Upgrade or not?

[PowerPie5000]

Ok, i'm getting the upgrade itch but don't want to go with Haswell or AMD for the CPU... I'm currently running a 3570k and was thinking about swapping it over to a 3770k seeing as newer games are very likely to utilise more than 4 threads (some already do).

As for the GPU, I currently have a HIS 7950 IceQ Boost but was thinking about getting an R9 280X... I did think about the GTX 770, but it's still stuck with DX 11.0 and i doubt it'll support Mantle (i'm getting BF4). I'm not fussed about PhysX either.

Is it worth upgrading to squeeze a couple more years out of my rig? I'm trying to do this without spending too much (will recoup some cash after selling the parts i replace)... A complete platform change will cost more without giving me any significant performance boost over a 3770k and i don't want to pay GTX 780 prices for a GPU. I also feel the R9 290X runs way too hot and is a bit too power hungry!

Lastly, will my 2 year old 600W 'Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold' PSU be ok with a 3770k and R9 280X? It's gold rated and can output 48A on the 12V rail.

What are your opinions?

 

[systemerror]

Why not rather wait for the AMD 290 nonx which seems to be very impressive from what was becnhed
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18553493

I personally am thinking about going haswell over my sandybrige

 

[Idleman]

Your Psu will be fine.

 

[Sir SpankalotUK]

being in a similar position myself, I am just over clocking the i5 and went for a second 7950 and crossfired my setup, as these seem to be disappearing at the moment. I shall wait for a mainstream intel 8 core (one hopes) before upgrading again. And the free games were a nice addition.

 

[PowerPie5000]

Why not rather wait for the AMD 290 nonx which seems to be very impressive from what was becnhed
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18553493

I personally am thinking about going haswell over my sandybrige

That's hilarious! Probably the first customer anywhere to receive a standard 290 .

The heat issue puts me off Haswell a bit, and then there's the fact that i'll need to change over my motherboard and then re-install the OS and over 600GB worth of games and apps (there's all those Windows updates too )... My current motherboard is nothing special and it's getting old (Biostar TH67XE), but it's been 110% reliable and still supports SATA 6Gb/s, USB 3.0 and even PCI-E 3.0!! I've felt no need to change it so far .

I'm not bothered about overclocking the CPU, but i still go for the "K" versions as they hold their value better when it comes to re-selling. They don't even cost much more than the non-K versions in the first place .

Your Psu will be fine.

I was hoping that would be the answer! Cheers .

being in a similar position myself, I am just over clocking the i5 and went for a second 7950 and crossfired my setup, as these seem to be disappearing at the moment. I shall wait for a mainstream intel 8 core (one hopes) before upgrading again. And the free games were a nice addition.

I'd love an 8 core Intel chip, but i'm pretty sure it'll cost more than i'm willing to pay . Anyway, how is Crossfire with the latest drivers?

 

[Sir SpankalotUK]

Anyway, how is Crossfire with the latest drivers?

It seems to cope rather well with everything I have thrown at it, using the beta drivers and liking the new optimise game gizmo. Using a mild overclock I was able to get to around 75th in the unigine heaven 4 benchmark thread. Think I need to tweak the voltage on my windforce3 to improve the score as the HIS boost seems the better clocking card.

 

[PowerPie5000]

It seems to cope rather well with everything I have thrown at it, using the beta drivers and liking the new optimise game gizmo. Using a mild overclock I was able to get to around 75th in the unigine heaven 4 benchmark thread. Think I need to tweak the voltage on my windforce3 to improve the score as the HIS boost seems the better clocking card.

The HIS 7950 Boost is definitely a decent overclocker (with unlocked voltage too).... I've overclocked mine a couple of times just for running benchmarks, but i usually leave it at stock clocks. It can handle 1100MHz just fine (possibly more?) on stock voltage and still remains fairly quiet with good temps (it has a monster cooler!) .