Help on UPGRADES. Please advise!! NEED MOBO/GPU

Njpatrona

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Dec 17, 2014
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I am currently wanting to upgrade my system. I'd like to upgrade the motherboard and GPU only but not sure if my processor will bottleneck my system if I don't over-clock it.

What would you recommend s far as GPU/MOBO and if needed a CPU. Would like to stay AMD to cut cost and for personal pref.

My current build:

Processor: AMD Phenom II x6 1100T
MOBO: Asus M4A89TD PRO USB/3
GPU: XFX R9 270X
RAM: 16GB G. Skill 1600 (4x4GB)
HDD: 2TB Seagate
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO Pro
PSU: 1000W Corsair

 
Solution
The mobo for Intel:
ASUS H97-pro or ASUS Z97 Sabertooth Mark 2 (own this one myself)
the mobo for AMD:
ASUS M5A99FX pro
Yes, I am basically an ASUS mobo fan. Anyother mobos from Gigabyte, ASRock or MSI are also good.

Upgrading the GPU R9 270x?
You must go at least GTX970 (or equivalents from AMD).
I would recommend to wait until the next gen from AMD are out in the market.

EnvyForMe

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Hmm, what is your budget? That information helps us out a lot.
Your Processor won't bottleneck your performance THAT much. But I recommend an upgrade after a year. Thats what I am doing with my 8320 I have now
 

Njpatrona

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If I had to put a $$ amount on it, i'd say about $500. I was thinking the high end AMD MOBO (For future upgrading) and a high end GPU. I have had some conversations with people about my current CPU. They have said I will be able to OC it to 4GHZ no prob. Now i have not OC'ed it besides the built in options. Does this sound the the right direction to OPT out on upgrading my CPU at the moment?
 

EnvyForMe

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Motherboards:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3947170&CatId=7244
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2713116&CatId=7244

Graphics Cards:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8857306&CatId=7387


Go with the R90. You will thank me later.

Edit: forgot to mention I'd stick with the processor you have now. I am in the same situation your in. Im just going to buy a CPU in another year or so.
 

Njpatrona

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I agree, AMD doesnt have a selection like intel but the amount I can spend on AMD upgrades compared to Intel is half, I will eventually hand this PC down to my son and get a nice custom INTEL sytem. With what my current specs are above, if i were to get the R9 290x with a new MOBO, if i were to OC my CPU would I need to purchase any secondary cooling hardware? I currently have the cooler-master HAF full tower. Running the stock fans in the case and for the CPU.
 

EnvyForMe

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Overclock you need something better than the default CPU fan. The CPU fan is what determines around 80% of if you can or can not overclock. Go ahead and get a liquid cooling device for around 60 bucks. They are pretty cheap now. Do not buy Antec though.. Bought my antec and I am afraid to take apart my CPU.. the thing took me over 2 hours to put on.
 

EnvyForMe

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Are you sure? I have learned the benchmark is the big thing to go by.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-4460+%40+3.20GHz
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+FX-8350+Eight-Core&id=1780

Edit: While I do agree intel's Hyperthreading beats the cores, which makes it better for gaming, This processor seems to beat everything else overall (surfing, movies, rendering, etc.)

 
hmmm X6 he?
This is tough, X6 is now somewhere in the border-line where it could bottleneck some games but most likely still not yet a bottleneck for most games.
I would prefer trying to OC that rig a bit and see first how god it can go before going to bigger upgrade path.

If you decided to go for bigger upgrade, I would recommend either FX8350 or i5 4690k or E3-1231V3 or i7 4790k.
The choice is up to you. If the rig is mainly for gaming and you will OC the rig, i5 4690k is the best for you.
If you do some video editing or etc., do not need the iGPU and do not plan to OC, E3-1231V3 is the better choice.
If you want something really good and OC-able and you have the money for it, i7 4790k is the one for you.
If you want something cheap but still good, like always FX-8350 is perhaps the best for you.
i5 4460 or i5 4590 is also not bad if your budget is kinda bad but do not want to have AMD.

Info:
DDR4+2011 platform is yet good price/performance-wise, go this path only if you really need to.
 
The mobo for Intel:
ASUS H97-pro or ASUS Z97 Sabertooth Mark 2 (own this one myself)
the mobo for AMD:
ASUS M5A99FX pro
Yes, I am basically an ASUS mobo fan. Anyother mobos from Gigabyte, ASRock or MSI are also good.

Upgrading the GPU R9 270x?
You must go at least GTX970 (or equivalents from AMD).
I would recommend to wait until the next gen from AMD are out in the market.
 
Solution