Upgrade My System!

[blm95]

My PC specs:
16 gigs RAM
990xFXA-UD3 Mobo
CrossFireX r9 290x's
AMD FX-9590
600W PSU
6 150 CFM case fans
Water cooled with a H100i, even though I think it's defective, so i'm using a Seidon Master 120MM currently

So, I'm looking to make my PC not run like shit/be bottlenecked/whatever.

First, I know I need a much better PSU. Not 100% sure which PSU though. I guess that should be calculated after all other things are covered. Regarding the other things, I'm not sure. So I'm looking for help from you guys ^^.

I don't really know a lot about the AMD/Intel wars. All that I understand is that AMD runs on 8 cores, whereas Intel is quad-core. From what I understand, that means that, IF games are optimized to run multi-cores efficiently, AMD is better. Otherwise, you are just spreading the power out between each core too much, in which case Intel is better.

Regarding the graphics cards, I don't really know a thing between Nvidia/AMD, but I think that CrossFireX 290x's should be sufficient for every game (as far as I know; please correct me if I am wrong).

I'd like to keep upgrading costs below $1500, although I suppose I could go to $2000 if need be.

What I do with my computer:
-a ton of gaming, i.e. wildstar, LoL (which I only get 40 fps with as of now -.-), Watchdogs, BF4, and some other games, but I think those are the most graphics intensive
-A decent bit of code compilation (mainly C++/C#; C++ is a pain to compile)
-watching videos+having 30+ browser tabs open+having LoL and watchdogs open simultaneously because I am too lazy to close any of them

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[athlonman00]

In gaming, intel wins. There aren't many games out there right now that are optimized for more than 2 cores, let alone even 4. Also, for MMO's processor plays an important role. Most of them take into consideration that most people aren't using $500 video cards, and they want as many people to play as possible, so they hand over a lot of the work to the processor. Intel's processors handle single core tasks better (for example, if you were to turn off all but one core on an Intel and AMD processor, Intel would perform better). If you're running crossfire, you'll want a better PSU, somewhere in the 800W range or higher. EVGA supernova's are nice PSU's that're fairly cheap, but don't skimp on the PSU if you're running two R9 290x's. My recommendation would be to get out of the AMD motherboard/processor and go intel. Z97 boards are the most recent enthusiast boards, and an Intel Core i5 4670, or 4690 (The new "haswell refresh" one) would be right at the sweet spot for gaming and would still more than handle anything else.

 

[SU11YBEAR]

Since you are talking about upgrading going to leave the Intel/AMD Chip part aside, you have the beefiest chip AMD can make, its not he best possible chip but unless you want to make a new build that is Intel based you are not going to be able to "upgrade" your rig in any way here

Definitely would want a liquid cooler for that Chip and I would want at least a 240mm rad

What speed is your RAM currently?

PSU should be at least 750W for one card, the recommended based on a standard system is Radeon R9-290X - 33A and a 600W psu minimum (http://forum-en.msi.com/faq/article/power-requirements-for-graphics-cards) but your chip is a 220W not the sub 100W normally used

Based on those power requirements and this list
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html
The lowest cost option I would consider is this (Antec HCG 750W, its a Tier 2A so solid without killing the bank, not a fan of split 12V rails but both have a ton of current)
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/antec-power-supply-hcg750m

If you want to X-Fire then probably going to need greater then 1000W, the supernovas mentioned are Tier 1 and good on cost, here is the first one I came accross on part picker based on price and at least Tier 2,
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-120g21000xr

 

[schau314]

I've seen and solved this thread many times.
Your computer is being stopped by the power supply. You have a perfect system, but unfortunately you can't even use your r9 290 crossfire.
You have almost 200 watts un-overclocked from the processor, a single 290x averages at least 250 watts. So with other parts you are at around 550w without the second r9 290x.
So try taking the second r9 out, then try to see what happens. You need a psu upgrade if anything increases, Also run cpu-z and look at power consumption, or another program to measure it.