So I feel it's time to run an upgrade on my current rig. While it's alright, I find something just lacking a bit of a push
Current Build: FX-8320 (Stock Speeds, turbo enabled) Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 16GB 1600Mhz RAM (Kingston Hyper X) R9 290 (XFX. not OC'd)
All my games run off SSD, so can't really upgrade them.
So, what would you upgrade in this system to improve gaming performance at 1080p? I'll drop down quality for performance, but if I can good visuals and 60FPS stable I aim for with all my games. (Excludes steam early access... because early access trash and all)
I've had some suggestions to go to Intel, i5-4690k with a Z97 motherboard, but thoughts on a xeon (E3-1231v3) opposed to an i7?
I've also found someone near me selling a 2 week old system:
Case: Corsair 380T Mobo: Asus Z97i- Plus Wifi CPU: Intel i5 4690k @ 4.2GHz OC GPU: Nvidia GTX 780Ti PSU: EVGA Supernova 650GS Fully Modular 80+Gold RAM: HyperX Beast 1866MHz 8GB SSD: HyoerX 120GB Cooler: Raijintek Triton Red Watercooler AIO (Comes eith yellow and blue Dye)
They are asking for £725, it's two weeks old and all under warranty and will provide receipts etc to prove. Thoughts on this and the price? It's a pre-built, but I'd strip it and rebuilt to my liking.
You could make the jump to a 5820K based X99 system for less than £725. After selling your old CPU, RAM, and motherboard, you could probably pick up a second 290.
There's no real benefit in gaming for going X99 rather than Z97 or Z107, so you could save a bit of money and settle with a quad core.
I don't think my CPU is currently the problem. It's never under any real stress, I've got an H80i (I'll update the post) and I've had it OC'D to 4.5Ghz and kept it at that for a while, didn't notice anything major about it so I reverted it back to stock.
I could do with a new case to be fair, but that's more aesthetics than performance, but it would be an improvement.
I do think my current lack of power is possibly my XFX R9 290, to be fair if I got a new case I could put an NXZT G10 on it, which is something I'd like to do.
I've looked at X99 and it's alright, but for the money I've found the new E5-1650v3 range to offer a bit more. You lose overclocking but I'm not a fan of overclocking. Lack of experience I suppose.
I just need to work out what the slowest component in my system currently is. I do have a feeling it's my GPU though.
More expensive, and slower than the 5820K. Although, you do gain 12 more PCI-e lanes. 5820K is the better bet, unless you're doing 3-way crossfire/SLI.
You don't have to be serious about it. Just changing a couple of settings will bump up your speed.
Depending on the game, it'll either be your CPU, or GPU.
There are some things I'd like to get, for example a PCI-E SSD.
Could make the jump to X99 or Z170 within that price but I've been watching some benchmark reviews and I can't really justify the cost on it and my workload, other than gaming, won't take advantage at all.
What are you thoughts on the i5-4690k system I posted above?
You can upgrade your current system for a lot less than that. Go for a 4690K and a Z97 Hero, and another 290. You'll have more performance, for less cost than the other system. shouldn't cost too much, after you sell your old CPU and motherboard; Maybe £350, if you're careful.
The reason I suggested X99 was future-proofness. Having a strong performing 6-core could help in the future.
I agree with the future proof of the X99. My only issue is my XFX R9 290 brand new is killer expensive. More than a GTX 970 I've found. I bought it new for £199 they go for around £140 on ebay, so that might be somewhere to start.
I wouldn't really want to mix and match GPUs. Thoughts purchasing a GTX 970 opposed to another 290?
Intel Core i5 4690K Asus GRYPHON Z97 Armor Edition Corsair Air 240 RM1000 80 Plus Gold £516 (Amazon Prime)
I wanted to look into a smaller build matx and it works out slightly cheaper, plus I like small systems. I'll salvage the 16GB RAM, R9 290 and H80i and the drives from my current rig.
Right now I'm not sure if I should buy the XFX R9 290 GPU on ebay which ends tomorrow or buy everthing else first. I don't have a case that can support two xfx r9 290s (Drive cages are in the way) nor can my PSU, only 650watt Bronze.
That said, I could buy that R9 290 and just swap it out to make sure it works. Then save up again to buy all that, plus never know what santa will bring!
For two R9 290s? That was the average I worked out from the calculators so far. The cards pop up every once in a blue moon. If it's reasonably priced tomorrow I might pick it up.
The max the GPUs can theoretically pull is 600W (PCI-e slot provides 75W, 6-pin provides 75W, and 8-pin provides 150W), and the CPU and other stuff shouldn't pull anywhere near 250W maxed out.
Unless you're trying to game at ultra settings 1440p your 290 should be fine.
It's not that your CPU doesn't get maxxed out, it's that an 8350 can't keep up with intel's single core performance, which is what matters more in games