[SOLVED] Upgrade GPU or wait for whole system?

[cpokey26]

I'm considering upgrading from my 8 yr old MSI Radeon HD7770 1GB to something like a RX 5500 XT 4gb.

Playing Destiny 2, Paladins, Apex, mostly.

Based on my current (and aging) system, is this worthwhile for less than $200?

 

[Mrgr74]

I'm considering upgrading from my 8 yr old MSI Radeon HD7770 1GB to something like a RX 5500 XT 4gb.

Playing Destiny 2, Paladins, Apex, mostly.

Based on my current (and aging) system, is this worthwhile for less than $200?

Hi @cpokey26,

Is it "worthwhile" is entirely up to the individual. That being said, the 5500XT would give you a very nice boost in performance over your current 7770. What PSU do you have? You'll need to have a single 8pin power molex to power it or a 6+2 pin if your PSU does not have a straight 8pin. Do you plan on upgrading your PC itself anytime soon?

 

[cpokey26]

--SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold (SS-650KM Active PFC F3) 650W ATX12V should be fine for power.

Trying to hold off with a complete rebuild for awhile longer.

Framerates are running around 30, would like to see some improvement there

 

[RTX 2080]

Seems like a solid boost to your current system for a good price. According to userbenchmark, the 5500 XT is almost 4.5 times faster than your HD 7770, so you'll definitely see frame rate improvement lol.

https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-RX-5500-XT-vs-AMD-HD-7770/4060vsm7710

If it were my $200, I'd buy a 1650 Super instead; they consume less power and run a bit cooler for less money than the 5500 XT, but based on your current hardware, it looks like you prefer AMD.

 

[Mrgr74]

Seems like a solid boost to your current system for a good price. According to userbenchmark, the 5500 XT is almost 4.5 times faster than your HD 7770, so you'll definitely see frame rate improvement lol.

https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-RX-5500-XT-vs-AMD-HD-7770/4060vsm7710

If it were my $200, I'd buy a 1650 Super instead; they consume less power and run a bit cooler for less money than the 5500 XT, but based on your current hardware, it looks like you prefer AMD.

Good point. If he can get the 1650 Super at a good price, it would be a smart buy because while the 5500 XT is faster overall, it's usually only by a few frames.

Generic Video of 5500 XT vs 1650 Super. Here's another video with the 5500, 1650 & 1660.

 

[cryoburner]

If it were my $200, I'd buy a 1650 Super instead; they consume less power and run a bit cooler for less money than the 5500 XT, but based on your current hardware, it looks like you prefer AMD.

They both have relatively similar power draw. Reviews typically indicate that the 1650 SUPER draws around 100 watts under a gaming load, while the 5500 XT draws around 115 watts or so, probably nothing worth basing a buying decision around. Both cards should be roughly comparable to a 7770 in terms of power draw. Likewise, the temperatures they run at should depend primarily on what sort of cooler a given model is fitted with more than anything.

However, there is one reason I might shy away from the 4GB 5500 XT for this system. The card uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, whereas other cards on the market today use a 3.0 or 4.0 x16 interface. The x8 interface should be fine on a PCIe 4.0 motherboard, as each lane provides double the bandwidth, making it similar to 3.0 x16, like the 1650 SUPER is using. However, on a 3.0 board (which most newer gaming systems have today) that falls back to a 3.0 x8 connection, and that has been shown to have some effect on performance, particularly in demanding games that fill the card's 4GB of VRAM. In many games there will be no performance hit, but in others, there can be a reduction of 10% or more. And since this FX system only has PCIe 2.0, that performance hit could be larger still. So, the 1650 SUPER will likely perform better in cases where the VRAM gets filled. Or the 8GB 5500 XT, though that card's not price all that attractively in my opinion, since you can often find some models of 1660 cards for around that price, and are generally faster.

 

[cpokey26]

Thanks all. hadn't fully thought through the new vs old PCIe interface bottleneck. And, yes I tend toward AMD builds, but not unwilling to go NVIDIA.