out the ram over here though and see how much it will cost me. If I do get 8gb, should I scrap the 8gb 1333mhz I have or keep it in there for 16gb?
 
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NormH

NormH

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you want to match ram speed or you will only run as fast as the slowest one. get a 8gb kit (2x4gb) at 1600 or 1866 speed. gskill makes a great inexpensive kit. (ripjaws series) or (aries series) cas latency of 9 or less would be great.
 
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tensai27

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Sep 22, 2013
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How about team or kingston? They are kinda big here in Taiwan ;)

 
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NormH

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Both would do the job
 
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Supahos

Supahos

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Yeah you are pretty close to the edge on the PSU, I would think the difference wouldn't be enough to tip you over the edge but it would be pretty close to that. Kind of up to you on that. I think going from 1333 @ cl9 to 1866 @cl9 would provide a bit more than 3% (maybe 5% in some cases) most of those 1333vs1600vs1866 tests I have seen ran the 1333 under cl9 (standard)
 
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james77

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Yes, I would recommend the case because of it's looks. I haven't really tried putting overclocked parts in my case except for the Video Card. Still, it remains quiet and cold.
 
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tensai27

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Sep 22, 2013
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Yeah, the tests I have seen showed the same. So anything I can do to improve performance? To be honest it's just the fps drops that bother me. I have no problem hitting 60fps on most games at ultra with the r9 280x but when it dips to 45 it's just irritating.
 
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burdenbound

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It's the processor.
 
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tensai27

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It sparked some interest because of a recent price drop over here. Seemed real spacious and had lots more cooling options. What kind of temps do you get with your oc'd gpu?
 
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tensai27

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Sep 22, 2013
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Figured as much but was hoping not. I guess I could suck it up and get the 8320 and oc that. But my psu is a concern. I don't really want to get another PSU because I just bought this one 2 months ago and Power supplies are really over priced here for some reason. I have my NB set to 2200mhz and I think I might be able to get that higher. Maybe try oc'ing that to 2400-2600mhz?

 
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tensai27

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Sep 22, 2013
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So pretty much to sum it up, CPU and ram right? What if I tried overclocking the NB and HT more on my CPU and upgraded to faster ram? Would that even out my fps? That is preferable since my psu is border-lining it and it's cheaper obviously.
 
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