[SOLVED] Best Upgrade Path

[CornBeef]

Hello everyone!
First off I know these upgrade questions show up here all the time and can't be that interesting, but I appreciate any advice or input that can be provided.
I think it's once again time to start looking to update my ageing system. This is the first rig that I put together myself and can bet it's not the most optimal setup.
I use this machine for fairly demanding Photoshop work and gaming. In games I can usually get to some pretty high settings but would love to push it even farther. As for Photoshop in many of my paintings I can get some very noticeable lag while using several features and brushes. Based on my specs what do you think would be the most logical thing to upgrade next?

Motherboard
ASUS Sabertooth 990FX AM3+ AMD 990FX + SB950 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

CPU
AMD FX 8-Core Black Edition FX-8320-8 Cores - 3500 MHz - 125 watts

RAM
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model ...

GPU
GeForce GTX 970

Power Supply
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply

Thanks again for the help and advice!

 

[rgd1101]

motherboard/cpu/ram

 

[Karadjgne]

The entire core platform. There's no real upgrade from an FX 8320/8350/8370 as they are all the same cpu with different clock settings.

There's no upgrade from ddr3 1866 ram that's worth spending money on, the performance gains will be minimal to non-existent.

Good mobo, for AM3+, but a mobo is only useful as a receptacle for the cpu+ram, which are capped.

For Photoshop work, the only real viable upgrade that'll show marked improvement is a move to Intel i9-9700k.
https://www.pugetsystems.com/recomm...obe-Photoshop-CC-139/Hardware-Recommendations

Of course this doesn't take into consideration the Ryzen 3000 series that went public yesterday, so still waiting on results for that, it may just be a cheaper Ryzen pc will be as good as the 9700k.

If you don't have one, a decent SSD as OS drive, with Photoshop on the SSD too will help a lot.

 

[CornBeef]

Okay so Karadjgne What I'm interpreting this is
-RAM is as good as it reasonably needs to be.
-CPU is fine as its close to the current tech ceiling? Unless I specifically want to switch to Intel for the Photoshop power.
-My motherboard is fine for the CPU that I currently have?
-I have both an SSD and a standard hard drive so should be pretty set there as well.

So in summary to get more out of gaming specifically an upgraded GPU is in order maybe?

 

[Karadjgne]

Not really...

The cpu pre-renders the frames from the game code. It'll do that as fast as it is able. That sets a hard frames per second limit. Then it sends that info to the gpu, which finish renders the frames according to your detail settings and resolution.

So if the cpu can only pre-render 60fps, you could have a RTX2080ti and all that gpu will see is 60 frames. Won't matter if it's ultra or low, 60 is all that's possible.

The 970 is still a capable gpu, it bumps heads all day with a gtx1060, so 1080p isn't an issue. What is the issue is the cpu. It's not strong enough to supply the gpu with a good amount of frames, not with today's graphical monsters.

The only thing you really can do to improve gaming is a heafty OC on the cpu, and thats going to require heafty cooling, it is a 125w cpu to start with, and that isn't cheap. So unless planning on holding onto the pc for the next good while, spending out on a top line aircooler or a decent 240mm/280mm aio isn't worth it.

Unless, of course, you plan on keeping that cooler in the next pc, in which case you need to plan the case/build around those dimensions. Not all cases fit a 165mm NH-D15 or 280mm aio.