Is it time to upgrade?

Jimmib · Apr 17, 2014

i have an i7 930 and 2 GTS 450's in sli nothing flash is it worth spending big $$$$ aon a new build or can a decent cooler and OC(still using stock cooler and speeds) and a new graphics card enough to bring my system into the new age of gaming? (admitedly i mainly play wow and D3 but would like to get BF4 running with decent FPS (sorry if this is the wrong spot)

coolcole01 · Apr 17, 2014

That cpu is not horrible i would invest in a decent gpu like 770 or 280x and you will get a huge increase if your noy happy then its time to upgrade the cpu but i think you will be fine.

Danoded · Apr 17, 2014

Yes your CPU won't perform well in today's modern games becuase it's not good enough anymore and even the FX 6300 is better than it by quite a bit.
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-930-vs-AMD-FX-6300
With your GPU, a 560 ti is much faster than the SLI setup you've got there so i suggest getting a i5 4670 (k if you want to overclock) and a suitable GPU such as the Sapphire HD 7770 GHz Edition if you just want to game with a normal FPS. If you want more you can get the GTX 7xx series or the R9 2xx series.

maurelie · Apr 17, 2014

Jimmib :

Hi,
The i7 930 is still good CPU, also if you have motherboard that supports overclocking, the i7 930 will handle even GTX 780 or R9 290

Danoded · Apr 17, 2014

coolcole01 :

The FX 6300 is a better CPU.

Jimmib · Apr 17, 2014

I should have added i am using a Gigabyte X58A-UD3R mobo and am aware that the graphic need updating ... thanks for the suggestions there it confirms my thoughts about that

but can this CPU manage what i'm asking or is it out with the old and in with the new. i have been looking at a new system but if i can hang on a bit longer with this i might be able to justify getting something top of the line like i did with this when i made it (originally i had a 7790 in it but the card just melted itself so i took these 450's instead not knowing better)

Danoded · Apr 17, 2014

For the graphics card, a 7850 or a R9 270 would likely do the job, assuming you're running at 1080p and medium settings.

coolcole01 · Apr 17, 2014

Yep that card while its not gonna get the fps say a 4570 would will still get decent fps with just about any gpu.

jcol87 · Apr 17, 2014

how much money could you spend? Obviously, if you only can spend $200 or so, get a better GPU, if you can spend more, you can get a decent system with $600 because i'm sure you have storage and disc drives and ram even

what ram are you using? you could get a new mobo, CPU, and GPU for $100, $200, $200; respectively, or even $50, $200, $250

RobCrezz · Apr 17, 2014

Danoded :

There is no way in hell I would change from an i7 930 to a FX6300! Barely any quicker, and with both overclocked there would still be hardly anything in it.

In my opinion I would get a new GPU and overclock the CPU with a good cooler, this should get you some more time out of it before upgrading the CPU/MOBO

Danoded · Apr 17, 2014

RobCrezz :

Bro, all the facts are here http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-930-vs-AMD-FX-6300, and all I was saying that his i7 is just too ancient to play mordern games with. It was just a comparison I never even suggested that he should switch to AMD, just showing that his CPU isn't as good as entry level FX CPUs.

RobCrezz · Apr 17, 2014

Danoded :

the i7 920 is not too ancient to play modern games on, thats BS. In gaming the 920 still performs well, especially with an overclock. CPUboss is pretty crap most of the time, its not even showing game benchmarks.

Look at this, they are pretty close, with the 920 even doing better in some, plus the 920 overclocks like a champ.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/699?vs=47

The main reason his current setup cant run games well is more down to the GTS 450 gpus, which are dump.

maurelie · Apr 17, 2014

RobCrezz :

Danoded :

the i7 920 is not too ancient to play modern games on, thats BS. In gaming the 920 still performs well, especially with an overclock. CPUboss is pretty crap most of the time, its not even showing game benchmarks.

Look at this, they are pretty close, with the 920 even doing better in some, plus the 920 overclocks like a champ.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/699?vs=47

The main reason his current setup cant run games well is more down to the GTS 450 gpus, which are dump.

+1
I can't stress enough to our members and guests not to use GPU or CPUBosses benchmarks, they are terrible and show nothing

Danoded · Apr 17, 2014

RobCrezz :

Danoded :

the i7 920 is not too ancient to play modern games on, thats BS. In gaming the 920 still performs well, especially with an overclock. CPUboss is pretty crap most of the time, its not even showing game benchmarks.

Look at this, they are pretty close, with the 920 even doing better in some, plus the 920 overclocks like a champ.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/699?vs=47

The main reason his current setup cant run games well is more down to the GTS 450 gpus, which are dump.

