Would like to upgrade for BF1 but would an Xbox S be better buy?

spiki

spiki

spiki

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Hope this is in the right forum.

BF4 is currently the only game I have installed on my ageing computer and it plays well at high settings.

I enjoyed the BF1 beta but only got about 32 fps on medium settings which was at times almost unplayable.

Not I've got the itch to upgrade my computer but money is a bit tight at present and I can't really afford to splash £500-600. I had thought maybe a better buy would be just get an Xbox S inc. BF1 for £250.

Would welcome your thoughts/advice on possible cheapest upgrades I could go for to play it at better fps and maybe on med/high settings. Cheers

Edit. Should also add that I bought a Samsung H6400 48" earlier this year which is part of the reason for thinking Xbox, although haven't played a console since the original Xbox.
 
List your PC spec to give an idea of what could be improved..

edit - sorry wasn't reading your tag properly - I can't think of anything that will improve to be honest without spending the budget you're trying to avoid. Your CPU is old so upgrading the GPU won't prove useful if there's a bottleneck.

If however the game got Vulkan support then an AMD GPU *might* yield better frames per sec than what you're currently getting but I wouldn't take a punt at this personally.
 
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Xbox bad idea, I'd prefer 60 fps 1080p than 720p 30-50 fps.

I can't link you to it but I've found this for under £520, you can use your old PSU, HDD's, case and windows license. If you want extra you could get a better 8GB version of the RX 480 and a bigger SSD but I thought you'd like to have spare change, might not be a bad idea to budget in a new PSU if that one is over 3 years old.

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: Asus H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Avexir Core Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 480 4GB NITRO+ 4G Video Card
 
I agree with Doogle's idea, save up a bit - it'll be worth the sacrifice and also, first person shooters are better played with a mouse not a controller ;-)
 
Essentially the Xbox version will give you very similar performance. Drop your res to more in line with the Xbox and i'm sure you will get similar FPS. I recommend maybe trying to go 2nd hand. I think you have access to the MM due to the age of your account or save for new.
 
Xbox would be money down the drain, drop your resolution on your current rig if you want the Xbox experience ;) Don't forget the Xbox live subscription sapping your cash every month too. Add this up over a couple years ownership and you could have spent the cash on a PC.

You could always just get a graphics card to begin with as you would be buying one for a new rig anyway, then see how it performs on your current PC. If the CPU is still too much of a bottleneck then you can upgrade the rest.
 
What would you recommend in terms of graphics cards for my current set up?

I've nearly always gone with nvidia after a lot of trouble some years ago with a Radeon card, so something from their line up would be preferable.

Thinking of new gpu, SSD, maybe 1080p monitor and then do MB/RAM etc.

Any monitors worth considering around the £150 mark?
 
I ran an HD-7950 with my old Q9550 set up and was enjoying BF3, BF4, Crysis etc on a 1080p monitor, I would hazard a guess and assume a 4gb RX 480 would get a little more out of your Q9550 as you saved or upgraded elsewhere.

With AMD and Freesync costing far less than Nvidia and G-sync, an AMD card aimed at 1080p gaming with a freesync display is about the easiest way to get the most out of your old system, while giving you more time to save for other key components such as a moherboard/cpu/memory bundle.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £635.92
(includes shipping: £0.00)
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A while back I would have said an Nvidia 970 or AMD 390 would have been the maximum you would get away with while using a Q9550, though I am sure those cards would be held back somewhat.

Usually it is either save for a complete new system, or start upgrading key components such as Case, PSU, GPU, CPU Cooler, SSD then get a motherboard bundle.

With an Artic Freezer 7 are you overclocking the Q9550?
 
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Thanks for linking to those upgrades. That RX 480 seems v appealing.

I bought my system from another Uk retailer who did the over lock for me and it's currently at 3.4. Apart from playing BF 4 I've really not used my PC for anything other than general use. it's now 8 years old and the mb hasn't been supported with bios updates in some time.

I know the i5 6600k is a highly regarded cpu but anything worth considering in the budget end along with a suitable MB if going with the 480?
 
An overclock kaveri Athlon X4 would be a decent budget upgrade, but AMD are about to release the AM4 socket along with Bristol Ridge chips. Not much mention of prices yet but it would probably be worth holding off for AM4.
 
The Nvidia 1060 is a slightly better card from what I gather in bench reviews, but there is nothing in the 1060 £200 bracket that looks as nice as the AMD offering I listed as far as I can see, when you consider the cheapest G-Sync monitor is usually £300, well if you want maximum bang for buck the 480X with a Freesync monitor seems a safe bet.

You could even save a bit more with the AMD 470X.

Below is sort of the usual budget i3 gaming spec for 1080p, of course drives, software, case requirements are debatable, as is £25 more for a 480X or 1060 GPU.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £854.82
(includes shipping: £0.00)
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Been searching for some ideas on possible conflict between my MB and the RX480. Is there a chance I could order this and it just wouldn't work considering there are no recent BIOS updates available?

Been looking at the second hand market, here and elsewhere and I think I would rather buy new and pay the extra.
 
The only conflict I am aware of, and I have no idea if it is a valid issue or scaremongering, is with regard to old PCIE slot 2 specs and the apparent power draw of the 480 from the motherboard exceeding spec?

Something to Google I would say, but I have also heard most overclocked gaming cards have had the same issue for years?

And apparently a recent driver update addressed the issue?

I know if I was buying my old LGA775 system a new GPU I would be looking at either the AMD 470 or 480 or Nvidia's 1050 or 1060 at the max, most likely the 470X with a freesync monitor. I would most likely attempt a BIOS update in case the last available BIOS made improvements, but be aware you will have to manually reset your own overclock after a BIOS update.

As a sidenote though, my Asus Maximus II Gene LGA775 motherboard never had a BIOS update, and had no issues running with a Samsung SSD and MSI Twin Frozr III R7950 GPU, with BluRay drive etc, with Windows 7 Ultimate or Windows 10.

Tell you what, Google Q9550 with AMD 480 and check out the results, Firestrike benchies and such , looks like some are doing it, but I still think the best bang for buck for such an old system would be an AMD 470X with a freesync monitor.
 
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Thanks again for the advice.

I did Google that combination. Had a read at a few posts and not quite sure how best to measure bottlenecking although I'm in no doubt I do need a new CPU etc. to get the best out of a new graphics card.

If I thought I could play BF1 at medium and it was better than the 25-30fps I had in the beta with my current set up at 1680 x 1050 then I'll probably go for it.
 
Well it's a hard call and your budget does not leave many options.

It's either an AMD freesync set up,

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £363.93
(includes shipping: £0.00)
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Or a motherboard bundle,

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £556.02
(includes shipping: £11.10)
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I honestly see no point in going Pentium or i3 and detracting finance from an i5 build. I would simply go, SSD, GPU, freesync monitor, then save save save for an i5 bundle.
 
I agree. I did a bit of research of i3 but don't think it's the right long term buy.

Birthday coming up in a couple of weeks, so the word has gone out to family, cash only! :)

By that time, some benchies from BF1 should be in too.
 
Ha ha nice one.

I'm actually looking at all possibilities now. Budget including monitor up to about £750. The more I read the more confusing it gets, particularly with motherboards.

i5 6400 - any thoughts? Decent MB?
 
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