Please suggest an upgrade path

[x0red]

I'm looking to upgrade my gfx card and or cpu / motherboard.

I've been out of the hardware loop for quite some time so I am uneducated as to what the current lineup of decent performing cards are etc in comparison to my current build which is the following:

cpu: AMD Phenom II X4 955
mobo: M4A87TD EVO
RAM: 12 GB DDR3 ( 3 stick of 4096Mb )
GFX Card: AMD Radeon HD 6870

Would sticking with the same CPU but changing gfx card give me a noticeable performance increase when it comes to maxing out gfx in games or will my cpu act as a bottleneck?


I'm looking to spend around 600 max preferably less if possible.

I'm not sure if i should keep the gfx card and change cpu/mobo.... or just change the gfx card and keep the cpu/mobo

thanks for any suggestions and help.

 

[Ken g6]

$600, in USD? Change CPU, mobo, and GPU. But keep the RAM.

I'd ask your power supply, but this should fit in the same power envelope:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: *ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: *G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($21.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: *MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($299.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $569.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-02 23:04 EST-0500

I even gave you an extra stick of RAM so you can run all 16GB in dual-channel mode.

 

[x0red]

Thank you for the help.

I should have specified $600 Canadian. Exchange rate is crazy at the moment.

 

[Ken g6]

OK, now I need to know your power supply. Used R9 290s, e.g. from Ebay, are tempting, but use a lot of power.

And what's your monitor resolution? A 290 might not be worth it for a small monitor.

Edit: Barring Ebay purchases:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($230.01 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: *ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.50 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: *VisionTek Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($284.98 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $596.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-02 23:43 EST-0500

 

[MrTeal]

Thank you for the help.

I should have specified $600 Canadian. Exchange rate is crazy at the moment.

It's too bad you didn't ask a week ago, you missed out on the i5-4670k+Z97S SLI Krait + 8GB DDR3-1600 for CAD$315 after MIR. That would have combined nicely with the $255 Sapphire 290. The week after black friday isn't the best time to start looking.

Based on what your budget it, ken_g6's system would probably work really well. If you're willing to look used you can probably pick up a 280X (7970) for CAD$150 or a 290 for ~$250, which would give a lot more room to play elsewhere.

Where in Canada are you located?

 

[x0red]

Guys thanks for your help.

Ken g6 : My PSU is a TR2 Thermaltake 700W

MrTeal : I know wish i could have jumped on the Black friday bandwagon.
I'm located in the middle of nowhere New Brunswick. Where i lived
previously i [probably would have went to CanadaComputers local
store. Sadly this small town has nothing in terms of locations
for PC shopping besides a staples and a walmart.

If i may ask : If i wanted a decent laptop capable of gaming... what price am i looking at? I see some gaming laptops but they are all 1200$ + Canadian.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Revolution 11]

x0red, what games are you looking at? Any games you currently own that are too slow or are you talking about games you want to get in the future?

I ask this because some games will benefit greatly from the latest CPUs. But most will not because they are bottlenecked by the GPU.

 

[x0red]

Rev: Any of the newer games. I'll admit i can still enjoy most games on my system ( to my general liking anyways ) but newer titles such as Fallout 4 are taxing my system. ) I put my pc together myself many years ago and it has done its mileage but i'm looking for a little more 'power' now.

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i5-4460-vs-AMD-FX-8350

This shows the I5 as the winner compared to the FX 8350

but

cpubenchmark ( website ) shows the 8350 @ 4ghz coming out ahead ; is this possible or am i seeing this wrong ; which one is right?

thanks..

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Cpuboss and cpubenchmark should both be ignored.

Check anandtech.com benchmark archives or pass mark database.

 

[x0red]

Passmark shows the FX processor coming out ahead of the I5 for a few dollars cheaper..

Any thoughts on the matter? Would it be best to go with an FX processor vs the i5?


https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=1780&cmp[]=2230

 

[fourdegrees11]

Anandtech doesnt have a 4460 for comparison, but here's a lower powered 4570s vs the 8350

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/697?vs=1368

Game benchmarks are near the bottom.

 

[Revolution 11]

Passmark shows the FX processor coming out ahead of the I5 for a few dollars cheaper..

Any thoughts on the matter? Would it be best to go with an FX processor vs the i5?


https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=1780&cmp[]=2230

I would not buy a gaming laptop as there is little point unless you are on the move during your leisure time like college students are. Too little performance for the price, heavy weight, and battery life sucks. If you are not on the move, might as well go for a cheaper faster desktop because you are not really using the mobility advantage of a laptop.

I also would not buy a AMD processor as a upgrade path. AMD is not really continuing their current CPU families with a stable long-term roadmap. They have a "next-gen" x86 CPU coming out 2016/2017 but it remains to be seen if it will be as good as AMD says.


Ken g6's build is a good place to start. You can buy the GPU first and see if that is good enough for you before replacing the other parts.

 

[crashtech]

i5-44xx CPUs are relatively poor performers, having anemic turbo values. the i5-45xx series is a much better choice. If the budget won't allow it now, I'd much prefer a fast i3 like the 4170 for its excellent single thread performance and four thread capacity, and upgrade to an i7-4790K later.

 

[x0red]

i5-44xx CPUs are relatively poor performers, having anemic turbo values. the i5-45xx series is a much better choice. If the budget won't allow it now, I'd much prefer a fast i3 like the 4170 for its excellent single thread performance and four thread capacity, and upgrade to an i7-4790K later.

Thanks for the input ; Kens build was a 45xx I'm not sure how i threw a 44xx into the mix so thanks for pointing this out.

I'm looking to make the purchase soon(er) than later ; allot of time on my hands right now, winter is here and I was just diagnosed recently with diabetes. 4 injections per day along with 8 blood sugar readings. Running out of places to stab myself. Oh well this is life i guess.

Thanks everyone once again for sharing your knowledge.

edit:
No Kens build was a 44xx processor... seems the diabetes is affecting my thought process.

 

[crashtech]

Stretch the budget up to a 4590 if you can, I think the price difference is only $10 CAD right now.