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New GFX card on old system 1660GTX for my old R9 390x

adamg64

adamg64

adamg64

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Joined
24 Jul 2008
Posts
416
Ive been piecing together help and advice and would love just a few more opinions on upgrading my GPU to a 1660GTX Super.

My ageing system is still holding its own but i'd love to have a smooth experience on some games i play RDR2 amongst others. I was considering adding a second 390x in crossfire but was strovlgy advised not too with compatibility and possible support/driver issues it could caused.

I was advised for a similar budget i could buy a 1660GTX Super OC would offer a lot more power compared to two x 390x and more efficient and power consumption. Buying a second card is around same price as just selling my card and adding the extra to fund the 1660.

Changing to a new card i was worried about creating a bottle neck as a lot of my other hardware is getting on now.


Current system is as follows
AMD FX-8320
Sabertooth 990fx mobo
16GB DDR3
MSI AMD R9 390X
Corsair 1000w PSU
Windows 10

Any advice would be greatly appreciated many thanks
Adam
 
It depends on the game, some it will be a big bottleneck, some it won't. It wouldn't put me off. What would put me off is spending £200+ on a not very big upgrade.
 
Tetras said:
It depends on the game, some it will be a big bottleneck, some it won't. It wouldn't put me off. What would put me off is spending £200+ on a not very big upgrade.
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This is kinda what im asking tbh. Somebody said it would be like a 50% better upgrade but im unsure checking the specs
 
It depends on the game cos there's a big difference between the architectures, but up to 50% sounds reasonable. The 390X is faster than a 570, but a little slower than a 580 / 5500 XT. That wouldn't be enough of a jump for me.
 
Tetras said:
It depends on the game cos there's a big difference between the architectures, but up to 50% sounds reasonable. The 390X is faster than a 570, but a little slower than a 580 / 5500 XT. That wouldn't be enough of a jump for me.
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Currently Red dead 2 and planning to take it online once the story is complete. Then codmw and looking at future releases in mind.
 
Given your second sentence, I'd be looking at saving a few bob more and getting a platform upgrade before buying a graphics card, that FX CPU is just a bit too long in the tooth in my humble opinion.
 
I agree with above. My old system my gf ended up with with, a i5 2500k @ 4.5/ GTX 970 had the cpu/mb just blow up. Moving to a Ryzen 3 with new mb and ram has given the 970 a new lease of life. Theres now zero micro stutters and locked constant 60 fps keeping settings the same, and on a few games can now crank up details to max/just under @1080@60 when before it was barely managing to keep 60fps at any settings in newer games.

Cost just over £200 to move to R3 3100, mb and 16gb ram.

You can always turn the gfx details down a notch to deal with gpu fps issues but cant really do anything about poor fps performance due to older cpus in newer games.
 
Grrg said:
I agree with above. My old system my gf ended up with with, a i5 2500k @ 4.5/ GTX 970 had the cpu/mb just blow up. Moving to a Ryzen 3 with new mb and ram has given the 970 a new lease of life. Theres now zero micro stutters and locked constant 60 fps keeping settings the same, and on a few games can now crank up details to max/just under @1080@60 when before it was barely managing to keep 60fps at any settings in newer games.

Cost just over £200 to move to R3 3100, mb and 16gb ram.

You can always turn the gfx details down a notch to deal with gpu fps issues but cant really do anything about poor fps performance due to older cpus in newer games.
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Yea i was looking at the ryzen bundles but by the time i finshined up i was looking at more higher spec ones and was at £700 just for mobo and cpu. I dont mind dropping a £1000 GBP on a new mobo/cpu/gfx/ram but currently for home much i play its a tad over the top.

