Contemplating Upgrades

[selway89]

Hi All,

Long long time since I posted anything on here but I am thinking of doing some upgrades but unsure where to start and what makes the most sense.

Current specs are in my profile but quick summary is:

AMD FX 8320 @ 4.5GHz
8GB DDR3 2133MHz RAM
Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P (1.0)
Sapphire NITRO+ RX 470 8GB

I have noticed in games that I'm not quite getting the performance I was expecting from this card when I upgraded it a few months back. After a bit of reading I think my processor is holding things back.

Gaming is not my only concern. I am getting in to photography more and as such using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop more as well as Darktable on a Linux install.

These tend to seem a bit sluggish... Well Windows and general usage is not as snappy as it once was.

Anyway my first thoughts were get 16GB of RAM and maybe get an AIO cooler and push my CPU more if I can and be done with it.

But then my head started thinking what about moving my CPU motherboard and RAM on and getting something like a Ryzen 5 1500 or 1600 system with 16GB DDR4.

Any suggestions on which path to take and what is going to give me the best value in terms of performance increase without spending huge amounts.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Anyway my first thoughts were get 16GB of RAM

I would start there to see what happens. Your system is still quite capable otherwise.

 

[dorsetknob]

Suggest

More Ram
SSD ( Capacity as you can Afford but should be at least >256 Gig 120 gig not big enough these days)
AIO Cooler ( with 240 Rad if it fits your case).
Mild Overclock of CPU
Fresh Clean Install of O/S.
The Above should boost performance
that should give you a couple of years further use

But then my head started thinking what about moving my CPU motherboard and RAM on and getting something like a Ryzen 5 1500 or 1600 system with 16GB DDR4.

Bigger SSD and Cooler can be migrated to a new System later on Along with other components you are useing. so its not upgrade money wasted
The other parts you don't migrate will still recoup you a reasonable amount if after upgrading you feel there has not been enough of a performance Gain.

 

[Tatty_Two]

Ryzen 5 1400 or 1500 coupled with a B350 board is a good cost effective option however you then need to go down the DDR4 route and the hole in your pocket starts to widen, if it's solely FPS your concerned about in games then personally I would upgrade your graphics card and overclock that CPU a bit more, most are capable of it. To be honest I doubt your CPU at 4.5 is holding back a 470 much if at all.

 

[P4-630]

I would upgrade your graphics card and overclock that CPU a bit more

I think that CPU is lacking IPC performance for a much faster graphics card.

 

[Sasqui]

I would upgrade your graphics card

That was my first thought, thought it's not an inexpensive suggestion, you'd need to run up to a 1060 6gb to get anything significant over a 970

In my not so humble opinion, 8GB of ram should suffice handily for just about any game out there. Windows is very good at memory management. The CPU is certainly not HEDT, but capable.

Looks like you've already got a 120GB SSD for OS? Is that filling up and you're installing large games on your HDD?

 

[selway89]

Interesting suggestions people. Thank you! I was expecting people to be slating the FX.

Would bumping up to 16GB RAM, a 1060 6GB and if possible push the CPU more with better cooling see me net better performance?

It is possible I had expected the RX 470 to be better than what it is.....

120GB is about half full but all of my games and data are on the 1TB WD Black. I would probably do a clean install along side hardware changes.

One concern that had me opening my eyes to changing to Ryzen etc was putting money in to a dead system with DDR3. But I suppose on the other hand if it lasts another 2 years or so that isnt so bad.

 

[P4-630]

you'd need to run up to a 1060 6gb

GTX 1060 6GB
AMD FX8320 @4.7GHz
http://www.3dmark.com/search#/?mode...D FX-8320&gpuName=NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060-6GB

I5 6500 @3.2GHz stock
http://www.3dmark.com/search#/?mode...Processor&gpuName=NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060-6GB

 

[Sasqui]

GTX 1060 6GB
AMD FX8320 @4.7GHz
http://www.3dmark.com/search#/?mode...D FX-8320&gpuName=NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060-6GB

I5 6500 @3.2GHz stock
http://www.3dmark.com/search#/?mode...Processor&gpuName=NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060-6GB

...I think your point is the CPU difference. That shows a lot. 3D Mark physics score is 100% cpu.

Do the same search for 970 and 1060 with same FX CPU

 

[P4-630]

...I think your point is the CPU difference. That shows a lot. 3D Mark physics score is 100% cpu.

Do the same search for 970 and 1060 with same FX CPU

Yeah, ok, performance may not be the worst with that CPU if you overclock it, but you surely do get better gaming performance with a more recent CPU, either AMD or Intel.

 

[Mindweaver]

Interesting suggestions people. Thank you! I was expecting people to be slating the FX.

Would bumping up to 16GB RAM, a 1060 6GB and if possible push the CPU more with better cooling see me net better performance?

It is possible I had expected the RX 470 to be better than what it is.....

120GB is about half full but all of my games and data are on the 1TB WD Black. I would probably do a clean install along side hardware changes.

