Upgrade CPU or GPU first?

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Alexander_106

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May 7, 2017
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Hey all, apologies, this may get long-winded!

First off, here is my current build. I bought it in 2010 and have made periodic upgrades and hope to continue upgrading one component per year or so.

Motherboard: ASRock 970 Pro3

CPU: AMD Athlon II x4 630

RAM: 12 GB DDR3 (2x4GB, 2x2GB)

GPU: Nvidia GTS 250 1GB

Storage: Samsung 850 Evo 512GB SSD, and two 7200 RPM HDDs

So in 2015 I upgraded the ram and in order to do so I needed to upgrade the mobo as well, as I was at the max capacity of my old one. Because I at that point wasn't ready to upgrade my CPU, I made the kinda bad decision to buy a new mobo that would still support that CPU, with an AM3+ socket. Now, looking for a new CPU, it seems like the best choice would be an AMD FX-8370
So question 1 is, is it worth it to invest in this kinda already outdated CPU? I'm not quite ready yet to drop the money for a new mother board, RAM, and a new CPU.

GPU wise I've been looking at an Nvidia 1050ti or 1060.

Computer is used most intensely for Photoshop and other CC programs, and secondly for gaming (mostly skyrim, GTA V)

So, which does it make sense to upgrade first? Thanks in advance!

Edit: Forgot to add, windows 10, upgraded from 7. Transferring the license shouldn't be an issue I don't think
 
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I mean if you don't have the money to upgrade to the Ryzen platform then yes it should be worth it to upgrade to the FX-8370. Though you'd be much better off making the jump to the Ryzen platform. Even a Ryzen 1400 will blow the 8370 out of the water in the tasks that you're wanting to perform with it. I'd honestly save up your money get you a decent B350 motherboard with 16GB DDR4 RAM and any of the Ryzen 5 chips
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Insomniac Jack

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I mean if you don't have the money to upgrade to the Ryzen platform then yes it should be worth it to upgrade to the FX-8370. Though you'd be much better off making the jump to the Ryzen platform. Even a Ryzen 1400 will blow the 8370 out of the water in the tasks that you're wanting to perform with it. I'd honestly save up your money get you a decent B350 motherboard with 16GB DDR4 RAM and any of the Ryzen 5 chips
 
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Alexander_106

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May 7, 2017
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Awesome, thank you for your advice. I'll hold off for now and save up.
Would you recommend the Ryzen over an i5 6500 (for example)? I'm not super up on it but everything I've been reading it seems like no one likes this generation of AMD CPUs.
 
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Lucky_SLS

Lucky_SLS

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Dec 16, 2016
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save up and get the 1600. its like best of both worlds with gaming and multitasking. it can overclock. so got an advantage over the 6500/7500. ur gpu too needs an upgrade. wait for vega launch by in a few months. then pair it up with a nice new 250 bucks gpu n u r set ;)
 
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adiec

adiec

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Dec 4, 2013
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for about $40 more than a brand new fx 8370 .

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mVNLf8
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mVNLf8/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.48 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-B250M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Patriot - 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($52.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $182.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-08 00:05 EDT-0400
 
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Insomniac Jack

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The hate for the Ryzen CPU's is pretty unjustified. If you take a look at any Tech site they are recommended for the amount of cores and work station use value that they bring to the table. Most of the hate is because Ryzen isn't as fast as Intel when it comes to gaming, which is true but it's not far behind. As far as the I5 6500 vs. the any of the Ryzen chips I'd recommend Ryzen. That I5 6500 has 4 cores and doesn't come with hyperthreading. the Ryzen 1400 through 1500x all come with 4 cores and hyperthreading. The only leg up the 6500 has is that it has integrated graphics so you won't need a discrete video card which you would need with the current Ryzen line up.
 
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adiec

adiec

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the r5 1600 does beat the i5 7500 in some games and things are very close between them in gaming terms. the r5 1400 is more of a competitor against the i3 and i5 6400 and 7400 from what i have seen. i personally would choose ryzen but because the poster was looking at the fx series i offered him a better route than going with the fx 8370.

sometimes it is harder to save up but ryzen would be the smart choice .
 
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Insomniac Jack

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Yes I wasn't disagreeing with that. I was just letting him know the difference between the i5 6500 and the Ryzen chips and why it seems like everyone is so down on Ryzen when in fact it's a great CPU getting a bad rap because it doesn't beat Intel at gaming.
 
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adiec

adiec

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oh i understood that :p i was just agreeing with you :p whilst also trying to point out that it does actually win in some games the ryzen !! :D
 
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