time for GPU upgrade?

[jlo82585]

hey guys currently I am running a nvidia GTX470 with a phenom II 1075 X6 processor and really I haven't had any problems with gaming, the most modern game I played was Alien: isolation on max settings and was at a steady 30+ fps the entire game. I am planning on upgrading to the i7 4790k processor this fall and I was looking at the GTX970 as a upgrade but I dont really have the money to upgrade both my GPU and CPU. My current system is starting to fail randomly ( see thread in computer help ) so I know one component is going bad, I know what the benchmarks say when comparing the 470 to the 970 but what is the real-world difference I would likely notice from upgrading one or the other?

 

[krumme]

Hi try read the adwice i was given in recent thread in general hardware. Helped me identify the problem.

You have to eg. see if the bsod is comming from a certain file.
You could also post in general hardware.

If the problem is related to sound? (Very unlikely) Perhaps a small usb soundcard will work.

As for the gfx. Do you get better fps if you lower resolution in your favorite games?
If yes then a new gfx could be good.
You might want to hold for something less than a 970 with that cpu but eg a 270/280x depending on cost where you live and if your psu is 400w plus. The nv drivers might behave bad in your setup. (Not likely)
Save the $ now - Then in 1.5 year upgrade to new nv pascal / whatever amd has and a new cpu. I will be skylake / cannonlake / zen.

 

[happy medium]

I know what the benchmarks say when comparing the 470 to the 970 but what is the real-world difference I would likely notice from upgrading one or the other?

You might see a 25% improvement going from a gtx470 to a gtx970 with a Phenom II @ 3.0 .
Its not worth it. Run it the best you can untill the new Skylake cpu/motherboards come out in September.Then do a complete system overhaul.

 

[jlo82585]

You might see a 25% improvement going from a gtx470 to a gtx970 with a Phenom II @ 3.0 .
Its not worth it. Run it the best you can untill the new Skylake cpu/motherboards come out in September.Then do a complete system overhaul.

thanks thats kinda what i figured, I should be okay with the GTX470 for a while longer and ill just get the i7 for this fall, new GPU maybe in the spring

 

[krumme]

thanks thats kinda what i figured, I should be okay with the GTX470 for a while longer and ill just get the i7 for this fall, new GPU maybe in the spring

Naa. Its just flat out wrong unless your games is extremely cpu dependant. Far - far - more fps than 30%. Test it yourself like i described. What is your results here?

Then you will know the potential.

Right now you are guessing and make it fit a narrative you have decided beforehand. Then why post question?

 

[jlo82585]

well, im pretty sure my mobo is failing and like I said I dont have money for CPU and GPU upgrades so if my troubleshooting last night was pointing me towards GPU failure then it might be another story.

 

[Keysplayr]

thanks thats kinda what i figured, I should be okay with the GTX470 for a while longer and ill just get the i7 for this fall, new GPU maybe in the spring

Either way you go, (new platform first, or new GPU first) you'll notice performance improvements. How much for each is speculative and unless we test exclusively it's hard to figure.

One way or the other, you'll notice some gains. when you finally end up with both upgrades, it will be worlds faster.

 

[happy medium]

Naa. Its just flat out wrong

Do you realize how slow a Phenom II is @ 3.0? Its like my cpu @ 2.8 or a stock q9550.

Believe me I know how slow that is. Might be good for a gtx660 at best
So how much faster is a gtx660 compared to a gtx470?. Mabe 30%!

 

[krumme]

Do you realize how slow a Phenom II is @ 3.0? Its like my cpu @ 2.8 or a stock q9550.

Believe me I know how slow that is. Might be good for a gtx660 at best
So how much faster is a gtx660 compared to a gtx470?. Mabe 30%!

I would plug in a used 7850 2gb. Then i am sure it will even play starwars battlefront on low/med settings at 1080. Same goes for all the new engines that use 4 cores. The entire bf series. And with mantle/dx12 the 6 cores will get to work. And that for a very very few $.
If anything history have shpwn its that q9550 is far better than a 8400 today.

But as i wrote a simple test will give the facts needed to show if and to what degree a new gfx would help. No need to guess.

 

[Keysplayr]

I would plug in a used 7850 2gb. Then i am sure it will even play starwars battlefront on low/med settings at 1080. Same goes for all the new engines that use 4 cores. The entire bf series. And with mantle/dx12 the 6 cores will get to work. And that for a very very few $.
If anything history have shpwn its that q9550 is far better than a 8400 today.