I agree about the graphics cards they obviously need to go, but back to the CPU. The 6300 seems to do better on AVERAGE compared to the 920, but in terms of gaming, yes the 920 outperforms it, but only by a bit.

RobCrezz · Apr 17, 2014

Danoded :

RobCrezz :

I agree about the graphics cards they obviously need to go, but back to the CPU. The 6300 seems to do better on AVERAGE compared to the 920, but in terms of gaming, yes the 920 outperforms it, but only by a bit.

Yeah stock for stock, the FX6300 is a little better. My point was, that the 920 is still decent for gaming, especially with an overclock - with 8 threads it should still be ok even with more multithreaded games.

People on here sometimes lose sight that most PC gamers are still on old dual cores or Core2Quads or first gen i5/i7s and still play new games fine.

Danoded · Apr 17, 2014

RobCrezz :

Danoded :

Yeah stock for stock, the FX6300 is a little better. My point was, that the 920 is still decent for gaming, especially with an overclock - with 8 threads it should still be ok even with more multithreaded games.

People on here sometimes lose sight that most PC gamers are still on old dual cores or Core2Quads or first gen i5/i7s and still play new games fine.

Yes it can play modern games decent and can actually play BF4 with extremely good frames infact http://www.techspot.com/review/734-battlefield-4-benchmarks/page6.htmlhttp://www.techspot.com/review/734-battlefield-4-benchmarks/page6.html, it's just making sure that his system is sureproof for the future.

coolcole01 · Apr 17, 2014

Best rule of thumb is get either or every 2 years so it goes in a four year cycle. But any way get a good gpu im talking gtx 770 or higher you will be happy then in two years get a new cpu.

jcol87 · Apr 17, 2014

everyone is forgetting the point of the thread, he wants to know if he can do a low-cost upgrade (like a new GPU) or if its worth it to spend "big money" for a full upgrade (which i'm guessing is like $1000), he hasn't replied in a while so who knows

if its really a cost issue, get a modern GPU and a better cooler to over clock CPU, that's like $300 right there, and if ur really pressed for money thats all you can do, when you have the money, this system will still be able to perform ordinary computing tasks and could act as a server or HTPC

gamerk316 · Apr 17, 2014

There isn't any real point to upgrading the CPU:

http://translate.google.com/translate?act=url&depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://pclab.pl/art50000-11.html

On average, the i7-930 beats the FX-8350 in games by 2%. Granted, that's a good deal less then even SB and IB based CPU's, but it certainly is good enough. The real issue are the old GPU's, which you should upgrade. That's what's really holding you back.

CharlesLam · Apr 17, 2014

im rocking a xeon x3460 (binned i7 860), and i can still play newer games.

logainofhades · Apr 17, 2014

We have one person using CPU boss for their argument and another using a known polish intel shill for another. :lol:

OP, your chip is still just fine. A good cooler, with an overclock, and a better GPU are all you need for now.

RobCrezz · Apr 17, 2014

I used anandtech, that's fine surely

logainofhades · Apr 17, 2014

RobCrezz :

A far more credible site than CPU boss or that polish site. :lol:

Jimmib · Apr 17, 2014

thanks guys someone hit the nail on the head with the less $$$ approach as im planing on building a new system but don't have the money now to do it so is something like a 270x going to keep me running until i can finally build the new tower (i'm hoping with in the next 24 months to build a new one) so basically anything i spend now is going to either get swapped over to the new system or eat into the system funds and being in Australia its hard to be on with you all to reply

so cheers for all the help

update: also someone asked about ram I've been naughty and mix matched my ram i added a while ago a 12gb corsair vengeance kit to my 6gb Kingston kit but it hasn't caused any issues as it has been in like that for quite some time (i'm concerned OCing may require the removal of the 6bg kit but another issue for another time) and what do i want for cooling will a closed loop water cooler say the kuhler 650 be ok or will something like a 212+ or noctua air cooler be enough seeing as i have about 80C with the stock cooler and 2.93Ghz intel boost (i live in rural area so ambient in summer is ~28c+ as we only have evap cooling and rent so cant change that

winter is more lik ~15c to ~22c)

RobCrezz · Apr 19, 2014

Yeah a 270x or Gtx 760 would be a good gpu for your spec.

As you live in a hot place I would look at the following coolers:
Noctua D14 or D15
Phanteks TC-14pe
Corsair H105
Nzxt X60

The 120mm aios are ok, but unless you go 240mm or higher then air coolers are just as good.

Is it time to upgrade?

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