How much of an improvement would I see upgrading my graphics card?

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Adam41

Adam41

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WilliamsJIM_Adam
I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card for better PC performance. My PC isn't great and I don't want to fork out more than £100-110. I'm just wondering what sort of performance increase I will see upgrading to a GTX 760? Is it worth it with the other components I have?

At the moment I run 35-60 FPS on BF4/Assetto Corsa/Project CARS on low settings. I want to be able to run a more consistent 60fps on slightly higher settings.. Here's my PC:

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 640 Processor (quad) 3.0 GHz
Video card: AMD Radeon HD 6770
RAM: 8GB
Motherboard: ASUS M5A78L-M LX (AM3+ socket)
PSU: OCZ ZS series 650W
1080p 60HZ Monitor 22"
OS: Windows 7 64 bit
1TB hard drive

If it's not that significant a gain, I would rather wait until I want to spend more money on upgrading my CPU and motherboard or even buying a new PC.

Many thanks for any help or advice. :)👍
 
The CPU might hold the 760 back a bit. I'd try overclocking the Athlon since those chips overclock pretty well. You might need better cooling though so the CPU won't burn out. However to forewarn: Those games you listed require pretty powerful CPUs, especially BF4. IMO you should get the FX-6300 or better. Or go the Intel route and get an i5.
 
I don't want to get a new motherboard and processor yet. What graphics card would be an improvement on my current card, but wouldn't be wasted due to my CPU limitation? I'm just looking for a moderate bump in performance. If my CPU is that bad meaning it would be a waste buying a new GPU then I'd rather wait to buy a new PC. :D
 
I honestly don't know what GPU will work with that CPU. But something like the 760 will definitely be bottlenecked (overclocking may help a little). I suggest getting a better CPU and mobo, just to rule out any bottlenecks. However if you want you can keep that mobo and get a FX chip, like the 6300 I mentioned earlier since its socket is compatible with your mobo. That should help in getting stable performance.
 
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So umm a benchmark gives your card 2510 pts, a 760 will give you 8760pts. However for the same cost you could get a R9 280x which scores 10k pts.

Here's the link if you want to look it up a bit.

http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/gpu

A quad cpu at 3.0ghz isnt too bad. I wouldnt change it just yet unless you're playing games that requieres high cpu loads.

Can someone tell me exactly why you think his cpu is that bad ?

Cause I've seen tons of benchmark for ff14 and cpu dont make huge difference, something like 200-300 pts over 10kpts. Nothing you will notice while playing.

I dont say if he had a pentium II at 2.0 ghz but my pc at work is a i7-950i at the same speed couple with a gtx670 and I got no problem playing most game in medium to high resolution.
 
Cheers guys.

DQuaN
The best option is probably to wait. If you can't, i'd suggest a 750ti. http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/nvidiageforcegraphicscards/nvidiagtx750tiseries/?o=1

It should be able to reach near it's max potential without being restricted too much. Overclocking the CPU is a good shout too.
Click to expand...

Where would I stand with a 750ti and my current CPU overclocked (and how far could I go with the overclocking)? Would I benefit massively from an FX-6300 as @Technicolors suggested?
 
IMO there's no point doing bit-part upgrades here and there. If you want a better GPU a 750ti is in your price range and a lot more powerful than your current card. I would say either get the GPU and live with it for a while, or start a whole new build path.
 
DQuaN
IMO there's no point doing bit-part upgrades here and there. If you want a better GPU a 750ti is in your price range and a lot more powerful than your current card. I would say either get the GPU and live with it for a while, or start a whole new build path.
Click to expand...

Why ? YOu can upgrade your gpu 2-3 times if you have a decent CPU. I do that since 10 years and never had any trouble with it. I dont see why I would buy a new pc when most of my stuff can be kept and used.
 
But he doesn't have a decent CPU. Are you saying you have been running the same motherboard or socket for 10 years???!!

It's up to Aderrm what he wants to do. I'm merely suggesting that in my experience, bit part upgrades over time means you end up with a still out-of-date pc even though you keep throwing money at it.
 
Aderrrm
Cheers guys.



