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GPU or CPU or Everything?

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  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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March 13, 2014 8:10:49 AM

I'm looking at upgrading some time in the next 4 or 5 months, but am not sure which bit to upgrade. I've heard that older CPUs and/or motherboards can actually limit the efficacy of newer GPUs, but am not sure if my current setup would be such a system. All advice would be appreciated.

CPU
Core i5 2500 Sandy Bridge

GPU
1GB ATI Radeon 6800

MOBO
Z68A-GD55 (G3) MS-7681

RAM
8GB DDR3

Monitor
1680x1050 @60Hz

More about : gpu cpu

March 13, 2014 9:30:54 AM

The Sandy Bridge is a little old but should be plenty good enough for a year or two, if possible, look into overclocking it for some extra goodness.
A decent boost will come from something around the GTX660/R9 270 class of card, they'll probably run off the existing power supply, but check it has the required output and PCI-E leads to run the upgraded part.
Maximum choice would be one tier higher-GTX760. I will mention the AMD equals: HD7950 and R9 280 (not the 'X' version-it's a different card altogether) problem is the 7950 is an older part, so it's pretty well sold out and the R9 280 is a new part and currently in short supply and both are expensive.
No, you will not suffer any performance loss by running a PCI-E 3.0 card in a PCI-E 2.0 slot.
March 13, 2014 9:36:12 AM

warhammer3025 said:
I'm looking at upgrading some time in the next 4 or 5 months, but am not sure which bit to upgrade. I've heard that older CPUs and/or motherboards can actually limit the efficacy of newer GPUs, but am not sure if my current setup would be such a system. All advice would be appreciated.

CPU
Core i5 2500 Sandy Bridge

GPU
1GB ATI Radeon 6800

MOBO
Z68A-GD55 (G3) MS-7681

RAM
8GB DDR3

Monitor
1680x1050 @60Hz


Your CPU will be just fine to power any single GPU setup for a good while, definitely more than a year. An upgrade to your GPU would be your best bet for gaming purposes. Depends on your budget for what to recommend. Like coozie said, the 760 is a great card (I have one myself).
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March 14, 2014 11:39:01 PM

Thanks for the tips. On a related note; how can one tell when they're being CPU-bound or GPU-bound in terms of performance?
March 15, 2014 11:51:22 AM

Most games are GPU-bound. However, games like strategy games that require a lot of serious AI, and and game that uses multiplayer also rely on the CPU. You see this in BF4 with 64 player maps.

Games that only utilize a single thread are also - what I would call - CPU bound. You could have an FX 9570 at 5 GHz, but an i3 would probably win because of Intel's much better single-thread performance.
March 17, 2014 8:41:55 AM

Perhaps I overstated the 'old' part about the CPU, it's still a fine part, and while you could upgrade to a faster Haswell CPU/Mobo I don't think the improvements will be worth the expense and hassle as I said: "plenty good enough for a year or two".
Apart from a tiny few games-BF4 has been mentioned- you're unlikely to see any noticeable slowdowns and, to be honest, everyone else is seeing pretty much the same unless they're on 6 core i7s!
As for the EXACT upgrade, if you plan on making a purchase in several months time your best option is to keep an eye on the tech sites and stay abreast of developments, things change so quickly that what is a solid recommendation this month is a poor choice next.
!