thinking about upgrading my gpu.

DefectedSOul · Dec 2, 2015

heres my build.
Processor - AMD FX 8320 Black Edition (8 Cores @ 3.5GHz)
Cooler - Cooler Master: Hyper 212 EVO
Graphics Card - AMD Radeon Sapphire R9 270X 4GB OC edition
RAM - 2x 4GB G.Skill Ripjaw X (16GB DDR3 @ 1866)
Power Supply - 850watt EVGA SuperNOVA G2
Motherboard - GIGABYTE 970A-UD3P

im wanting to upgrade my gpu probably here soon and i would kinda like to say with AMD on the card for the theme on my build.
i thought about trying crossfire but itd probably be better to stick with a single card
What would be probably the best way for me to go?
i dont really have a budget but i dont really want to spend more than i have to
thank you

can anyone recommend

maddogfargo · Dec 2, 2015

Whats your budget for the GPU?

Wayfall · Dec 2, 2015

Hi

I use to have a Athlon II x4 750k with a R9 270.
I now have refitted my pc and I am now running a i5 4460 with a MSI GTX 970.

You certainly need to upgrade your GPU if you want to play current gen games. I would know as I used the R9 270 with my I5 4460 before I got the GTX 970 and it struggled with Skyrim on high amongst over games. With the GTX 970 I have no FPS issues in any of my games now except for the ones that are just buggy and not optimised like Fallout 4.

A upgrade would help a lot.

Regards

Commander Matt · Dec 2, 2015

Do you have a preferred price range? What games do you play/what do you do on your computer?
If money isn't a concern, look into the R9 Nano or R9 Fury X (make sure to get a water-cooled one!)

If you're not into spending a LOT of money for something that you (probably) don't need, the R9 380X would probably fit you just right.
I have the R9 380 (by Sapphire), and I love it. I accidentally left the fan at 25% when I revved up DiRT Showdown. The card put out 60FPS (Vsync is on

) and it only got to 90C (not very healthy, mind you), no throttling.

Personally, I'd recommend the 380X. It's not over-the-top. It's got good (if not great) performance. It's RECENT, so it'll probably take a little while for it to be put on the "oh, that's SO old!" list. Plus, it hits that sweet spot on price-to-performance. The Nano and Fury X are those kinds of cards for enthusiasts that don't mind replacing expensive parts a lot.
(Example: NVIDIA's Titan cards. The original Titan came out two years ago, and already has THREE replacements.)

If you get it from Newegg and don't like it (or it doesn't work out), you can return it. Not sure about Amazon, TigerDirect, etc.

Good luck with your new GPU!

P.S.
Sweet build.

DefectedSOul · Dec 2, 2015

maddogfargo :

i dont really have a set budget but i guess max 350ish maybe could do to 400ish ( just would have to set aside money for longer)

DefectedSOul · Dec 2, 2015

Commander Matt :

Do you have a preferred price range? What games do you play/what do you do on your computer?
If money isn't a concern, look into the R9 Nano or R9 Fury X (make sure to get a water-cooled one!)

If you're not into spending a LOT of money for something that you (probably) don't need, the R9 380X would probably fit you just right.
I have the R9 380 (by Sapphire), and I love it. I accidentally left the fan at 25% when I revved up DiRT Showdown. The card put out 60FPS (Vsync is on

) and it only got to 90C (not very healthy, mind you), no throttling.

Personally, I'd recommend the 380X. It's not over-the-top. It's got good (if not great) performance. It's RECENT, so it'll probably take a little while for it to be put on the "oh, that's SO old!" list. Plus, it hits that sweet spot on price-to-performance. The Nano and Fury X are those kinds of cards for enthusiasts that don't mind replacing expensive parts a lot.
(Example: NVIDIA's Titan cards. The original Titan came out two years ago, and already has THREE replacements.)

If you get it from Newegg and don't like it (or it doesn't work out), you can return it. Not sure about Amazon, TigerDirect, etc.

Good luck with your new GPU!