Where would I stand with a 750ti and my current CPU overclocked (and how far could I go with the overclocking)? Would I benefit massively from an FX-6300 as @Technicolors suggested?
Click to expand...

Yes, you will benefit quite a bit if you go with that chip. It won't be as good a performer as Intel but it'll get the job done.

CPU_01.png

Though they used the Titan X in that setup, you can still see that the first half is dominated by Intel while the rest is from AMD (and cool enough they tested chips similar to what you have). This might change once DX12 is released but if you want the best performance, go Intel. But the FX chips still are pretty decent processors for games.
 
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Try lowering all graphical settings to the absolute minimum, including resolution. If this doesn't improve your framerate, a new gpu is unlikely to help because the bottleneck is likely to be somewhere else. If you can get stable 60 fps with your current hardware at something like 1024x768 and everything at the lowest, you'll probably get something out of a new graphics card.
 
Pseudopod
Try lowering all graphical settings to the absolute minimum, including resolution. If this doesn't improve your framerate, a new gpu is unlikely to help because the bottleneck is likely to be somewhere else. If you can get stable 60 fps with your current hardware at something like 1024x768 and everything at the lowest, you'll probably get something out of a new graphics card.
Click to expand...

This is a good test. Try this.
 
I tried the test and the results are:

1920x1080 Low settings (particles and shadows turned on, but at their lowest settings): min fps: 45, average: 55 ish, max: 68 ish

1920x1080 minimum settings (particles and shadows turned off): min fps: 55, average 65 ish, max 72

1024x768 (max res full screen) minimum settings: min fps: 51, average 68 ish, maximum 91

640x480 (windowed) minimum settings : very similar to above.


Strange how my frame rate got worse dropping below 1080p. Probably shows the processor is holding things up? And/or there's a lot of crap slowing my PC down in general/programs running in the background.
 
Average 55fps at 1080? That sounds like your GPU is doing fine then. What game was the test on?
 
DQuaN
Average 55fps at 1080? That sounds like your GPU is doing fine then. What game was the test on?
Click to expand...

Project Cars, Zonda R at Catalunya. Other tracks are lows of 38-42 with one car. Add a decent sized grid and I'm getting lows of 30 ish.
 
I think it is worth waiting a bit for upgrading PC fully but for temporary upgrade, if you don't mind buying used then something like a GTX 670 you can get quite cheap on eBay, the following one is £88: Link You can get it probably even cheaper if you look around on eBay. Worth getting the GTX 960 if looking for new over a 750 Ti or 760. Might get it for not much more than a 670 if you look around.
 
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After looking into this a bit more, I think I'm going for a GTX 960 because it'll last me a bit longer and will be able to sell it for more when I want to upgrade. What version of the GTX 960 do people recommend? The cheapest one I've found is £144. Is there that much improvement to be had?

Then I'm going for a FX6300 or 6350.

They won't last me for ages but they're good value for money (brand new, anyway).
 
Aderrrm
After looking into this a bit more, I think I'm going for a GTX 960 because it'll last me a bit longer and will be able to sell it for more when I want to upgrade. What version of the GTX 960 do people recommend? The cheapest one I've found is £144. Is there that much improvement to be had?

Then I'm going for a FX6300 or 6350.

They won't last me for ages but they're good value for money (brand new, anyway).
Click to expand...
GPU wise, there will be huge improvements within a years time so I think most GPU's will lose quite a lot of their value. I think even as early as next month, you could see some discounts if new AMD cards are launched and competitively priced. Might get better than Titan X performance for similar price in a years time as a 960. GTX 960 at £144 is reasonable if you get also the free game offer too and delivery at that price.

CPU wise I would think you should look at least the FX8320 as minimum but think it woud be better to spend that money to upgrade to an Intel Skylake system.
 
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Aderrrm
After looking into this a bit more, I think I'm going for a GTX 960 because it'll last me a bit longer and will be able to sell it for more when I want to upgrade. What version of the GTX 960 do people recommend? The cheapest one I've found is £144. Is there that much improvement to be had?

Then I'm going for a FX6300 or 6350.

They won't last me for ages but they're good value for money (brand new, anyway).
Click to expand...

