Upgrade or Replace for GTA V?

timmy85

timmy85

timmy85

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Gents,
I've been out of the PC gaming loop for a while, enjoying my XBone too much. I really fancy getting into GTA V on a PC though.

Currently have the below system, I'm wondering what I can get away with upgrading if possible or do I need to replace many different components? In which case I need a replacement?

Operating System: Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
CPU: AMD Phemon II 1090T @ 4.00GHz
RAM: 16.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3
Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula
Display: 23" Samsung 1080P Monitor
Graphics: Crossfire 5870 1GB
Storage: SSD For OS and a 1TB HD for games
Case: Antec Dark FLeet DR-85
Power Supply: Antec TruePower 750?

Thanks in advance.
 
Hi.

How much would you like to spend?

From a quick glance you need a CPU+board (i5+Z97) and a new GFX card.
 
That's fairly old stuff by the looks of it. The best bet if you want to play GTAV, is to start off with an i5-4670k bundle (especially if you overclock the CPU) with a Z97 board. Really depends on the budget. RAM you should be able to keep.

Storage should be fine, though you might want to get new drives, especially the SSD as larger capacities are cheaper nowadays and I bet your SSD is a 128GB one. Depending on how old the 1TB is, get another one for back-up as most of the older drives last 5ish years, though personally I can't remember a drive lasting more than that.

Graphics card can definitely be upgraded. Though new cards are almost here, which could cause price drops in current cards or offer better value for money from current cards. I'd say at least a GTX 960 for GTAV, preferably either a 290X (cheap as it will ever be right now) or 970 for the best performance.

Case and PSU should be good to keep too, the 650 version of the Antec TruePower is on the OCUK list of good PSUs, so the 750 watt version should be great. Case should be able to handle the new stuff, if not or you want a change of aesthetic, there's many options. Choose a design you like.

Here's a few things to get you started.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-SLI - Devils Canyon Core i5 4690K Bundle **£12 Saving** £277.98
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 960 Gaming 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - Red £161.99
1 x Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E250B/EU) £89.99
Total : £543.46 (includes shipping : £11.25 Ex.VAT).



More pricey options...
YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7 - Devils Canyon Core i7 4790K CPU & Motherboard Bundle **£25 Saving** £393.98
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £299.99
1 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £299.99
1 x Asus Radeon R9 290X ROG Matrix 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (MATRIX-R9290X-4GD5) £239.99



I hope you got some ideas :)
 
Honestly, all you really need is a new GPU. Your CPU might be dated but it won't hold you back that much, certainly not worth dropping 250-400 quid before Skylake/Zen is even out.

If all you want is to max GTA 5 at 1080p @ 60fps, buying a 290x or a 970 would be the best way of achieving that and more than enough.

Of course, upgrade questions should take more things into consideration so we'd need more info, like how long do you want keep the new stuff for, what other games you play, will you get a different monitor, how much you're willing to spend, how much do you really want to push games etc.
 
speaking from experience

originally I was wanting to play gta v at work

which was only a q8400 +7750
I manage to play it at low setting at about 11xx X 6xx resolution
I can't remember exact resolution
and I got about 25fps

I upgraded the 7750 to a 960 4gb
instantly I can play at 1080p at default settings at over 30fps to 60fps at some locations
yes the cpu is bottlenecking but, save a lot of money upgrading the whole system

looking at the 1090t it looks more powerful than the q8400
so depends how much you wanna spend.
 
Thanks for all your replies. In terms of budget, I'm not sure yet. Part of me wants to just upgrade what I can to make it playable, the other part of me wants to replace the entire thing :)
 
Also being patient and waiting to see what the R9 300 series will bring is a good idea. Right now is a bad time to buy a graphics card, since all the new stuff is almost here. Smart consumers will wait it out and see how things shake up.
 
mahius said:
Also being patient and waiting to see what the R9 300 series will bring is a good idea. Right now is a bad time to buy a graphics card, since all the new stuff is almost here. Smart consumers will wait it out and see how things shake up.
Click to expand...

I disagree, this is the best time to buy a GPU if you don't want to break the bank. There's sales going on almost every week because they're trying to clear stock & people are selling their cards in anticipation of upgrading. In terms of price/performance this really is the perfect time to buy.
 
Poneros said:
I disagree, this is the best time to buy a GPU if you don't want to break the bank. There's sales going on almost every week because they're trying to clear stock & people are selling their cards in anticipation of upgrading. In terms of price/performance this really is the perfect time to buy.
Click to expand...

when there are refreshes, the older stock tends to be even better priced despite being equal in performance...for the canny customer in the know...
 
True but unfortunately we have nothing concrete that there will be refreshes. Though I do suspect at least the 290 and 290x will see a refresh.
 
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