GPU getting underpowered - upgrade or ignore?

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qyron

qyron

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I'm presently running a simple machine built on an ASUS M4A78LT-M-LE, with an Athlon X2 250 heart and 2GB of RAM.

Being a Linux user, my system has served me well for the last six years or so but I'm starting to feel the machine struggle when it comes to handling more resource hungry programs (some games and even movie playing) and I've come to the conclusion I have to invest in a dedicated graphics card.

I have an old (yet never before used) GeForce 6600 LE available but I've made some research and it seems this card is slightly inferior to the onboard chip the motherboard has.
Getting a used part would normally sound reasonable at this point but I'm seeing asking prices in the range of €20 - €25 for cards with 512MB of memory while at the same time I can get a brand new, off the shelf, XFX Radeon HD5450 1GB GDDR3 for €31,90 so purchasing new makes more sense but...

I'm considering assembling a new system with more base power which will relegate the system I'm currently using for more basic tasks, without the need for a dedicated graphics card.
Because I assemble my system piece by piece, purchasing components over time, I would find use for a graphics card in the short term until the new system is up and ready to run and receive the card but being an AMD fan, I'm intending to get an FM2 CPU, which I know some models have dedicated cores to graphics output.

Would moving a dedicated graphics card to such a system make any sense or should I just save my money and go for a more powerful CPU capable of handling more work load?
 
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Obakasama

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A lot to consider there...

I would suggest an FM2+ processor instead of restricting yourself to an FM2 processor. You would have more choice of the most powerful processors available for the platform.

The tricky part is sticking to the FM2/FM2+ platform and the APUs and getting a graphics card.

The advantage of APUs is they are CPU and GPU combined which means a discrete graphics card isn't a necessity. However, getting a discrete graphics card would disable the integrated graphics of the APU (thus meaning you spend money on something you're not using - though it is handy as backup). As such, it's better to purchase a FM2/FM2+ CPU to work with a discrete graphics card. Be aware, you could invest in an Athlon X4 880k (the most powerful CPU available on FM2+ socket) for a modest amount but there would be no upgrade for it.

Additionally, AMD's new processors are getting nearer to their release. It may be worthwhile to see what they are like too.

Depending on the sort of workload you have, other processors and platforms might be more suitable though likely more expensive to build too.
 
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qyron

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I'm not an extreme user so I won't need that much brawn on a machine but it would be nice to build a system that would be able to cope up for at least another six years. :)

I usually shy away from bleeding edge technology. Its more expensive and a new format coming in usually means the old reigning format will get great price cuts as it gets phased-out. But it would be great upgrading directly from socket AM3 to AM4 so I might consider waiting a bit.

My machine is far from dying, it's just getting a bit underpowered for handling some programs. I've decided to supply the maximum memory this system can take in the short term and after those news about the next generation CPU's from AMD, purchasing a graphics card for it sounds reasonable, as it will further stretch out its usability.

In the meanwhile, I will start buying the components that I can use in the future machine (case, PSU, HDD, etc) and wait for the new motherboards and CPU to come out.

Thanks!

 
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Obakasama

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No problem. Just be aware that the new AMD processors will be on a completely new platform. Apparently it's AM4 which will replace both AM3+ and FM2+. I haven't kept up with the news but it seems unlikely to be backwards compatible like AM3+ and FM2+ were.

If you don't need much processing power, then FM2+ might be worth considering. It's newer than AM3+ and has support for USB 3, so you get some benefits there. How important that is is for you to decide, of course.

I take it you'll go with FM2+? If so you can ignore the following: as I understand it, the last of the AM3+ CPUs, the FX-9XXX series, aren't really that stable and seem to have been a cause of frustration for some.

 
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qyron

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I was reading a few articles on the AM4 platform as I was writing my first reply and although I didn't went too far into technical details it was pretty obvious the new generation was a complete breakaway from the present platforms they are shipping to the market at the moment.

As I said, my machine isn’t about to die on me, it's just getting somewhat under powered to handle a few goodies and eye-candy that plays more importance for my family than myself. Beefing it up to full 8GB of memory and getting a dedicated graphics card with 1GB of memory will more than suffice to give it the extra edge it needs. I can even think about upgrading the CPU by a more powerful, even if used, keeping in mind your warning against the FX-9XXX series.

And perhaps I'm up for a surprise when I feed it more memory; I've been toying with the BIOS and apparently the chip can grab up to 1Gb of RAM for itself, without OC. Maybe the dedicated graphics won't be necessary.

At 2GB of RAM with an onboard GPU that needs to share the the available memory I can't really expect much from it can I? It's almost a bare bones machine for most users and if it wasn't running Linux it wouldn't meet the minimum system requirements for Windows.
Most Windows users I know are being forced to upgrade their machines once every 18-24 months to keep up with the hunger of the system for resources.

I think I can wait a few months to have the AM4 platform mature enough to have fully stable motherboards on the market for available prices and use that time to get other components that really need to be purchased new and won't have compatibility problems with the new platform like a new PSU, a new case and hard drives and perhaps a SSD. I don't believe those will face compatibility issues moving from an older machine.
 
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Obakasama

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Additional RAM can do wonders. It's often cited as an easy upgrade, though no-one ever seems to mention how stiff getting that stick of RAM into the slot is...

I think I recall seeing that motherboard have onboard graphics? Not entirely sure of all the technicalities, but I wonder if there has been video chipset updates for it.
 
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qyron

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Yes, it has. It's an RS780L (Radeon 3000).

BIOS updates it has; I admit being lazy and haven't gone through the work of updating it so maybe there's a surprise in store for me.

And it truly is amazing how troublesome and extenuating adding RAM to a system can be. No wonder most people shy away from suggesting it. :)
 
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maxalge

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if you intend it to live for 6 years, minimum you should be looking at is an i3 6100 setup

the cpu built in ( HD Graphics 530 ) is insanely faster than radeon 3000

the cpu itself is going to wreck anything you can get in FM2+ by quite a big margin as well




 
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qyron

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As a rule a rule of thumb, I try as much as I can to keep my distance from Intel. From my personal experience, its way less friendlier towards Linux than its competitor.

And I do not intend on getting on the market as it is right now, even less after knowing the new AMD platform is about to get out.

Getting a dedicated graphics card will be the more far out I'm willing to get and the Radeon HD5450 I mentioned before seems just enough for my need, if adding memory to the system isn't enough to beef it up.
 
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