Best CPU for an AMD Radeon HD 7790

theSource113

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Mar 6, 2014
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Hello,
I've bought an AMD Radeon HD 7790 some time ago and I've been having problems with it. This is probably because of my CPU, which is pretty old. It's an AMD Athlon II X4 620, 2.60 GHz. Now, I'm no expert on on this kind of stuff but I do think this is a very strange combination of CPU and GPU, so what CPU would go best with my new GPU? I have a budget of around €100 to €150. While €200 is also acceptable, I wouldn't want to spend that much.

Also, what would be best to upgrade next? I'm slowly upgrading my PC and I thought it would be best to start with GPU and CPU but I could be wrong.
 

theSource113

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Mar 6, 2014
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I'm having problems when gaming, my PC would suddenly crash, just a black screen, and my GPU is very hot. I can only game without crashes if I run MSI Afterburner with increased fan speed. I thought I might be able to fix it by getting a new processor. I needed a new one anyway.
 

Blaise170

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Sounds more like a problem with the GPU. You might think about RMA'ing it if it is still under warranty.
 

theSource113

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I'm not sure if it is, but if it isn't, how would I be able to fix it? It's really pissing me off.. Also, would buying a new processor increase my performance? Because right now it lags pretty often.
 

Blaise170

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You probably wouldn't see a huge boost in performance, if you are talking about gaming. The 7790 is rather low end.
 

theSource113

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I was afraid you were going to say that.. That explains a lot though. Damn. Guess I chose the wrong GPU then. :l
 

Blaise170

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Depending on how long ago you bought it, you might be able to return the 7790. Either way, you can get a really nice GPU like the GTX 660/760 or Radeon HD 7870/7950 for under $200 for great gaming performance.
 


Yep, mark down the temperatures at default fan speed when the game crashed, and RMA the card - you should have no problems getting a replacement from the manufacturer - probably an R7 260X (same chip).
 

molevolenter

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Hey mate, i have an xfx black edition 2gb 7790 and i used to have a fx 6300 with that. I updat ed to an intel cpu a month ago and tried out my 7790 with it before buying a new gfx card. Low and behold, i was getting maybe 20-30% better performance out of my gpu with an i5-4670. So its up to you mate, but some gpu intensive games *not cpu intensive i know the difference* comunicate better between radeon and intel combo. Which i guess explains why most tests from AMD and reviewist sites only test cards with intel cpus and not monster AMDs. And the fx-6300 came out somewhere around late 2012 according to my cpus print. So its not terribly new either...
 

molevolenter

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Apr 24, 2014
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Oh and i just noticed your heating problem.. It should be noted that i have never owned msi solely for the fact that mates of mine who have owned msi laptops or desktop parts have regularly had problems like over heating or losing functionality and crashing alot. Not always but msi to my opinion is an unlucky streak gone wild
 

Coonah

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I agree with molevolenter, I too now avoid MSI. I've had 2 GPU's and 2 motherboards that were (are) MSI and had issues with overheating, drivers and other weird bugs in all of them. Had to RMA a GTX 560ti twin frozr as it was overheating and freezing and wouldn't overclock. They replaced the card and the RMA card won't overclock at all. Won't budge buy a Mhz and never performed right even in a decent i7 build... Anyway the 7790 is a good card for the price. I was astounded at it's performance in a little sandbox build that I have with an Athlon X2 250 CPU. It's the Gigabyte 2G ram OC version but that's not hugely different to the reference card I and can get 40-50 odd FPS in Battlefeild 3 with most of the bells and whistles turned on at 1080p. Was a surprise for me so I would not say that your 7790 is "rather low end" as Blaize170 says, rather the lower end of the decent cards. Your card should perform better and likely has a heating issue. Try replacing the thermal paste. MSI are notorious for being lazy with this and using the cheap stuff. If that doesn't work definitely RMA it. I'd start with a more modern CPU as an upgrade first to smooth out the lag spikes in GPU performance.