Looking for a New GPU

[SozBoutUrSize]

I am looking to get a new GPU and had my mind set on the AMD R9 290. I was waiting until the custom coolers came out to buy the card, but as of Monday the price went up by $100USD without the custom cooler...so the custom coolers might raise the price even more? Due to some extra bills today all the money I can save would be helpful.

I am looking to specifically play BF4, Assassin's Creed 4, Elder Scrolls Online, and whatever games come out in the next year or two at least.

I plan on upgrading my CPU after I get a new GPU, but I was wondering how urgent getting a CPU upgrade is with the AMD R9 290. My currect CPU is actually an APU, but it's the A10 5800k 3.8GHz. What CPU would I need to take full advantage of the AMD R9 290?

Questions:
- Should the AMD R9 290 go back to around the originally price when the ones with the custom coolers come out or in a semi reasonable amount of time?
- (If not) What GPU with a reasonable price should I look at getting that has the ability to play all upcoming games for the next few years?
- What CPU would I need to take full advantage of the AMD R9 290, and how urgent is an upgrade from my current 3.8GHz CPU?

Thanks for the help!

 

[fjaesbog]

The 290/290x will run the games PERFECTLY fine without problems. And the next few years as well. I guess you have a AM3+ socket MoBo? If so, you should consider the 8350 CPU, or the new ones, but personally i wouldn't go further than the 8350 AMD, until the next few years.
I do not think that the prices of the custom coolers will rise, if they do it wont be a lot. You should wait for them, because buying the 290 now will just dissapoint you, the heat and the noise will eventually make you hate and return the product.

 

[sincreator]

I hate to say it, but if you want to take full advantage of a 290/290x then Intel is the only way to go IMO. Games that are CPU dependant will be faster on an Intel system no doubt running either of those cards.

 

[a1blaster]

8350 is not that great...get an i7

 

[AlexSerbanoiu]

That apu is fm2 socket. for best performance i'd take i5 or 8320(with aftermarket cooler) . For GPU, if the actual price went down take 290, else gtx 780

 

[fjaesbog]

8350 is not that great...get an i7

I think you should read what he wrote, 'Due to some extra bills today all the money I can save would be helpful.'
The 8350 isn't bad at ALL. The 8350 runs as good as a i5 (in some games better), and can easily hold up for a few more years. And by upgrading from i5 to i7 is a VERY bad idea, since a i5 can handle ALL games these days. If you want to edit videos, Photoshop, rendering, then a i7 is perfect. So again, the 8350 would be the best choice, OR the i5. But the 8350 is cheapest and runs perfect. So i'd recommend that one.

 

[SozBoutUrSize]

8350 is not that great...get an i7

When I have upwards of $1500USD laying around I'll message you, and you can help me pick out parts for an Intel build.

 

[SozBoutUrSize]

That apu is fm2 socket. for best performance i'd take i5 or 8320(with aftermarket cooler) . For GPU, if the actual price went down take 290, else gtx 780

I don't understand why I would take the GPU that is $40USD+ more and 1GB less?

 

[sincreator]

8350 is not that great...get an i7

I think you should read what he wrote, 'Due to some extra bills today all the money I can save would be helpful.'
The 8350 isn't bad at ALL. The 8350 runs as good as a i5 (in some games better), and can easily hold up for a few more years. And by upgrading from i5 to i7 is a VERY bad idea, since a i5 can handle ALL games these days. If you want to edit videos, Photoshop, rendering, then a i7 is perfect. So again, the 8350 would be the best choice, OR the i5. But the 8350 is cheapest and runs perfect. So i'd recommend that one.

Either way he needs a new motherboard and CPU since his current motherboard is FM2+. He would save a bit by going with the 8320/8350, but I would personally take the opportunity to grab an Intel i5/i7 now. If he ever decides to go SLI/Crossfire, he may regret the AMD CPU purchase. Then he would be spending even more money making the switch. I plan to grab up a 4670k, and motherboard to supply crossfire 7950's soon enough, and I know that Intel is by far my best choice for my setup. I just want to OP to see everything from all angles. I do agree that the AMD chips will do the job, but they will hold back the 290/290x in CPU bound titles.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/core_i7_4770k_review,23.html See Far Cry for the type of CPU bottleneck I am talking about.

