Upgrading thoughts ...

Leesey · 8 Oct 2013 at 18:09

It's been a while and I've been playing BF4 Beta, and yes I know it's a beta so the release may or may not run more smoothly, but my rig seems to struggle somewhat when playing. Hoping it's just a GFX issue in which case the upgrade won't have to be major.

Current Specs:

CPU: i5 760 + Akasa AK-CC4009EP01
Mobo: Gigabyte P55A-UD4
Ram: 8GB Corsair XMS3 4 x 2GB
GFX: MSI N470GTX M2D12
HDD: Samsung HD103SJ + WD storage HDD's
PSU: OCZ 700W StealthXStream

Been looking at the Asus HD 7970 DirectCU II TOP 3072MB GDDR5

Would I see any issues with just upgrading GFX to said card or should I be digging a bit deeper overall? Hard to put a budget it on it without knowing which area's need looking at...

Any help is appreciated.

kefan77 · 8 Oct 2013 at 18:12

overclock that i5 and get that HD7970.

I'd upgrade CPU/MB with Haswell refresh few months down the road.

nick.lidgett · 8 Oct 2013 at 18:25

This if you don't want to spend too much;

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus HD 7970 DirectCU II TOP 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **FREE SHIPPING** £227.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £173.99
1 x Avexir MPower Red Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CRR) £49.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £34.99
Total : £486.96 (includes shipping : FREE).

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Z87-G45 Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £124.99
Total : £133.69 (includes shipping : £7.25).

This if you want to spend more

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus HD 7970 Matrix Platinum 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **FREE SHIPPING** £259.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £259.99
1 x MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £161.99
2 x Avexir MPower Red Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CRR) £49.99 (£99.98)
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £44.99
Total : £826.94 (includes shipping : FREE).

beasty6 · 8 Oct 2013 at 18:27

im afraid to say your going to need a big upgrade, i have the same CPU and running a 7990 and its a real bottleneck

a single 7970 will be bottlenecked by the i5 760

how much will you have to play with?

Leesey · 8 Oct 2013 at 19:06

Really, anywhere from £500-1000 but as I don't spend a lot of time gaming any more due to work and other hobbies i was going to try and get by with a minor upgrade for the time been. The case could be a problem for a H100? Lian Li PC-V1100Plus, which is very old now!

The i5 is clocked to 3.8GHz at the moment.

nick.lidgett · 8 Oct 2013 at 19:08

Treat yourself to a new case at the same

Leesey · 8 Oct 2013 at 19:20

nick.lidgett said:
Treat yourself to a new case at the same

Why are things never simple! Ha!

kefan77 · 8 Oct 2013 at 19:28

beasty6 said:
im afraid to say your going to need a big upgrade, i have the same CPU and running a 7990 and its a real bottleneck

a single 7970 will be bottlenecked by the i5 760

how much will you have to play with?

i5 760 OCed to 3.4GHz will not hold back 1 HD7970 in most games.

Leesey · 8 Oct 2013 at 19:45

kefan77 said:
i5 760 OCed to 3.4GHz will not hold back 1 HD7970 in most games.

Running smooth at 3.8GHz

kefan77 · 8 Oct 2013 at 19:47

sorry, that's what I meant - 3.8GHz.

Leesey · 8 Oct 2013 at 22:16

Decisions decisions! I hate computers, it be so much easier if I played Xbox! :-O

hakank68 · 8 Oct 2013 at 22:37

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Radeon R9 280X DirectCUII TOP 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £275.99
Total : £286.79 (includes shipping : £9.00).

how is this compared to the 7970 top, any ideas ?

stulid · 8 Oct 2013 at 22:39

hakank68 said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Radeon R9 280X DirectCUII TOP 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £275.99
Total : £286.79 (includes shipping : £9.00).

how is this compared to the 7970 top, any ideas ?

The R9 280X is just a 7970GHZ edition with a new name, but the 7970 come with the AMD games bundle, the R9 280X doesn't.

hakank68 · 8 Oct 2013 at 22:57

stulid said:
The R9 280X is just a 7970GHZ edition with a new name, but the 7970 come with the AMD games bundle, the R9 280X doesn't.

im sure it does, if you look at it there is the AMD gold badge under free items

stulid · 8 Oct 2013 at 23:03

hakank68 said:
im sure it does, if you look at it there is the AMD gold badge under free items

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=25081201&postcount=43

Gibbo said:
Guys

AMD say no to the games with new cards, so first thing I have to remove the games otherwise they will have me shot.

Posted 1.5hrs ago.

hakank68 · 9 Oct 2013 at 11:08

stulid said:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=25081201&postcount=43

Posted 1.5hrs ago.

not fair, they give free games with old cards !

Leesey · 9 Oct 2013 at 13:02

hakank68 said:
not fair, they give free games with old cards !

but looking at Gibbo's post, you're better off buying the "older" card's? :confused:

Soooo 7970 (Overclocked) over a R9 280x?

kefan77 · 9 Oct 2013 at 13:05

absolutely. If I was buying a card now it'll definitely be one of those cheap HD7970s.

hakank68 · 9 Oct 2013 at 14:39

Leesey said:
but looking at Gibbo's post, you're better off buying the "older" card's?

Soooo 7970 (Overclocked) over a R9 280x?

kefan77 said:
absolutely. If I was buying a card now it'll definitely be one of those cheap HD7970s.

Suppose you're better off with the older 7970's

Leesey · 9 Oct 2013 at 16:39

Looks like I might as well go all out, and upgrade case to a Corsair Carbide Air 540. What's the second hand market like for shifting older parts?