I would recommend either an Asus STRIX or a MSI gaming 4G as they have passive vents under 60°C. It's awesome for the noise. If you dont care, just get whatever is the cheapest.
 
Would cooling be an issue if I bought an FX 8320?

Edit: Reading up and it seems as though a lot of people suggest my motherboard couldn't handle an FX8320, let alone an FX6300 or FX6350. Asus website says my motherboard supports CPUs up to 95W. The FX6300 is a 95W CPU, so I may have to go with that unless I upgrade my motherboard as well.
 
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Aderrrm
Would cooling be an issue if I bought an FX 8320?

Edit: Reading up and it seems as though a lot of people suggest my motherboard couldn't handle an FX8320, let alone an FX6300 or FX6350. Asus website says my motherboard supports CPUs up to 95W. The FX6300 is a 95W CPU, so I may have to go with that unless I upgrade my motherboard as well.
Click to expand...
Get a FX8320E: Amazon or eBuyer

This version is supported as shown on your motherboard website: Link
 
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Bought a 8320E and GTX960.

Put them both in just now and had one of them anti static wristbands and watched some tutorials before doing them both. Fire it up and sounds likes its working, fans etc, but the monitor doesn't pick anything up.

Took out the 960 and put back in my old graphics card and it still didn't work. So I'm guessing it must be the CPU. Haven't got enough time to put the old CPU back in tonight and try it. As far I know I've done everything right, but obviously I haven't.

Am I missing something simple? Is there anything I should look out for or can try to spot the issue? I've read a few things about having to reinstall the OS with a new CPU? Would that be it?

Any suggestions before I put the old CPU back in tomorrow would be much appreciated!

Edit: been doing a bit of reading and might it be my motherboard's BIOS? Says on the ASUS website that the BIOS version 1801 was released for my CPU. Would the black screen problem be happening if I had an older version?
 
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Aderrrm
Bought a 8320E and GTX960.

Put them both in just now and had one of them anti static wristbands and watched some tutorials before doing them both. Fire it up and sounds likes its working, fans etc, but the monitor doesn't pick anything up.

Took out the 960 and put back in my old graphics card and it still didn't work. So I'm guessing it must be the CPU. Haven't got enough time to put the old CPU back in tonight and try it. As far I know I've done everything right, but obviously I haven't.

Am I missing something simple? Is there anything I should look out for or can try to spot the issue? I've read a few things about having to reinstall the OS with a new CPU? Would that be it?

Any suggestions before I put the old CPU back in tomorrow would be much appreciated!

Edit: been doing a bit of reading and might it be my motherboard's BIOS? Says on the ASUS website that the BIOS version 1801 was released for my CPU. Would the black screen problem be happening if I had an older version?
Click to expand...
Need to update to latest bios which I think is 1603. Best to put old one in, update it and then install new one back, should work then. Always advisable to do it before upgrading though but too late for that.
 
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You shouldn't need to install Windows again for a new CPU if you're using the same motherboard. BIOS update is a good shout and the latest version says "stability update for 8320E", however, you're going to need a display to update the BIOS.

Do you get any display if you connect to your monitor through the motherboard? If not, you'll have to put the old CPU in, update the BIOS then do it all over.

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M5A78LM_LX_V2/HelpDesk_Download/

Version 1602 is on there.

If you've never done a BIOS update before, then read up on some guides. They aren't difficult, but you really don't want to get it wrong.
 
Sureboss
You shouldn't need to install Windows again for a new CPU if you're using the same motherboard. BIOS update is a good shout and the latest version says "stability update for 8320E", however, you're going to need a display to update the BIOS.

Do you get any display if you connect to your monitor through the motherboard? If not, you'll have to put the old CPU in, update the BIOS then do it all over.

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M5A78LM_LX_V2/HelpDesk_Download/

Version 1602 is on there.

If you've never done a BIOS update before, then read up on some guides. They aren't difficult, but you really don't want to get it wrong.
Click to expand...
It is important also to use BIOS version for correct motherboard just in case it doesn't detect it is wrong type of BIOS.

His might be original version: Link
 

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