Is this a good gaming upgrade? & Need help picking a Video Card.

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Aqualoon

Aqualoon

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2010
28
0
18,530
My friend's GPU died and I was going to get her a new one as a B-Day gift. She sent me her PC specs and I think her CPU is so limiting that I'm thinking about trying to piece together a new system for her.

She plays a lot of FFXIV, some Overwatch and then older MMOs every now and then with light video editing (captures game play, puts music behind it, etc.)

Current Specs

AMD FX-6100
16GB DDR3
500W Corsair PSU
1TB HDD
2 Monitors - 1 @ 1920x1080 & 1 @ 1280x720 (this is a TV)

I can get an i5 2400 CPU/Board for $120ish give or take, can reuse her memory and then I have a Corsair HX850 sitting in my closet to use if the GPU requires more juice then her 500w. Thinking of going the matx route, get a stylish case in her favorite color (upgrade the case fans cause they are crap), get a 120GB SSD Drive for the OS and her main game then a 1TB WD Black for everything else and then slap a CM Hyper TX3 on that 2400.

Two questions...

1. Would this be a significant upgrade for her and what she does?
2. What Video Card(s) would work well in this setup? Was thinking GTX 770/780 or maybe 1050 TI?
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Dunlop0078

Dunlop0078

Titan
Ambassador
Feb 13, 2014
13,306
146
70,990
Well a i5 2400 is not much of an upgrade over the fx 6100, it does have slightly better single core performance so it should do slightly better in games but I wouldn't expect much. I would stick with the fx 6100 or look for something else, upgrading a fx 6100 to an i5 2400 is not worth 120 dollars in my opinion. Maybe give the fx 6100 a bit of an overclock if she has a decent mobo.

A 1050 ti would be a decent choice for a gpu, the RX 570 or 470 performs slightly better if you can find one for around the same price as a 1050 ti.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Barty1884

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
Apr 16, 2015
22,250
1,350
108,740
^Agreed with Dunlop there.

The 6100 is not *that* bad, especially considering the GPU options you're considering (and the added cores are likely beneficial in her light editing).

While an i5-2400 is a solid enough CPU, it's not bringing much to the table over the 6100, and requires a relatively decent outlay for it.

If I were you I'd:
pick up a quality aftermarket cooler and OC the 6100 if the board can handle it
pair it with an RX570...... maybe even a 580 if you can get a good, stable OC out of the 6100.
240GB SSD for OS
PSU should probably be replaced. Picturing this being a CX500 or simila.r An HX850 is going toe be overkill, but if you have it laying around anyway....


 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Barty1884

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
Apr 16, 2015
22,250
1,350
108,740
What kind of budget are you anticipating here Aqualoon?

FWIW, if you're considering >$120 for a CPU/Mobo upgrade...... why not look to an actual new build.

You could pair a G4560 with a B250 board + DDR4 RAM for ~$150.

The G4560 outperforms an FX6300* more often that not in gaming (which in turn is about 20% "faster" than a 6100) and won't break the bank.
https://www.digitalfoundry.net/2017-01-30-budget-cpu-face-off-pentium-g4560-vs-core-i3-6100-vs-fx-6300

*In gaming, paired with 2400MHz DDR4.

Of course, you'd have to look at benchmarks for specifically how it would perform in the games she plays............and of course, the lower core count would likely impact the editing aspect.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
shrapnel_indie

shrapnel_indie

Distinguished
Jan 21, 2010
2,151
10
20,915
1) For gaming, the i5 will do considerably better than the i5-2400. It would be a good upgrade.

2) I believe any of those cards will work well. Better for a 4GB or better card though... which leads probably to the 1050Ti (which offers DirectX 12 support while the 7xx series doesn't.)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Aqualoon

Aqualoon

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2010
28
0
18,530
Budget wise is cheap as possible while giving her a good upgrade - I hope that doesn't sound bad. I just don't have the funds to go around spending hundreds of dollars on every friend's B-Day...I just know she's in need so trying to do what I can and reuse what she or I have (ram in her case, my spare PSU in mine, etc.).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Barty1884

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
Apr 16, 2015
22,250
1,350
108,740


1. Not sure what you're trying to say there? Which i5 will outperform which i5? 3rd Gen i5>2nd Gen i5, absolutely. But neither are any substantial improvement vs the FX6100.

2. Inclined to agree on the VRAM aspect, but your DX12 info is simply wrong.
DX12 is supports on GPUs are far back as the 4XX mobile lineup..... and the 5XX series desktop lineupe:
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/dx12/supported-gpus?field_gpu_type_value=All&page=4




I hear ya. While a 3rd Gen i5 would be an improvement, I'd only suggest that if you had a board already and the CPU was cheap.
You're looking at used, older hardware..... which won't show any real noticeable gains (enough to justify the $$$ at least) vs what she has currently.

A new, budget setup is achievable for simlar money, better performance (in certain tasks ie gaming) - and gets her onto the latest platform...... not to mention warranties etc too!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Aqualoon

Aqualoon

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2010
28
0
18,530
Yeah just DDR4 is so dang expensive and she has DDR3 already. I was looking at upgrading myself to this latest platform and decided against it (I'm running a 4670k w/32GB DDR3 and was looking at a i7 6700).

But you have given me something to think about.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Barty1884

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
Apr 16, 2015
22,250
1,350
108,740
It is, but DDR3 is just as expensive these days (for the most part). It's a tough one, as reusing the DDR3 would be ideal - but for the budget(ish) ...lets call it $150 for arguments sake, there's nothing really worthwhile in there. If you could get her onto a Haswell/Devils Canyon chip in the budget, sure! But unless you really luck out, there's not much chance of finding a 4670/4690(K) for the budget.

Yeah, I wouldn't upgrade from Haswell/Devils Canyon (I'm running a 4690K myself) anytime soon, unles you need the extra threads of the i7.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Aqualoon

Aqualoon

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2010
28
0
18,530
Okay, let me run this a bit backwards then.

What generation will it be a significant upgrade enough to switch to? Pentium/i3/i5 chips - from there I will go a searchin.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
shrapnel_indie

shrapnel_indie

Distinguished
Jan 21, 2010
2,151
10
20,915


1) I see what you mean. I was trying to say the i5 was better than the FX6100... albeit the age does keep the differences less than putting the FX-6100 up against Haswell or newer.

2) I stand corrected.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Aqualoon

Aqualoon

Distinguished
Feb 10, 2010
28
0
18,530
Me again!

If I were to go with the new platform, pretty much even just a dual core pentium chip would be an upgrade, correct? I ask because I saw this: http://www.benchmarks-tests.com/cpu/Intel-Core-i5-6600K_vs_Intel-Pentium-G4400/Final-Fantasy-XIV/

Looking at the last bench - 1080/high - the G4400 is keeping up with the i5 6600k with the GTX 960.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Barty1884

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
Apr 16, 2015
22,250
1,350
108,740
I wouldn't look below the G4560 - dual core with hyper-threads (like a prior gen i3). It really is the budget king.

As for keeping up with a 6600K, I wouldn't say it's necessairly 'keeping up with' as per those FPS charts.......
Also, those charts are "average" only. Which is fine to get an idea, but minimums (drops/stuttering etc) would be more interesting to see.

The added threads over the G4560 should mitigate that somewhat...... but obviously a lot will depend on the GPU you plan to pair with it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom