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Help with upgrading AMD build.

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  • Build
  • GPUs
  • Graphics Cards
  • AMD
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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November 18, 2013 9:34:09 AM

I had built my first PC last Christmas and while I love it, I wanna get a more powerful GPU this Christmas.

Current build:
NZXT Phantom case
ASRock 970 Extreme3 mobo
AMD Phenom II X4 956 BE (with stock heatsink) CPU
Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition/OC Edition GPU
2x4GB G.SKILL Ares Series RAM
Not sure exactly which model, but 1 Seagate 1TB internal HDD
Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 620W PSU
21.5 inch 1600x900 Acer LED monitor + old NEC 1280x1024 monitor, so I won't be running any crazy resolutions.

Let's say I have a budget around $600-$700, would it even be worth getting something like an R9 290X?

I would like to stay with Team Red, what would be the absolute best thing to do if I were to upgrade my GPU? Crossfire something with my 7770, swap it out for something better, etc? Other concerns are my PSU, I'm not exactly sure where I stand there since multiple PSU calcs gave me anywhere from 400W to 800W.

I'm open to any suggestions and TIA!

More about : upgrading amd build

a b U Graphics card
a b À AMD
November 18, 2013 9:59:46 AM

You will want to upgrade your CPU otherwise you will be holding back your new GPU quite a bit. Look at what processors your motherboard will support, if it will take the 8350 that is going to be your best bet. Grab an aftermarket cooler and give it a little bit of an overclock. With the resolution your using you don't need a very powerful graphics card. I recommend getting the 8350, a new monitor, and a 7970/280x or maybe a 7950.
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a b U Graphics card
November 18, 2013 10:06:56 AM

burdenbound said:
You will want to upgrade your CPU otherwise you will be holding back your new GPU quite a bit.


The 970 extreme is an AM3+ board, but what you said about the 965 is not correct. The 965BE is almost as fast a gaming CPU as the 8350. Pretty much anything the 8350 can handle the 965 can as well.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-o...

I agree with getting an aftermarket cooler and overclocking your 965, that's what the BE's are for anyway, and they are great overclockers; much more value for your money than an entirely new processor.

At your resolution, you don't need much more video card. A 7870 will max pretty much everything @1600x900, a 7850 will come damn close.

So basically, you can spend $250 on a cooler and video card, overclock your CPU and max everything @1600x900 or, as burden suggested, get a 1920x1080 monitor, heftier video card, cooler and overclock.
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a b U Graphics card
a b À AMD
November 18, 2013 11:20:56 AM

quilciri said:
burdenbound said:
You will want to upgrade your CPU otherwise you will be holding back your new GPU quite a bit.


The 970 extreme is an AM3+ board, but what you said about the 965 is not correct. The 965BE is almost as fast a gaming CPU as the 8350. Pretty much anything the 8350 can handle the 965 can as well.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-o...

I agree with getting an aftermarket cooler and overclocking your 965, that's what the BE's are for anyway, and they are great overclockers; much more value for your money than an entirely new processor.

At your resolution, you don't need much more video card. A 7870 will max pretty much everything @1600x900, a 7850 will come damn close.

So basically, you can spend $250 on a cooler and video card, overclock your CPU and max everything @1600x900 or, as burden suggested, get a 1920x1080 monitor, heftier video card, cooler and overclock.


I used to own a 965 and I currently have the 3570k, you will absolutely see a difference between those two and you should see a similar difference with the 8350. Depending on the game you play of course. Here is a quick example for farcry 3 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/far-cry-3-performan... the 955 is only slightly behind the 965 so you can use that CPU as a reference, you can see the fps difference from the 8350. Some games you may not see that big of a difference but as newer games come out the difference will become larger and more noticeable.

This is coming from first hand experience, so even though Toms lumped the two cards into the same tier does not make them equal by a long shot.
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a b U Graphics card
November 18, 2013 12:52:09 PM

The 3570k is a considerably faster gaming CPU than a 965. The 8350, however is not.

Far Cry 3, and Crysis 3 can use more than 4 threads. While more game in the future will use >4 threads, the fact is, those are the only two games in existence right now that can use that many. In addition, far cry 3 is a CPU-intensive game. There is much less of a difference in other games...and a much bigger gap between the 8350 and the 3570k in those games.

In any game that uses 4 or fewer cores (99.999% of games), there is little difference between the 965 and the 8350.
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November 18, 2013 12:55:52 PM

I suggest a better CPU heatsink so you can OC.

290X is WAY overkill for those resolutions. I suggest something like a 7970 or 280X
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a b U Graphics card
a b À AMD
November 18, 2013 1:04:43 PM

quilciri said:
The 3570k is a considerably faster gaming CPU than a 965. The 8350, however is not.

Far Cry 3, and Crysis 3 can use more than 4 threads. While more game in the future will use >4 threads, the fact is, those are the only two games in existence right now that can use that many. In addition, far cry 3 is a CPU-intensive game. There is much less of a difference in other games...and a much bigger gap between the 8350 and the 3570k in those games.

In any game that uses 4 or fewer cores (99.999% of games), there is little difference between the 965 and the 8350.


Even if that is the case, the 8350 is still faster in games that only utilize four cores, maybe not as big of a gap but it is present, and if we both know games will take advantage of the 8 cores in the future why wouldn't you recommend the upgrade? It just doesn't make sense to tell this person the 965 is equal to the 8350 when it's clearly not, it's a smart upgrade for the future and that is what matters.
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a b U Graphics card
November 18, 2013 1:06:42 PM

Point is, a cooler and overclock is much better value for his money than a new CPU, ntm he can re-use the cooler.
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a b U Graphics card
November 18, 2013 1:09:07 PM

burdenbound said:


Even if that is the case, the 8350 is still faster in games that only utilize four cores, maybe not as big of a gap but it is present, and if we both know games will take advantage of the 8 cores in the future why wouldn't you recommend the upgrade? It just doesn't make sense to tell this person the 965 is equal to the 8350 when it's clearly not, it's a smart upgrade for the future and that is what matters.


scroll back up and read....I said the difference is ~10%, and that if a card isn't bottlenecked by an 8350, it's highly unlikely to be bottlenecked by a 965. This remains true.

By the time the 8350's eight cores have significant relevance in games, there are going to be newer platforms that can better deal with them than either chip anyway. Blowing money on it now is nothing more than a guess.
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a b U Graphics card
November 18, 2013 1:18:59 PM

Unless that $600 is just burning a hole in your pocket, your best value is still a CPU cooler and overclock, and something around a 7870.
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a b U Graphics card
November 18, 2013 1:22:50 PM

If you buy a cooler and overclock your 965 and aren't satisfied with it, you can always go with burden's suggestion later and re-use the cooler on an fx chip. You've nothing to lose by trying the overclock first, and you may save a lot of money by doing so.
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November 18, 2013 5:15:16 PM

Wow, wasn't expecting that many replies! Thanks for all the info guys I seriously appreciate it. I'm extremely happy with my 965 as is so definitely going to get a better cooler and OC, I wasn't expecting the performance I've gotten out of it by a long shot so going with an OC with a new GPU sounds good. Besides for that I'm now looking into a 1080P monitor and Sapphire's Toxic 280X.

I probably should've mentioned earlier but I also work with Photoshop on nearly a daily basis and recently started doing some 3D work and I am wishing to go further with that so the GPU upgrade isn't exclusively for gaming.
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a c 100 U Graphics card
a b À AMD
November 18, 2013 6:14:03 PM

If you use openCL then stick with Tahiti. Hawaii is gimped like NVidia on computer performance
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