Noob with computers trying to upgrade

TishMcGrish · Jan 22, 2014

Current PC Specs:
Mobo: ASrock 970 Extreme3 r2.0
GPU: GTX 660 ti
CPU: AMD FX-8350 @ 4.0ghz (Stock)
Ram: 8gb DDR3 1600
PSU: 500W
OS: Windows 8.1
1 TB HDD

Hello,

I was looking to upgrade my PC as i currently have the money and i am in a dilemma. Many people were saying that my CPU, FX-8350, at stock will bottleneck the card that i want to get. That being the GTX 780 ti. So i looked around and found the "AMD Version" of the 780 ti and came across the R9 290x. I will only be gaming and that being said i want my games to look as good as it possible can. Meaning i really want Ultra setting at 60fps. The games i will playing are BF4, WoW, Farcry 3, DayZ SA, Skyrim, and Assassins Creed. These are all pretty demanding games to my knowledge so i thought upgrading would be the best. In short i want to know which of those 2 cards would be the best for my system with the least amount of bottlenecking. I should also include that with the purchase of either of these cards i will also be purchasing a new PSU. Ill link all of the products i am going to purchase down below. Also please be descriptive if you can. Thanks for all of the help i really appreciate it!

R9 290x:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125499

GTX 780 TI:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125489

New PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

Once again thanks for all of the help

HiTechObsessed · Jan 22, 2014

I don't know who you heard that from, but the 8350 will definitely not bottleneck the 780 Ti or the 290x.

The PSU is a little overkill, unless you plan on going SLI in the future.

My GTX 760 HAWK, which performs just a hair under the 770, is able to get 45-50 fps constant in DayZ with everything on Very High at 1080p, and either the 780 Ti or 290x will get you what you're looking for easily.

My vote is 780 Ti, do with that what you will! lol

TishMcGrish · Jan 22, 2014

Usually there are a lot of biased opinions when it comes to the big question of "AMD or Intel"? To the point where i don't really know what to do. I saw some videos of some guy on youtube running a GTX 780 ti with a FX 8350 and he was getting about 45-50 frames on BF4. Thats about what i get with AA off. Im in just such a bad spot i dont know what to do.

TishMcGrish · Jan 22, 2014

Many people are also saying it could be a bad combo if i dont have much ram. Should i consider buying another 8gb stick while im at it?

HiTechObsessed · Jan 22, 2014

The 8320 may get slightly less FPS than the i5 or i7, but not noticeably less.

And more RAM is always good, if you're thinking about 16, get a set of 2x8gb, will be better for your motherboard.

TishMcGrish · Jan 22, 2014

Sounds great. I already have 1 stick of 8gb ram and was already looking up another to put in. By the way i Have an FX 8350 not 8320. I dont know if that is much of a difference but i just want you to know in case you researched or was mistaken. Thanks for the help. Would you say if i got a r9 290x with FX 8350 at stock (4.0 ghz) would be around the same as a i7 3770 with GTX 770?

HiTechObsessed · Jan 22, 2014

The 290x performs closer to the 780, so it will be better than the 3770 plus 770. It will give you great results.

And sorry about the mixup, the 8320 is just an underclocked version of the 8350!

TishMcGrish · Jan 22, 2014

Ok thanks. So i will listen to what you say. Any other things that i should know?

HiTechObsessed · Jan 22, 2014

One would be to definitely get a 290x with a good/great cooler, they can get hot! Other than that I think you're good. Will be a heck of an upgrade from a 660 Ti

TishMcGrish · Jan 22, 2014

Thanks. Sorry to ask one more thing of you... Could you link a good cooler from newegg? I have no idea how to find that stuff or what to do with it

TishMcGrish · Jan 22, 2014

By the way i might only do minor overclocking on my gpu, none on my CPU for now. Until i get my new mobo that is

HiTechObsessed · Jan 22, 2014

Sure. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103182

Would be a good one

You could stay with the stock cooler if you wanted, but I like to keep my CPU as cool as possible. I would recommend the Hyper 212 EVO, but Newegg shows out of stock lol

TishMcGrish · Jan 22, 2014

SO if i werent to buy a cooler what would happen? Would it be like the boogeyman of Graphics Cards coming to get me if i didnt purchase one?

TishMcGrish · Jan 22, 2014

Thats a CPU cooler. I have a fan for that already. I was wondering if i would need one for the GPU

HiTechObsessed · Jan 22, 2014

My bad, read that wrong! The 290x will come with a cooler as well, just make sure to get an aftermarket cooler. Not sure about your case, but both of these are great versions of the 290x:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127773

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202079

TishMcGrish · Jan 22, 2014

If i purchased one of those i would also have to buy another cooler? Or could i just use the one it comes with

HiTechObsessed · Jan 22, 2014

Oh no, the one that comes with it is already attached to the GPU. The Gaming and Toxic are both very good at keeping it cool. No worries there

TishMcGrish · Jan 22, 2014

Wonderful! Thanks for the help. Ill be ordering it soon.

HiTechObsessed · Jan 22, 2014

No problem man, good luck! You'll enjoy it!

TishMcGrish · Jan 22, 2014

I should probably stop researching R9 290x VS. GTX 780 ti. A lot of sources are saying that the 780 ti knocks the 290x out of the water. I just want to know what would be the best for my system right now. What do you think? I know above you said 780 ti but why? If i do get it will it beat out the r9 290x for sure?

HiTechObsessed · Jan 22, 2014

The Ti model will handily beat the 290x and 780. The question is will the price increase between the 2 be worth it to you? I can't answer that for you, sadly lol The 290x is a beast of a card, don't be disappointed seeing it against the 780 Ti! If the extra money is not a big deal, might as well go for it lol The 780 Ti will be able to max out games for a longer amount of time. But if you're at 1080p it won't really do much of a difference from the 290x.

TishMcGrish · Jan 22, 2014

Im on 1080p. Tons of people were saying that if i want to get good frames i HAVE to switch to intel. I like AMD and really want to stay, i just want better frames and better quality. Im gonna go for the 780 ti. Thanks for the help

TishMcGrish · Jan 22, 2014

And hopefully upgrade in the future. Btw do i also need to buy another stick of ram? Is it a necessity at this point? What would be an improvement if i do?

HiTechObsessed · Jan 22, 2014

Are you talking CPU now, or GPU? If you're thinking about frame pacing issues, those are really only present when doing CrossFire.

About the RAM, if you only have a single stick of RAM, I would highly recommend getting a second. Your motherboard is dual channel, meaning you are only utilizing half of the bandwidth available, this would give you more speed!

TishMcGrish · Jan 22, 2014

Im talking Switch from AMD to Intel upgrades.

Thanks about the ram. ill pick up another Stick while im at it. I really appreciate your help. Now hopefully i will be happy with my purchase.

Noob with computers trying to upgrade

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