Advice needed ...what to upgrade??

GR1M_ZA · Jul 20, 2017

Good day to all.

I have an issue where I can upgrade some components of my pc, but I am in a catch 22.

My current specs are :

Intel i5 4440
8GB DDR3 ram
AMD R9 270x

1. I want a new GPU, but with the mining craze going on , that is nearly impossible as no-one has stock. I am looking at the RX570 or RX580.

2. For +- the same price I can upgrade my CPU, MB and RAM to AMD Ryzen 1600 with B350 MB and 8GB of ram and keep the 270x but have save up again for a year or 2 to by a GPU.

3. Do I save a bit more and wait for VEGA pricing and get the low-end VEGA model? Depending on price of course.

I am not going to list prices as I am in South Africa and components are very expensive. For example a Gigabyte Aorus RX580 was $384 ...and that was before the mining craze hit.

From the options I listed which option would you go for.

Thanks

raisonjohn · Jul 20, 2017

The Option #1 would have been a good upgrade (the RX 580 coming from an R9 270X) but the problem is, you have no control of its availability (and prices), so, that's out of the window already. This leads you to the next logical option, Option #3, of saving a bit more and waiting to see the next-gen GPUs (and its pricing) as you would have more options to choose from. Option #2 is a viable path to take if, currently, you are hampered by CPU-intensive games (and applications). The Ryzen 5 1600 (6-core/12-thread, OCable) is a great upgrade from an i5-4440 (4-core/4-thread, non-OCable) - but, as you said, you'd have to be contented with your current R9 270X for a year or two - which by then, you'd have even more powerful GPUs to choose from after Vega.

In short, if you badly need a CPU upgrade now, due to your current use of the PC, go for Option #2 as it will lay the groundwork for your future, more powerful GPUs.

If the i5-4440 still suits your needs as of the moment, I would go for Option #3 and save a bit more for what Vega has to offer. Note that if you get a more powerful Vega GPU than the RX 580, your i5-4440 *may* hinder its max. possible performance in certain CPU-intensive games in Ultra settings, which makes Option #2 a more viable option for you.

GR1M_ZA · Jul 20, 2017

raisonjohn :

The Option #1 would have been a good upgrade (the RX 580 coming from an R9 270X) but the problem is, you have no control of its availability (and prices), so, that's out of the window already. This leads you to the next logical option, Option #3, of saving a bit more and waiting to see the next-gen GPUs (and its pricing) as you would have more options to choose from. Option #2 is a viable path to take if, currently, you are hampered by CPU-intensive games (and applications). The Ryzen 5 1600 (6-core/12-thread, OCable) is a great upgrade from an i5-4440 (4-core/4-thread, non-OCable) - but, as you said, you'd have to be contented with your current R9 270X for a year or two - which by then, you'd have even more powerful GPUs to choose from after Vega.

In short, if you badly need a CPU upgrade now, due to your current use of the PC, go for Option #2 as it will lay the groundwork for your future, more powerful GPUs.

If the i5-4440 still suits your needs as of the moment, I would go for Option #3 and save a bit more for what Vega has to offer. Note that if you get a more powerful Vega GPU than the RX 580, your i5-4440 *may* hinder its max. possible performance in certain CPU-intensive games in Ultra settings, which makes Option #2 a more viable option for you.

At the moment my CPU is fine, I know my CPU will bottleneck the hell out of a high end card . The other thing is, I only game at 1080p. BF1 I can still get +-60fps at 1080 Medium settings with my current setup.

raisonjohn · Jul 20, 2017

Yeah, if such fps and graphics settings meets your needs, no need for Option #2 at the moment. I'd say go for Option #1 (the RX 580 paired with your current i5-4440 system) if an opportunity/availability arises now.

But, if there is absolutely no RX 580's available today, then, just keep your current system and save up some more while you wait for benchmarks/real-world performance tests of Vega GPUs and check how it will pair with your i5-4440.

If it seems that your current system will severely hinder such Vega GPU, then, that's the time you go for Option #2 (and, hopefully, by then, you'd still have some savings left to cut down some costs to get a better GPU alongside the CPU/MB/RAM upgrade.)

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Advice needed ...what to upgrade??

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