PC Upgrade for next gen gaming

clarkey1986

clarkey1986

clarkey1986

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Joined
23 Dec 2008
Posts
8
Hi all,

so this is my current setup:

CPU: fx6300 @4.0ghz
CPU Cooler: Stock
Mobo: ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0 AMD 970
Ram: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 C8 1600MHz
GPU: GTX 660 2GB (Non ti)
PSU: Coolermaster 1000w modular PSU (from an older build)
Case: Coolermaster Cosmos R1000 (missing right side panel - from older build)
Monitor: LG IPS 24" LED
SSD: Samsung 840 250GB (non Pro)
HDDS: 2x1TB 7200rpm (split between movies and Tv Shows) 2x 250gb 5400rpm

So the goal of this is to be able to play next gen games at max settings for a while, I currently play Dota2, BF3, Blackops 2, CS:GO, Skyrim.

I will be buying Cod Ghosts: doggy warfare, BF4, Titanfall, watchdogs etc.

I have a budget of roughly £900 right now with potentially an additional £150 when I get paid at the end of the month and another £100 if I sell my current GPU.

So im asking you guys what you would do?

The case is missing the right panel and has no front usb 3.0 ports as its so old, but is otherwise a good case. A new case would be nice, but not essential especially with the GPU solution im considering below.

Im thinking of switching to Intel for the CPU, something along the lines of a 4670k with a h100i and OCing it to 4.5ghz

Maybe getting a 7990 to handle the graphics, as if i had 2x 7970's I would lose one of the cards RAM. -Seeing as the next gen consoles will be using AMD hardware I'm guessing AMD will be the better choice.

Getting rid of the 2 smaller HDDS and getting a larger HDD for game storage.

Gettings 2 more sticks of the same ram to bump it up to 16GB

I would really appreciate some help here as im a little stuck as to what is the best option.

Thanks in advance :)
 
clarkey1986 said:
Hi all,

so this is my current setup:

CPU: fx6300 @4.0ghz
CPU Cooler: Stock
Mobo: ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0 AMD 970
Ram: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 C8 1600MHz
GPU: GTX 660 2GB (Non ti)
PSU: Coolermaster 1000w modular PSU (from an older build)
Case: Coolermaster Cosmos R1000 (missing right side panel - from older build)
Monitor: LG IPS 24" LED
SSD: Samsung 840 250GB (non Pro)
HDDS: 2x1TB 7200rpm (split between movies and Tv Shows) 2x 250gb 5400rpm

So the goal of this is to be able to play next gen games at max settings for a while, I currently play Dota2, BF3, Blackops 2, CS:GO, Skyrim.

I will be buying Cod Ghosts: doggy warfare, BF4, Titanfall, watchdogs etc.

I have a budget of roughly £900 right now with potentially an additional £150 when I get paid at the end of the month and another £100 if I sell my current GPU.

So im asking you guys what you would do?

The case is missing the right panel and has no front usb 3.0 ports as its so old, but is otherwise a good case. A new case would be nice, but not essential especially with the GPU solution im considering below.

Im thinking of switching to Intel for the CPU, something along the lines of a 4670k with a h100i and OCing it to 4.5ghz

Maybe getting a 7990 to handle the graphics, as if i had 2x 7970's I would lose one of the cards RAM. -Seeing as the next gen consoles will be using AMD hardware I'm guessing AMD will be the better choice.

Getting rid of the 2 smaller HDDS and getting a larger HDD for game storage.

Gettings 2 more sticks of the same ram to bump it up to 16GB

I would really appreciate some help here as im a little stuck as to what is the best option.

Thanks in advance :)
Click to expand...

Aside from any misgivings you have about your case, you don't really need to upgrade that much.

No point in burning huge cums of money to go over to an Intel system when you already got the guts of a high powered AMD system.

Replace the 6 core FX6300 with an 8 core FX CPU of your choosing and switch the gfx card for the AMD R9 280X (more or less equivalent to the HD 7970...but a bit better cos its new) which will be compatible with 'Mantle' DX 11.1 etc. Going beyond the performance of this card, means you will be a paying a huge premium for just a bit more performance....unless of course you choose to crossfire two of the above mentioned cards......but then you have to live with 'CF issues'...never fancied it myself but might opt for dualling my HD 7970 should future games require it, instead of getting stung for a higher end card.

If that money is burning a hole in your pocket after you realise you need to spend much less than you thought, you may want to consider getting a larger SSD for 'storing games'. SSD's are great for games and I bought my (back then large, but now small) 256GB SSD with games (not just fast OS) specifically in mind. Of course, due partly to games getting larger and partly due to pain in the ass DRM platforms forcing all games into the same folder, 256GB is no longer really big enough and/or practical for installing games on.

At this stage, I really wouldn't bother with more RAM.
 
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Hi, thanks for the reply

I have also been thinking about sticking with AMD for the CPU as well, but have been told a few times that my board is a bit cheap and flimsy when it comes to over clocking and stability.

I have been looking at the benchmarks and the 7970 is doing well, but I'm really after future proofing my system, and being able to play the games for the next couple of years at max settings.
Especially with the minimum requirements coming out from some of the next gen titles.

The R280x is a great card as it's a re branded 7970 but as I said cross firing these later on will mean that I will be stuck on 3gb of video ram.
That's why I was looking at the single 7990 as it's got the 6gb available to it and by the time it's starting to lag behind they should be cheap enough to crossfire and still have a significant amount of ram.

I will be looking to get a larger ssd at some point and you make a very good point about the performance benefits as I have most of my games installed on my current ssd.

As I said, the case isn't critical to change right now as it does the job, but I'm getting a little tired of having the cables showing on the right side of it.

Anyone else care to weigh in?
 
If you want to bump up to the 8320/8350 your motherboard wont be able to take more than a very modest overclock. If you want an 8 core fx chip and you want to save as much money as possible for GPU power, i would get either an Asus evo, ASUS M5A99 PRO or a gigabyte UD3 (if you know the revision). To be honest though, you have the cash to pair the 8320 with a board like the sabertooth, which will let you really push the chip. If not, you also have the money to go intel.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus HD 7970 DirectCU II TOP 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **FREE SHIPPING** £209.99
1 x Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £158.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £119.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Windowed Case - Black £78.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £44.99
Total : £612.90 (includes shipping : FREE).



This + another 7970 (wouldnt let me put another one in the basket)

The alternative:

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7990 6144MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £499.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £259.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-OC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £149.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Windowed Case - Black £78.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £44.99
Total : £1,054.43 (includes shipping : £17.10).



This uses your full budget + the extra when you get payed and i personally think it is an absolute beast of an upgrade if you can afford it.
 
Last edited:
Hi all,

Thanks for the replies,
The more I look into this the more I read about microstuttering in the AMD xfire setups and dual gpu card.
@SouthEastBlue - after reading up more on this topic I believe you are correct.
Which now makes me wonder if I should take a look at the r290x when the retail price is announced or maybe the GTX780.....
Decisions Decisions.

On a related topic, how do you guys think PC gaming will do in the during the next gen?
I love playing competitive games, previously SOF2 and COD:4 but not many of the more recent shooters are clan friendly :(
I hear that Infinity Ward are looking at putting a server browser and rent-able servers into Ghosts, but not confirmed. I would hate it to get like black ops 2 is now, I find it so difficult to get a decent game when I have a party of 3 or 4 other players.
 
I'd go with 8 Core and AMD GPU, they are pretty much the spec of next gen and if this MANTLE thing catches on I think having a CPU with 8 cores is going to be a boon.

The R9 290X has the modifications they made to PS4 GPU, it has 8 ACE's.
 
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