Upgrade CPU or GPU

[icebox87]

At the moment i am currently running

CPU - FX 6300
GPU - Gigabyte HD7870 2gb OC Edition
PSU -500w

I can only upgrade one or the other cpu or gpu and would like to know what you guys would recommend i upgrade. At the moment most games run fine low to medium settings but alot of new games i cannot get 60fps even on low settings, im not too fussed about having ultra graphics ,tweaked high-medium would do me as long as i have constant 60fps, the games i cant reach 60fps on low are Dark souls 3 and The Division

So what do you guys think i should upgrade

 

[Ak74Egy]

Both should be upgrade, but that CPU deserves the attention more

 

[WildCard999]

What is the exact model of your PSU? I would buy a cheap aftermarket cooler like the CM EVO 212 and OC that 6300 as far as it will go (stable) then grab a new PSU (if needed) and a R9 390 8gb or R9 4XX series depending on release date. What is your total budget for upgrades?

 

[aquielisunari]

What is your motherboard's model number?

 

[icebox87]

What is the exact model of your PSU? I would buy a cheap aftermarket cooler like the CM EVO 212 and OC that 6300 as far as it will go (stable) then grab a new PSU (if needed) and a R9 390 8gb or R9 4XX series depending on release date. What is your total budget for upgrades?

I dont really know to much about overclocking so i dont think it would be ideal to do that, i would also have to upgrade my motherboard as i dont think it is suitable for overclocking anyways, my PSU is a corsair CX500M. I do have a CM EVO 212 cooler

As far as i can probably stretch my budget to is about £200

 

[icebox87]

What is your motherboard's model number?

asus m5a97 le r2.0

 

[geofelt]

A perennial question.
The answer depends on the types of games you play.
Sims, strategy and mmo types depend on the performance of the single master thread.
Fast action games depend on the graphics card.


Here is my stock approach:
------------------------------------------------------------
To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:

a) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.

You should also experiment with removing one core. You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option. You will need to reboot for the change to take effect. Set the number of processors to less than you have.
This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many cores.

If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

[icebox87]

A perennial question.
The answer depends on the types of games you play.
Sims, strategy and mmo types depend on the performance of the single master thread.
Fast action games depend on the graphics card.


Here is my stock approach:
------------------------------------------------------------
To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:

a) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.

You should also experiment with removing one core. You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option. You will need to reboot for the change to take effect. Set the number of processors to less than you have.
This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many cores.

If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.
-------------------------------------------------------------

The games i play at the moment are black ops 3, The Division, Doom and fallout 4 so games like that ive tried lowering the resoultion on some games with no change and others with change in FPS, But i will give what u have said a go and see what happens

 

[WildCard999]

What is the exact model of your PSU? I would buy a cheap aftermarket cooler like the CM EVO 212 and OC that 6300 as far as it will go (stable) then grab a new PSU (if needed) and a R9 390 8gb or R9 4XX series depending on release date. What is your total budget for upgrades?

I dont really know to much about overclocking so i dont think it would be ideal to do that, i would also have to upgrade my motherboard as i dont think it is suitable for overclocking anyways, my PSU is a corsair CX500M. I do have a CM EVO 212 cooler

As far as i can probably stretch my budget to is about £200

I would and save up more money. To truly see a impressive upgrade your really going to want upgrade your CPU/MB/RAM (DDR4) and get a video card that is considerably faster. Since you don't care to overclock something like this would be a huge upgrade and yes, you should upgrade your PSU as your current one is low quality and could damage your other parts under high loads (gaming).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£149.34 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: Asus B150M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£54.85 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£32.00 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 390 8GB Double Dissipation Video Card (£220.56 @ Ebuyer)
Power Supply: SeaSonic EVO Edition 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£70.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £527.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-07 14:47 BST+0100

For now though to get better FPS, if lowering settings doesn't work then your going to have to lower resolution. Also check your temps and make sure your CPU/GPU isn't thermal throttling and causing low performance.

 

[aquielisunari]

The best CPU I would install is the FX 8350.

The RX 480 due out at the end of this month for about $50 more than the price of the 8350. The return on your investment in a 480 easily eclipses the 8350's performance increase.

 

[icebox87]

What is the exact model of your PSU? I would buy a cheap aftermarket cooler like the CM EVO 212 and OC that 6300 as far as it will go (stable) then grab a new PSU (if needed) and a R9 390 8gb or R9 4XX series depending on release date. What is your total budget for upgrades?

I dont really know to much about overclocking so i dont think it would be ideal to do that, i would also have to upgrade my motherboard as i dont think it is suitable for overclocking anyways, my PSU is a corsair CX500M. I do have a CM EVO 212 cooler

As far as i can probably stretch my budget to is about £200

I would and save up more money. To truly see a impressive upgrade your really going to want upgrade your CPU/MB/RAM (DDR4) and get a video card that is considerably faster. Since you don't care to overclock something like this would be a huge upgrade and yes, you should upgrade your PSU as your current one is low quality and could damage your other parts under high loads (gaming).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£149.34 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: Asus B150M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£54.85 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£32.00 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 390 8GB Double Dissipation Video Card (£220.56 @ Ebuyer)
Power Supply: SeaSonic EVO Edition 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£70.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £527.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-07 14:47 BST+0100

For now though to get better FPS, if lowering settings doesn't work then your going to have to lower resolution. Also check your temps and make sure your CPU/GPU isn't thermal throttling and causing low performance.

Thanks for all the help, i will just have to wait and see what i can do it will prob take a while to save up enuff money to get thoes parts thanks anyways

 

[icebox87]

The best CPU I would install is the FX 8350.

The RX 480 due out at the end of this month for about $50 more than the price of the 8350. The return on your investment in a 480 easily eclipses the 8350's performance increase.

I was looking at that CPU but dunno what sort of increase i will see if any

 

[dudeman509]

The best CPU I would install is the FX 8350.

The RX 480 due out at the end of this month for about $50 more than the price of the 8350. The return on your investment in a 480 easily eclipses the 8350's performance increase.

I was looking at that CPU but dunno what sort of increase i will see if any

It will most likely throttle itself on that motherboard under heavy load. Not worth it. The FX-8350 isn't fully utilized in *most* games, anyway (The Division being the exception).

Save up $, wait for Zen, or go Skylake. Either way, you'd be looking at an entirely new build to get decent performance on the newest games - the graphics card should be replaced too (R9 380/380X/GTX 960 or above). In the meantime, get a good cooler and OC the 6300. There are all kinds of guides out there for the AMD chips, or just ask around.

 

[icebox87]

The best CPU I would install is the FX 8350.

The RX 480 due out at the end of this month for about $50 more than the price of the 8350. The return on your investment in a 480 easily eclipses the 8350's performance increase.

I was looking at that CPU but dunno what sort of increase i will see if any

It will most likely throttle itself on that motherboard under heavy load. Not worth it. The FX-8350 isn't fully utilized in *most* games, anyway (The Division being the exception).

Save up $, wait for Zen, or go Skylake. Either way, you'd be looking at an entirely new build to get decent performance on the newest games - the graphics card should be replaced too (R9 380/380X/GTX 960 or above). In the meantime, get a good cooler and OC the 6300. There are all kinds of guides out there for the AMD chips, or just ask around.

Ahh well thats annoying well i think i will just leave it then i dont really have enuff money at the moment and probably take too long to save up, thanks for the help