What should i do?

[ProBro88]

Hey everyone i am thinking about upgrading and I can afford a gpu or cpu or a cpu and mobo. I have a budget of around 180 if I upgrade cpu/cpu and mobo. I have a budget of around 200 for the gpu. I don't mind buying used. I'm looking for the best bang for my buck.

My current system is;
i5 2380p
Gtx 680
Gigabyte GA‑H61M‑S2PV . much appreciated.

 

[Eximo]

Well, you kind of already have the best bang for the buck...

GTX680 = GTX770
Faster than a GTX960 @$200, slower than a GTX970 @$310

I would say if you want to upgrade either wait until you can upgrade both CPU and GPU to something significantly better then what you have, or go ahead and get a decent 6th Gen i5 and some DDR4 on an H110/H170/Z170 board.

 

[why_wolf]

If you want to save some money on the GPU be sure to check out EVGA b-stock listing. Though a quick glance shows they're mostly out of stock right now so not much to look at. They restock on their own schedule so it could be tomorrow or a month from now before items reappear. http://www.evga.com/Products/ProductList.aspx?type=8

 

[ProBro88]

Ok. Could I not upgrade my cpu to a xeon or something because I know they are good and cheap but I don't know which one to get

 

[Eximo]

You already have a 2nd gen i5. You could upgrade to a 3rd Gen i5 or an appropriate model of Xeon or i7, but this would not be a significant improvement in CPU performance for gaming.

Best: i7-3770k or i7-3770 since you can't overclock.
Xeon: E3-1275, E3-1245, E3-1235, E3-1225 would be alternatives to the i7.
For gaming: i5-3570k or i5-3570.

Be sure to update your BIOS to the latest before removing your i5-2380p

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4065#

 

[ProBro88]

How long do you think a xeon will last for? I could scrap some more for an oc mobo

 

[Eximo]

Nothing wrong with your processor now to be honest. It should be good for a few years yet. Just up to you whether you are satisfied with the performance. I think you will be somewhat disappointed with an upgrade. (Your processor is considered tier 2, with the very best of the 3rd gen considered tier 1. Rule of thumb is to wait until there is a 3 tier gap before upgrading)

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-hierarchy,4312.html

There are games coming out that specify a higher minimum requirement, but they are just being unrealistic. Plenty of people out there running Athlon X4, Phenom X4/X6, Wolfdale, and others that are older and still work well enough for even the latest titles.

 

[Mac070]

R9 380X is a very good price point . Right now in get you can get a Gigabyte GPU for $194 . Newegg also has some for $210 .
AMD is really making a comeback with their products and drivers . The latest driver of nvidia has been issued by thousands of users, blue screens etc...... Also Nvidia graphics cards can only use 3.5 gb out of 4 gb
AMD:
R9 380X
Nvidia

 

[ProBro88]

Thanks. I think I will wait for an upgrade. And will have a higher budget. Thanks for the advice. But I could sell my i5 2380p for more than a xeon e3 1245. Is this worth the effort?

 

[Mac070]

That processor is fine for now . I would just make a graphics card upgrade . Most games today require four cores and that's a pretty strong chip you got there . Selling your chip would not be worth the hassle . I say buy a graphics card like the 380X . Sell you graphics acts for like $200 for a processor upgrade to an I5 4590 or 4690K

 

[ProBro88]

Mac I am from the uk firstly so things cost more. And secondly. All nvidia cards use 3.5 gb of vram. Jeez get your facts right. Thats only the 970 and the 970 does Have 4gb just that 0.5 0.5gb is slower so that causes a loss in performance.

 

[Mac070]

Maybe you should have told us that your from the UK as it would be more helpful . And yes Nvidia cards that have 4GB have the .5 slow down . Coming here to ask for help ? Then argue with people responding who are right ? Wow ....

 

[ProBro88]

Maybe you should have told us that your from the UK as it would be more helpful . And yes Nvidia cards that have 4GB have the .5 slow down . Coming here to ask for help ? Then argue with people responding who are right ? Wow ....

Sorry. Not all of them... I am just stating the facts

 

[Mac070]

The GTX 960 AND 970
The graphics cards above ^

 

[Eximo]

That is also not correct.

GM204 GTX970, GTX980
The GTX 980 is the fully featured and working GM204 processor. All 4GB is available on the 256bit.
The GTX970 has 13/16 SM units, and has part of its memory bus re-routed, effectively still 256bit for up to 3.5GB, but requires an extra clock cycle to access the remaining .5GB. Drivers have taken care of most of the problem. You should not be purchasing the GTX970 or GTX980 if you expect to exceed 4GB of VRAM regularly anyway.
GM206 GTX950, GTX960
GTX960 is the fully featured processor for GM206, it is essentially 1/2 of a GTX980 in all aspects. Both 2GB and 4GB versions have full access to their memory through a 128bit bus. The GTX950 is 6/8 SM units, but still has a fully functional 128bit bus and access to all 2GB of memory (I don't think they make a 4GB version of this card)
GM200 GTX980Ti, Titan X
Titan X is the fully featured processor from GM200 offering 24/24 SM units and 12GB of memory through a 384bit bus. GTX980Ti is 22/24 SM units with 6GB of memory through a 384bit bus. It has full access to its memory.

What you don't see in the desktop lineup ends up in mobile. As an example the GTX980m is a GM204 with 12/16 SM units, so almost a GTX970 in a laptop.

So all the complaints are around a single GPU that performs exactly as it did before and after the realization that it isn't perfect. Which is something everyone knows when not buying a flagship product.

 

[Eximo]

A new addition to the list; seems the OEMs are getting hold of a super-cripple GM204 and branding it as a GTX960. 10/16 SM units at very low frequencies. If you could get one to overclock you might be able to get a slight faster GTX960 then the stock GM206.