But as i wrote a simple test will give the facts needed to show if and to what degree a new gfx would help. No need to guess.

Krumme, this post seemed, scattered at best. Why would he go through the trouble of a 7850 for low/med settings at 1080? Are you suggesting that the OP should or should not hold on to his current platform assuming he can get it to run without issue?

 

[jlo82585]

well according to benchmarks the 970 is roughly about 50% faster than the 470 and according to CPU benchmarks the phenom II is about 50% slower than the 4790k so yes, if I could afford to buy them both at the same time I suppose my system would be 100% faster but since im on a budget and im pretty sure the problem I am having lies inside the mobo, CPU, or PSU I will just take a 50% increase now and get another 50% increase in the spring when I get my 970.

 

[Keysplayr]

970 is far faster than 50% over GTX 470. Maybe 470 in tri-SLI 100% scaling.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1135?vs=1355

^ GTX480 vs GTX970

EDIT: your plan sounds good. But you might want to wait til August. Intel Skylake platform is coming. Just FYI.

 

[happy medium]

970 is roughly about 50% faster than the 470

WHat? 970 is more like 230% faster and your cpu needs to be at 4.6 to push a 970. Never happen ! A 4970 is like 150% faster than your cpu.

Save your money till fall and upgrade your motherboard, cpu, memory. A new skylake system will be like 600$+ and then you can throw the fastest gpu you can afford in it in the spring. BY then 970's will be 220$

Edit: Keys it was a tie. 11:04

 

[VirtualLarry]

Got DDR3 RAM? (Got Milk?)

Anyways, what about watching for a G3258 OC combo at Newegg for $100 or less. Snag that, replace your failing Phenom II X6 board / CPU for now, use your GTX470, OC the G3258, and wait 4-6 months for all of the bugs to shake out of Skylake, and for the OC reports to come in. Then buy a Skylake rig, and sell off your G3258 rig. You'll lose maybe 50% of the value of the G3258 combo, but you would have a new mobo and a stable platform for a while.

Edit: Apparently, that lowly Pentium G3258's not so bad for playing games after all:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2436638

 

[krumme]

Krumme, this post seemed, scattered at best. Why would he go through the trouble of a 7850 for low/med settings at 1080? Are you suggesting that the OP should or should not hold on to his current platform assuming he can get it to run without issue?

Because the difference is beeing able to play games or not. The 7850 and 460 is worlds apart. For aprox 70usd you get half the pleassure of an emtire new system.
Scattered at best? Are we flying under the radar now?
The obvious answer is to test it like i desribed it.
The solution needs to fit the situation not the usual copy paste solution.

 

[Keysplayr]

Because the difference is beeing able to play games or not. The 7850 and 460 is worlds apart. For aprox 70usd you get half the pleassure of an emtire new system.
Scattered at best? Are we flying under the radar now?
The obvious answer is to test it like i desribed it.
The solution needs to fit the situation not the usual copy paste solution.

^bold. What did you mean by this?
And as for fitting the situation, did you not hear the OP mention that his hardware is failing?

 

[jlo82585]

970 is far faster than 50% over GTX 470. Maybe 470 in tri-SLI 100% scaling.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1135?vs=1355

^ GTX480 vs GTX970

EDIT: your plan sounds good. But you might want to wait til August. Intel Skylake platform is coming. Just FYI.

ah okay I was just comparing overall scores, and I do plan to wait to fall for the CPU, with what money I dont spend on vacation I'll just be buying the small parts, case, PSU, HDD etc. until the new CPU's come out.

 

[Keysplayr]

Also do your best to buy an SSD. Largest you can buy for the money. Usually second from the largest offers the best dollar per GB ratio. Check out some reviews for the good ones.
Also get a large conventional HDD for storage.

 

[krumme]

^bold. What did you mean by this?
And as for fitting the situation, did you not hear the OP mention that his hardware is failing?

Yes i have actually read his post in other thread.
Because my answer despends on the situation.
And in this thread i have responded with solutions specific to his need; for the random failing and the identification what an intermediate solution a new gpu will give.

But you have read my answers so why do you pose the question if i know his system is failing randomly?

 

[jlo82585]

Also do your best to buy an SSD. Largest you can buy for the money. Usually second from the largest offers the best dollar per GB ratio. Check out some reviews for the good ones.
Also get a large conventional HDD for storage.

yes, I was planning a 240 gb SSD for OS and a few games I play the most then a 2-3 TB WD black series for general storage