Need advice on upgrading PC

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seb12136

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Jan 3, 2016
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Hey there guys,
My current PC:

CPU: AMD FX-6300 6-core @3.5GHz
GPU: Sapphire Dual-X Radeon R9 270x
RAM: Corsair CMX8GX3M2A1600C11 XMS3 8GB
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G43
OS: Windows 7 x64

I'm sufficiently experienced with PC building and upgrading but this has me stumped so I thought I'd reach out for help.
I'm looking to upgrade either my CPU or GPU as I'm looking for better FPS in-game.

I was thinking of either buying and upgraded CPU, maybe FX-9590, or a second R9 270x and crossfire them.
I just need to know what you guys think would be more effective to upgrade.

I am also aware that I need to upgrade my motherboard so ignore that.

Thanks in advance.
 
Solution
Forever Oleg
For the 250 pounds you can do better:
Xeon CPU (pretty much i7-4770 without the HD graphics): https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646e31231v3
Good H97 motherboard: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-h97mpro4

The Xeon CPU is the most balanced CPU out there for its performance and money. If you are terribly crazy about gaming, you could pick up i5-4690K for overclocking: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54690k
For that, you will need a Z board: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z97pcmate
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z97gaming3
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z97a
The Asus one is the more hardcore overclocking board.

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seb12136

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Jan 3, 2016
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I've read some mixed reviews on the 9590, most of which reinforce the need for a water cooler, but I was going to buy one anyway so that's not a problem. I'm willing to spend up to £250 on either.
 
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Forever Oleg

Forever Oleg

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Jul 15, 2015
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For the 250 pounds you can do better:
Xeon CPU (pretty much i7-4770 without the HD graphics): https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646e31231v3
Good H97 motherboard: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-h97mpro4

The Xeon CPU is the most balanced CPU out there for its performance and money. If you are terribly crazy about gaming, you could pick up i5-4690K for overclocking: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54690k
For that, you will need a Z board: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z97pcmate
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z97gaming3
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z97a
The Asus one is the more hardcore overclocking board.

 
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Nathaniel_9

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Dec 28, 2015
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10,545


A new CPU would do you good, but your video card is probably your biggest gaming bottleneck. If you're looking to increase frames, get a new video card.
 
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Forever Oleg

Forever Oleg

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He is better off getting a better CPU first. anything higher than GTX 970 or 380X will be bottlenecked by the FX-6300. Even the GTX 970 and 380X will be a bit bottlenecked.

Going from FX-6300 to a modern Intel CPU he will see that performance gain.
 
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Nathaniel_9

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Dec 28, 2015
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The CPU is more responsible for things like AI and physics. It doesn't have nearly as big of an affect on frames as a video card does. If your CPU is slowing you down, you'll likely experience game-wide slowdowns, not just low framerates.

If you want to compare loads between the two processors, you can download GPU-z and look at the percent-load on the GPU, and use task manager to look at the percent load on the CPU. His system looks pretty balanced on first glance, so I'd advise getting both a new CPU and video card, but if you have to choose one over the other, a video card is definitely gonna be your best option.
 
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Forever Oleg

Forever Oleg

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Stop.
 
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Nathaniel_9

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Dec 28, 2015
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Love the rebuttal. It'd be even better if it had a counterpoint.
 
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Forever Oleg

Forever Oleg

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Pascal is coming out soon. With a more powerful graphics card, it will not reach its full potential anyways. With the new Skylake and DDR4, it's good to upgrade to that or at least get Haswell.

Pascal, man. That's the counterpoint. Bottleneck - that's the counter-point.
 
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Nathaniel_9

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Dec 28, 2015
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Well, that's a legitimate reason, as long as you plan on upgrading both. Personally, I 'would' recommend upgrading both as I said before, but seb is apparently on a very tight budget.
 
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seb12136

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Jan 3, 2016
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Thanks for the advice

the xeon in my opinion is a bit of waste of money compared to it's performance.
I'm also looking to stay with AMD for my CPU as I like the compatibility and customization. Do you have any suggestions on GPU's as well as I'd like to hear your opinion
 
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Forever Oleg

Forever Oleg

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AMD for compatibility? Brah. FX-9590 is a hell. In addition, games don't usually use more than 4 cores so either the i5-4690K, Xeon, any other locked i5 or i7, or i7-4790K will be way better in gaming + they will consume significantly less power and produce much less heat.
 
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seb12136

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Jan 3, 2016
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Compatibility was the wrong word, it does better for what I need it for, the multiple cores compared to it's Intel equivalent are more practical for me.
 
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seb12136

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Jan 3, 2016
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If I could I'd be running the latest Skylake processor with dual GTX 980's but alas I only have a low paying job and therefore have to make do. I'm just looking for the highest effectiveness when it comes to upgrading as I want to spend good money on one component and then another later on rather than spending a mediocre amount on both. I hope you can see where I'm coming from.
 
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Forever Oleg

Forever Oleg

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returning to your original post:
1) I recommend getting a single more powerful GPU but Crossfairing two 270x's might be a good idea although you can sell your current 270x and get GTX 970 or R9 390 or something even more powerful like R9 Fury or Fury X or GTx 980 or 980 Ti.
2) With a low paying job, I would save, and i would not spend much on a PC if it's just for gaming. If it's 1080p or 1440p, GTX 970 will suit you (at least me).
3) As for the upgrade, the real upgrade is FX-8320 or FX-8350 and then overclock it to hell with 212 EVO, Cryorig H7, higher end coolers or a liquid cooler which I do NOT recommend. MSI cheaped out on cooling around the CPU socket and on North Bridge for this mobo so it runs hot even at stock speeds. I would still recommend getting an i5 or Xeon with a new mobo.

:)
 
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