What should I upgrade on my Gaming Setup?

[boris.klentix]

The closer Blackfriday comes, the more thoughts I make about new hardware. So, I would love to get some help on what I should upgrade asap on my setup.
I have a 144Hz monitor for gaming and a 60Hz monitor for streaming purposes (like monitoring chat and other) so I should be able to stream, but not in high-end quality because I'm on a budget, and game in a mid quality ( I'm more going for FPS then quality
Also hardware doesn't need to shine rainbows in my eyes, because that is useless in my opinion
Just ask if you have more questions about my setup.
My Specs are:
Graphics card : nVidia GTX 960 Palit Jetstream 4GB 1.1Ghz
Processor : AMD FX-8320 Eight Core 3,50GHZ 32nm 8MB L3 Shared
RAM : dunno but 2x 4GB

Thanks to everyone who answers to this thread and supports me to make a decision

 

[rgd1101]

budget?

 

[clutchc]

You can move up to a GTX 1060 6GB if you have the budget. Your gfx card is your weakest link right now. RAM next. Can you OC the FX-8320 on the motherboard you have? Even leaving the voltage alone and disabling turbo mode and setting all cores to 4GHz would help.

 

[boris.klentix]

budget?

I have tight budget of 350€ (I'm from Germany) That's why I want to know what I should upgrade the most and asap.

 

[boris.klentix]

You can move up to a GTX 1060 6GB if you have the budget. Your gfx card is your weakest link right now. RAM next. Can you OC the FX-8320 on the motherboard you have? Even leaving the voltage alone and disabling turbo mode and setting all cores to 4GHz would help.

Shure I could , but would it be better than my Palit 960? If it does it would be nice,but does it fit in my Gigabyte GA970 AM3+ Motherboard? I will look if my processor is overclocked but I think I should buy a better CPU cooler before I OC the CPU I have a weak Alpenfoehn wich isn't that good and I also dont know if my motherboard supports OC. If I'm honestly, I thought the CPU is worse than my GFX didn't expect the opposit.
Well thank you very much for your help!

 

[clutchc]

You can move up to a GTX 1060 6GB if you have the budget. Your gfx card is your weakest link right now. RAM next. Can you OC the FX-8320 on the motherboard you have? Even leaving the voltage alone and disabling turbo mode and setting all cores to 4GHz would help.

Shure I could , but would it be better than my Palit 960? If it does it would be nice,but does it fit in my Gigabyte GA970 AM3+ Motherboard? I will look if my processor is overclocked but I think I should buy a better CPU cooler before I OC the CPU I have a weak Alpenfoehn wich isn't that good and I also dont know if my motherboard supports OC. If I'm honestly, I thought the CPU is worse than my GFX didn't expect the opposit.
Well thank you very much for your help!

Your FX-8320 is still a tier 2 CPU for gaming as per Tom's Hdwr's CPU Hierarchy Chart, while there will be a 75% to 80% improvement with the GTX 1060 6GB over the GTX 960.
This is all dependent on the particular game, settings, screen rez, etc. And I was trying to find the biggest bump for the lowest cost because you didn't initially list a budget. The FX-83xx processors are really easy to OC, usually a simple multiplier increase is all it takes if your board is equipped to handle it. Most are. Which one of these GA970A boards is yours?
The Gaming, SLI, D3P, DS3P, UD3P, or UD3?

Which model Alpenfoehn cooler do you have?

 

[boris.klentix]

You can move up to a GTX 1060 6GB if you have the budget. Your gfx card is your weakest link right now. RAM next. Can you OC the FX-8320 on the motherboard you have? Even leaving the voltage alone and disabling turbo mode and setting all cores to 4GHz would help.

Shure I could , but would it be better than my Palit 960? If it does it would be nice,but does it fit in my Gigabyte GA970 AM3+ Motherboard? I will look if my processor is overclocked but I think I should buy a better CPU cooler before I OC the CPU I have a weak Alpenfoehn wich isn't that good and I also dont know if my motherboard supports OC. If I'm honestly, I thought the CPU is worse than my GFX didn't expect the opposit.
Well thank you very much for your help!

Your FX-8320 is still a tier 2 CPU for gaming as per Tom's Hdwr's CPU Hierarchy Chart, while there will be a 75% to 80% improvement with the GTX 1060 6GB over the GTX 960.
This is all dependent on the particular game, settings, screen rez, etc. And I was trying to find the biggest bump for the lowest cost because you didn't initially list a budget. The FX-83xx processors are really easy to OC, usually a simple multiplier increase is all it takes if your board is equipped to handle it. Most are. Which one of these GA970A boards is yours?
The Gaming, SLI, D3P, DS3P, UD3P, or UD3?

