Upgrade 8350 to Ryzen or new GPU?

[Digital Shrapnel]

Hi,
I'd like to know if its worth upgrading my just my cpu or gpu now, or the entire system.

Will be playing games some AAA games like BF4/BF1, GTA 5, Dishonored 2 and others. I
may move to a 1440 @ 75/90hz freesync monitor in 1-2 years.

FX8350
R9 280x
Gigabyte 970 d3p mobo
750W PSU gold semi-modular
8Gb ddr3 ram
NZXT phantom 410 ATX case
Monitor is 24" 1080p @ 75hz non freesync

My thoughts and options:
1. Upgrade 280x to Vega 56
2. FX8350 to an R5 1600 (including mobo, matx case, RAM)
3. Pursue option 1 and 2 together in 6-9 months when I can afford both.

All thoughts and ideas welcome.

*Edit: Budget can be flexible, just looking for thoughts on the improvements being worth it.
Vega 56 will likely cost $700 in NZ. Same with option 2 Ryzen upgrade.

 

[feelinfroggy777]

In most games, you would see a bigger improvement by upgrading your GPU than you would your CPU. Some CPU heavy games, the improvement will not be as much, such as BF1. I would go with the GPU.

However, the GPU market is crazy right now due to mining and the Vega GPU prices may skyrocket if they mine well enough. So dont over pay for a GPU right now. If you are going to over pay, then just go with a new processor, mobo, and RAM.

 

[Digital Shrapnel]

In most games, you would see a bigger improvement by upgrading your GPU than you would your CPU. Some CPU heavy games, the improvement will not be as much, such as BF1. I would go with the GPU.

However, the GPU market is crazy right now due to mining and the Vega GPU prices may skyrocket if they mine well enough. So dont over pay for a GPU right now. If you are going to over pay, then just go with a new processor, mobo, and RAM.

Yeah I hear you froggy. After hearing rumours of vegas mining performance I think getting hold of a card here or anywhere may be very tough.
So basically wait till the dust settles with Vega and re evaluate? I do feel like my 8350 will hamper it somewhat (more on paper rather than a huge difference), and I do notice fps drops in Killing Floor 2, GTA 5 and when I record gameplay through Relive. The perf difference between 3.7ghz R5 1600 and 4.0ghz 8350 seem to be fairly big....

 

[feelinfroggy777]

The 1600 is an excellent chip, especially for the price. It is in another league compared to the 8350. So it wont be foolish to upgrade the CPU. I just think you will see a bigger fps increase with Vega. But we dont even know what the Vega 56 is right now. I looks like a 1070 competitor, which is a big jump from your 280. But we wont have to wait much longer, Monday is the big day.

 

[photonboy]

Hey,
Your CPU will be a bottleneck in many games but depending on HOW you play it can be minimized, but if you plan an upgrade path then maybe later a 2560x1440, FREESYNC monitor is a good idea. In which case:

a) 2560x1440 resolution - more GPU demand, less CPU usually (you can also raise graphics or anti-aliasing to stress the GPU more to try to be more GPU bound if you have more GPU processing power than CPU)

b) RX-VEGA56 - is a great card (though prices may not be near $400USD for a long time due to mining and other supply reasons)

I'd consider holding off for that card though since it works with FREESYNC.

PERFORMANE COMPARISON:
*This chart assumes a good CPU of course, and you can put the R9-280X at the GTX1050Ti level. Finally, the RX-VEGA56 is similar go GTX1070 and RX-VEGA64 similar to GTX1080 but we need final testing. Probably will lose in some and win in others:
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_1080_Ti_Gaming_X/30.html

**So for example with VEGA64 you could get up to about 3x the performance for situations where there is no CPU bottleneck.

SUMMARY:
POSSIBLY this way?
1) wait for $400 to $450USD VEGA56, then
2) upgrade to FREESYNC 1440p, IPS, 144Hz monitor (make sure it has good Freesync range such as 40Hz to 144Hz)
3) replace core PC (i.e R5-1600 6C/12T build or similar Intel)

 

[photonboy]

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/dishonored_2_pc_graphics_performance_benchmark_review,8.html

*Look at the 2nd chart.
I didn't expect the FX-8370 to NOT be a bottleneck but it appears to not be (at least for the part they tested). You see that the performance is the same whether the i7 or the FX-8370 CPU is used with the GTX1070 (which again is probably similar to a VEGA56 card).

