Looking forward to the R9

Discussion in 'Videocards - AMD Radeon' started by DeFade, Sep 28, 2013.

  1. DeFade

    DeFade Guest

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    Hello. I've been reading about ATI's new cards on the horizon. The tech sounds cool. My rig is as shown. I've been considering a graphics card upgrade for some time and the R9 280X seems to be a good option to wait for.

    But all this talk of low level optimisation and draw calls has left me a bit confused. Long question made shorter - I my current CPU going to be able to keep up with the card I mentioned above or should I be thinking about a new build?
     
  2. krpetrov

    krpetrov Master Guru

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    R9 280X will be probably rebrand of 7970. R9 280 rebranded - 7950.
    So you can wait for a powerful R9 290X or buy 7950 which is a bargain now.
    Have in mind that a overclocked 7950 beats gtx 760 and even 770 in some games.
     
  3. 3dPlayer

    3dPlayer Banned

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    Sell the 6870, get a 7950 brand new or used one. Also sell that system and get a 2500k @ 4.8 or 3570k/4670k 4.5.

    I see that you are from Poland, i would consider checking some Ebay(de/fr/uk) auctions first.
     
  4. eclap

    eclap Banned

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    280X is 7970ghz but with lower clocks. Your cpu will bottleneck it pretty bad.
     
    Last edited: Sep 28, 2013

  5. thatguy91

    thatguy91 Guest

    If the R9 280x is a rebrand of the HD7970, Why would they clock the R9 R280x slower? I would presume it would perform at least as well, if not better, than the HD7970 GHz. There may have been a bit of tinkering hardware wise, such that it isn't a straight rebrand.
     
  6. DeFade

    DeFade Guest

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    I'm form the UK and I'm moving back next month. Should be at least a few months before I can think about actually spending money on my PC.

    That's what I was afraid to hear...

    The 7950 was the card which I had more or less settled on when I heard about these new ones. Am I then to understand from your recommendation that this Mantle API business will be supported by older cards too?
     
  7. CrunchyBiscuit

    CrunchyBiscuit Master Guru

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    Totally depends on your preference, which games you play and at what settings. If you like using 4xSSAA, even at 1680x1050 using a 79xx, your GPU will hold you back in many cases (smoke, particles in your face, etc.).

    If you don't use fancy external features and mostly just let the games decide to use milder options, then you'll run into a CPU-limit more often than a GPU-limit.

    In any case, upgrading your platform and processor definitely won't hurt, neither would upgrading the videocard. Depends on your preference.

    My processor is about the same as yours and I think it's still doin' allrightish. I'm used to sacrificing some drawdistance or viewdistance to offload the CPU.

    If you're aiming for 120fps however, you'll definitely need to upgrade both if you're planning on playing current games.
     
  8. Fox2232

    Fox2232 Guest

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    Only on some games. And 60Hz gamers are really quite safe.
    And as OP is primarily confused about Mantle, it's actually meant to remove most of CPU bottleneck. (on titles built on it, therefore no extra benefit for older games)
    Therefore: "Don't purchase new MB/CPU till you confirm, that GPU is bottlenecked by those you already have."

    Because you can always upgrade afterwards.

    Edit: DeFade, post names of few games you play and If I have some I'll test how well they do on different CPU Clocks.
     
    Last edited: Sep 28, 2013
  9. DeFade

    DeFade Guest

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    I am a 60hz 1080p gamer so I'm not worried about hitting 120fps.

    My rig handles everything I play atm easily enough, though I never got much into BF3 because of shoddy performance at higher settings. I'm thinking of being more prepared for upcoming games. BF4 of course, GTAV hopefully(!), Star Citizen and powering an Oculus Rift.

    As you say, a new GPU is always a good idea and I could consider it a down payment on my eventual Intel rebuild. The question remains - does a 7950 take advantage of this Mantle business and what is going to offer the best bang for buck around December/January when I have some cash.

    I guess I should wait and see what happens when people start buying them :)
     
  10. CrunchyBiscuit

    CrunchyBiscuit Master Guru

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    Yeah I'm curious about Mantle as well. It's been established that BF4 will use the API, and it's pretty obvious that AMD-cards will benefit. I'm not sure which series however, but according to the wiki:

    "Currently the only implementation is for AMD's GCN graphics processing unit architecture although there is speculation other GPU vendors will be able implement it in future."

    This means you're safe with a 7950 which is able to utilize Mantle in BF4.
     

  11. DeFade

    DeFade Guest

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    Just out of curiosity...

    Is the FX-8350 not a reasonable upgrade choice for me if I don't want to buy a new motherboard?
     
  12. CrunchyBiscuit

    CrunchyBiscuit Master Guru

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    At the current time, I'd say no.

    Those Phenoms we have now, despite being 'outdated', are comparable in performance while playing current games, I don't think you'll see much of an improvement, maybe a frame here and there. I think for now you'd be better off buying some better cooling and trying to overlock your current processor a bit more (cheap), or going for an Intel platform altogether (not so cheap).

    Take a look at the Phenom II x4 980, which runs at 3700MHz, slightly faster than the one in your specs.

    However, this might change in the near future. AMD decides how things go hardware wise with the next-gen console market and I expect more AMD-specific optimizations because of that. Those FX-8350s might start performing better next year when new games are released which actually utilize all the fancy features the FX-8350 supports.

    Personally, I'm just gonna wait it out for now.
     

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