P.S.
Sweet build.

thanks

and i thought about the 380X but wasnt sure if i should get that or maybe getting a 290x (which is 100$ more on newegg and it is last gen) plus i dont know how big of a difference the would be

DefectedSOul · Dec 2, 2015

Commander Matt :

oh and i mostly game and do a few little rendering things like make videos or mess around in after effects a little but not much im wanting to get some of the newer games like witcher 3 and fallout 4 and dying light (also im running at 1080p might be a while before i decide to get a 4k screen lol )

Commander Matt · Dec 2, 2015

DefectedSOul :

I'd vouch for the 380X. The main difference between the 380X and the 290X is memory speed (maybe bandwidth, I can't find the exact specs for the 290X). It shouldn't be noticeable. You could save the $100 and buy your games to immediately test.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (which I think is newer than the base Witcher 3?) has a recommended GPU of R9 290, so the 380X should be able to run it smoothly (even if it can't manage 60FPS on Max, playing with the video settings will get you a higher framerate).
And, as I said, you can return it if you buy it from Newegg if you don't like it (within 30 days, that is). There is a 15% restocking fee, though. Not sure about other retailers.

Fallout 4's recommended GPU is an 290X 4GB, so you might have to lower settings a bit. I haven't played these games so I can't say for sure.

Oh, and make sure to get the 4GB version of the 380X.

Happy Deathclaw killing!

Edit: The 380X will be able to easily handle after effects (if your 270X can do it, the 380X can).

NightAntilli · Dec 2, 2015

R9 390 is your card.

DefectedSOul · Dec 2, 2015

NightAntilli :

ooooh didnt think of that card 100$more than the 380x hmm

DefectedSOul · Dec 2, 2015

Commander Matt :

DefectedSOul :

I'd vouch for the 380X. The main difference between the 380X and the 290X is memory speed (maybe bandwidth, I can't find the exact specs for the 290X). It shouldn't be noticeable. You could save the $100 and buy your games to immediately test.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (which I think is newer than the base Witcher 3?) has a recommended GPU of R9 290, so the 380X should be able to run it smoothly (even if it can't manage 60FPS on Max, playing with the video settings will get you a higher framerate).
And, as I said, you can return it if you buy it from Newegg if you don't like it (within 30 days, that is). There is a 15% restocking fee, though. Not sure about other retailers.

Fallout 4's recommended GPU is an 290X 4GB, so you might have to lower settings a bit. I haven't played these games so I can't say for sure.

Oh, and make sure to get the 4GB version of the 380X.

Happy Deathclaw killing!

Edit: The 380X will be able to easily handle after effects (if your 270X can do it, the 380X can).

sweet

NightAntilli mentioned the 390 now im on the fence between the 380x and the 390 lol
UPDATE: i looked up some benchmarks of both cards and it kinda seemed like about 10 to 15 fps difference ish

Commander Matt · Dec 2, 2015

DefectedSOul :

I also didn't think about the 390.

See this Tom's Hardware review of it. In some/all of the benchmarks their have a 380 in there. Though, it seems a tad biased, not having the manufacturer name for the 380...

I still think the best bang-for-your-buck is the 380X. I think the choice is now your's; do you want to pay the $100 more for higher graphics quality.
I can give you some framerates I have for some games of mine if you'd like.

DefectedSOul · Dec 2, 2015

Commander Matt :

DefectedSOul :

I also didn't think about the 390.

See this Tom's Hardware review of it. In some/all of the benchmarks their have a 380 in there. Though, it seems a tad biased, not having the manufacturer name for the 380...

I still think the best bang-for-your-buck is the 380X. I think the choice is now your's; do you want to pay the $100 more for higher graphics quality.
I can give you some framerates I have for some games of mine if you'd like.

sure ill take some framerates

and also i guess i should put my power supply in there too to see if it could even handle powering it and all

NightAntilli · Dec 2, 2015

I would definitely go with the R9 390 over the 380X. The only advantage of the 380X is that it's GCN 1.2 rather than GCN 1.1. The advantages of GCN 1.2 are;

Better tessellation performance, which the 380X probably can slightly beat the R9 390. (See here).
Reduced memory bandwidth usage due to lossless color compression, but the R9 390 has much more bandwidth anyway, more than twice.
Newer scaler for video playback and encoding/decoding.

