New Processor, New Motherboard, More RAM, or new Graphics Card?

[jordan1794]

Ok so I have a gaming computer that my brother started building about 7 years ago.
The newest component(other than the hard drive) is the graphics card, ATI Radeon HD 5870.

So the computer still runs great for day to day tasks.
However Some of the newer games are starting to put a little strain on my system
(When he built it he could run ANY game on max settings at 60FPS)
Even Skyrim, at max settings I drop to around 35 FPS when I'm in an open space with a lot of things moving around.

Thing is, being a college student, I won't have the money to build a new computer anytime in the next 3 years.

So I was wondering what you guys think my bottleneck is, and what would give me the biggest boost for the money.

All my stats(If you need something more let me know)
(Got all this from CPU-Z, I'm not 100% sure if all of this is important or not)

Oddly enough CPU-Z lists 1GB of Graphics RAM
32 bit Dx Diag lists 4 GB
64 Bit dx Diag lists less than 1 GB

 

[AnonymousONIagent]

Everything but the memory looks horrendously out of date. You'll probably have difficulty achieving any sizable increase in performance by only replacing one part of your system.

You could probably get a decent AMD CPU, motherboard, and graphics card combo that'll give you a decent performance increase over what you have for about $500, perhaps a bit less. That should be plenty as long as you aren't doing any seriously CPU-intensive tasks, in which case you should probably avoid AMD CPUs.

If you don't feel comfortable switching to an AMD CPU or if $500 is still out of the question for you, then the GPU would probably be the easiest component to replace all by itself. I'm not terribly familiar with Intel platforms older than a few years, but I'm thinking that if you try to put a newer CPU on that board you might run into compatibility issues, but I'm not certain.

 

[jordan1794]

Well my processor is almost always parking half of its cores
(It has 4 cores(8 threads), and runs at 2.67Ghz)
The only time I was able to max my CPU was when I applying an effect to an image file that was 20,000 pixels by 60,000 pixels.

I think you may be underestimating the processor; I remember my brother spending about 600$ on it when he first bought it.

(He then sold me the computer a few years later, for 600$, so he could buy the new processor for his new computer).

From what I could look up, the only processor that fit my motherboard, that are more powerful, are either no longer sold, or are over 400$
http://processors.findthebest.com/d/p/LGA-.-1366

Which brings my problem;For 600$ I could buy a much faster processor, but it'd have to be for a new motherboard.

This is what my CPU usage looks like when I run skyrim on max settings, and start seeing my FPS drop to 40 or so.

As you can see, it barely touches all 8 threads.

 

[AnonymousONIagent]

Then it looks like your CPU is being bottlenecked by the graphics card. It's probably the 1GB of VRAM on the card. So it would appear that I was initially wrong, and that you should get some benefit out of a new graphics card.

I'd say that an R9 280, GTX 960, or a GTX 770 would probably be the most your current setup would be able to accomodate, and even that could be pushing it. Depending on what you play, you may even consider stepping down to a cheaper card like an R9 270 or a GTX 750Ti.

 

[iballew]

I disagree. That i7 is still a very capable cpu (about the equivalent of a fx 4350). I would recommend a gtx 960 or gtx 970. They are both a huge improvement over your 5870 and will keep you satisfied for the next three years.

gtx 960: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487091&cm_re=gtx_960-_-14-487-091-_-Product

gtx 970: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487076&cm_re=gtx_970-_-14-487-076-_-Product

 

[jordan1794]

I disagree. That i7 is still a very capable cpu (about the equivalent of a fx 4350). I would recommend a gtx 960 or gtx 970. They are both a huge improvement over your 5870 and will keep you satisfied for the next three years.

gtx 960: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487091&cm_re=gtx_960-_-14-487-091-_-Product

gtx 970: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487076&cm_re=gtx_970-_-14-487-076-_-Product

Alright, I'll look into a new graphics card, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[AnonymousONIagent]

If you have the money to spare, you should definitely still look into updating your CPU and mobo. You can find some nice FX-8350 and 990FX mobo combo deals online for around $350 (I even found this one for $300 on Newegg, and it includes memory as well). As long as you aren't doing anything that requires all of Intel's fancy bells and whistles, you've got a power supply and aftermarket CPU cooler that can support the FX-8350, and you've got the money to spare, you should see a pretty decent increase in performance, especially if you buy a GTX 970 or R9 290X for your GPU.

 

[jordan1794]

Well I'm planning on building a whole new rig once I get out of college, I'm just trying to get some more life out of this machine.

Again, it was put together over 5 years ago.