Is an x4 880k and a RX 470 4GB a good combination

BobbyPick

Reputable
Jan 30, 2016
100
0
4,690
i'm looking to buy a new processor and graphics card and was wondering how good these are together, for example would the cpu bottleneck the gpu? and what would the average/max fps be in games, I mainly play RUST, CS:GO and World Of Warcraft. If you think I should buy something different, i have £300 budget and I mainly use my PC for gaming.

My current specs are:
A10 6700 3.7GHz
R7 240 2GB
8GB RAM DDR3
500Watt PSU
Cant remember my motherboard but it is AMD and doesn't have a great upgrade path as the X4 880K is probably one of the best cpu's i can get for it.

Thanks
 
Solution
I see you edited your post to give what you have.
You made an unfortunate choice with an APU if you ever planned on upgrading.
You buy a APU for the excellent integrated graphics.
But, there are no real good upgrades, particularly for a gamer.
If you install a superior discrete graphics card, you will have thrown away the big advantage of the APU.
Then, you are left with a relatively weak cpu. Most games depend on only a few fast cores.
The possible upgrades are to more cores, but few games will use more than 2-3 cores so 6+ cores are not very helpful.
Bottom line.....
What you get with a APU is what you will live with forever.

Now... what can you do?
Your A10-6700 has a passmark rating of 4606 and a single thread rating of 1523...
The X4-880K is a dead end.
I would suggest a I3-6100. Yes, it costs a bit more but the higher single thread performance will be what your games need.
Moreover, the lga1151 motherboard it uses will permit a future upgrade to I5, or I7.

What needs to be included in your £300 budget?
 

BobbyPick

Reputable
Jan 30, 2016
100
0
4,690


Just the RX 470 4GB which is around £180 and then that leads me with £120 spare which i was planning to be spending on a X4 880K (£80) but if switching the motherboard so i can then switch to intel is the best option then ill have to do that but was trying not for the time being. would the combination of the x4 880k and rx 470 4gb still be good at running high end games at 1080p on mid-high settings until i upgrade the motherboard to intel at Christmas time when i can afford it?
 
I see you edited your post to give what you have.
You made an unfortunate choice with an APU if you ever planned on upgrading.
You buy a APU for the excellent integrated graphics.
But, there are no real good upgrades, particularly for a gamer.
If you install a superior discrete graphics card, you will have thrown away the big advantage of the APU.
Then, you are left with a relatively weak cpu. Most games depend on only a few fast cores.
The possible upgrades are to more cores, but few games will use more than 2-3 cores so 6+ cores are not very helpful.
Bottom line.....
What you get with a APU is what you will live with forever.

Now... what can you do?
Your A10-6700 has a passmark rating of 4606 and a single thread rating of 1523.
Likely it is the single thread rating that is most important for your types of games.
A change to a X4-860k is largely a sideways move.
The total rating is better at 5551, but the single thread rating is essentially the same at 1596.

If your games are graphics limited, then you can benefit from a stronger graphics card like a RX-470.

Here is one way to tell.
Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

If you are cpu limited, you need to look at Intel and a new motherboard.
Even the FX-8350 still has a single thread rating in the 1500 range; just more cores.

 
Solution

BobbyPick

Reputable
Jan 30, 2016
100
0
4,690


Thanks alot for this! could you recommend the motherboard and processor i should buy along with how much these will cost, my case is a mid sized case so a micro atx motherboard would be the biggest motherboard my case would be able to fit.
 
I really like the skylake I3-6100 @$125 for a mid range gamer.
Passmark is 5500, but the single thread rating is 2102.
Anandtech had a nice review on the i3-6100 but their site seems to not respond now.
Find and read the review.

On an appropriate motherboard, you have two ways to go, depending long range on what you might do for an upgrade.
On a basic level, any lga1151 motherboard will do and support a i3-6100
The less expensive H110 chipsets will work and can support a future upgrade to even a i7-6700K so long as you will never overclock.
Prices are around $50.
Here is one, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157685

If you might eventually upgrade to a I5-6600K which can be overclocked you will want a Z170 based motherboard.
They will start at $100. Pick your favorite vendor. No need for a enthusiast motherboard, all will overclock conservatively.

You will want a 2 x 4gbg kit of DDR4 1.2v ram. About $40.
The ddr3 that skylake supports is low voltage 1.35v max.