Which model Alpenfoehn cooler do you have?

Thanks for the help
I have the GA-970 Gaming and the Alpenfoehn Sella. "CoreTemp" says, that all my Cores work on 3716 Mhz right now, I dont know if that is a big difference to the original 3,5 Ghz :/
I wanted to buy the "6GB KFA2 GeForce GTX 1060 OC" its a very good price , I think, whats your opinion on that?
Once again, thank you everyone for the help!

 

[clutchc]

Thanks for the help
I have the GA-970 Gaming and the Alpenfoehn Sella. "CoreTemp" says, that all my Cores work on 3716 Mhz right now, I dont know if that is a big difference to the original 3,5 Ghz :/
I wanted to buy the "6GB KFA2 GeForce GTX 1060 OC" its a very good price , I think, whats your opinion on that?
Once again, thank you everyone for the help!

That board is fine for OC'ing. The cooler is a bit small, but you should still be able to get the FX-8320 to perform better than stock. The fact that your cores are at 3.7GHz is showing that Turbo Mode is active...
Frequency: 3500 MHz
Maximum turbo frequency: 3700 MHz (more than 4 cores), 4000 MHz (4 cores or less)
You'll probably want to disable TM when OC'ing so the freq. doesn't spike and cause instability.

As to the KAF2 GTX 1060, I have no experience with that brand. It is not one I've seen here is the US. But the reviews[/u] I've seen show it to be good.

 

[boris.klentix]

Thanks for the help
I have the GA-970 Gaming and the Alpenfoehn Sella. "CoreTemp" says, that all my Cores work on 3716 Mhz right now, I dont know if that is a big difference to the original 3,5 Ghz :/
I wanted to buy the "6GB KFA2 GeForce GTX 1060 OC" its a very good price , I think, whats your opinion on that?
Once again, thank you everyone for the help!

That board is fine for OC'ing. The cooler is a bit small, but you should still be able to get the FX-8320 to perform better than stock. The fact that your cores are at 3.7GHz is showing that Turbo Mode is active...
Frequency: 3500 MHz
Maximum turbo frequency: 3700 MHz (more than 4 cores), 4000 MHz (4 cores or less)
You'll probably want to disable TM when OC'ing so the freq. doesn't spike and cause instability.

As to the KAF2 GTX 1060, I have no experience with that brand. It is not one I've seen here is the US. But the reviews[/u] I've seen show it to be good.

So now I have my FX 8320 on 4100Mhz , TurboMode off , CPUVcore 1,3750V and NB on 1.1875V but I dont know if AMD OverDrive works because I couldn't find more settings in my Bios (Dual by Gigabyte with "M.IT" ). Whats your opinion on this OC? I have stable 22°C CPU temperature while browsing in Chrome, I don't know if this is good or not :/ And on a few Minutes "Torture Test" on SmallFTS in prime95 it does't show anything suspicious and the temperature is below 60°C . Is it ok? What should I improve or disimprove? Wich program should I use to Stability Test the CPU or wich one would be better to OC the CPU ?
Just tell me
Thank you for your help

 

[clutchc]

So far, so good. I personally would take the multiplier another increment and stress test again. But keep an eye on temps. Or if you're using AoD, the thermal margin (reads inverse of temp). If temps get to high, or thermal margin gets too low, that will be your limit. If temps/TM is fine, but the result is unstable, take the vcore up another increment.

If you're using P95, you're using the best there is. I usually just run the default test using Intel Burn Test. But I'm not looking for perfection when I OC and don't have the patience. If it passes IBT, I never have had an issue.

 

[boris.klentix]

So far, so good. I personally would take the multiplier another increment and stress test again. But keep an eye on temps. Or if you're using AoD, the thermal margin (reads inverse of temp). If temps get to high, or thermal margin gets too low, that will be your limit. If temps/TM is fine, but the result is unstable, take the vcore up another increment.

If you're using P95, you're using the best there is. I usually just run the default test using Intel Burn Test. But I'm not looking for perfection when I OC and don't have the patience. If it passes IBT, I never have had an issue.

