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Upgrading my PC? gpu vs cpu for making games.

Tags:
  • Basic
  • CPUs
  • Games
  • Build
  • Graphics
  • GPUs
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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September 14, 2014 4:38:10 PM

Hi there,
I've got a basic build pc running an AMD A6 5600 with 12gb of memory. But now I'm going into college for game development and was wondering what do I need to upgrade more, CPU or GPU? I really don't want to spend too much. Thanks.

More about : upgrading gpu cpu making games

a b à CPUs
September 14, 2014 4:48:48 PM

I would suggest both. A10-7700K and R7 260X would be a great combo for $300, and that has more power than needed for Medium 720P for BF4.
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September 14, 2014 4:59:39 PM

Interesting! For only 300 that's nice to know.

I'm also interested in knowing what kind of components are of most importance to a 'game developer' rather than a 'gamer'.
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a b à CPUs
September 14, 2014 5:07:12 PM

Its so bad move to buy a good APU and a GPU.

Buy a normal CPU like FX-6300 and a mid-range GPU like GTX750ti 2GB

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($106.01 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($134.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $300.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-14 20:06 EDT-0400
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a b à CPUs
September 14, 2014 5:13:09 PM

For the game dev question, here:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2670 V2 2.5GHz 10-Core Processor ($1504.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L12 37.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 WS SSI CEB LGA2011 Motherboard ($335.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (8 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($325.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: AMD FirePro W9100 16GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($3299.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone FT02B-W-USB3.0 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($256.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 1200W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($301.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $6194.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-14 20:09 EDT-0400

This won't even sit well for Linus's editor, Edzel. (LinusTechTips, a YouTube channel. The editor has a 12-core E5-2697V2!!!!!!!!!!) This is just YouTube. They need some heavy rendering. This is why it's not even extreme yet.
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September 14, 2014 5:13:46 PM

Is it really a bad idea? Cause I'm really trying to avoid building a new computer due household circumstances.
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a b à CPUs
September 14, 2014 5:21:05 PM

okcnaline said:
For the game dev question, here:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2670 V2 2.5GHz 10-Core Processor ($1504.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L12 37.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 WS SSI CEB LGA2011 Motherboard ($335.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (8 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($325.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: AMD FirePro W9100 16GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($3299.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone FT02B-W-USB3.0 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($256.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 1200W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($301.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $6194.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-14 20:09 EDT-0400

This won't even sit well for Linus's editor, Edzel. (LinusTechTips, a YouTube channel. The editor has a 12-core E5-2697V2!!!!!!!!!!) This is just YouTube. They need some heavy rendering. This is why it's not even extreme yet.


Are you drunk ?
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a b à CPUs
September 14, 2014 5:22:21 PM

0kami said:
Is it really a bad idea? Cause I'm really trying to avoid building a new computer due household circumstances.


I offer you a better solution with the same money ( 300$ )

If you dont wanna spend to much money, buy the GTX750ti 2GB and a cheap CPU Cooler like Hyper 212 and Overclock your cpu.

Total cost 150$
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a b à CPUs
September 14, 2014 5:22:23 PM

No, 3DNS. Please bother reading what he posted. And it isn't a bad idea to either go with a APU/GPU or a CPU/GPU. Just depends on his flavor.
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September 14, 2014 5:23:04 PM

Lol ikr?
I think ill leave the heavy lifting to my schools computers
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a b à CPUs
September 14, 2014 5:25:06 PM

Why he must buy a APU when he has GPU ?!
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September 14, 2014 5:25:56 PM

Cool so apu/gpu is still acceptable? although would my amd a6 5700 do any bottle necking? Ones of the things I really want to know is whats more important to a game dev? the cpu or gpu?
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September 14, 2014 5:26:47 PM

because I already have an apu?
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a b à CPUs
September 14, 2014 5:32:08 PM

1) Yes, APU/GPU is fine.
2) Yes, your current APU is going to bottleneck. And should I add badly? Your current GPU is only a HD 6470.
3) Neither is the most important. They are both needed.
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September 14, 2014 6:03:13 PM

Would upgrading my cpu to a cheap A8-7600 do me better?
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a b à CPUs
September 14, 2014 6:04:58 PM

Yes. But then that's not general availability yet. And if you're looking for that route, that's ~$210, since you only need R7 240X on that.
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a b à CPUs
September 14, 2014 7:13:49 PM

Sorry to budge in here, but doesn't your university give you a minimum requirement for what your computer needs to do? If it fits, it sits (as in if you make the cut, save the money).
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a b à CPUs
September 14, 2014 7:21:14 PM

1) Well, you aren't dreaming. http://www.sabrepc.com/amd-ad7600ybi44ja-a8-7600-kaveri...
This is A8-7600. But like I said, that isn't general availability. It's OEM extras that they managed to buy from the OEMs like HP, Dell, etc.
2) Universities may give minimums, but that's minimum. You can get an editing computer (like the one I listed above) and be all crazy and still meet what they require, or get a cheap Pentium 14" Asus laptop for $249 and still meet what they require.
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September 14, 2014 7:41:42 PM

True, my College does have fairly strong pc's but I want to be able to do most of the things I will be doing in school at home. Although at minimum expense. So I was wondering what could I do to my current build (ie, AMB A6-5600 with 12gb memory) to make it more game dev oriented without breaking the bank or building another pc. And first thing that comes to my mind is either up the cpu or get a strong gpu?
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a b à CPUs
September 14, 2014 7:47:25 PM

Right. So if it fits the requirements, then he should be in the green. Anything else is purely a want.
Dont get me wrong, there are valid and solid reasons to upgrade (OP PC is lower end for sure), but unless he needs it than it shouldn't be considered.

