GPU upgrade worth it with old parts?

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oliver.elgersma

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Apr 18, 2018
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I've been struggling to find a good answer when it comes to upgrading my PC in terms of gaming, and I want to make sure I make the right choice before I buy anything. I simply want a boost in FPS and I want to be able to have all my settings on high or ultra, because right now lag and FPS drop is an issue...

I have been eyeballing the GeForce GTX 1080 for a little while, but am wondering, if I should just upgrade everything to keep it all on the same level. I just know upgrading my cpu would probably require a knew mobo and maybe ram which is why I hesitate,
Here's my specs:

Processor: AMD FX-8370 Eight-Core Processor (4,00 GHz)
RAM: 16 GB
Graphics Card: ASUS R9270
MOBO: GA-990FXA-UD3

P.S., is changing from AMD to NVIDEA a good idea?
Cheers
 
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Have to agree that the cards are overpriced, and this time of year it's good to wait and see just what NVIDIA is releasing to the market, if anything.

I'm very skeptical that NVIDIA will ever release xx70 tier cards at reasonable prices ever again however, unless given zero choice in the matter. It's pretty obvious that the end consumer can't do anything about the high prices other than complain and pay them or complain and do without, with the complaining being the only optional part there. Why would NVIDIA want to change the situation if they are still selling large numbers of cards? Every chance they have ever had to raise prices, it seems that's what they've done. I highly suspect that NVIDIA will raise prices again, and who's...
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bigpinkdragon286

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Oct 3, 2012
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... and of course, if the op wants to game at higher than 1080p resolutions now, or wants to upgrade his platform later after purchasing a 1060, he will again be in the same place which he is in now, eyeballing a 1080 or higher tier graphics card to gain better performance.

Just because he can't now fully utilize a 1080, doesn't mean it's a bad purchase. As long as he realizes he will need a better platform to get the best performance out of the purchase of a 1080, whereas upgrading the platform in the future will yield only limited gains if he buys a mid-tiered product now, such as the 1060.
 
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10tacle

10tacle

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Dec 6, 2008
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If I were you, I'd upgrade that platform to an i5 8400 (non-K). It is by far the best gaming CPU for the money right now. You don't need to overclock so you can also save money on getting one of the new B370 motherboards for it. THe R9 290 is the best part of that build and you can use it a little while longer. It rocks GTA V in max quality settings at 1080p at well over 60FPS average paired with a modern Intel i5 or i7. You'll notice big FPS improvement with that GPU with a new Coffee Lake CPU.

Also Nvidia's GTX 10xx series is about to be replaced by their 11xx or 20xx (whatever they are going to call it) this summer sometime. I would definitely wait for a new GPU but start with a complete chipset makeover. What is the make and model of your power supply? The new Coffee Lakes are not compatible with some older PSUs so that's something to be on the lookout for as well when upgrading.
 
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bigpinkdragon286

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I think you might have misread the original post. The op said R9 270. That's the worst part of his current setup. He would be better served by getting an overpowered GPU, than a whole platform upgrade. Likely, he's rocking up to a 1080p screen, at 60 Hz, and would be able to just about max that out with a GTX 1080, whereas upgrading his platform would necessarily require an upgrade to his GPU as well, to gain much in the way of FPS.
 
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10tacle

10tacle

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I did. I had several tabs open and crossed up this one with another one so you are right on hs card being the weak link. But again, being so close to Volta's release I would hesitate buying a two year old GPU (1080) especially since they are still overpriced.

Based on history of new generation of Nvidia's GPUs, the next generation tier down will be faster than the previous next tier up and they will cost less (IE: GTX 1070 > GTX 980, GTX 970 > GTX 770, etc.). I'd figure out a way to get by like reducing quality settings because I know I'd have buyer's remorse. Happened to me when I paid $500 for a GTX 680 and five months later out comes a $400 GTX 770 refresh that was 10-15% faster.
 
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oliver.elgersma

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Apr 18, 2018
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the GA-990FXA-UD3 is AM3 cpu ready and is 700watts. its a 2013 model so if I replace my cpu id assume id need to replace the psu as well.

Any suggestions on a cpu?
 
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oliver.elgersma

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Apr 18, 2018
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Honestly I could rack up a fair bit of money as long as I'm getting parts I know will last. I want the effects of my upgrade to last as long as possible. So probably decently high budget.
 
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boju

boju

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5 years is getting on and probably a wise decision to buy new psu would be a good idea but not necessary. Your mobo + cpu doesn't require 700w, that figure is an overestimate for the entire system, hdds, gpu, fans etc. Long as you have adequate pcie power cable or cables for the gpu model should be fine with your current psu.
 
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bigpinkdragon286

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Oct 3, 2012
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Have to agree that the cards are overpriced, and this time of year it's good to wait and see just what NVIDIA is releasing to the market, if anything.

I'm very skeptical that NVIDIA will ever release xx70 tier cards at reasonable prices ever again however, unless given zero choice in the matter. It's pretty obvious that the end consumer can't do anything about the high prices other than complain and pay them or complain and do without, with the complaining being the only optional part there. Why would NVIDIA want to change the situation if they are still selling large numbers of cards? Every chance they have ever had to raise prices, it seems that's what they've done. I highly suspect that NVIDIA will raise prices again, and who's going to blame them if people are willing to pay the prices? Even better would be if they release the cards before the market prices return to what they were before becoming over inflated, who's even going to know just how much NVIDIA is inflating their pricing? :p Furthermore, they've put themselves in a position, starting with the Founders Edition boards, where NVIDIA can just as easily sell directly to the end users as their AIB partners have been. People were willing to pay the inflated Founders Edition pricing. Also, NVIDIA may be able to work things out through the GPP to where the market is artificially manipulated, starving board partners the necessary GPU silicon they need to fill market needs, causing artificially inflated demand for NVIDIA Founders Edition style cards, so they can jack the pricing even further, yet still sell them. If FE cards are the only things regularly in stock, that's what people are going to be buying, and to the benefit of NVIDIA, they keep all of the profits at that point, rather than the distribution channel.

That's my suspicion anyway.
 
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