Better to upgrade cpu or gpu confused please help?

gamer1291

Hello everyone i just want to game with max settings and eye candy at a single 1920 x 1080 monitor and i am stuck whether to upgrade my 5850 1 gb toxic to either 670 gtx or 7970.

OR

For the same price of gpu upgrade i thought i can just buy a new Z77 motherboard mostly asus sabertooth z77 and a intel core i5 3570k processor which costs around same as a gpu upgrade.

But what i think is my rig is still powerful enough to handle a new gpu like 670 and 7970 maybe i am not sure cause of bottlenecks.

But the problem is i already have a very expensive motherboard and i dont feel like selling it for very cheap price and i am stuck with amd processor.

So what are your opinions on this?.

Thanks.

deltatux · 05-24-2012, 16:24 | posts: 18,785 | Location: Toronto, Canada

I'd go for a Radeon HD 7970 or GTX670. Most modern games are more GPU-bound than CPU-bound.

deltatux

lehtv · 05-24-2012, 16:42 | posts: 3,089

I agree, a graphics card upgrade will give you the best results. A CPU upgrade woudn't really improve performance even in CPU bound games, 5850 isn't that fast.

I think your current CPU & GPU combo is overall pretty balanced. It'd be best if you could upgrade both at the same time i.e. save enough money until you can. GTX 670 = $400, Z77 mobo $100-130, 3570K $240, reuse RAM.

Agent-A01 · 05-24-2012, 17:00 | posts: 5,638 | Location: USA

GPU upgrade for sure

Mufflore · 05-24-2012, 17:11 | posts: 9,543 | Location: UK

Gfx card.
You will become CPU limited at times but cash for fps, gfx card wins.

---TK--- · 05-24-2012, 17:19 | posts: 14,730 | Location: New Jersey, USA

Gpu. 670. Hands down.

gamer1291 · 05-24-2012, 17:50 | posts: 229 | Location: India(Bangalore)

Wow thanks for such fast replies everyone.

And i am happy to know i dont have to buy a new mobo and cpu.

Ok just one more question i live in india so price of a 670 gtx is 31000 RS and 680 and 7970 is 36000 RS.

So should i still get 670 gtx over 680 and 7970 which is better price/performance and future proof(well maybe sli or crossfire but not now)

Agent-A01 · 05-24-2012, 17:51 | posts: 5,638 | Location: USA

Get the 670

Mufflore · 05-24-2012, 18:15 | posts: 9,543 | Location: UK

Where I live I'd get the 670 as its 38% more to buy a 680.
But where you live, it only costs 16% more to get the 680.

The 680 has 14% more Streaming/Texture units but runs 5% slower clocks than the 570 at default.
So you get up to 9% better performance for 16% more $.
But if you overclock you will probably reach the same max clocks on both cards, the 680 will be up to 14% faster performance at the same clocks.

Depends if you can afford to go for max performance.
If you must save pennies, get the 670.

deltatux · 05-24-2012, 18:16 | posts: 18,785 | Location: Toronto, Canada

Quote:

Originally Posted by gamer1291

Wow thanks for such fast replies everyone.

And i am happy to know i dont have to buy a new mobo and cpu.

Ok just one more question i live in india so price of a 670 gtx is 31000 RS and 680 and 7970 is 36000 RS.

So should i still get 670 gtx over 680 and 7970 which is better price/performance and future proof(well maybe sli or crossfire but not now)

Your board doesn't support SLi. It only supports CrossFire. Only the AMD 900 Series chipsets support SLi. So if you're looking to use multi-GPU implementations in the future, you must stick with AMD graphics. NVIDIA wasn't willing to license their SLi technology until the 900 series chipsets came out.

Maybe getting a Radeon HD 7950 would be better if you're worried about cost.

deltatux

Xtreme1979 · 05-24-2012, 18:28 | posts: 1,227 | Location: Bay City, MI

Wow! Guess I am the only one who is suggesting a motherboard, cpu, and memory upgrade. Probably because of my hate for being CPU limited. I am CPU limited even at 4.4ghz with a single overclocked 680.

Uncle Dude · 05-24-2012, 19:45 | posts: 2,081 | Location: USA

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xtreme1979

Wow! Guess I am the only one who is suggesting a motherboard, cpu, and memory upgrade. Probably because of my hate for being CPU limited. I am CPU limited even at 4.4ghz with a single overclocked 680.

In what games and at what resolution? I can peg my gpu usage in every game I can think of with v-sync off, while cpu usage is low in comparison.

edit - OP, I agree with the rest of these guys. Get a 670/680 now. Sure your cpu will hold that card back in many games, but you'll still see a big improvement. When you do eventually upgrade your cpu/mobo, you'll get another big fps boost. Good luck.

deltatux · 05-24-2012, 19:54 | posts: 18,785 | Location: Toronto, Canada

Even with games like Battlefield 3, after upgrading from my old Phenom II to Core i5 3570K, I don't see much of a performance boost, even when accounting for minimum frame rates. GPU is usually the factor that gives you better framerate.

