upgrade thoughts

teppic · 13 Aug 2013 at 15:08

Potty27 said:
My path would be cpu/cooler/psu (small OC) - GPU - new mobo if needed.

The problem is that although a 6300 is going to be an improvement, in BF4 the 8320 is going to be a far better choice, and they're too close in price to dump one and upgrade to the other. And of course the 8320 will just throttle in that board (if it even supports it).

Maybe the 8320s will be on weekly offer tomorrow - that'd help.

I'd be more inclined to go new board now, 7850 on offer/b-grade, new CPU later.

Icet · 13 Aug 2013 at 15:10

I wouldn't put any money into the system, and I wouldn't be buying budget processors or motherboards/graphics cards either. Wait until you have money to do a proper system, otherwise you'll forever be chasing your tail.

Potty27 · 13 Aug 2013 at 15:11

But what else can you suggest in his budget without buying it all used?

The 6300 is still a decent CPU for the money.

Potty27 · 13 Aug 2013 at 15:13

Icet said:
Wait until you have money to do a proper system, otherwise you'll forever be chasing your tail.

I'd much rather a cheaper but capable system (mid settings) that was mine than a higher end system paid for with a "finance package".

teppic · 13 Aug 2013 at 15:14

Potty27 said:
But what else can you suggest in his budget without buying it all used?

The 6300 is still a decent CPU for the money.

It's the best option if other things are out of the question. It'll work in the current board, and with a new GPU it would give a good boost in BF3 multiplayer (and will be ok for BF4).

Icet · 13 Aug 2013 at 15:14

Potty27 said:
I'd much rather a cheaper but capable system (mid settings) that was mine than a higher end system paid for with a "finance package".

For the minimum upgrades, he needs to go down the finance package route in the first place, hence why I told him to wait and save.

teppic · 13 Aug 2013 at 15:16

Icet said:
For the minimum upgrades, he needs to go down the finance package route in the first place, hence why I told him to wait and save.

The thing is he's getting poor performance now and wants to upgrade something to help that. There are options that'll do that. It's no good saying wait 6 months until you can afford a system that's better than you need but at the same time I wouldn't suggest he splash out on finance to get something better than required.

Idleman · 13 Aug 2013 at 15:23

Hawkesbury said:
Whats wrong with it? I wont be doing massive OCs or have sli gfx cards.

For the size and price it is not a bad Psu, but is more suitable to HTPC /SFF. Not for a medium build gaming rig. It has no OPP(over power protection), so if the unit goes it could take some, if not all your other components with it.
I would look at getting a 430/450W Bronze+ unit at least.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Nexus-Value-430-Power-Supply-Review/1544/11

Doomedspeed · 13 Aug 2013 at 15:39

So basically we think you need a new CPU, motherboard, PSU and GPU.

(just in-case you couldn't follow the convosations above.

)

Though you could drop a 6300 in your current board it will hold back your (new) GPU, with an overclock (which you'll need a new board for) and it will have no upgrade potental without a new board.

teppic · 13 Aug 2013 at 15:46

It's a mix of that. The 6300 wouldn't hold things back in BF3 except in large multiplayer maps (and even then, that'll hold back a 4770K with a high end GPU). In BF4 it's likely to be held back a little with a midrange GPU.

Since good BF4 performance is wanted the 8320 will be the best option. It would work in the current board, but it'll almost certainly throttle at load. And it definitely could *not* be overclocked.

Potty27 · 13 Aug 2013 at 15:47

I think this + a used 5850/6870/560ti is the best upgrade he can do for a fairly small outlay:

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-6 Six Core 6300 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £89.99
1 x OCZ CoreXtreme 500w '80 Plus' Power Supply £34.99
Total : £124.98 (includes shipping : FREE).

Forget the after market cooler for now.

Potty27 · 13 Aug 2013 at 15:48

Total cost should be under £185.

Hawkesbury · 13 Aug 2013 at 18:49

Guys, thank you for all the responses. I will have a read and a think.

Whats the cheapest mobo that would be worth getting that wouldn't be pants.
It does not need to support sli and basically needs to be basic. If I need to get a new mobo is it worth jumping to intel? Or would I see no improvement for my budget?

To put things in context I have never really been able to play games on decent settings, so I dont know what im missing.

teppic · 13 Aug 2013 at 19:08

The cheapest AMD board to support 8 cores properly would be this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-194-MS

The very basic ones don't really have the components to run an 8 core AMD CPU well, especially overclocked - though all 970/990 boards will run it. These do give some other benefits though like USB 3, SATA 3, etc.

As potty said, you can drop an FX-6300 into your current board for an improvement, but that's the highest processor it'll run well.

Hawkesbury · 13 Aug 2013 at 20:24

teppic said:
The cheapest AMD board to support 8 cores properly would be this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-194-MS

The very basic ones don't really have the components to run an 8 core AMD CPU well, especially overclocked - though all 970/990 boards will run it. These do give some other benefits though like USB 3, SATA 3, etc.

As potty said, you can drop an FX-6300 into your current board for an improvement, but that's the highest processor it'll run well.

Problem is when you add that to an 8320 im at £200, where it wouldnt then me a huge increase to get intel

Doomedspeed · 13 Aug 2013 at 21:26

Hawkesbury said:
Problem is when you add that to an 8320 im at £200, where it wouldnt then me a huge increase to get intel

Exactly..

That why this is a tough situation..

Either way your budget will have to increase, really..

It may be worth reading up on 8320 vs 3570k/4670k and see which would be best for you..(as you can see you can get conflicting information when asking others)..

teppic · 13 Aug 2013 at 21:39

For BF3/BF4 stick with AMD for the low price and good performance.

For other games, consider Intel if the budget allows.

Your best, cheapest option at the moment is to put a 6300 in there. But I'm not keen on that idea as the board isn't great, and the 8320 is the better CPU.

Potty27 · 13 Aug 2013 at 21:40

If you use my previous spec, make sure the Cooler will fit in your case.

Hawkesbury · 13 Aug 2013 at 21:42

Doomedspeed said:
Exactly..

That why this is a tough situation..

Either way your budget will have to increase, really..

It may be worth reading up on 8320 vs 3570k/4670k and see which would be best for you..(as you can see you can get conflicting information when asking others)..

Thanks so much for your help.

Looking on some CAD forums basically for my uses an fx6300 would be fine and I wouldn't see many real world differences with any faster processor (this will change though).

Do you think my current mobo would be plain pointless with an fx6300? Am I wasting money, as I will want to upgrade the mobo it in the not so distant future, and then should have got a better CPU.

I take it getting an 8320 will basically mean a new PSU, but with the 6300 I could be okay?

Would it be worth spending money on a 8320 and mobo, then save some more for a psu and new gfx for November? I take it I could run on stock cooler and pants psu?

EDIT: In english! would my psu run an 8320 and new mobo while i save for more!

teppic · 13 Aug 2013 at 21:48

No, the 6300 will run in your board. It's a lot less demanding than an 8320. It will be a good upgrade for apps, and will help a lot in some games too (many will use 4 cores, not many >4). It'll certainly give a boost in BF3 multiplayer. An 8320 in your current board would be too much for it, it'd overheat the parts and it may not be stable, or it would run slower than it should. It could run ok, but I wouldn't risk it.

430W isn't really enough for an 8320 with a graphics card - it'd work but it's cutting it fine. I'd get 500W or better.