Other than that, the R9 390 is superior in pretty much everything, including performance. Remember, it has 8GB of RAM as well. This card will be a good performer for a long long time.

As for your power supply, your 850W G2 can probably handle two of them. Nothing to worry about.

DefectedSOul · Dec 2, 2015

NightAntilli :

okay

thank you im still kinda up in the air on them but ill probably get one or the other and later down the road might get a match to crossfire them (plus newegg is out of stock of both the sapphire nitro 380x and 390 lol)
also im in the market for an ssd (probably get the card and the ssd at the same time )

Commander Matt · Dec 2, 2015

DefectedSOul :

Here you go:
All at 1080p
Insurgency (max settings): 50-60FPS VSync on (VSync seems wobbly. Going to try framerate target control in CCC instead of VSync later) Framerate drops to ~30 if things rev up (e.g., multiple grenades, everyone shooting at once, or an all-out firefight breaks out).

Subnautica ("Normal" settings; Experimental/highest seems unrefined/very rough): 40-60FPS (bottlenecked by CPU)

PULSAR: Lost Colony (max settings): ~50-60FPS VSync on (I feel like there's a bottleneck somewhere. MSI Afterburner shows that the card doesn't even go to the full clock rate)

DiRT Showdown (max settings): Solid 60 VSync on. Frame drops to ~40 if there's a lot of dirt particles everywhere (everyone drifting or skidding around, everyone crashing into each other). Clock rate does not go max.

GRID Autosport (max settings): Never seen it drop below 60 with VSync on (maybe a dip to 59, but that's just VSync being VSync XD)

Mirror's Edge (max settings): Solid 60, VSync. With VSync off, it goes up to 120 or higher. This I know for sure is bottlenecked by my CPU

ARK: Survival Evolved (max settings, some minor things lowered): ARK is a bad thing to benchmark cards on. It really is unoptimized. But, I wanted to include it. The framerate my 380 manages 45 FPS on average at stock.

Please see anand's benchmarks of the 380X vs the 390, here.

There's not a lot of difference in the framerates; 10-30 FPS differences, which are easily solved by a few settings being lowered.

Ultimately, it's your preference.
Though, again, my personal choice is the 380X. You'd save the $100, and have it to spend on the SSD. The $100 will only buy you a bit more spitshine in games, as there won't be a difference in aftereffects.

Edit: The 380X is also Tonga architecture over 390's Hawaii; not sure if it matters to you much.
Edit 2: Just noticed the 390 has quite a bit more TDP/power usage.

DefectedSOul · Dec 2, 2015

Commander Matt :

DefectedSOul :

Here you go:
All at 1080p
Insurgency (max settings): 50-60FPS VSync on (VSync seems wobbly. Going to try framerate target control in CCC instead of VSync later) Framerate drops to ~30 if things rev up (e.g., multiple grenades, everyone shooting at once, or an all-out firefight breaks out).

Subnautica ("Normal" settings; Experimental/highest seems unrefined/very rough): 40-60FPS (bottlenecked by CPU)

PULSAR: Lost Colony (max settings): ~50-60FPS VSync on (I feel like there's a bottleneck somewhere. MSI Afterburner shows that the card doesn't even go to the full clock rate)

DiRT Showdown (max settings): Solid 60 VSync on. Frame drops to ~40 if there's a lot of dirt particles everywhere (everyone drifting or skidding around, everyone crashing into each other). Clock rate does not go max.

GRID Autosport (max settings): Never seen it drop below 60 with VSync on (maybe a dip to 59, but that's just VSync being VSync XD)

Mirror's Edge (max settings): Solid 60, VSync. With VSync off, it goes up to 120 or higher. This I know for sure is bottlenecked by my CPU

ARK: Survival Evolved (max settings, some minor things lowered): ARK is a bad thing to benchmark cards on. It really is unoptimized. But, I wanted to include it. The framerate my 380 manages 45 FPS on average at stock.

