Upgrade new gfx or cpu!

[buffhr]

Ok so to keep this brief my Wondefrull GF just bought be a 4k screen so she has now inherited my dell U3011. The problem is her system is built on my hand me downs...

Her current build:

AMD Phenom 2 @ 3.8, it does 4.0 but runs extremely hot...
Asus Crosshair 5 (non Z)
Some xfx 6950 with unlocked shaders
8 gig of Gskill 1600(/7/7/7)
660 watt seasonic Platinum



1. What YOUR PC will be used for: Alot of Net Browsing but also AAA gaming like crysis 3/watchdogs/ most COD titles...

Hence with those titles the 6950 just cant keep up at 1600p, so I need to upgrade her system, currently I cant build a new system for myself, only way up is x99 or 980's so too costly. I would like to just plop in a new GFX card but unsure if this old phenom will actually make use of it or not as I was looking at a 970 or 290/290x.

Please bear in mind I currently reside in Finland and prices are much different then in the US, I will provide parts and pricing as I go...

The 970 would be ideal as from what I understand as a single card is faster than a 290 and the 290x is somewhat equal, but we both prefer AMD for color accuracy and video playback...

The 290/x would have the benefit or leveraging Mantle in some titles so that might alleviate the old/weak CPU.

2. What YOUR budget is. I would like to keep this upgrade at around max of 450€

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from: Finland

4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.
We can't be expected to scour the internet on your behalf, chasing down deals in your specific country... Again, help us, help YOU.: As stated above Finland, if someone wants to check the tops sites: http://www.jimms.fi/Komponentit and http://www.webhallen.com/fi-fi/tietokoneen_osia/ bear in mind these are in Finnish.



Currently the 290's have dropped down to roughly 290-350€

The 290x is mainly above 400€ but a few are hovering @370€

The 970's hovers arround 370-430€ for most models
the 770s are 220-270€

I5 4690k 230€
I7 4690k 335€
MB roughly same as NA just in €

So I guess the question is would just a GPU upgrade make sense considering the old CPU,e.g. would it be even close to fully utilized or could it push decent framerates at 1600p. Or would it be wiser to upgrade CPU/MB instead and stick with the 6950, however I doubt this helps much with framerates...

Unfortunately the budget is pretty stiff with xmas coming and that I will be upgrading in June to x99(from x79).

Thanks

Edit: Just noticed I forgot this part

An FX 8350(highest FX this board supports) is roughly 170€, would it be wiser to get that + the 770 perhaps 290(non x) for better overall performance?

 

[greybaby]

I remember reading an article a long time ago about how basically the last GPU the Phenom II quads will keep up with is the 6950. If I was you, I would upgrade the CPU to the cheapest i5 in the new socket and a really cheap 1150 motherboard. Then look into flashing the 6950 to 6970 shaders for a free boost.

 

[buffhr]

It already is using full shaders,basicly a 6970...

Yeah thats what I am thinking as well that the cpu wont be able to cope and like 1/2 or more of the gpu capacity wont be used :S

However @ 1600p with some eye candy it might not be as CPU bound then at lower res, the current system can use 100% gpu @ 1080p or 1600p and the cpu aint maxed in both cases but does have 60%+ util.

 

[Cerb]

If you're going with X99 in 6-7 months, IMO, wait, and keep the 400 aside for that time. We should have more new GPUs out from sides, by then.

 

[buffhr]

If you're going with X99 in 6-7 months, IMO, wait, and keep the 400 aside for that time. We should have more new GPUs out from sides, by then.

Thx X79 that will be X99 is my current system with a 295x2, this is an upgrade for her system that now since she has the 1600p screen the 6950 just cant keep up.

Wont be changing my systems gpu in June just the MB/RAM/CPU

 

[Cerb]

Ah, OK. I took it to mean this system was going to get upgraded to X99.

Any of the 770, 970, or R9 290 will do. The GTX 970 and R9 290 will handle it better than the GTX 770, but the R9 290 can also push out 250W, sometimes more, depending on clocks/model, which is no small part of why the GTX 970 is selling out everywhere (that's heat you'll feel, and that has to removed from the room). The GTX 770 will be slower than the other two, which are neck and neck, but will also be 150 less. Pick your poison.