With a few tweaks you can play Dishonored 2 at a fairly solid 60FPS at 1440p.

*Many other games will have a big CPU hit, but if you can still hit 60FPS then again you can do thinks like raise the anti-aliasing to reduce jagged edges to make use of a better GPU when that GPU isn't fully utilized.

and with FREESYNC it's not as critical to hit 60FPS (on a 60Hz monitor using VSYNC ON). You could aim for 50FPS on slower games, or at least get it above the MINIMUM for Freesync (lowest I think is 40Hz... keep that in mind as unfortunately the cheaper Freesync monitors tend to have restricted Freesync ranges).

Some only work 48Hz to 75Hz for example. In that case you can set an FPS CAP per game to say 70FPS then tweak so you don't drop below 48FPS. I hope this makes sense as it can get confusing.

 

[photonboy]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pnWJQV

That's only an example of a 6C/12T (R5-1600) build with no after-market stock cooler to keep price down.

W10 can be bought on Kinguin (dot net) to get a W10 Home 64-bit key. People i trust have had this work.
You would go to Microsoft site:
a) download media creation too for W10 (have 8GB usb stick inserted)
b) run that to create W10 USB install
c) use KEY on install
d) use MSN account + password (have that ready. can add later but best now)
e) programs, anti-virus, motherboard fan software etc (prepare for that in advance)

Depending on how LONG it will be for VEGA to actually be available for REASONABLE prices it may be worth thinking about creating a Ryzen build then sell off your old parts.

Then buy VEGA56?
Then later buy a FREESYNC monitor?

*IMPORTANT*
The above Ryzen parts are examples only. You need to carefully choose the DDR4 memory kit to work optimally with the motherboard at 3200MHz for that EXACT motherboard (or at least at 2933MHz).

Other install tips if unaware are:
a) flash UEFI/BIOS prior to Windows install
b) Memtest86 for full pass to test DDR4 memory prior to Windows install www.memtest86.com
c) then Install Windows and test CPU (Prime95 or similar)
d) overclock CPU to roughly 4GHz if you get a better cooler like Cryorig Ultimate (I think AM4 adapter is separate?)

 

[Digital Shrapnel]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pnWJQV

That's only an example of a 6C/12T (R5-1600) build with no after-market stock cooler to keep price down.

W10 can be bought on Kinguin (dot net) to get a W10 Home 64-bit key. People i trust have had this work.
You would go to Microsoft site:
a) download media creation too for W10 (have 8GB usb stick inserted)
b) run that to create W10 USB install
c) use KEY on install
d) use MSN account + password (have that ready. can add later but best now)
e) programs, anti-virus, motherboard fan software etc (prepare for that in advance)

Depending on how LONG it will be for VEGA to actually be available for REASONABLE prices it may be worth thinking about creating a Ryzen build then sell off your old parts.

Then buy VEGA56?
Then later buy a FREESYNC monitor?

*IMPORTANT*
The above Ryzen parts are examples only. You need to carefully choose the DDR4 memory kit to work optimally with the motherboard at 3200MHz for that EXACT motherboard (or at least at 2933MHz).

Other install tips if unaware are:
a) flash UEFI/BIOS prior to Windows install
b) Memtest86 for full pass to test DDR4 memory prior to Windows install www.memtest86.com
c) then Install Windows and test CPU (Prime95 or similar)
d) overclock CPU to roughly 4GHz if you get a better cooler like Cryorig Ultimate (I think AM4 adapter is separate?)

Thanks for all your advice. I wont need Windows 10 but will have to look into new RAM and case limitations. I think theres a Corsair Vengeance 3000mhz 2x8gb ram pair going for cheap in NZ, not sure if its the fabled samsung b-die though. I'm wanted an matx build so big gpu may be off the cards - but I'll have to wait and see.