Graphics or CPU First

kyosuke

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Feb 6, 2007
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I'm slowly but surely upgrading my rig, but am having a tough time deciding if I'd benefit more from the GPU upgrade first of the CPU.

I currently am running a Phenom II X4 965 Black and a Radeon HD 6870

I'm looking to jump up to the FX-8350 and then a Radeo R7 265

Any opinions on which route to take first would be great.

Thanks!
 

MrAlaweey98

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If you are gaming then I would advise you to upgrade your GPU first as it will definitely boost your games FPS. Then in the future when you save up more buy a new CPU.

Also do not forget your power supply, make sure it is sufficient to power your system especially if you are planing on upgrading your CPU to the FX-8350 as that alone requires 125W.
 

Embra

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Your budget? What Mobo do you have?
I would say GPU since the Phenom will still handle most games, if gaming is your reason for upgrading.
Also, I would consider spending a little more and getting a 270 or 270x. You would see a better performance increase from the 6870. What is your PSU?
 

kyosuke

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Hmmm, so 3 1/2 years later, the R7 265 isn't much of an upgrade from the HD 6870? THat's kind of disappointing. Trying to stay below $200 on the GPU and get a decent upgrade. So any thoughts on where to go? I'd like to stay with the AMD setup for the GPU.
 
$169 after $30 rebate............ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131571

these guys think the 965 is still really good. I tossed a 775/q9550 because I started having cpu bottlenecks in some more demanding newer games. the q9550 was always faster than the 965 and was better able to handle coding than the 965. so with a new card you will surely still be bottle-necked in more cpu limited games.
 


Yeah, that's a pretty good deal, but I can't say if you can get a better card under $200 since PCPartPicker seems to be down (is everybody experiencing this?).
 


I remember seeing an R9 280 for exactly $200, but that offer might have passed (kind of hard to confirm for the previously stated reason).
 
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Deleted member 1300495

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Here is a good card for maxing games: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127761. It's by MSI so it has pretty good cooling and is pretty fast
 


Its not good, but it matches the performance of a r7 265 and below.
 
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The Powercolor brand isn't trusted in the gaming community that much. You could have picked a MSI version of the 270X for the same price but it would have had much better cooling.
 


did you miss the part where my reply was about the processor?................

and you should look at the benchmarks. the 265 gets beat and also the architecture and attributes of the cards are different.
 
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Really? What are you basing your facts off of? MSI: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_270X_Gaming/
Powercolor: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/R9_270X_PCS_Plus/
Asus: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/R9_270X_Direct_Cu_II_TOP/
 


Well the Powercolor seems to be pretty much equal to those two, based on your own links at least.
 
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Deleted member 1300495

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@Eduello, I was talking cooling wise, the powercolor does not have good cooling, that is from personal experience.