Thank you, I'm proud of me (first time I overclocked) but, without your help it wouldn't end up well, thank you
But I still have a few questions
How long do I have to stress test it? How can I recognise that something is going wrong in the stress test ?
What is the limit of CPU temperature I should not cross?
Can the CPU temperature be too low? Or do I have worse performance if the CPU is too "cold"?
And I'm using "Core Temp" to oversee the CPU temperature because inverted temperature literally f*cks my brain. (Sorry the swearing)
However, thank you

 

[clutchc]

If you're using P95 I'm not going to get into time. There are different theories on that. Since P95 stresses at unrealistic levels, I don't use it. But the extremists here go 12-24 hours. Others, maybe an hour or two. Then there's some that swear that you don't need to run it more than 20 minutes.

That's why I simply use IBT and run it at the default settings for the default 10 passes. Quick, easy on the CPU and VRMs and never had an unstable machine if it passed. It all depends how hard you want to push your components.

Temperatures with the FX line of CPUs is sometimes hard to determine accurately. That's why I use the TM in AoD. It's simpler. When it gets down to zero, it's too hot. A per Damric: "It is perfectly safe to operate in the full envelope of thermal margin. When thermal margin runs out, your CPU/APU will throttle to a lower power state until back in the thermal margin."
But if you want to go by Core Temp, go with 61.1°C
I don't know what the min temp is, but it isn't something you seriously need to take into consideration.

 

[boris.klentix]

If you're using P95 I'm not going to get into time. There are different theories on that. Since P95 stresses at unrealistic levels, I don't use it. But the extremists here go 12-24 hours. Others, maybe an hour or two. Then there's some that swear that you don't need to run it more than 20 minutes.

That's why I simply use IBT and run it at the default settings for the default 10 passes. Quick, easy on the CPU and VRMs and never had an unstable machine if it passed. It all depends how hard you want to push your components.

Temperatures with the FX line of CPUs is sometimes hard to determine accurately. That's why I use the TM in AoD. It's simpler. When it gets down to zero, it's too hot. A per Damric: "It is perfectly safe to operate in the full envelope of thermal margin. When thermal margin runs out, your CPU/APU will throttle to a lower power state until back in the thermal margin."
But if you want to go by Core Temp, go with 61.1°C
I don't know what the min temp is, but it isn't something you seriously need to take into consideration.

Ok, thank you very much for your help.
Can I use IBT on my FX?

 

[clutchc]

Yes, IBT is simply the Linpack program running linear algebra operations. Not Intel specific, they just marketed it in its current form as IBT. I have used it for all of my Intel and AMD processors for years.
Here's a little more info on it.

 

[boris.klentix]

Yes, IBT is simply the Linpack program running linear algebra operations. Not Intel specific, they just marketed it in its current form as IBT. I have used it for all of my Intel and AMD processors for years.
Here's a little more info on it.

Cool thanks But is it true that I can experience condisation on my motherboard when my CPU Temps are too low?
Because they are below room temperature and I don't now if that is good and how to fix it

 

[clutchc]

Yes, IBT is simply the Linpack program running linear algebra operations. Not Intel specific, they just marketed it in its current form as IBT. I have used it for all of my Intel and AMD processors for years.
Here's a little more info on it.

Cool thanks But is it true that I can experience condisation on my motherboard when my CPU Temps are too low?
Because they are below room temperature and I don't now if that is good and how to fix it

There's no way the core temps can be below room temp. That is the error I was referring to earlier. It has to do the with the way AMD records its core temp (using an algorithm). Load temps are accurate, but idle temps are not. That's why we use AoD and and watch falling Thermal Margin instead of rising temp.

Your core temps will never ever be less than room temp. And rarely even at room temp.

 

[boris.klentix]

Yes, IBT is simply the Linpack program running linear algebra operations. Not Intel specific, they just marketed it in its current form as IBT. I have used it for all of my Intel and AMD processors for years.
Here's a little more info on it.

Cool thanks But is it true that I can experience condisation on my motherboard when my CPU Temps are too low?
Because they are below room temperature and I don't now if that is good and how to fix it

There's no way the core temps can be below room temp. That is the error I was referring to earlier. It has to do the with the way AMD records its core temp (using an algorithm). Load temps are accurate, but idle temps are not. That's why we use AoD and and watch falling Thermal Margin instead of rising temp.

Your core temps will never ever be less than room temp. And rarely even at room temp.

Ok then
Will a 1070 bottleneck my FX 8320?

