CPU/GPU upgrade or new build?

slipperydave · 29 May 2014 at 11:35

So I'm not sure whether I should upgrade (if I can) or start from scratch and build a new PC. You lot seem to know what you're talking about, so what can I do with this:

ASUS M4A89GTD-PRO/USB3
AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE
4GB Corsair 1333/4GB Corsair 1600 RAM (8GB total all running at 1333MHz)
XFX Radeon 6870 1GB DD
Samsung 830 SSD (128GB)
10TB mechanical storage
Corsair H100

I can overclock the Phenom to around 4.3GHz, but what's the fastest CPU I can put in the mobo (specifically, will a 8350 work in it)? What's the best GPU to pair to it? I'll not be replacing the SSD as I don't see the point.

Or, do I sell what I have and start over? Budget for upgrading is £400, budget to start anew is £600.

stulid · 29 May 2014 at 11:55

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M4A89GTD_PROUSB3/HelpDesk_CPU/

According to that you can put a AMD bulldozer into it with a BIOS update. This is Bulldozer and not Piledriver.

Slap a 280/280X into the build and see how it goes.

What PSU do you have?

dfour · 29 May 2014 at 11:55

The board will not support anything above the older bulldozer 8150 cpu and thats a beta support only so the best would be a old phenom 2 hexacore you could use.

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M4A89GTD_PROUSB3/HelpDesk_CPU/

I think you would be better of selling the Mb/cpu/ram and gpu and putting that money towards a full upgrade.

Whats the main focus of the PC??

slipperydave · 29 May 2014 at 12:11

PSU is XFX Pro550W.

It's mainly used for Ableton Live (and some other audio stuff) and playing games. I know the mobo will take a bulldozer, but not interested in getting one of those.

The 280/280X's are just rebadged 7950/7970s aren't they? Was seriously thinking of just getting one of those and leaving it overclocked. Or selling what I have and for the first time ever going Intel (though that just seems to be spending a shedload of money for the sake of spending it). I might just get a 7950/7970/280/280x and a new monitor!

stulid · 29 May 2014 at 12:13

GFX first, see what improvements it makes, then consider the next move after that.

Edit,

280 = 7950
280X = 7970

dfour · 29 May 2014 at 12:36

You would also be better either overclocking all the ram to 1600 or buying 8 gig of 1600 ram as its been shown that 1600 is the sweet spot for ram with diminishing returns for ram faster than that.

los · 29 May 2014 at 12:51

I'd get a 280 or 280x and see how you go, I think you will be happy with the improvement.

slipperydave · 29 May 2014 at 13:04

i've tried oc'ing the ram so it's all at 1600, doesn't like it.

looks like it's going to be 4GB of RAM, a 7950/7970/280/280x and new monitor, which will do for now.

dfour · 29 May 2014 at 13:19

Couple of quick builds, Just add a grapics card of choice:

AMD

AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £113.99
£113.99
Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £74.99
£74.99
TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD38G2133HC11ADC01) £59.99
£59.99
Raijintek Themis Evo Professional CPU Cooler £27.95
£27.95

Sub Total : £230.76
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
UPS Access Point
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £47.75
Total : £286.51

INTEL

Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £169.99
£169.99
Asus Z97-K Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £94.99
£94.99
TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD38G2133HC11ADC01) £59.99
£59.99

Raijintek Themis Evo Professional CPU Cooler £27.95
£27.95

Sub Total : £294.10
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
UPS Access Point
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £60.42
Total : £362.52

slipperydave · 29 May 2014 at 19:14

dfour said:
Couple of quick builds, Just add a grapics card of choice:

AMD

AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £113.99
£113.99
Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £74.99
£74.99
TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD38G2133HC11ADC01) £59.99
£59.99
Raijintek Themis Evo Professional CPU Cooler £27.95
£27.95

Sub Total : £230.76
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
UPS Access Point
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £47.75
Total : £286.51

INTEL

Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £169.99
£169.99
Asus Z97-K Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £94.99
£94.99
TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLD38G2133HC11ADC01) £59.99
£59.99

Raijintek Themis Evo Professional CPU Cooler £27.95
£27.95

Sub Total : £294.10
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
UPS Access Point
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £60.42
Total : £362.52

that's the post i was looking forward to!

dfour · 29 May 2014 at 23:28

slipperydave said:
that's the post i was looking forward to!

Nothing like a bit of geek pron I say

If you really wanted to overclock with the AMD rig I would change the board for a

Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 AMD 990FX £130

would add another £55 to the AMD total.

slipperydave · 31 May 2014 at 22:04

i've just got a MSI 280X GAMING 3G TwinFrozr card for £160 (and it's nearly new), so I take it that it would be miles better with the i5? Or will the multi-threaded nature of the PS4/XB1 mean that the 8530 would be a better choice (even though it's not a true 8-core processor)?

how badly will the phenom II (overclocked or stock) that i've already got hold the 280x back?

dfour · 1 Jun 2014 at 12:19

Between the i5 and the 8350 unless the game is cpu limited you wouldnt notice that much difference unless your benchmarking them. They will both provide a easy gaming experience. Both will be better than your old phenom 2.

Try the 280x out with the phenom and see how it plays out but it will hold the 280x back at times even overclocked.

los · 1 Jun 2014 at 12:56

dfour said:
Between the i5 and the 8350 unless the game is cpu limited you wouldnt notice that much difference unless your benchmarking them. They will both provide a easy gaming experience. Both will be better than your old phenom 2.

Try the 280x out with the phenom and see how it plays out but it will hold the 280x back at times even overclocked.

This ^^
It all depends on what games you play and at what res really.

slipperydave · 1 Jun 2014 at 19:09

i've dumped the 280x and got a voltage unlocked 290 (apparently it was purchased from here) for £200. i'll definitely need a CPU upgrade now

slipperydave · 4 Aug 2014 at 23:00

So I've had the 290 for a couple of months and, although some games run great, the Phenom II is clearly holding it back (it's absolutely terrible in GTA 4: EFLC for a start). I've sold my ASUS mobo, Phenom II X4 965 BE & 4GB Corsair XMS3 1333MHz RAM (for a £100 if you were wondering).

I've got the opportunity to get an Intel I5-3550 CPU & MSI B75A-G43 for a reasonable price (£120), which should surely suite both my gaming needs (when combined with the 290) and the audio work I do. So, would I be better off spending around £300 and getting everything new and a "K" CPU? I know I can't OC the I5-3550, but that doesn't bother me. Any suggestions?

dfour · 5 Aug 2014 at 16:21

Buy something new and a K processor and then in the future when your machine needs more legs overclock the thing. Something you cant do with the above chip and board you would have to sell and upgrade again.