Will this upgrade improve my performance?

lightningwong1997 · Jan 30, 2014

PC Specs

Updrade this

-Intel Core i5 3570 non-k
-Kingston 4GB DDR3 RAM
-Gigabyte H77M-D3H
-Corsair TX650M
-WD Blue 1TB
-Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 ghz Edition

TO~

-Intel Core i5 3570 non-k
-Kingston 4GB DDR3 RAM X2
-Gigabyte H77M-D3H
-Corsaire TX650M
-WD Blue 1TB X2
-Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 ghz Edition in Crossfire

I want my rig to be able to play the current and upcoming game smoothly . etc: The Witcher 3 & Watch Dogs.Will the upgrade improve the performance?

aevm · Jan 30, 2014

Does your power supply support this upgrade? What model is it? You need something rated 600W with 4 6-pin PCI-E connectors.

aevm · Jan 30, 2014

Wait, no. Your MB is not good for Crossfire. It has a PCI Express 3.0 x16 and a PCI Express 2.0 x16 running at @x4. The second HD 7870 would not contribute much when placed in that slot.

lightningwong1997 · Jan 30, 2014

Hi , i think the model is this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139031

Will this get the job done?

aevm · Jan 30, 2014

The extra RAM will help. Maybe not in all games, but it's a cheap upgrade and usually very effective.

The extra HDD won't make any difference in gaming.

The GPU - you need to replace the HD 7870 with a better card. An R9 280x or GTX 770 would improve things, but not by that much. Not enough to justify $400 IMO.

I'd just keep the HD 7870, and replace it with a $400 card a year from now. I expect $400 to buy a lot more graphics power in Jan 2015 than now.

aevm · Jan 30, 2014

The PSU doesn't have 4 connectors either - only 2. This can be fixed with some cheap adapters, but it's not recommended. Anyway, forget Crossfire, it wouldn't work well for your MB. Sorry...

lightningwong1997 · Jan 30, 2014

Thanks for the reply.Guess i just stick to a single GPU and only upgrade the memory.Thanks again

lightningwong1997 · Jan 30, 2014

aevm :

sorry,another question if you don't mind
You said that the second card won't contribute much in performance,will there still be some difference between single card and crossfire?

aevm · Jan 30, 2014

Yes, you would get better framerates with two cards than with one. Just not as many as other people get who have x8/x8 slots. It depends on game/settings/resolution. As a rough guess, you might get 50% more fps when other people get 80% more fps.

If you want to try it, you need a solution for the PCI-E connectors. The easiest is to get a card that comes with adapters, e.g. this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202025

It's exactly what you have, isn't it

It comes with two cables that have 4-pins at the PSU end, and a 6-pin PCI-E connector at the GPU end.

Of course, keep an eye on GPU temperatures for a few days after the upgrade.

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Will this upgrade improve my performance?

lightningwong1997

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lightningwong1997

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lightningwong1997

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lightningwong1997

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