CPU or GPU upgrade

[ghillieguy007]

Guys, I have a 7770 ghz edition and an amd x4 750k. I was wondering which i should upgrade first. If i do not need to upgrade the cpu first, how long should i wait until i upgrade the cpu? Thanks in advance

 

[Andrei_316]

If you do mainly gaming get a better GPU... You'll see some bottlenecking in games but it would be fine untill you could get a better CPU. Maybe a year or two or when you feel like it's slowing you down BUT if you do a lot of things or game that need a lot of CPU horsepower get a CPU.

 

[Ad Hoc]

Upgrade the GPU first, definitely. What's your budget for a new GPU?

 

[ModernWarfare]

upgrading the cpu would be better, but to be honest both need to be upgraded the 7770 performs well with new games but not the highest settings should do better when overclocked, this cpu is pretty outdated performs pretty normal on some new games my advise indeed would be a newer cpu then a new gpu otherwise bottlenecking will occur get the cpu first then overtime get the gpu much better experience.

p.s hd 7770 is average for gaming.

 

[Novuake]

A graphics card upgrade would give you a lot more actual performance in gaming.

Upgrade the CPU when you can and/or when you notice problems in CPU intensive game. No specific time.

 

[doubletake]

If you mostly game, upgrade the GPU first. If you do other things that could benefit from a general platform upgrade, save your money and hold off until you can upgrade everything in one go.

 

[ghillieguy007]

Alright guys I was looking for a R9 270x. Is this a good card?

 

[geofelt]

A perennial question and a selection of different answers.

To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:

a) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.

You could also experiment with removing one core in the bios. This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many cores.

If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.

 

[ghillieguy007]

Ok thanks for all the answers I appreciate all the help. Is the 270x better than 7870 beacuase the 7870's are cheaper at the moment

 

[geofelt]

The R9 cards show up well in fps benchmarks, that is why they are popular.
But, as usual, you will get what you pay for.
I have heard of problems with the R9 cards.
Google "R9 artifacts"
I think it is more prevalent on their overclocked X suffix cards.

If you can, wait and see what the rumored GTX960 card looks like. A October launch is rumored.
The GTX970 cards have been a smashing success.

 

[ghillieguy007]

Well wouldnt a x4 750k severlely bottleneck an gtx 970?

 

[powerpie5000]

The R9 cards show up well in fps benchmarks, that is why they are popular.
But, as usual, you will get what you pay for.
I have heard of problems with the R9 cards.
Google "R9 artifacts"

Radeon cards are probably no better or worse when it comes to reliability. Google "GTX Artifacts" and you'll also get a plethora of results too. Either Nvidia or AMD will do, but i'd advise getting one with more than 2GB VRAM. Get a decent GPU now and then at least you know you'll get a nice boost now, and then another boost later when you upgrade the CPU and remove any bottlenecking 😉.

 

[ghillieguy007]

Alright thanks for all the help guys

 

[Ad Hoc]

Well wouldnt a x4 750k severlely bottleneck an gtx 970?

On some games, not so much. On others, it will be substantial. But it will still be A LOT better than your 7770.

 

[Novuake]

The R9 cards show up well in fps benchmarks, that is why they are popular.
But, as usual, you will get what you pay for.
I have heard of problems with the R9 cards.
Google "R9 artifacts"
I think it is more prevalent on their overclocked X suffix cards.

If you can, wait and see what the rumored GTX960 card looks like. A October launch is rumored.
The GTX970 cards have been a smashing success.

Google ANY random something and you can find it on the internet.

 

[geofelt]

Google ANY random something and you can find it on the internet.

True enough.

I have a method to pick between equally performing products.
Go to newegg and find the candidates.
Filter on the most reviews by verified buyers.
Then look at what percent of the reviews have one or two eggs indicating some sort of a problem.
In particular, look at the reasons for a bad review. Some are not very valid, so exclude those.

With that metric, the GTXxxx cards fare much better than the R9 cards.

 

[Novuake]

Google ANY random something and you can find it on the internet.

True enough.

I have a method to pick between equally performing products.
Go to newegg and find the candidates.
Filter on the most reviews by verified buyers.
Then look at what percent of the reviews have one or two eggs indicating some sort of a problem.
In particular, look at the reasons for a bad review. Some are not very valid, so exclude those.

With that metric, the GTXxxx cards fare much better than the R9 cards.

User reviews are driven by ignorance 90% (spitball figure) of the time.