Advice for upgrading.

DookieChumo · 8 Mar 2015 at 17:10

Hello All,

I would like to ask some advice on a long over due upgrade.

My current specs are blow. I'm looking at upgrading to a R9 290x for now and then doing a full upgrade of all the other components later while adding a second R9 290x when they hopefully drop in price.

I would like to know if replacing my current GPU with a R9 290x would have too much of a CPU or ram bottleneck and I guess a power supply upgrade will be needed.

I would like to upgrade soon so waiting for the new AMD 300 range isn't an option.

I'll be looking to play games like Star Citizen, Tomb Raider, City Skyline's and heavily modded Skyrim.

AMD Phenom II X6 Six Core 1055T 2.80GHz (Socket AM3)
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5G
Skill RipJawsX (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
Asus M4A78LT-M 760G (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard
Cooler master RS-500-PCAP-J3 Power supply.

Thanks in advanced for advice.

Telecaster · 8 Mar 2015 at 17:36

PSU looks a bit dicey, 500w with 70% efficiency and only 30 amp on the 12v rail which isn't enough for a 290x.

RAM should be fine, more than enough. Don't know enough about AMD CPUs to comment on that.

DookieChumo · 8 Mar 2015 at 17:41

Thanks for the advice.I'll take a look at some power supplies.

Telecaster · 8 Mar 2015 at 17:55

This would be ideal if you're planning on a pair od 290x

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-019-SF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2466

Pretty much anything from the likes of Antec, EVGA, Superflower and Seasonic around the 850W mark would do.

Andreas.96 · 8 Mar 2015 at 18:00

What's your budget?

DookieChumo · 8 Mar 2015 at 18:02

Around £250 for the gpu.

DookieChumo · 8 Mar 2015 at 18:03

Telecaster said:
This would be ideal if you're planning on a pair od 290x

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-019-SF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2466

Pretty much anything from the likes of Antec, EVGA, Superflower and Seasonic around the 850W mark would do.

Looks good.

Andreas.96 · 8 Mar 2015 at 18:21

Because you're looking to go crossfire in the near future I'd suggest a blower style cooler like:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Radeon R9 290X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £249.95
Total : £259.55 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Just means the cards will kick the heat out the back of the case instead of into each other which will hopefully keep the notoriously high temps down a bit

DookieChumo · 8 Mar 2015 at 19:08

Andreas.96 said:
Because you're looking to go crossfire in the near future I'd suggest a blower style cooler like:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Radeon R9 290X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £249.95
Total : £259.55 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Just means the cards will kick the heat out the back of the case instead of into each other which will hopefully keep the notoriously high temps down a bit

Yeah, I have been looking at that card. Thanks for the suggestion.

DookieChumo · 8 Mar 2015 at 19:13

What's the consensus on a price drop on the R9 290x once the new ones are announced/released?

Fallen god · 8 Mar 2015 at 19:50

I think cards typically get phased out when the next gen drops, e.g difficult to find a 780/770 right now and might even cost more then before soon. If you do act quickly you might get a decent deal thou.

lee32uk · 8 Mar 2015 at 19:57

Andreas.96 said:
Because you're looking to go crossfire in the near future I'd suggest a blower style cooler like:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Radeon R9 290X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £249.95
Total : £259.55 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Just means the cards will kick the heat out the back of the case instead of into each other which will hopefully keep the notoriously high temps down a bit

That is a terrible choice. Unless the op wants a hairdryer in his case.

This MSI is a much better option.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 290X LE Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £239.99
Total : £249.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

johndavies82@ho · 8 Mar 2015 at 22:18

amd fx 8350 asus sabertooth 990fx 9gb ram radion 6870 i good set uo fir ganeing thankyou

johndavies82@ho · 8 Mar 2015 at 22:20

as at min runing a 960t 8gb ram radion 6870

DookieChumo · 8 Mar 2015 at 22:23

Fallen god said:
I think cards typically get phased out when the next gen drops, e.g difficult to find a 780/770 right now and might even cost more then before soon. If you do act quickly you might get a decent deal thou.

Ok I see, I'll keep that in mind.

DookieChumo · 8 Mar 2015 at 22:29

lee32uk said:
That is a terrible choice. Unless the op wants a hairdryer in his case.

This MSI is a much better option.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 290X LE Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £239.99
Total : £249.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Your right and the MSI is a great price. Not a big fan of the look of it.

@simpleMr · 11 Mar 2015 at 16:00

Ye get a corsair power supply min 600w silver.