To sum up my recommendation:
Get a Radeon HD 7950/7970 if you want to have a multi-GPU set up via CrossFire. If you don't care about Crossfiring in the future, get the GTX 670.

deltatux

Agent-A01 · 05-24-2012, 20:36 | posts: 5,638 | Location: USA

Quote:

Originally Posted by deltatux

Get a Radeon HD 7950/7970 if you want to have a multi-GPU set up via CrossFire. If you don't care about Crossfiring in the future, get the GTX 670.

deltatux

why would you recommend crossfire over sli? you do know most people have bad experiences with anything over a single card right? regardless, you dont buy a AMD card if your prerogative is BF3

sli hack is fairly easy, but i would understand if OP wouldnt know how to do that which would make sense.

BlackZero · 05-24-2012, 20:46 | posts: 8,078 | Location: United Kingdom

@OP

That Phenom II is getting old and even overclocked is only half as fast as something like a 2600k/2500k at stock clocks. In cpu bottlenecked games or at lower resolutions you'll obviously not see much benefit from upgrading the GPU but even in other games you'll not see the full benefit of a new graphics card until you upgrade your CPU.

If your system is purely for gaming then overall you'll see more benefit from a graphics card upgrade but only if you play at the highest settings if you're willing to drop some settings then you'll see just as much or more benefit from a cpu upgrade and when you do change your GPU you should get the full benefit of a new graphics card.

BF 3 MP

http://www.sweclockers.com/artikel/1...d-3/5#pagehead

Agent-A01 · 05-24-2012, 20:50 | posts: 5,638 | Location: USA

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackZero

@OP

That Phenom II is getting old and even overclocked is only half as fast as something like a 2600k/2500k at stock clocks. In cpu bottlenecked games or at lower resolutions you'll obviously not see much benefit from upgrading the GPU but even in other games you'll not see the full benefit of a new graphics card until you upgrade your CPU.

its true its really slow compared to 2600k, but it might not be as big as a deal if he OCs to max. preferably 4.0-4.2ghz and plays BF3 with ultra. too bad he cant afford both cpu and new card as that would net the biggest return in fps.

clawhamer · 05-24-2012, 21:32 | posts: 1,545 | Location: eastcoast.ca

If I had your current setup, I’d go with the 670, save the difference between the 680 and put it towards new MB and CPU (which I would start saving for now).

ESlik · 05-24-2012, 21:46 | posts: 1,602 | Location: Sault Ste. Marie Ont. CA

What clawhamer said.

deltatux · 05-25-2012, 00:01 | posts: 18,785 | Location: Toronto, Canada

Quote:

Originally Posted by Agent-A01

why would you recommend crossfire over sli? you do know most people have bad experiences with anything over a single card right? regardless, you dont buy a AMD card if your prerogative is BF3

sli hack is fairly easy, but i would understand if OP wouldnt know how to do that which would make sense.

The board doesn't officially support CrossFire. The unofficial SLi patch is well, unofficial so any bugs or performance issues may arise. Use at your own risk. If the OP doesn't want to deal with should consider CrossFire instead.

deltatux

Mufflore · 05-25-2012, 00:10 | posts: 9,543 | Location: UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by deltatux

The board doesn't officially support SLI...

fixed

deltatux · 05-25-2012, 00:11 | posts: 18,785 | Location: Toronto, Canada

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mufflore

fixed

Ooops, I was talking on the phone while typing that.

Yes, the board doesn't support SLi, only supports CrossFire lol

deltatux

gamer1291 · 05-25-2012, 02:47 | posts: 229 | Location: India(Bangalore)

Ok i know my mother board supports only crossfire but i think its a waste if i go for crossfire cause already my cpu bottle necks a single card and if i put 2 cards it will double bottle neck and i will have negative performance.

So yea mostly i want to stick to single gpu and i think for a single 1920 x 1080 i can still max out with a single gpu right?.

deltatux · 05-25-2012, 03:13 | posts: 18,785 | Location: Toronto, Canada

Quote:

Originally Posted by gamer1291

Ok i know my mother board supports only crossfire but i think its a waste if i go for crossfire cause already my cpu bottle necks a single card and if i put 2 cards it will double bottle neck and i will have negative performance.

So yea mostly i want to stick to single gpu and i think for a single 1920 x 1080 i can still max out with a single gpu right?.

You should still be able to power a GTX670 quite well.

deltatux

clawhamer · 05-25-2012, 04:09 | posts: 1,545 | Location: eastcoast.ca

Quote:

Originally Posted by deltatux

You should still be able to power a GTX670 quite well.

deltatux

Correct, one yes...

Quote:

Originally Posted by gamer1291

Ok i know my mother board supports only crossfire but i think its a waste if i go for crossfire cause already my cpu bottle necks a single card and if i put 2 cards it will double bottle neck and i will have negative performance.

So yea mostly i want to stick to single gpu and i think for a single 1920 x 1080 i can still max out with a single gpu right?.

two no