 

[clutchc]

Yes, most of the time. But at lot depends on the game, the in-game settings, the screen resolution, the number of online players on your map, etc. In my humble experience with my FX-8350 OC'ed, the GTX 1060 is about all it can keep up with w/o wasting GPU performance. And my testing has only been done in single-player mode.

On the other hand, If you see an entirely new platform in your near future, why not?

 

[boris.klentix]

Yes, most of the time. But at lot depends on the game, the in-game settings, the screen resolution, the number of online players on your map, etc. In my humble experience with my FX-8350 OC'ed, the GTX 1060 is about all it can keep up with w/o wasting GPU performance. And my testing has only been done in single-player mode.

On the other hand, If you see an entirely new platform in your near future, why not?

Alright then, I'll buy me a Geforce GTX 1060. But I don't know wich brand I should get myself. :/
And also, I don't think my power supply Xilence XP500R6 could handle my future setup:
GPU: 1060 6GB (I don't know wich one yet)
CPU: AMD FX-8320 4,1Ghz OC
RAM: 2x 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws F3-14900CL10S-8GBXL
CPU Watercooling (120x120 Radiator) (wichone unknown yet,but should fit with AMD3+)
5x be quiet! Pure Wings 2 wich are manually controlled by : Lamptron FC2 Fan Controller
DVD/CD ROM: LG GH24NSD1
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970 Gaming
and of course some peripherals like: 2 monitors (of course both have their own power supply) a keyboard,a mouse and a WIFI adapter by Netis (AC 1200).
My case does not have any lights. It only has two usb hubs in the front.

And, should upgrade my SSD? I have a Kingston SUV300S37A/120G SSDNow UV300
Any recommendations wich CPU Watercooler (only 120 and, none 2 fans radiators aka. 240) I should get?
and wich Geforce GTX 1060 would the best for me?
and if needed: wich power supply I should look for?

Thank you very very much for your help!

 

[clutchc]

I'm not familiar with that brand of PSU here in the US. But if it's the 350W I think it is, I'm afraid it won't hold up very long with the GTX 1060 6GB. Defiantly a no-go with the 125W CPU OC'ed. I'm surprised the PSU is handling your current OC w/o problems.

The only 120mm AIO coolers I've had personal experience with is the Corsair H60. It's about the performance level of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO air cooler. (I've had 2 of each those). The H60 is probably one of the better 120mm AIOs.

When it comes to the GTX 1060 6GB, I had several of them. Mostly Evga. They have the strongest warranty. But most all of the GTX 1060 6GB are good cards, independent of the manufacturer. The prices are usually determined by the extra features and clock speeds. I like to look for the one with the fastest core clock out-of-the-box. That usually denotes a high binned chip if it is on a card intended for OC'ing. If you want another opinion, Google "best gtx 1060 6gb card".

Keep in mind that the 2000-series is out now. I'm anxious to see what Nvidia can do with the 75W slot power alone. I expect the GTX 2050 Ti (or whatever they end up calling it) will be darn near the GTX 1060 in performance; all w/o a 6-pin.

 

[boris.klentix]

I'm not familiar with that brand of PSU here in the US. But if it's the 350W I think it is, I'm afraid it won't hold up very long with the GTX 1060 6GB. Defiantly a no-go with the 125W CPU OC'ed. I'm surprised the PSU is handling your current OC w/o problems.

The only 120mm AIO coolers I've had personal experience with is the Corsair H60. It's about the performance level of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO air cooler. (I've had 2 of each those). The H60 is probably one of the better 120mm AIOs.

When it comes to the GTX 1060 6GB, I had several of them. Mostly Evga. They have the strongest warranty. But most all of the GTX 1060 6GB are good cards, independent of the manufacturer. The prices are usually determined by the extra features and clock speeds. I like to look for the one with the fastest core clock out-of-the-box. That usually denotes a high binned chip if it is on a card intended for OC'ing. If you want another opinion, Google "best gtx 1060 6gb card".

Keep in mind that the 2000-series is out now. I'm anxious to see what Nvidia can do with the 75W slot power alone. I expect the GTX 2050 Ti (or whatever they end up calling it) will be darn near the GTX 1060 in performance; all w/o a 6-pin.

