Upgrade advice needed
 

As you can see in my sig, my GPU is pretty much bottle-necked by the CPU. Would the money be better spend on getting Z77 board with 3570K or just buy 8350 and keep the current mobo?
Any suggestion on the new board should I go with Intel?

Thanks for your help :toast:

Getting just the CPU is much cheaper. If the motherboard is in good shape (not too old and you had a good PSU), just stick with it and go for the 8350.

Going with Intel and replacing your motherboard will not net you any noticable performance gains compared to just getting a 8350.

That's a good card you've got there. I reckon you should replace the mobo and CPU and get something like an Intel 3570K to really let that graphics card fly.

Going Intel i5 3*** will net around 10-15% better than upgrading to a 8350, whether it's worth the outlay to the OP only he can answer.

i would go intel (& OC it for an even bigger boost), what's your budget??


can you post some benchmark numbers? i think my OC q9550 is close to phenom ii quads & want to know what will happen when i get a 7970

hawken in particular has one map that dips into 20fps for me, now i know CF takes up cpu power so... i sure hope it wont stay at 20 with a new card

Thanks, NdMk2o1o. Intel may not seem like the most obvious choice in this case but it does have some upgradeability. I usually play FPS if that makes any different.

@kn00tcn what benchmark would you like to see? Also, my budget is ~£200 can spend a little more if needed.

Intel CPUs are better, but that's not always shows in every game and in every setup/configurations

1, in what resolution are you going to play? (monitor's native 1080p?)
2, can you name 3-5 games what you are planning to play the most?
3, do you play at the highest possible settings/detail in games?

ps.: I personally prefer Intel CPUs, but I still recommended the 8350 to you because that's the logical choice.

I game at 1080p, mainly BF3, FarCry 3 and probably Crysis 3 when it's released. I also play on PS2 emulator (PCSX2) a lot, not sure if that's better on Intel system.

If your budget is £200, definitely get the 8350. Much better than getting a very cheap Intel board and the 3570K.

If you play at 1080p and you use enthusiast (highest or ultra settings) in games, there would be not much performance gain by going for an Intel CPU because you are (and you will be) GPU limited in 95% of the games (including the ones you listed)

However, PCSX2 - like most of the emulators - is only dual core (Dolphin can use the third core a little bit), so Intel would perform better with that program, but - on the other hand - that's not a very demanding emulator if you enable some of the speedhacks.

Drop in an FX 8300. Makes no sense changing boards.

Seems a lot of people reckon I should keep the board, thanks for your advice. Just to make it clear how much more I would have to spend if I were to go with Intel, can anyone recommend a decent board to go with 3570K (or any on-going deal for that matter)?

It's not just about the money. It's about the time wasted installing the motherboard, cleaning the HDD, installing drivers, OS, games - It can kill like 2 days to get your rig back to normal and you'll be moving from AM3+ which has a decent upgrade path to LGA 1155 which is almost dead.

For a "OK" LGA 1155 starts from £100, the 3570K costs £177 so you'll be looking at £277 at minimum, whereas the FX 8350 is only £162.

You'd be spending a minimum of £115 for a slight gaming boost you won't notice and potentially lose performance in well optimized games or future games.

You could even sell your current Phenom II X4 955 BE for £60 on Ebay for a quick sale, then think of the FX upgrade as a discount ;)


AMD FX-8350 4GHz Socket AM3+ 16MB Cache Retail Box...
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=CP-336-AM
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=BG-086-AM

Intel Core i5 3570K 3.4GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache.....

Edit:

And more memory, not that you'll need it, but it'll ensure rig longevity. 8GB kits are only £35 now. So there is no excuse not to have 16GB total.

Thanks, Dent1 for making me see sense. Although I'm not really bothered about re-installing the whole thing, that £100 of money wasted is too much and instead better spend on some SSD.

I'd get the 8350 for sure. The new Vishera Piledriver CPU's are a lot better than the Bulldozer Zambezi CPU's. :toast:

Thanks a lot for your advice guys. I think I'm going with 8350 since it makes more sense financially.
Saves me a lot of trouble re-installing my OS and games, too.