Thinking about upgrading could use some advice

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Plorine

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May 29, 2014
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My current system:

CPU - AMD 8320 3.5ghz
Cooler - Respire T40
GPU - AMD 7970 3GB
MB - GigaByte 990FXA-UD3
Mem - 8GB
PSU - 750W/DR

It's been a pretty good system over the past few years but I feel as though it's time for an upgrade, my budget isn't going to be huge and I mainly just want to switch out the CPU/GPU or both if it can fit into my budget.

So what is the best CPU/+GPU I could get that would fit with the MB / PSU? let's say for now that my budget is around £400 - £500 ($600 - $750)

Thanks in advance
 
Solution
Sapphire Thunder


If you need more Memory, you might as well buy a new 2x8Gb Kit and sell old ones, anyway.

And all high performance gpus are the same.
Radeons are usually even heavier because many of them have bigger coolers in order to have sufficient cooler.
Some take 2.5 slots

If you are worried about the weight, EVGA FTW ACX2.0+ or SSC ACX2.0+ are one of the lighter ones.
But...
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Plorine

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Thanks for the reply!

I've been looking quite closely at the 970, would it be a noticeable change? I don't really know how big of an impact the CPU and GPU make to video games on their own like what games are more CPU dependent and like wise for the GPU.

Also the big question here is: Will it be a simple pop out and pop in job? How well will my MB and PSU take the 970? will it fit in the MB and will the PSU be enough power to cover it?

 
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coozie7

coozie7

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What country are you in, USA or GB?

What is the monitor resolution and refresh rate? If like most of us you have a 60Hz 1080 display, aiming at more than 60FPS is a waste, the display just won't b able to show it.

There's no useful CPU upgrade available for that motherboard, and swapping over to an Intel build will eat up pretty well all your budget for, probably, no useful gain.

Only really stepping up into GTX980/R9 Fury territory is probably worthwhile:http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-graphics-card-review,review-32899-7.html moving up to a GTX970/R9 390 will help with overall gaming performance (particularly the minimum frame rate) but it'll be a fairly small, incremental upgrade rather than a 'WOW!' one.

With Christmas coming up I think you should look closely at how the system is performing, if it's doing well enough there's really no need to upgrade, TBH I'm not really convinced that moving up from a HD7950 (suitably overclocked ;) ) to a R9 290 was a smart move, the gains ARE there, but with a60Hz 1080 display, they're not really that big.

EDIT: If the power supply can handle a HD7950 it'll easily run the less power hungry GTX970.
It's a fairly straightforward swap of the cards, but if you move from AMD/ATI to Nvidia you'll probably want to fully clear out all the old AMD/ATI drivers before installing the new ones for the GTX970:
Download the latest WHQL/Hotfix drivers from the Nvidia website, don't install yet.
Download DDU from the Guru3D website: http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html and extract the file to a new folder in your downloads folder.
Uninstall the AMD/ATI software.
Restart into Safe Mode.
Run DDU and use it to clear out any leftovers from the AMD/ATI install.
Reboot normally.
Install the Nvidia drivers you downloaded at the start.
Reboot.
 
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Sapphire Thunder

Sapphire Thunder

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1: Games like Battlefield 4, COD, The Witcher 3, and to some extent GTA V, are very cpu heavy games.
But gpu upgrade (almost) always will give bigger jumps in performance than cpu.

2: Yes, it is simple plug-n-play. The MB and PSU both can handle it. MB is never a problem. The problem often is if the PSU is high enough quality.


PS: as noted by AlexBrinkz, 980Ti would be great upgrade. HOWEVER, with that gpu there would be possibility for cpu bottlenecking it, because FX8xxx series is already old and may cause 980TI to not get it's full potential unless going up on resolution. + if you are gaming at 1080p, it would be overkill. 970 is perfect card for 1080p gaming at very high graphics.
 
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Plorine

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Thanks for the Reply!

I am in GB, and I am an average 1080/60. According to GPUboss the 970 looks like quite the upgrade from my 7970 but I'll take your word for it.

To be honest my system feels very capable of running today's games but with some of them I find myself having to lower quite a few settings to get a good 40 - 60 (playable) frame rate and at the moment I am able to financially justify an upgrade, I am not looking to replicate the initial "WOW" I got when I first put this system together since that's asking a lot but I'd like an upgrade that would put my average game settings from medium to high/ultra

Size is also a problem, I made quite a big mistake with my T40 cooler, it covers two of my memory slots meaning if I wanted more memory I have to take the cooler off completely and re-apply the thermal after and while the GPU isn't as fiddly I'd rather not run into a similar problem, according to some reviews the 970 is quite large/weighty and some lack a backplate
 
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Sapphire Thunder

Sapphire Thunder

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If you need more Memory, you might as well buy a new 2x8Gb Kit and sell old ones, anyway.

And all high performance gpus are the same.
Radeons are usually even heavier because many of them have bigger coolers in order to have sufficient cooler.
Some take 2.5 slots

If you are worried about the weight, EVGA FTW ACX2.0+ or SSC ACX2.0+ are one of the lighter ones.
But they are not much worse in cooling than others. Gigabyte Gaming is very long, so it might not be the best for you.
MSI Gaming is wide but a great one. It is one, if not the most popular 970 gpu due to great cooling, nice default clockspeeds and nice cooler design.
Gigabyte Gaming is most popular overclocker, I believe.
 
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Solution
coozie7

coozie7

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Jun 2, 2007
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Most GTX970s aren't too big, certainly not larger that the current HD7970 and they have the advantage of drawing a lot less power, producing far less heat as a result so they run quietly as well as cooler.

The extra GPU power from a GTX970 will bring those settings up nicely, and should help drag the minimum frame rate up as well producing smoother, more consistent gameplay so from that point it'll be a nice boost.

As elsewhere, prices vary widely, so shop around and keep you eyes peeled for the 'specials' but you'll easily be able to collar a GTX970 for under £300 and many come in under £250.
A few Names: Novatech, CCL, Scan, Overclockers, Aria, Ebuyer, Dabs and you can try the GB version of Newegg as well...Amongst many, many others.
 
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coozie7

coozie7

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Jun 2, 2007
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Most GTX970s aren't too big, certainly not larger that the current HD7970 and they have the advantage of drawing a lot less power, producing far less heat as a result so they run quietly as well as cooler.

The extra GPU power from a GTX970 will bring those settings up nicely, and should help drag the minimum frame rate up as well producing smoother, more consistent gameplay so from that point it'll be a nice boost.

As elsewhere, prices vary widely, so shop around and keep you eyes peeled for the 'specials' but you'll easily be able to collar a GTX970 for under £300 and
many come in under £250.
A few Names: Novatech, CCL, Scan, Overclockers, Aria, Ebuyer, Dabs and you can try the GB version of Newegg as well...Amongst many, many others.

EDIT: OOPS! ;)
 
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Plorine

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May 29, 2014
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Thanks for the replies.

I do plan on doubling my memory also since today's standards in memory seem to be getting quite high, maybe I am old school but I still find it mad that games require 4-8GB but I figure 16 should be more than enough to hold me for another few years.

So it looks like I'll be getting a MSI 970 GTX, Amazon has one for £260 and comes with RB6Siege or AC Syndicate which seems like a pretty alright deal, I'm still open to more answers but I'll most likely choose best answer in around 20 minutes to give anyone else a chance at getting any last things worth mentioning in.

Thanks for the help everyone, I greatly appreciate it.
 
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