Also, I'm really confused to which processor the OP has. He stated two different types and neither of them exist... lol.
Unless he meant the A8 5600 on the OP, and the A10 5700 on the other post, then that work kind of make sense, yet like I said they're both different. Make up your mind OP!
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September 14, 2014 7:54:44 PM

Lol, Yeah I got that wrong, its the A6-5400. And I'm looking to up grade it to the A8-7600 which looks to be available around my place, I'll have to check that up in person.
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September 14, 2014 7:59:42 PM

Other than that I'll be getting a decent gpu and see if I can upgrade my cpu as well.
I'll be looking at either a 750 ti or a R9 270 for a gpu.
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a b à CPUs
September 14, 2014 8:02:53 PM

Here's my opinion: Grab the A8 and a nifty EVGA 750 Ti/R9 270 (roughly the same price-up to your discretion as to which you prefer). And before you ask which gets better FPS in video games, the R9 usually has a notch over the 750 Ti. Benchmarks people, not bias.
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a b à CPUs
September 14, 2014 8:05:04 PM

I would suggest some of this:
http://www.overclock.net/a/state-of-the-workstation
That's the best and cheapest option. A HD7950 (aka R9 280X) can be softmodded into a FirePro. A 650 Ti (1st gen Kepler) can be softmodded also.

This would be a great option, thanks to 3Dns who made me rethink. The entire time I haven't realized you were talking about video game making.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1220 V3 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97M-HD3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 650 1GB Video Card ($66.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $346.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-14 23:04 EDT-0400

This is essentially a Haswell Xeon E3, and a Quadro K2000.
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September 14, 2014 8:23:29 PM

Id go an extra mile for a better gpu but I feel I wouldn't be able to use it to its full potential since its bottle necked by the A8 7600 that I'll be getting. So I'll be sticking to either a 750 ti or a R9 270. Although videocardbenchmark.net is showing the R9 ahead of the 750 ti. I'll see when I visit my local shop.
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a b à CPUs
September 14, 2014 8:28:24 PM

Actually, that is essentially a workstation CPU paired with a mid-low end gaming GPU. Anyone know the difference between Quadro cards? No? No worries, I'll answer that.
The difference between the two is that the Quadro cards are meant for general computing, while the GTX style cards are meant for 3D apps. As in, the Quadro accells at cuda/OpenGL compute because of their software and drivers, and usually have higher memory to chomp on whilst doing so. GTX style cards have drivers positioned to give unreliable stability (in the sense of FPS, not crashing).
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a b à CPUs
September 15, 2014 10:06:48 AM

That's just stupid. I was looking at softmod, and that's one of the cards that supports it.
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September 15, 2014 11:03:53 AM

So in a nutshell the biggest difference between a workstation cpu/gpu and a regular cpu/gpu are the drivers. Drivers that provide stable and consistent processing.

I don't really know about softmodding, sound complicated. If the upgrade I'm getting works just fine then I'll pass on the mod.
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a b à CPUs
September 15, 2014 11:54:09 AM

That upgrade probably doesn't work. You need extra horsepower.

Softmodding can't be harder than installing Hackintosh.
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September 15, 2014 1:09:07 PM

For real? Cause I'm not planning any hardcore rendering. I just want the minimum required.

My friend has a 7850 and he is able to do most things. That being said he also has an i7-3930k.
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a b à CPUs
September 15, 2014 3:27:08 PM

Well, that's close enough to a 7870. It is pretty much a driver-stripped version of FirePro W5000.
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a b à CPUs
September 15, 2014 4:37:56 PM

A jury rigged version is never as good as the real product. Hackintosh comes up a lot. Tried it once, still like the real thing better. Matter of fact, I wouldn't even want to use a hackintosh because it doesn't nearly as well as a Mac.
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a b à CPUs
September 15, 2014 4:39:43 PM

I am using Hackintosh right now. Yosemite and all. It's actually pretty good.

However, what I meant was that softmodding is necessary to land you some extra performance. It's simply debugging and trying, that's all.
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a b à CPUs
September 15, 2014 5:51:40 PM

Yeah, I'm sure some dodgy roll-worthies are good too. But nothing is like the real deal.

Just my two cents. Never heard of "soft modding" a GPU, sounds sketchy tbh.
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a b à CPUs
September 15, 2014 8:17:33 PM

X)
I just happened to be interested in FirePro cards, so I found this:http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FirePro
Look for soft-mod.

It is essentially patching the drivers so the model that is essentially the same as the target softmod model is detected as the valid professional card.
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a b à CPUs
September 15, 2014 9:22:30 PM

Ah. Modifying official drivers to be used for performance gain.

...

'Soft mods' may get you there, but its about the journey, not the destination.

In other words, hardware differences still matted, and the AMD gpu's that are modded (software) don't have half the memory as the workstation GPU its trying to mimic.

TL;DR its a cop out to soft mod IMO.
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