For the 770, I'd get a MSI TwinFrozr or Lightning, Asus DirectCU, Gigabyte Windforce, or EVGA blower. For the R9 290, a Sapphire or Asus (Sapphire Tri-X being among the best). Where you are, you'll likely have some Palit and Galaxy options, and I really don't know how they fair, comparatively, as they aren't common here in the U.S..

 

[mfenn]

The 970 would be ideal as from what I understand as a single card is faster than a 290 and the 290x is somewhat equal, but we both prefer AMD for color accuracy and video playback...

Can you elaborate of this? I'm not aware of any differences in color accuracy between GPU vendors. Regarding video, both of their video decoders have issues with specific video types (different issues with each), but if the highest quality video decoding is important to you, you should be using a software decoder anyway.

Regarding CPU versus GPU, increasing the resolution won't increase CPU requirements by much, so if her PC was capable of handling the games you mentioned before, then a GPU upgrade is all that's needed. If it wasn't capable of handling the games before, then that's a different story.

Assuming the GPU upgrade is all that's needed, this Gigabyte R9 290X for 349€ looks to be the best deal.

 

[vailr]

(that's heat you'll feel, and that has to removed from the room).

Depending on electricity cost, the lower wattage card may increasingly be the better option. I'm guessing that Denmark's cost per KWH is likely higher than in the U.S.

Edit: oops, I meant Finland.

 

[mfenn]

Depending on electricity cost, the lower wattage card may increasingly be the better option. I'm guessing that Denmark's cost per KWH is likely higher than in the U.S.

Edit: oops, I meant Finland.

Though we're approaching northern hemisphere winter, so that heat can be used to heat the OP's home. :awe:

 

[buffhr]

Where you are, you'll likely have some Palit and Galaxy options, and I really don't know how they fair, comparatively, as they aren't common here in the U.S..

Yeah Palit/Gainward/Zotac and Inno 3d are available here but I avoid them, as I am more Familiar with other brands(I used to live in NA...)

Can you elaborate of this? I'm not aware of any differences in color accuracy between GPU vendors. Regarding video, both of their video decoders have issues with specific video types (different issues with each), but if the highest quality video decoding is important to you, you should be using a software decoder anyway.

Yeah we use MadVR, just personal preference I guess the 10bit colours just seem sharper and deeper to us. No Specific testing or articles that I can link to you.

Assuming the GPU upgrade is all that's needed, this Gigabyte R9 290X for 349€ looks to be the best deal.

Sweet Find, definetly thinking of pulling the trigger on that, thanks for pointing it out!

Depending on electricity cost, the lower wattage card may increasingly be the better option. I'm guessing that Denmark's cost per KWH is likely higher than in the U.S.

Well its higher then some places but still low roughly 0.18€/Kwh

Though we're approaching northern hemisphere winter, so that heat can be used to heat the OP's home.

Yeah heat not really a concern, though noise could be....


Thanks for all the input

 

[Cerb]

Yeah we use MadVR, just personal preference I guess the 10bit colours just seem sharper and deeper to us. No Specific testing or articles that I can link to you.

8-bit is all that will come out, without a suitable monitor (and, for that matter, Geforces have supported 10-bit via DirectX for some time, now). 10-bit video encodes are a matter of compression quality, especially for video that isn't live action.

If using HDMI on a Geforce, however, apply the full color range reg hack.

 

[Burpo]

"you may notice you aren't getting the right colors and the blacks don't seem so black and the whites don't seem so white. This is because despite under Display->Adjust Desktop Color Settings your digital color format being set at RGB, its actually by default set at Limited RGB, not Full. And you will see there is no option for Full RGB.

Full RGB is available only under Video->Adjust Video Color Settings, but this doesn't affect your games, applications, etc. Only videos.

The trick to enable Full RGB for everything is a reg hack, and luckily you can use a tool to do instead."
https://forums.geforce.com/default/...using-hdmi-and-getting-accurate-color-format/

 

[buffhr]

That could may very well have been the case, however no Green team GPU power in the house to check, but If I ever swing back to green team Ill make sure to check that out as it may very well have been that.