Graphics Card Upgrade

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rich18144

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Oct 10, 2009
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Hi All,

I have gotten to the point where I am trying to identify any bottlenecks or obvious areas to upgrade my gaming machine. I am not really looking to build a whole new machine, just give the one I have a little boost. With that in mind my current build is as below:

Motherboard: MSI 970A-G43
CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz
RAM: 2 x Corsair 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1866MHz Vengeance Pro (total RAM = 16Gb)
GPU: PowerColor HD 6870 PCS+ 1GB GDDR5
Primary HDD: OCZ 120GB Vertex 3 SATA III 2.5
Secondary HDD: 2 x Seagate ST3250410AS 250GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm
Optical Drives: 1 x DVDRW
PSU: Corsair 650W TX Series PSU - 120mm Fan, 80+% Efficiency, Single +12V Rail

I've tried to provide links to these items where possible, but I've not been able to find links to all of them, sorry!

From a bit of looking myself, I have identified that the GPU seems to be most limiting factor at this point (correct my mistake if I am wrong), hence my posting in this forum.

If I am correct and (assuming that my AMD CPU would suggest a ATi Graphics Card) can any suggest some good alternatives? I am looking to spend somewhere around the £75.00 mark, but I am willing to stretch to £100.00 should the right card/offer be available.

Thanks for your time,

Rich
 
Solution
Hlsgsz


BOth those are similar in performance to what you already own. WHile the extra VRAM would help, neither is a worthy upgrade. Like i said, you'd be wasting your money.
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jmckinney28

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Jun 23, 2016
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I have an Fx 6300 @ 4.3Ghz. Just upgraded my gpu from a HD 6950 to an RX 480 and I could not be happier, HUGE boost in performance. Running all the games I play at nearly max settings with 60-70 fps. Definitely upgrade your graphics to one you could possibly use in a new future build once the new AMD cpus are released, or when you switch to intel. If you are still running the stock cooler on your CPU you could also upgrade coolers.

Didn't notice your price points in my first read. I would recommend saving a bit more for a GPU that will last you many more years at 1080p gaming. Unless you are planning on scrapping everything for a new future build, but that feels like a waste of money to me when you can get the gpu now, and upgrade cpu later.
 
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13thmonkey

13thmonkey

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You are not correct, any GPU will go with any CPU.

£75-100 will not buy you a lot in GPU terms. What resolution are you running at?
 
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rich18144

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Oct 10, 2009
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Hi all,

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

@13thmonkey - I understand that any GPU can go with any CPU, but when I was last building PCs regularly for people (admittedly about 7 years ago!) AMD/ATi had a number of advantages when paired together - is that no longer the case?

@jmckinney28 - Thanks for the advice - I can see that I'm at least right about needing to upgrade the GPU. Regarding the spend, unfortunately, my spend is unlikely to grow very much over time. I think I will have a break and come back to this at a later date. What budget would you recommend?

EDIT: I've had a quick look myself and found these two cards - are neither of them worth considering?

XFX Radeon R7 360 2GB DDR5
PowerColor Red Dragon RX 460 2GB GDDR5
 
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13thmonkey

13thmonkey

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Nope, not the case at all, and I don't believe ever was, I've been building since 2000 and here since about then too.
 
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Hlsgsz

Hlsgsz

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Feb 29, 2016
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Neither of those are a(worthy) upgrade from teh GPU you have. You would be wasting your money. Look into a 770 second hand or wait and upgrade whan you can muster the cash for an RX 470.
 
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rich18144

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Hi

@13thMonkey - Thanks for the feedback - I'll take it into consideration
@Hlsgz - I appreciate what you are saying, I can see using gpuboss that the 470 is clearly a superior card to any of the others. However, it is also double the price. I don't think I'm going to be able to stretch to that I'm afraid.

I've continued to look and expanded my search a little - what about between the 460 and
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB GDDR5
 
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Hlsgsz

Hlsgsz

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Feb 29, 2016
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BOth those are similar in performance to what you already own. WHile the extra VRAM would help, neither is a worthy upgrade. Like i said, you'd be wasting your money.
 
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