Upgrade CPU or GPU first?

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LiamGBailey

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Just wondering if I should upgrade my Processer or GPU first. My specs are:
CPU = AMD A8-7600 @ 3.8Ghz
GPU = AMD Radeon HD 7950 @ 925Mhz
Motherboard = Gigabyte F2A88XM-HD3
RAM = Kingston HyperX 8GB 1600Mhz DDR3 Memory

NOTE : GPU is getting onto 3 years old now, and is dropping in performance. I've had this entire system for about a year, excluding the GPU.
 
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madmatt30

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You don't need any faster ram - 1600 mhz I'd the norm for 99% of members on here.

There are no gains in gaming with faster ram at all!!

CPU there's nowhere to go without changing your motherboard.
The 7950 is actually a decent pairing as is IMO.
 
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xBlaz3kx

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Depending on your CPU and motherboard's capability of the frequency. Your motheboard supports up to 2133MHz, like your CPU. I'd go with 1866 or 2133MHz.
 
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LiamGBailey

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Okay, thanks. I don't really have the budget right now, so I think I'm just going to upgrade my GPU to a 750 Ti and get a little more cash for the RAM later.

 
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xBlaz3kx

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Actually noone was refering this as necessary thing to do. It's just a recommendation.
 
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LiamGBailey

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Okay, what video card would you recommend? or even upgrading my mobo and cpu to something like an intel i5?

 
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LiamGBailey

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UPDATE: The whole reason behind upgrading my current system (which isnt half bad as is) is because I'm looking to play newer titles, such as Tom Clancy's The Division and other highly demanding games. I tried running the beta of Division on my current system, but my FPS was in the 20s, extremely unplayable, especially since I'm used to gaming at 200fps with a 144hz monitor. I'm just not sure what to upgrade, if I upgrade my CPU then I would have to get a new motherboard, which is extremely frustrating to deal with, especially since I am inexperinced with PC building. I know a fair deal of knowledge about PCs, but that's why I came here to ask what needed upgrading. So what should I upgrade, my CPU or my GPU, and which model of either I should go with. I'm no enthusiast.
 
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nerro120

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The division is an mmo so it's going to rely on cpu heavily, sadly yours isn't up to par with the requirements so the cpu would be the best option, something like an i5 4460 or 4590 and a h97 board ($250) is what I would recommend if your tight on a budget
 
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madmatt30

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Got to go with nerro again here .
The 7950 is getting on but with certainty if you lower settings its still going to push big fps on most titles.
You're in a rock & a hard place really with both a mid range CPU & GPU , no matter what you do one is always going to hold the other back.

Me personally I wouldn't upgrade just on the proviso of that open beta release - its unoptimised & buggy as f***.

The second open beta should be with us in a couple of weeks & performance may be greatly improved - I was only pushing a max of mid 50s with a 970.

Burgessanthony - what's that as a percentage on your rig ?? 10% maybe max ?? & that's not the norm at all.
Absolutely not worth upgrading 1600mhz ram - its easily fast enough for gaming.
 
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madmatt30

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LiamGBailey - are you overclocking that 7600 or running stock speed ??

Its base clock is only 3.1 & its turbo will only up 2 cores max to 3.8ghz.
You've got a fairly decent board , you could likely push well past 4ghz on all cores with a decent cooler , division is multi core for sure , seen it dredging 70%+ on 4 cores on mine .
 
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LiamGBailey

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madmatt30 - The 7600 is running at 3.8Ghz us on turbo, as the 7600 is a locked APU. Should I upgrade to something unlocked? Like the X4 860K? I'm currently using the stock cooler. I've heard that the CM Hyper T4 is a good cooler.
 
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madmatt30

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You can actually overclock via fsb - its not as simple as multiplier overclocking but is the old school way.

Essentially drop ram speed to 1066mhz, drop multiplier to 23, disable turbo core , change fsb to 133.

If the system boots stable you than have the same 3.1ghz base clock but with the ability to overclock as the multiplier can be raised from that 23 all the way up to the original 31 (4.1ghz)

Its not a simple process & you need to read up on it but but can 100% be done.

860k - whether its worth it is up to you - certainly a good improvement at stock & very easily overclock able.

If you can fsb overclock your current chip though performance will be about the same.

T4 - good cooler but only mounts one way on an amd socket (fan near GPU) which is not great in most cases.

For a 95w CPU I'd go with a cheap 92mm raijintek aidos or the hyper 103 - they're good enough for decent overclock.
 
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LiamGBailey

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Okay, thanks a lot for your help. I will try getting a aftermarket caller like the hyper 103, as you mentioned, and try to get around the 4Ghz mark. If that doesn't work then I will consider getting the 860k. Thanks buddy! :)
 
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LiamGBailey

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Do I do this via my BIOS? I can't drop the speed of my RAM, and I've tried doing research, help? It's deafult setting is 1600Mhz and I can't change that. Anything I can do to fix this?
 
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LiamGBailey

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Hey buddy, could you get back to me soon? I'm not in a rush, I just want to get this whole overclocking shizzle done before I get my new case :p

 
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madmatt30

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forgot all about you mate :-/

quick by the numbers - bear in mind I dont have access to your board model ,just from perusing the manual pdf.

drop in bios

first step

goto save & exit tab,click save profiles & save as profile 1 - gives you a backup straight click to your current settings
open MIT tab/advanced frequency settings

in this order

extreme memory profile XMP - disabled
AMD memory profile AMP - disabled
System memory multiplier - 10.66 or 1066mhz (whichever is relevant)

CPU clock control - 133
cpu clock ratio - 23

open advanced cpu core settings option

core performance boost (turbo) - disabled
c6 states (if listed ) - disabled

save & exit tab
save as profile 2
save & exit bios

hopefully windows boots fine, if it does your halfway there.



 
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LiamGBailey

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Okay, thanks a lot!

 
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