the question is do I need to upgrade my processor (it would be to at least the i5 haswell unlocked or probably the i7 @ 4.0 ghz) I'm running 4.5 ghz on an AMD A8 6600k APU. I have the option of putting in an R9 290. It's cheap, and powerful. but for only $200 more I can have a 780 GTX Ti, and overclocked it's a beast. So here is the 64k question. Stick with the 4.5 ghz amd and an R9 290 (for 1080p gaming) or go big with the 780 GTX Ti? If I do that, I think my current processor would hold it back a bit. I should get the new i7 and run it at 4.5 ghz? The main question really here is... Is it worth all that extra money, the i7 and the 780 gtx ti? Would the AMD at 4.5 and the r9 290 be enough? It's quite cheap..
Id upgrade the CPU first, than spend what you can on a GPU.. 780ti would be bottlenecked by your cpu. I would wait till october, 980 will be out by then driving prices down.
The R9 290 on your existing system is certainly the cheaper route. If you got for the 780 Ti and new CPU, you would need at least a new CPU and new motherboard in addition to the $200 extra you would be spending on the 780 Ti. So, if you spend $150 on the motherboard, $250 on the CPU, you're looking at at least $600 on top of the cost of the R9 290. Cost effectiveness wise, it would probably be better to go for the R9 290 and wait until the unlocked Skylake CPUs (if they are every actually released), or see what AMD can do with that rumoured post-Bulldozer CPU. You're looking at probably sometime 2016 for both of those.
Okay, well the money matters, but let's pretend it doesnt for a second. How big a performance difference do you think there will be between these 2 systems? AMD A8 @ 4.5 ghz, R9 290 (oc'ed) Intel i7 4790k @ 4.5 ghz, 780 GTX Ti (oc'ed) Will it be that much? Will the former system be able to game 1080p on highest settings @ 60 fps (most games, hell, all games?)
Not sure about that PSU of yours, if you go the i5 + 780 Ti route, you may also need to consider the cost of a new PSU.
Yea, I'm looking at an NZXT 700w for $100. I see the i5 devils canyon is almost just as good in many benchmarks, and $100 cheaper. On the other hand, it's only $100 and future proofing is worth that or not? edit : the psu explodes, according to many reviews. I have been lucky this past year. I traded a cell phone for this current build, btw, on craigs. Seriously, I can't decide. Add an R9 290 to my overclocked apu, or buy a mobo, psu, 4790k, 780 gtx ti, and be broke as hell. Literally, have like $20 in my wallet for the next month. Tempting. Rent is paid... I got lots of soup. EDIT : 970 GTX specs are leaked on front page. Looks like 980 GTX will be equal to 780 GTX Ti maybe... when does that card release? nvm, they release the day I get the money for this build.
Futureproofing really only means a couple of years. Recently there hasn't been as much change in the CPU's as there used to be, so a 3 year old system based on Sandy Bridge is still 'valid'. Once the Skylake systems and AMD bring out their post-Bulldozer CPU's (which will apparently be very much considerably different to Bulldozer), the whole 'futureproof' statement for Haswell goes out the window. Since money is a bit of an issue, I would only consider upgrading the PSU and GPU for now, at worst just the PSU! Sure, an A8 won't compete with an i7-4790K, but I don't think it would be worth over-stretching a limited budget. Start saving up now for that mid-2016 system . In the meantime, I believe you can upgrade to AMD Carrizo when it comes out by just changing over the CPU (that's a MAYBE, not definite), it's a place holder consideration. AMD Carrizo (Excavator baser) is the last of the Bulldozer architecture series, but apparently it has been improved quite a bit from even Steamroller.