Please see anand's benchmarks of the 380X vs the 390, here.

There's not a lot of difference in the framerates; 10-30 FPS differences, which are easily solved by a few settings being lowered.

Ultimately, it's your preference.
Though, again, my personal choice is the 380X. You'd save the $100, and have it to spend on the SSD. The $100 will only buy you a bit more spitshine in games, as there won't be a difference in aftereffects.

Edit: The 380X is also Tonga architecture over 390's Hawaii; not sure if it matters to you much.
Edit 2: Just noticed the 390 has quite a bit more TDP/power usage.

thank you for the framerates

and yeah it'll be something to think about.
i looked up how my 270x holds up to fallout 4 and it looks like it will do pretty well on around about high settings so i suppose it can still kick some butt but not look as pretty lol
ive been looking for some benchmarks of the 270x vs the 380x to see how big of a jump it would be

NightAntilli · Dec 2, 2015

Even at 1080p, the R9 390 is worth it. 10 FPS is already a LOT, let alone 30 fps. Pretty much all review sites agree... If you can afford it, pick the R9 390. Generally they're even saying that the price doesn't really justify picking the 380x over the 380...

Techreport:
The biggest problem for the R9 380X might be those two dots in the upper-right corner of our scatter plot. Some variants of the GeForce GTX 970 can be had for under $300 right now, and the R9 390 is right there with it. If you've been paying attention to our test results, you know that the extra cash or so buys you a lot more graphics card. Unless the expected $240 street price of an R9 380X is the absolute top of your budget, we think it's worth saving up the cost of one or two PC games and getting into an R9 390

Anandtech:
At the end of the day budgets exist for a reason and the R9 380X is a reasonable offering in the product range it was designed for, but if you can afford to spend more for GTX 970 or R9 390 then right now that’s the better buy.

Techspot:
Overall the Radeon R9 380X fills the price gap between the R9 380 and R9 390 as promised, though it is much closer to the more affordable R9 380 than it is the far more desirable R9 390.

PCWorld:
Save your dollars and spend the extra $50 on a R9 390 or GTX 970. The extra money is worth it there (and the Sapphire Nitro R9 390 and EVGA GTX 970 FTW I’ve tested both rock). Those cards simply blow away the R9 380X

DefectedSOul · Dec 2, 2015

NightAntilli :

Even at 1080p, the R9 390 is worth it. 10 FPS is already a LOT, let alone 30 fps. Pretty much all review sites agree... If you can afford it, pick the R9 390. Generally they're even saying that the price doesn't really justify picking the 380x over the 380...

Techreport:
The biggest problem for the R9 380X might be those two dots in the upper-right corner of our scatter plot. Some variants of the GeForce GTX 970 can be had for under $300 right now, and the R9 390 is right there with it. If you've been paying attention to our test results, you know that the extra cash or so buys you a lot more graphics card. Unless the expected $240 street price of an R9 380X is the absolute top of your budget, we think it's worth saving up the cost of one or two PC games and getting into an R9 390

Anandtech:
At the end of the day budgets exist for a reason and the R9 380X is a reasonable offering in the product range it was designed for, but if you can afford to spend more for GTX 970 or R9 390 then right now that’s the better buy.

Techspot:
Overall the Radeon R9 380X fills the price gap between the R9 380 and R9 390 as promised, though it is much closer to the more affordable R9 380 than it is the far more desirable R9 390.

PCWorld:
Save your dollars and spend the extra $50 on a R9 390 or GTX 970. The extra money is worth it there (and the Sapphire Nitro R9 390 and EVGA GTX 970 FTW I’ve tested both rock). Those cards simply blow away the R9 380X

okay thank you

ill wait til i get paid and see where im at money wise and hopefully ill have my mind made up lol

thinking about upgrading my gpu.

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