Upgrading my PC (For first and last time, here's why)

[DNY_Damian92]

Hello people, I'm new here, my name is Damian, nice to meet all of you. I've read and learned a lot from this forum (Thank you), so I've decided to ask something since my problem is quite 'special' and I'm sure you can help me out.

Well, I'll go straight to the point of this thread, I have the next specs in my computer:

Case: Aerocool Xpredator White Edition.
Motherboard: Asus Crosshair V Formula-Z.
CPU: AMD FX-6300 -Stock-
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 W/Boost.
RAM: G. Skill 2x4Gb 1600 Mhz.
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1Tb.
PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro M 700W.

These specs are with me since like two and a half years ago, but I'm going to build a whole new computer jumping to the blue side, and leave this computer to my young brother, but before that I want to upgrade this computer to it's best shape, I'm not saying like upgrade the HD 7950 to a GTX 980ti, but I want to upgrade it like I said, the best way possible.

Don't save any opinion, any suggestion you may have is useful to me. Should I jump to FX-8350 with a best cooler like Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo? Upgrade the RAM to 2x8Gb making it 16Gb? Which new GPU should I choose (From Radeon only)? I can buy an SSD too, should I buy one to SO and programs and another HDD to games? My HDD is making a little noise, little, but annoying and I'm afraid that the HDD may cause failure. And should I upgrade the PSU too? I don't know if new GPU will need 750W PSU and I don't reach the power needed at the moment.

Anyways, I'm quite sure that I need an upgrade to leave something updated to my young brother. After that, going to blue side and G-Force GPU's, but that's for another day.

Thank you for your time in advance, and thanks for the opinions and suggestions.

EDIT: Oh, and I'm sorry for my english, it's not my native language

Please, move the thread to the correct place if this is not the right one.

 

[Ecky]

It's fairly balanced right now. An FX-8xxx will help in some games (assuming it's for gaming), but in many, will perform similarly to the FX-6xxx, because most games are held back by per-thread performance and not core count. A small overclock on the FX-6xxx will provide as much or more benefit than running an FX-8xxx CPU at stock.

8GB is enough for most games, too. 16GB might show some improvement in a few extreme cases.

Personally, the only thing I'd change is to add a SSD. The difference a SSD makes is tremendous in terms of how fast a computer "feels".

 

[fabiodrm]

how much you can spand on this upgrade? it can help.

you can get a FX 8350 and R9 380 or R9 380X, it will be really good for 1080P gameplay.

 

[DNY_Damian92]

It's fairly balanced right now. An FX-8xxx will help in some games (assuming it's for gaming), but in many, will perform similarly to the FX-6xxx, because most games are held back by per-thread performance and not core count. A small overclock on the FX-6xxx will provide as much or more benefit than running an FX-8xxx CPU at stock.

8GB is enough for most games, too. 16GB might show some improvement in a few extreme cases.

Personally, the only thing I'd change is to add a SSD. The difference a SSD makes is tremendous in terms of how fast a computer "feels".

He will only use the computer (At least for now) for gaming only at 1080p, he doesn't understand anything about hardware, resolutions, filters, but I want to give him the computer updated, allowing him to play new releases with almost everything at max settings or close to that, that's what I'd like to do.

So, except the SSD, don't you think that I'm not needing another upgrade in other part knowing now what my goal is?

Thank you for your time.

 

[DNY_Damian92]

how much you can spand on this upgrade? it can help.

you can get a FX 8350 and R9 380 or R9 380X, it will be really good for 1080P gameplay.

No limit in the budget, but I'm not going to spend tons of money, I mean, I can buy the GPU you mentioned and the CPU, but I'm not going to buy him a GTX 980ti... I want to upgrade the computer so he can play at 1080p at max settings or close to that, the computer to him it's just for gaming.

The crucial thing I think it's the PSU, I don't know if 700W are enough to the new GPU's, for example, those you've mentioned.

 

[fabiodrm]

how much you can spand on this upgrade? it can help.

you can get a FX 8350 and R9 380 or R9 380X, it will be really good for 1080P gameplay.

No limit in the budget, but I'm not going to spend tons of money, I mean, I can buy the GPU you mentioned and the CPU, but I'm not going to buy him a GTX 980ti... I want to upgrade the computer so he can play at 1080p at max settings or close to that, the computer to him it's just for gaming.

The crucial thing I think it's the PSU, I don't know if 700W are enough to the new GPU's, for example, those you've mentioned.

R9 380X will be really good for 1080P. And for sure a 700w PSU can handle this without problem.

 

[Ecky]

I'm confused - why suggest an R9 380 and 380X? The HD7950 is on the same performance level.

Radeon 380X = Tonga = GCN 1.2 = 2048 stream processors + 256 bit memory bus
Radeon 380 = Radeon 285 = Tonga = GCN 1.2 = 1792 stream processors + 256 bit memory bus
HD7970 = Radeon 280X = Tahiti = GCN 1.0 = 2048 stream processors + 384 bit memory bus
HD7950 = Radeon 280 = Tahiti = GCN 1.0 = 1792 stream processors + 384 bit memory bus

Tonga was the successor to Tahiti, but it isn't really much faster. Mostly, it was designed to have better color compression so AMD could build the 7950/7970 with a smaller, less-expensive-to-build 256 bit memory bus. Power consumption is also down a little.

See how the Radeon 380 (AKA Radeon 285) compares to the Radeon HD7950 (AKA Radeon 280):

Again, that "upgrade" makes absolutely zero sense.

EDIT: Source http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-r9-285-tonga,3925-6.html

 

[fabiodrm]

ok, you are right, OP will need at least a R9 390 for significant performance gain.

http://www.techspot.com/review/1093-amd-radeon-380x/

 

[DNY_Damian92]

I'm confused - why suggest an R9 380 and 380X? The HD7950 is on the same performance level.

Radeon 380X = Tonga = GCN 1.2 = 2048 stream processors + 256 bit memory bus
Radeon 380 = Radeon 285 = Tonga = GCN 1.2 = 1792 stream processors + 256 bit memory bus
HD7970 = Radeon 280X = Tahiti = GCN 1.0 = 2048 stream processors + 384 bit memory bus
HD7950 = Radeon 280 = Tahiti = GCN 1.0 = 1792 stream processors + 384 bit memory bus

Tonga was the successor to Tahiti, but it isn't really much faster. Mostly, it was designed to have better color compression so AMD could build the 7950/7970 with a smaller, less-expensive-to-build 256 bit memory bus. Power consumption is also down a little.

See how the Radeon 380 (AKA Radeon 285) compares to the Radeon HD7950 (AKA Radeon 280):

Again, that "upgrade" makes absolutely zero sense.

EDIT: Source http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-r9-285-tonga,3925-6.html

Wow... Radeon hasn't grow so much looking at these images... I've bought an SSD yesterday, so one less part to buy now. Samsung SSD 850 EVO 500Gb more accurately and a new HDD, Western Digital Caviar Black 2Tb.

Well, to leave this computer in good shape, what's next? Don't be afraid to tell me if I'll be needing a new PSU.

 

[Ecky]

You might put more RAM in, but it looks pretty well-rounded.

And yeah, we've been on 28nm forever, so there haven't been large gains in GPUs. AMD and to a lesser degree nVidia have just been renaming their cards and re-releasing them to continue getting sales.

Always always look at benchmarks/reviews before buying.