On the label of the PSU it's called " Peak Power 500W Active PFC+ ATX 12V 2.32"
But a bit lower on the label stands " Combined Power 350W (holding up stated efficiency)"
I already have problems with the PSU (after I OC'ed the CPU and GPU), when I press on the boot-button on my PC it boots up for a second,then shuts down (all lights and fans turn off) for 2 seconds, and then it automatically boots completely up. But these are the only issues I have right now with my PSU.
Maybe I should do it on Stock again?
Should I buy a 700W or a 500W PSU for my future setup?
I know about the 2000 series but I dont have the money for one.
I only have 250-300€ for my GPU. I'll look after, thanks for the advice!
But there isn't a 1060 outthere wich has lower RAM than 6GB but is still better as a 6GB one, right?
Yea I'm suprised too :/
Thanks for your advice of coolers either, I'll definitely take a look at them also!
Would the Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut fit with a watercooler? Or is there any better thermal paste I could use on a watercooler ?

Anyways, thanks for your help!

 

[clutchc]

I have no experience with the Thermal Grizzly stuff, so I'll pass on that rather than give you incorrect advice. I have settled on simply using Arctic MX-4 since it is damn good and not electrically conductive if you get a little sloppy.

The problem with your current PSU isn't the peak power, it is the weak +12v rail. That is the rail that does all the 'heavy' work. Drives the CPU, GPU, drives, fans, lighting, etc. Yours is too small for even what you have now. According to the specs I've found, the +12v rails are only 15 amp and 15 amp. Btw, that shut down/restart after OC'ing is normal on some BIOSs.

I'd be hard-pressed to recommend a PSU from here in the US not knowing what is available to you there in Deutschland. But if Seasonic is available, you won't go wrong. 500W is sufficient for what you have now, 700W would be good for future upgrading.

There are two GTX 1060 available. The 1060 3GB and the 1060 6GB. They are not the same card with simply different VRAM. The 3GB card is cut back on cores, SMs, TCPs, and TMUs.

 

[boris.klentix]

I have no experience with the Thermal Grizzly stuff, so I'll pass on that rather than give you incorrect advice. I have settled on simply using Arctic MX-4 since it is damn good and not electrically conductive if you get a little sloppy.

The problem with your current PSU isn't the peak power, it is the weak +12v rail. That is the rail that does all the 'heavy' work. Drives the CPU, GPU, drives, fans, lighting, etc. Yours is too small for even what you have now. According to the specs I've found, the +12v rails are only 15 amp and 15 amp. Btw, that shut down/restart after OC'ing is normal on some BIOSs.

I'd be hard-pressed to recommend a PSU from here in the US not knowing what is available to you there in Deutschland. But if Seasonic is available, you won't go wrong. 500W is sufficient for what you have now, 700W would be good for future upgrading.

There are two GTX 1060 available. The 1060 3GB and the 1060 6GB. They are not the same card with simply different VRAM. The 3GB card is cut back on cores, SMs, TCPs, and TMUs.

Thanks, wich PSU retail should get then?
And will a RX580 Asus Strix ROG 8GB bottleneck my CPU? I can get me one for 250€
And will a 500W PSU work with that GPU (RX580)? Wich specially should I get?

 

[clutchc]

As I said above, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend a PSU from here in the US not knowing what is available to you there in Deutschland. But if you insist, this Seasonic* is a good solid PSU for not a lot of Euros.

It should be good for the FX-8350 OC'ed and the GTX 1060 6GB.


* (I hope the link goes to the German Amazon page. It keeps reverting back to the US site for me)

 

[boris.klentix]

As I said above, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend a PSU from here in the US not knowing what is available to you there in Deutschland. But if you insist, this Seasonic* is a good solid PSU for not a lot of Euros.

It should be good for the FX-8350 OC'ed and the GTX 1060 6GB.


* (I hope the link goes to the German Amazon page. It keeps reverting back to the US site for me)

Alright, we actually have lots of PSU producing brands here in Germany like, Corsair, be quiet!,Thermaltake, Seasonic of course, and more
What do you think about the " Seasonic M12II EVO 620 SS-620GM2 " I think it is great for the price, it even ships to germany
Sorry for the confusion, I'll get me an AMD RX 580 Asus ROG STRIX T8G Gaming , wow what a long name for a GPU... :/
All the other things are going to be as written;
GPU: AMD RX 580 Asus ROG STRIX T8G Gaming
CPU: AMD FX-8320 4,3Ghz OC
RAM: 2x 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws F3-14900CL10S-8GBXL
CPU Watercooling (120x120 Radiator) (wichone unknown yet,but should fit with AMD3+)
5x be quiet! Pure Wings 2 wich are manually controlled by : Lamptron FC2 Fan Controller
DVD/CD ROM: LG GH24NSD1
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970 Gaming

Thanks for any help