upgrading what can i do with my build?

knuckles0135

knuckles0135

knuckles0135

Associate
Joined
26 Sep 2013
Posts
218
so heres my current build : http://prntscr.com/219utw (its a print screen)

i just bought another monitor to go dual monitor with my pc.

i want to go crossfire with my gpu meaning ill get another r7 260x

in order to go crossfire i will need a crossfire compatible mobo which means i have to buy a new mobo and a new cpu.

im looking towards an intel i5

budget: £250 (excluding gpu)

what my biggest concern is that what am i going to do with my current cpu and mobo? the money will just go to waste and i only bought my build 2 months ago. i spent around £130 altogether.

i know i should have thought about this when i was purchasing parts but my initial idea was buy the cheapest cpu and mobo now and upgrade later but i got "spare" money now that i want to use to upgrade and also overclockers wont let me refund after 14 days so yeah.

at the moment im fine with my r7 260x (on a single monitor) and i dont need the extra gpu power but im guessing i will need more gpu if i want to go dual monitors.

also i wont be gaming on both monitors fullscrees. 1 screen for gaming on 1920x1080 and browsing, word, etc on the other monitor also running at 1920x1080.

if there are any flaws with what i am doing i would love to get some insight as im not an expert. thanks
 
ok since broadwell is coming out next year should i buy a 1150 socket crossfire motherboard and the cheapest haswell cpu i can find, then upgrade to broadwell cpu since it will support 1150 socket (correct me if im wrong). i feel like thats a safe option and kind of future proof (for me anyway)
 
Idleman said:
You`ll be fine running 2 monitors on that card. Sell your current Cpu and mobo and put the money towards a second card. But you will need to get a bigger Psu for xfire.

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £107.99
1 x Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £104.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler £26.99
Total : £249.56 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Click to expand...

i dont think that mobo is good for crossfire, the 2nd pcie slot is running at x4
 
Since you only invested so recently my idea would be to replace your motherboard (NOT your CPU) with an A88X-based solution, which you should be able to do for about £55 only and recoup some cost by selling your original one.

Save the rest if yor budget for now and buy a Kaveri APU when they launch early next year. I would also consider selling your RAM and replacing it with a much faster kit (e.g. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-052-TG&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1387). APUs benefit massively from fast RAM as the on-chip GPU needs it for fast performance.

Total upgrade cost will be ~£110 less anything you can recoup from selling your old parts. I'd hazard a guess at a decent Kaveri APU costing between £70 & £120 when they launch.
 
Havana_UK said:
Since you only invested so recently my idea would be to replace your motherboard (NOT your CPU) with an A88X-based solution, which you should be able to do for about £55 only and recoup some cost by selling your original one.

Save the rest if yor budget for now and buy a Kaveri APU when they launch early next year. I would also consider selling your RAM and replacing it with a much faster kit (e.g. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-052-TG&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1387). APUs benefit massively from fast RAM as the on-chip GPU needs it for fast performance.

Total upgrade cost will be ~£110 less anything you can recoup from selling your old parts. I'd hazard a guess at a decent Kaveri APU costing between £70 & £120 when they launch.
Click to expand...

id rather not "upgrade" to an apu
 
Last edited:
knuckles0135 said:
id rather not "upgrade" to an apu
Click to expand...

It's the future, and if you choose a new Intel i5 or i7 that's exactly what you'll be doing (yes, they are APUs, even though Intel choose not to call them that).

The IPC of the new Kaveri APUs is likely to be better than the current crop of AMD FX CPUs, and the integrated GPU is a big step up from that in the current range of Trinity & Richland CPUs.

You budget is limited and I'm offering you a viable upgrade that limits your initial cost.
 
Havana_UK said:
It's the future, and if you choose a new Intel i5 or i7 that's exactly what you'll be doing (yes, they are APUs, even though Intel choose not to call them that).

The IPC of the new Kaveri APUs is likely to be better than the current crop of AMD FX CPUs, and the integrated GPU is a big step up from that in the current range of Trinity & Richland CPUs.

You budget is limited and I'm offering you a viable upgrade that limits your initial cost.
Click to expand...

im kind of confused, your asking me to purchase an apu when i already have a gpu. rather than spending money on a new mother board and then the upcoming apu wouldnt u think id be better off spending the same amount i would supposedly spend on your idea but on a cpu (pref intel i5) and the cheapest crossfire compatible mobo? plus id have to spend more money to buy better ram for the apu
 
Havana_UK said:
It's the future, and if you choose a new Intel i5 or i7 that's exactly what you'll be doing (yes, they are APUs, even though Intel choose not to call them that).

The IPC of the new Kaveri APUs is likely to be better than the current crop of AMD FX CPUs, and the integrated GPU is a big step up from that in the current range of Trinity & Richland CPUs.

You budget is limited and I'm offering you a viable upgrade that limits your initial cost.
Click to expand...

I don`t see the logic in this, when he has already got a 260x. Then with an xfire capable mobo and a decent chip, he`ll add a second.
Or am I missing something?
 
billysielu said:
I'd sell the whole rig and start over - too much skimping went into it, everything now needs an upgrade.
Click to expand...

That`s a bit harsh.

A new Cpu and mobo is a good start at upgrading his existing system. Although, I don`t think 260x xfire is the way to go. I would look at selling that along with the existing Cpu and mobo, then look at getting a 280x or the very least, a 270x.
 
Except he's already using Crossfire with the on-chip GPU + the 260X.

Upgrading his APU to a high-end Kaveri chip (which, remember, is using the latest Steamroller cores = better IPC than existing AMD FX CPUs) will give a boost to both CPU & GPU (because he'll still be using Crossfire) for a minimum cost, and there's nothing to prevent him adding a second dedicated GPU later.

He wants to go i5, but has a budget of only £250. i5 = £180, leaving £70 for mobo + cooler. It's not practical at that price level.

AMD's Kaveri APUs are aimed at Intel's i3 & i5 range. A8 range targeting i3, with the A10 range targeting i5. The iGPU in Kaveri is impressive, I've seen it running BF4 @ 720p and medium settings at a respectable 50fps, but it needs to be paired with fast DDR3 to get the most from it. It will be some time before we see mainstream games go highly threaded, so I would expect a Kaveri-based system to perform respectably for some time...and you've got Mantle coming, which Kaveri will be able to take advantage of.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom