Will this be an upgrade or more of a sidestep?

[koocha]

Hi all. Currently got:

Q6600 at stock
4GB corsair dominator RAM
AMD HD4890

I'm probably looking at:

AMD A10-7800k
8GB RAM

Main problems are heat and noise. This is for my HTPC which sits behind the telly. Outputting everything at 1080p.

I'm not sure if the graphics will be a sidestep rather than an upgrade?

[Bonebreaker777]

Your heat and noise would be greatly reduced, especially if you would set a lower TPD.

Also, for a HTPC if you are not going to overclock, you could just go for a A8-6500 or A8-6600K(possibility of overclock but it is so much cheaper that A10-7700k/7850k) with some 2133/2400Mhz memory modules.

Or, second hand i3 CPU (2core/4thread) for £50-60 on eBay and a dedicated GPU would eat the APU (plus would have lower consumption too, like with a R7 250/250x).
-Would not need fast memory modules(1600Mhz would do)
-Even lower consumption for the CPU
-More GPU performance

Against a HD4890 all these would probably lose out,so sidestep.

[koocha]

Thanks for the info. I've looked I to getting 8gb DDR2 for this system but the prices are stupid, otherwise I'd have just done that and get a separate GPU. Got loads of USB things so need a mobo with a lot of ports.

Heat and noise are my main priorities. The performance isn't such a problem. I play sniper elite 3 at 1080p, but can't quite manage medium details. Suppose a little faster would be good.

Edit: what about overclocking the new anniversary edition pentium?

[Bonebreaker777]

Thanks for the info. I've looked I to getting 8gb DDR2 for this system but the prices are stupid, otherwise I'd have just done that and get a separate GPU. Got loads of USB things so need a mobo with a lot of ports.

Heat and noise are my main priorities. The performance isn't such a problem. I play sniper elite 3 at 1080p, but can't quite manage medium details. Suppose a little faster would be good.

Edit: what about overclocking the new anniversary edition pentium?

Overclocking the new Pentium wouldn't be so beneficial. Two cores only with one thread each, so at stock even a second hand i3 would be topping it, costing just about the same (i3 sold recently on eBay for £40-45 Inc postage). And only 1333Mhz RAM support so even if the performance difference would be minute against a 1600Mhz dual channel kit, lowering it's already questionable performance wouldn't be wise.

The Pentium would need a Z75/77 MoBo which is always more expensive that a B75/H77 for non-overclockable CPUs.

For a successful overclocking you would need to raise the voltage which means increased consumption, heat production and cooling requirements. Not to mention the increased electric consumption over a year which would add up eventually as well.

If I would you,I would examine if I can either afford an i3 (2cores/4thread £40-45 eBay) or an i5 (4cores/4thread plus Turbo £80 eBay) and a nice B75/H77 MoBo(half the price of a Z77). Nice and cool CPUs, no need for faster than 1600Mhz RAM modules and the performance per core is the highest out there right now. Plus the box cooler is pretty good as well (as long as you don't overclock or 100% stress test it for days).

How much would you be willing to spend on this endeavour?

[koocha]

As little as possible, but with the view to having a noticeable upgrade.

Everything for £250 would be good

[Bonebreaker777]

CPU: £40-80 (i3 or i5 second hand from eBay)
MB: £40 (new B75 motherboard able to take any Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge CPU plus USB3 and SATA3)
RAM: £35-60 (2x2GB or 2x4GB DDR3, either 1333Mhz or 1600Mhz)
Cooler: £10-20 (depends what case you have and how quiet you want it)
GPU: £80-110 (R7 260x or R7 270, they would be lesser of upgrades for you,20-30% increase in performance,but the heat and noise reduction may be worth it)

Total: £205-310 depending on your choices

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Actually I suspect the newer AMD APUs like the A10 7800 and A8 7600 will consume less power than a Core i3 and a discrete card. Amazon has the A10 7800 for around £90 ATM.

Fast RAM is know more or less the same price as 1600MHZ DDR3.

Edit!!

TBH,the main problem with the setup the OP has is the HD4890,which consumes a lot of power and runs hot.

I would consider getting an R9 270 or even waiting for the R9 285,as these should both consume far less power than an HD4890,especially at idle and will run cooler.

The Sapphire R9 270 runs quite cooler and is noisy:

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphi...graphics-card/

What PSU do you have??

Older PSUs can be quite noisy too.

Amazon has this PSU on offer:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zalman-ZM550...ywords=zm+550w

[Bonebreaker777]

The Sapphire R9 270 runs quite cooler and is noisy:

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphi...graphics-card/

Noisy? It came first on the noise comparison list (where quieter is better). I suspect you meant quiet.

What PSU do you have?? Older PSUs can be quite noisy too. Amazon has this PSU on offer:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zalman-ZM550...ywords=zm+550w

Would he really need a 550W PSU even with a R9 270 card? 450-500W would do it I would say. How about the EVGA 500W for £32 from Scan?

[n2th2n]

500 to 600 watt is more thn enough with your build.. get a thermaltake nic c5 cpu cooler if you have a red and black theme rig...

[MrRockliffe]

400W is enough for a 270 + i3.

As others have suggested, a second hand i3 and a dedicated graphics card will offer better performance.

[rickywarner]

Very helpful thread. Thanks!

[koocha]

I've got a fairly new 750w PSU. I've also got 4 x 2TB hard drives in there too you see.

I recently had the chance to get a cheap SSD. With that in it the system feels like it's flying so I might put the CPU on hold and just go for a quieter graphics card.

Will the 270 be a reasonable upgrade from my 4890?

[MrRockliffe]

Definitely, it's 4 (?) generations newer and a good mid range graphics card.

[koocha]

Definitely, it's 4 (?) generations newer and a good mid range graphics card.

Thanks for that. Had a very quick look on GPU Boss and it wipes it out completely!

Can't believe what a difference an SSD has made though - it's like having a new computer!

[MrRockliffe]

Everyone says how much difference an SSD makes but I really can't tell - and I have an SSD in my laptop and HDD in my tower.

[Bibo]

koocha, if i was you i would definitely look at getting a new GPU, changing your CPU would blow your whole budget on MOBO+RAM aswell and you would not notice much if any performance increase while playing games, save this upgrade for another pay day.

PCIE is backwards/forwards compatible like USB is, so don't fret about getting a GEN3 card and putting it in a gen1 slot. you might take a performance hit, but since you wont be getting a mid-rage card it wont be too bad at all.

as long as your 750w PSU is made by a good brand (don't cheap out on a PSU as this is the backbone of your system, this goes pop it will take the rest out with it) it should include at least 2 PCIE 6(+2?) power cables, so have a look around at specs, features and gpu comparison charts to find what will best suit you. also depending on what games you play most, you might want to look at getting a AMD>Nvidia or Nvidia<AMD looking at game specific charts.

Everyone says how much difference an SSD makes but I really can't tell - and I have an SSD in my laptop and HDD in my tower.

you probably have a very low spec SSD in your laptop or it might be running sata2 (3Gb/s) and a WD black in your tower? if you got a flagship SSD on SATA3 its like night and day.