But i think that might be the best solution as it will future proof me for another 8-10 years i think.
 
adamg64 said:
Yea i was looking at the ryzen bundles but by the time i finshined up i was looking at more higher spec ones and was at £700 just for mobo and cpu.
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You don't need to spend anywhere near that - a 3600 will still be a lot quicker than your old FX-8320, and either the B450 Mortar Max or Tomahawk Max motherboards are more than good enough.
As others have said, upgrading your CPU may actually release some performance in your 390X (which is still a fairly capable card - e.g. it's as good as a 5 year newer Nvidia 1650), certainly in terms of minimum and average fps, if not maximum.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £370.43 (includes shipping: £10.50)​
​
 
Armageus said:
You don't need to spend anywhere near that - a 3600 will still be a lot quicker than your old FX-8320, and either the B450 Mortar Max or Tomahawk Max motherboards are more than good enough.
As others have said, upgrading your CPU may actually release some performance in your 390X (which is still a fairly capable card - e.g. it's as good as a 5 year newer Nvidia 1650), certainly in terms of minimum and average fps, if not maximum.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £370.43 (includes shipping: £10.50)
​
Click to expand...

Very interesting, i'd prob have a budget of £500 to throw at these 3 what would you change?
 
adamg64 said:
Very interesting, i'd prob have a budget of £500 to throw at these 3 what would you change?
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I wouldn't necessarily.

Save the money and put it towards a GPU, or swap the CPU out down the line for the zen 3 based ryzens (assuming support) or a used 3800x or similar when people upgrade
 
Armageus said:
I wouldn't necessarily.

Save the money and put it towards a GPU, or swap the CPU out down the line for the zen 3 based ryzens (assuming support) or a used 3800x or similar when people upgrade
Click to expand...

I might just save for a new build, cpu mobo ram and GPU. prob look to build it end of the year.

I wouldnt mind throwing so coin at mobo cpu and ram sooner and get a GPU end of the year maybe.

Push the budget to 700-800 for those 3 and then GPU later on.
 
adamg64 said:
Yea i was looking at the ryzen bundles but by the time i finshined up i was looking at more higher spec ones and was at £700 just for mobo and cpu. I dont mind dropping a £1000 GBP on a new mobo/cpu/gfx/ram but currently for home much i play its a tad over the top.

But i think that might be the best solution as it will future proof me for another 8-10 years i think.
Click to expand...

If you want to do a "lite" upgrade atm that will give big overall difference id go with a decent b450 board, 3600 ram and maybe r3 3100 for around £200 just now keeping the gpu. Then down line upgrade to maybe 3700x and 2070 super that will have huge discount start of next year after newer gen launches. The boards will support upto current 12/24 core cpu and most will get bios updates to support next gen Ryzen.

**This is only my imo from building few systems over last year so dont take it as gospel, but £200 now will be a huge improvement and will support anything going forward.
 
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Grrg said:
If you want to do a "lite" upgrade atm that will give big overall difference id go with a decent b450 board, 3600 ram and maybe r3 3100 for around £200 just now keeping the gpu. Then down line upgrade to maybe 3700x and 2070 super that will have huge discount start of next year after newer gen launches. The boards will support upto current 12/24 core cpu and most will get bios updates to support next gen Ryzen.

**This is only my imo from building few systems over last year so dont take it as gospel, but £200 now will be a huge improvement and will support anything going forward.
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I hear that i upgraded my cpu a few years ago for my current one i have now. Do you think that cheaper mobo would be suffice if i upgraded to a better cpu in the future? sounds abit cheap and basic?
 
adamg64 said:
I hear that i upgraded my cpu a few years ago for my current one i have now. Do you think that cheaper mobo would be suffice if i upgraded to a better cpu in the future? sounds abit cheap and basic?
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The above MSI B450 Mortar Max (or the full ATX Tomahawk Max) is one of the best AMD motherboards around regardless of price - it has VRMs (power circuitry) that are better than some boards costing twice as much.
 
Armageus said:
The above MSI B450 Mortar Max (or the full ATX Tomahawk Max) is one of the best AMD motherboards around regardless of price - it has VRMs (power circuitry) that are better than some boards costing twice as much.
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You've been most helpful im so out of touch on hardware now.

Ive found a bundle locally to me im intersted in ASUS ROG B450-F + AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Bundle for £260 seems a good deal. What you think about that?
 
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