CPU or GPU

[Seleth]

Hello,
I am considering an ugrade to my pc and at first i thought to first a graphic card.But i saw it will bottleneck with my current cpu,so now i think i must buy mobo and cpu.So here are my specs:
radeon 5670
athlon ii x4 630 2,8ghz
4gb ram ddr2
asrock n68-s
So if it is going to be a processor i am thinking about fx 6300 and i'll ask you to recommend me mobo and of course not expensive i know that asrock i think extreme 3 something like that i dont remeber right now.Soo my first question is:is it going to bottleneck my gpu with that new processor.
If it is going to be a GPU i am thinking about radoen 7870 and i saw a guy in a forum who told me he had a bottleneck,what do you think.Give me some advice i use it for gaming.

 

[Guest]

If you want a gaming PC, bump the RAM up to DDR3(you probably want 2x4gb at 1600mhz or up), definitely upgrade your processor and motherboard, you'll probably want to upgrade you GPU as well assuming you are playing games heavier than Minecraft. If you need any help selecting those parts or checking compatibility you can ask me those questions as well. Also, make sure that the PSU wattage can handle the new, potential specs.

 

[bkoop]

I would try the video card first, you can always drop it into your new build later. What games are you interested and at what resolution and low, medium or high graphics?

What Power Supply do you have? (Make and Model)

 

[Seleth]

Well of course at high graphics but my mobo doesnt support ddr3.. thats a bit old.I must be sure that my cpu wont bottleneck otherwise it would be useless to spend so much money on something which will bottleneck.

I dont really know how to check if you can tell me.

 

[ihog]

Everything. Just update everything, dude.

 

[bkoop]

I dont really know how to check if you can tell me.

>> Just take the side panel off and read the label on the Power Supply

For example mine says Seasonic M12 II Bronze
+12 Volt combined 40A

The Amps are important to provide power to the new video card.

 

[JD88]

Everything. Just update everything, dude.

I agree. If you can not afford to do it all at one time, start with graphics and possibly power supply.

 

[Seleth]

I think the same with the graphics but will it bottleneck with radeon 7870 with my current cpu athlon ii x4 630? thats the thing i am worried about.And i want to upgrade everything but i am starting slowly.

 

[JD88]

Yeah the CPU will bottleneck the 7870 but there will still be a noticeable difference in improvement with the new GPU. Then, you can get even better performance down the road when you upgrade CPU/MOBO/RAM.

 

[Seleth]

Are there any benchmarks in which you can choose a configuration to see it would bottleneck,its not that i dont trust i have to be sure there would be a noticable difference because a half a year minimum will pass until i upgrade cpu mobo and ram.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2288611 see this guy

 

[JD88]

Not really as different games tax the CPU and GPU in different ways..

The thing is you really don't have much of an option either unless you upgrade everything at once because upgrading the CPU first wouldn't achieve any better performance as even the one you have is being limited by the GPU.

Basically you have 4 options:

1. Upgrade only the GPU now.

2. Upgrade everything now.

3. Do nothing until you can upgrade everything.

4. Get an APU now which is CPU and GPU in one then add a better discrete graphics card later. The integrated graphics would still be quite an improvement over what you currently have. This option is only viable if your budget is over $200.

 

[Guest]

Are there any benchmarks in which you can choose a configuration to see it would bottleneck,its not that i dont trust i have to be sure there would be a noticable difference because a half a year minimum will pass until i upgrade cpu mobo and ram.

The only way to do that would be to contrast the same product with high-speed components against your low-end components. You'll probably just have to trust us on this one.

 

[Seleth]

So guys you are saying if i upgrade my gpu it wouldnt be a waste and that i will see a difference?.By the way i am going to buy the card at christmas and for now this is my choice for gpu,if there are another good i might consider them too also,but i will ask you first is it worth

 

[JD88]

What games are you playing or wanting to play? Can't really tell you if you'll see a difference or not without know that.

 

[Seleth]

Well currently i am not playing so much graphic intensive due to the reason i cant play them nice,but i would be assasins creed 3 crysis 3 battlefied could be,to sum up,games with good graphics.

 

[JD88]

You will not be able to play Battlefield 3 multiplayer or Crysis 3 until you upgrade both CPU and GPU. Battlefield 3 single player maybe. Assassins Creed 3, maybe.

That's with the new GPU and the CPU you have.

 

[Seleth]

So what's your advice what should i upgrade cpu or gpu?

 

[JD88]

If your goal is to play those games, neither will really get you what you are looking for.

 

[Seleth]

So i think i will just save more money and they buy everything.

 

[mohit9206]

So i think i will just save more money and they buy everything.

No need to waste money on new cpu,mobo and ram.Just overclock the cpu and get the 7870.Getting a new cpu will not impact the performance as much as you think considering the costs involved.So save money and overclock the cpu to extract more performance.

 

[Seleth]

I would overclock it,but i no matter how noob friednly guides i read i cant do anything.If someone wants to help me,i will accept the offer.