Also look at these CPU dependant titles. They purposely tested CPU bound titles BTW, just in case your wondering about their results. : http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i7-3770k-i5-3570k_6.html#sect0




MMOs show the same, and codemasters racing games as well, although it has been proven that memory bandwidth plays a big role in those racing games as well. So there is a hand full of games that will show this kind of difference, and also remember that the video card tested was not as powerful as the 290/290x so the bottleneck would be more prevalent.

If someone is spending so much on a video card, they shouldn't be skimping on the CPU to drive it. Just my opinion...

 

[fjaesbog]

That apu is fm2 socket. for best performance i'd take i5 or 8320(with aftermarket cooler) . For GPU, if the actual price went down take 290, else gtx 780

I don't understand why I would take the GPU that is $40USD+ more and 1GB less?

The GB on a GPU isn't something that you need to worry about. The more GB on a card, the more displays it can run. 4gb 3-4 displays, 6gb 5+ displays etc. the 780 gtx is better than the 290. So if you want to spend 40$ for more perfomance, you should. And you don't have to worry about the heat and noise.

 

[SozBoutUrSize]

Okay...So...I was planning on doing it in parts as I got the money. I wanted to do the GPU first because I was told that was the part I would benefit most from an upgrade. Would the AMD R9 290 work with my motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130662)? Or would I need a new one? If I need a new one is there one you would suggest that would work with a AMD APU and later on a Intel CPU (if I decide to change to Intel)?

 

[sincreator]

Okay...So...I was planning on doing it in parts as I got the money. I wanted to do the GPU first because I was told that was the part I would benefit most from an upgrade. Would the AMD R9 290 work with my motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130662)? Or would I need a new one? If I need a new one is there one you would suggest that would work with a AMD APU and later on a Intel CPU (if I decide to change to Intel)?

If you choose to go Intel you will need a board that supports Intel CPUs. If you decide to go with a FX AMD chip, you will need an AMD motherboard that supports AMD FX chips. The Chip you currently have will not work in a board that uses an AMD FX chip because it is a different socket.

So it's Intel CPU = Intel chipset board(many to choose from)
AMD FX CPU = AM3+ chipset board from AMD(same chipset(AM3+) from different manufacturers)

 

[SozBoutUrSize]

Okay...So...I was planning on doing it in parts as I got the money. I wanted to do the GPU first because I was told that was the part I would benefit most from an upgrade. Would the AMD R9 290 work with my motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130662)? Or would I need a new one? If I need a new one is there one you would suggest that would work with a AMD APU and later on a Intel CPU (if I decide to change to Intel)?

If you choose to go Intel you will need a board that supports Intel CPUs. If you decide to go with a FX AMD chip, you will need an AMD motherboard that supports AMD FX chips. The Chip you currently have will not work in a board that uses an AMD FX chip because it is a different socket.

So it's Intel CPU = Intel chipset board(many to choose from)
AMD FX CPU = AM3+ chipset board from AMD(same chipset(AM3+) from different manufacturers)

When I get the money I can do the CPU and motherboard upgrades at the same time.
But I could just plug in an AMD R9 290 and go with my current setup?

 

[sincreator]

Okay...So...I was planning on doing it in parts as I got the money. I wanted to do the GPU first because I was told that was the part I would benefit most from an upgrade. Would the AMD R9 290 work with my motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130662)? Or would I need a new one? If I need a new one is there one you would suggest that would work with a AMD APU and later on a Intel CPU (if I decide to change to Intel)?

If you choose to go Intel you will need a board that supports Intel CPUs. If you decide to go with a FX AMD chip, you will need an AMD motherboard that supports AMD FX chips. The Chip you currently have will not work in a board that uses an AMD FX chip because it is a different socket.

So it's Intel CPU = Intel chipset board(many to choose from)
AMD FX CPU = AM3+ chipset board from AMD(same chipset(AM3+) from different manufacturers)

When I get the money I can do the CPU and motherboard upgrades at the same time.
But I could just plug in an AMD R9 290 and go with my current setup?

You should be able too, as long as you have a big enough case and your motherboard has at least one 2.0/3.0 PCI-E slot. You will need 11 inches from the back of your case to the HDD bay. I would allow for 11 and a half inches though since there may be cables coming off the back of your hard drive(s) depending on how they are mounted in your particular case.