One concern that had me opening my eyes to changing to Ryzen etc was putting money in to a dead system with DDR3. But I suppose on the other hand if it lasts another 2 years or so that isnt so bad.

I would upgrade your graphics card first. Currently Ram is high. So, unless you can find someone you know that has already upgraded to DDR4 and has some DDR3 that they are not using, then I would go Ryzen. I don't think I would buy 8gb of DDR3 right now even if I just had to start out with only 8gb in a new Ryzen build, then add more later. Either way good luck!

 

[peche]

Get 16GB ram, also if possible a fresh install of Windows copy!
Fresh copy of windows on SSD, with you daily use programs, no moar than that cuz your 1TB HDD could be used for games and data only, this means that you could do partition that hard-drive like into 2 500GB partitions, 1 for games, other for data,

Cooling: important for OC, this could be solved pretty easy, get a decent AIO such as Tt water 3.0 Extreme or Pro, antec khuler 920, arctic freezer AIO or the one that fits your budget, any 120mm or 240mm will be enough to chill your hardware and ensure great lower temps!

Video card replacement: GTX 980 - 980ti used if possible to find a decently priced one, also GTX 1060 6GB is another quite interesting option.

with some minor changes that rig could provide enough Horse power to last another 2 years maybe, also tell us moar about the resolution you use to play !

Regards,

 

[Basard]

I wouldn't waste money on DDR3 if I were you, unless you can find some cheap used RAM.
Rather than 'wasting' money on an AIO cooler for a CPU that is constantly trying to kill you, just put it towards a new board with some DDR4, a way faster CPU and an SSD.
Or just start with an SSD... I suppose if you were to get an AIO unit, you could use it on any upgrades you get in the future, assuming they supply the appropriate brackets to mount it.
I would buy things that can be used with a new motherboard, because you're going to wanna upgrade that soon.
Bitcoins has ruined the video card market.... Don't even bother trying to get one for the time being. It's really quite depressing.

 

[peche]

I suppose if you were to get an AIO unit, you could use it on any upgrades you get in the future, assuming they supply the appropriate brackets to mount it.
I would buy things that can be used with a new motherboard, because you're going to wanna upgrade that soon.

most AIO comes with several brackets for multple sockets... so AIO could be used in almost any rig, also there are brackets for specific sockets for like $15 so c'mon ...

I wouldn't waste money on DDR3 if I were you, unless you can find some cheap used RAM.
Rather than 'wasting' money on an AIO cooler for a CPU that is constantly trying to kill you, just put it towards a new board with some DDR4, a way faster CPU and an SSD.

guess OP has a limited budget to work with, so small upgrades that can provide better performance are completely useful ... new board cpu and other hardware means moar money or expensive bill on this task sir...

Regards,

 

[Vario]

Its the CPU, I'd aim for a "I recently upgraded" bundle on ebay like i5 4670K, 16GB ddr3, and a motherboard, sometimes you see these for $200-250. I wouldn't go any older than Haswell.

 

[selway89]

Thanks all.

Yeh after a bit of thinking new processor and motherboard etc is stretching the budget as something has come up I hadn't expected.

Anyway will hunt for some used RAM to keep costs down. Got a Coolermaster seidon 240v cheap and a cheap case with better ventilation and space for said cooler.

Will install it all next week and do a clean install.

I may be able to get my hands on a cheap 250gb ssd barely used from a mate so could add that for faster game storage or something.

 

[Vario]

Thanks all.

Yeh after a bit of thinking new processor and motherboard etc is stretching the budget as something has come up I hadn't expected.

Anyway will hunt for some used RAM to keep costs down. Got a Coolermaster seidon 240v cheap and a cheap case with better ventilation and space for said cooler.

Will install it all next week and do a clean install.

I may be able to get my hands on a cheap 250gb ssd barely used from a mate so could add that for faster game storage or something.

Be careful buying used ram, sometimes you get stuff that doesn't pass memtest. Buying green colored pcb consumer ram is a way to save money on ram too. If you intend to use the ram with what you have, duplicate the same kit you have now so you have full compatibility.

Also check the prices on used i5s and 1150 mobos, they are really cheap.

 

[selway89]

Just to update people with where I got to with this.

Basically got a new case with an AIO cooler. Got some more memory nice and cheap, and pushed the overclock a bit more.

Moved my Windows install to a faster 120GB SSD I had, didnt know it was faster till I bench marked it and realised!

Performance wise I am quite happy with it for what I do. Noticed an improvement in speed with the RAM and SSD. Also think pushing my original OC of 4GHz to 4.62GHz has helped a decent amount.


One thing I also did was update my graphics drivers to 17.7.2 and get constant micro stutter on desktop etc.
Any one had this? Might have to roll back a few versions.

 

[peche]

Might have to roll back a few versions.

sometimes its the cure some issues!

 

[dorsetknob]

Any one had this? Might have to roll back a few versions.

Recent news thread covering this
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/...-17-7-2-presents-some-issues-to-users.235550/