Best way to upgrade this? (I know it's not easy)

brady_96

Prominent
Aug 23, 2017
8
0
510
Right now I'm rocking a AMD FX-8320 with an OC to 4.0ghz, with a GTX970. The CPU seems to be bottlenecking my GPU honestly. I also have DDR3 RAM. I want to start upgrading it anywho, but I get quite confused with the slots with the MOBO with am3+ and what not. I know it's a terrible time to have an AMD, but this is my only option really. Anyone that can tell me how to make it more powerful, while making it cost efficient? Thank you in advance! Also if you have any questions I'll answer them as soon as possible.
So just to recap I have:
AMD FX-8320
GTX 970
16 GB DDR3 RAM
Not entirely sure of MOBO model.
Any help is uber appreciated!
 
Solution
Your AMD should have some headroom for some overclocking (unless your motherboard is garbage). Besides overclocking you are up against a wall with that motherboard. It is too old for any meaningful upgrade. Since you overclock any other AMD CPU which is compatible won't be any help as they are all the same chip with different factory settings. Settings which become meaningless if you overclock. They all have about the same limit.

Adding more RAM won't be any help for gaming.

A new GPU can help in some games. A GTX 1060 is a pointless upgrade as it is a very minor boost over the 970. You'd be looking at a GTX 1070 or better for any meaningful upgrade. Even then at 1920x1080 the CPU will hold you back. Although they would make for...

mastarnaab

Commendable
Dec 31, 2016
30
0
1,540
I would say that the bottleneck isn't really big, but it's there. 0% bottleneck is quite impossible anyways.
If you have the money, the new Ryzen series would probably be a good upgrade (5 or 7 series), but you will need to switch your MB to an AM4 socket one & your RAM to DDR4. It also depends on what games you want to run and at what quality/fps.
 
Your AMD should have some headroom for some overclocking (unless your motherboard is garbage). Besides overclocking you are up against a wall with that motherboard. It is too old for any meaningful upgrade. Since you overclock any other AMD CPU which is compatible won't be any help as they are all the same chip with different factory settings. Settings which become meaningless if you overclock. They all have about the same limit.

Adding more RAM won't be any help for gaming.

A new GPU can help in some games. A GTX 1060 is a pointless upgrade as it is a very minor boost over the 970. You'd be looking at a GTX 1070 or better for any meaningful upgrade. Even then at 1920x1080 the CPU will hold you back. Although they would make for considerable improvement at 2560x1440, 4K, triple 1080p, &c.

Your best option in the here and now is to save up for a complete motherboard, CPU and RAM swap. I would look at a Ryzen 1600 or 1700 CPU or Intel 7700K. So, you will have a CPU upgrade that will last a long time for gaming. I'd plan on spending $150 to $200 for a good solid motherboard with excellent power handling for overclocking and possible USB 3.1 Gen 2 support. USB 3.1 Gen 1 is a crock of s*** pawned off on people. It is actually just USB 3.0. If a motherboard does not specifically say USB 3.1 Gen 2 it is Gen 1. Enough of this rant. A good motherboard will also have halfway decent audio circuitry and the usual bells and whistles.

Frankly, your system is still decent for gaming. Just upgrading the CPU or GPU likely won't give you a major upgrade. I'd improve the cooling and bring the AMD up to 4.6Ghz and do a minor clock boost on the GPU (using MSI afterburner). That's about $50 for a good air cooler (Scythe Mugen 5) and $15 for a pair of Arctic F12 PWM case fans. The Arctic have good airflow, static pressure and are quiet. They compete on the same level as other brands that cost double.

Then sock away $30 a week for the next year. At which point you can buy a new system GPU, CPU, RAM, Case, PSU, SSD and HDD for $1,500. As your other components are likely pretty old as well. If at that time you also sell off your current system (including peripherals). You could likely buy a decent 27" IPS 2560x1440 gaming monitor, mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse to go with the new build. Saving up for one big new build is far more satisfying than a hodge podge of upgrades.

“The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting”
― Andy Warhol
 
Solution

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