That upgrade itch...!

Andybtsn

Andybtsn

Andybtsn

Don
Joined
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I must admit as nice as it is being in the fold of upgrading PC's again my wallet doesn't agree..

I've been out of the loop for years and after buying a rather modest setup about a year ago the bug has kept going. I was buying 2nd hand parts off here first so I wasn't spending that much but now I've just parted with £380 for a graphics card and now I'm looking at new CPU's :rolleyes:

This is all after my current rig, 8120, 7870, 16gb genesis ram plays BF3, Far Cry 3, Sleeping Dogs, GTA etc on maxed out settings.

So why the hell am I never happy? :D
 
Andybtsn said:
So why the hell am I never happy? :D
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That is just the nature.. :)

With Consoles you just have to deal with what you're given but with PC gaming you have so many options, and you can always upgrade.

You want it because you have the option to have it.. :D

Do you want any real help or are you just ranting a little? I don't mind either really. Its nice to rant. :)
 
It's a bit of a rant :)

Usually when I buy things I try and think how useful said item would be in the future so I don't mind spending an extra premium to make it 'last longer'. The 7970 I just shelled out for, I could probably put in that bracket, there were cheaper examples but I'd like it to last longer.

Now after reading many review/benchmarking sites comparing Intel to AMD CPU's I don't know whether to bite the bullet and swap the mobo and CPU for an Intel jobby!
 
Wait until you get your new card, and try all the games you play. I wouldn't swap out a motherboard and CPU if you're getting the performance you want.

You'll be getting some newer games like Crysis 3 with the card, which will definitely use up the extra power from that 7970 :)
 
Nothing wrong with choosing a 7970, will keep you going for a long while and even then you have the option to Xfire.. 7970 Xfire sounds good. :)

Yeah, we you get the new love of your life (it will be), give it a go.

I'd check to see if you CPU is bottlenecking it atall too..

I'd hold off for now because Haswell isn't worth changing up a decent rig for..
 
Andybtsn said:
This is when my noobness comes out to play, what do you mean?

I have no issues with my current rig, it's purely when I see an i5 jobby ripping up FPS I think hey let's upgrade :D
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Noobness is fine. :)

This may be tricky to explain, but ill give it a go.

Basically games (and other programs) use a combination of CPU power and GPU power set by there coding. Games use more GPU than CPU power. Anyway, if the game your playing is using the CPU 100% and then GPU less (lets say 60%) than this it means the game can't produce many more FPS from the GPU until it gets more CPU power.

That's why overclocking is helpful as it releases more CPU power to enable the GPU to be used more..

Its normal for a game to use the GPU 100%, by the way. :)

Does that make sense? If not ill try and explain it another way?

[the reason the i5's tear up the benchmarks is they have more overall power per core, games don't ultise all the cores in the 8***'s yet..] :)
 
You need to look at the games you play. If you're getting 130fps and an upgrade would give you say 180fps, it may look hugely better in benchmarks, but it wouldn't make any difference in reality. What's important is if you're talking about something like 40fps vs 65fps.

It's tempting to upgrade to get the best performance possible, but if you wouldn't actually see real benefits, it's much better to hold off until you need it. It could be that this card is more than enough for you in all the games you play until the next round of CPUs arrive.

Here are a few examples from reviews:

BF3 - pointless to upgrade, http://techreport.com/r.x/amd-fx-8350/bf3-fps.gif
Alien v Predator - pointless, http://www.legitreviews.com/images/reviews/2055/aliens-vs-predator.jpg
Just Cause 2 - pointless, http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/586/bench/Gaming_01.png
Witcher 2 - pointless, http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/586/bench/Gaming_02.png
Crysis 2 - performance bump, but not enough to upgrade, http://techreport.com/r.x/amd-fx-8350/crysis-fps.gif
Starcraft 2 - big increase, one of the very few games where it's a good reason - http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph6396/51141.png
 
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Andybtsn said:
So when it comes to bottlenecking the 8120 could hold the 7970 back?
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In some games which aren't coded to use AMD's core (like Starcraft II), Yes.

Though in 95% of cases probably not.

Like i say, have a check of your CPU and GPU usage when you game..

You should be more than fine though. :)
 
Yeah, thanks, I'm going to try get more out of my CPU, it sits at 4ghz at the mo with temps of around 60 in game with a H50.

My case is limiting though when it comes to cooling, was considering upgrading that if anything but I've only just got it, grrr. (I love the Corsair 650D)
 
No worries. :)

So you have a 650D now? Or want one? if so what case do you have?

Maybe it's worth upgrading your cooler..

I went from a H50 (push/pull) to a D14 and was amazed by the results..

H50 at 4.4Ghz maxed at 76C the D14 at 4.7Ghz Maxed at 63C...
 
I'd like the 650D but bought the Lian Li A05FNB from someone on here not long ago. I really like it, looks great but ideally I need the side off for cooling.

You might be right about the H50, only got that recently too :p

You see now why I created this thread?? :D
 
Buying loads of new stuff will get rid of the itch, but if you then start gaming and everything looks identical you'll be deflated instead :)

The case is definitely an option - it's hardly something you won't notice has changed!
 
Andybtsn said:
I'd like the 650D but bought the Lian Li A05FNB from someone on here not long ago. I really like it, looks great but ideally I need the side off for cooling.

You might be right about the H50, only got that recently too :p

You see now why I created this thread?? :D
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Things like this are very trickey, theres lots of things to consider..

I've made mistakes too.

I have changed my case and GPU 3 times in the last 2 years. :) And still only running a 570. :)

The only problem with your current case (i really like Lian li by the way, one of my previous case was a v351, loved it) is the lack of intake airflow..

A case with 2 fans at the front would provide more airflow hence better cooling abilities.. The 650D is a great choice... I also like the look of the BitFenix Ronin.

To be honest i would replace the case and cooler together.

What do you think?
 
Andybtsn said:
Yeah I'm considering that now, that cooler looks massive, does it fit ok in regards to not obstructing RAM?
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The D14 is massive, you have to be/hire 8 Pack to lift it for you.. :)

It clears all low profile RAM though it does sit over the RAM slots.

If i was going for a 650D (which i would :)) id probably look at getting a K2..

Or you could get one OCUK's H100 refurbs and get some SP120's to go with it. :)
 
Yup, new case and cooler will make any PC look like a big upgrade. Especially with a really great new graphics card.
 
Thanks guys, as it happens I may propose a deal with my other half for her to buy this computer off me :D

We were due to buy two Xbox One's when they come out on November but may just stick with the 360's and game on the PC's.

So if that's given the go ahead I may go all out on a 650 D case with nice components. (2 7970's? :D)
 
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