GPU Upgrade (+ System upgrade)

[opel80uk]

So, I recently made the move to a 1440p monitor, but my system is now ever so slightly creaking. For context, I currently have:

MOBO: Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0 Motherboard
CPU: AMD FX8350
GPU: Gigabyte R9 280X
RAM: Crucial Tactical 8GB Kit (4GBx2), Ballistix 240-pin DIMM, DDR3-1866
PSU: XFX ATX 550
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R

I use the PC primarily for gaming, and mainly play FPS, RPGs & strategy games. I am not planning on gaming at 4K, so that isn’t a concern, but looking to future proof a touch at 1440. (my R9 280x has served me really well, and have been very happy with it) That said, I was thinking of upgrading my GPU initially, and am looking at either the RX580 8GB or the GTX1060 6GB. What are the opinions of those 2 and also, which brand/cards would Hexites advise me to look at? I don’t have a strict budget per se, but expecting to spend around (give or take) the 250 quid mark as that what those cards seem to go for.

Following on from that, I was thinking of upgrading the whole system in the near future. Again, I don’t really have a budget in mind but given that I am not looking at 4K, and will probably be getting one of the GPUs listed I mentioned above, what sort of hardware would be advisable to look at? Again, I would like something a bit future proof (my last upgrade was in late 2013/early 2014 and have been pleased with it up till now – Cheers CAT!), but as I will not be gaming at 4K, don’t want to waste money unnecessarily. I would however like to run games with good FPS at High/Ultra, and not wait forever for turns to be completed in my turn based strategy games. I would also like to reuse my case and PSU if at all possible, although not to detriment of my upgrade. I suppose I’m particularly interested in peoples opinions of whether the AMD/Intel route would be preferable in terms of value/bang-for-buck. (I’ve heard/read that AM4 is slightly underwhelming, although I’ve always been very happy with my AMD build in the past).

So……any thoughts? (And my thanks in advance!)

[DanceswithUnix]

AM4 should be a big improvement over the 8350 that you have, but when it came down to it I just ploughed my money into a Vega 56 and kept the 8350.

There are rumours of a new Polaris coming out, and with 2080 out the 2060 probably isn't that far behind. That makes future proofing seem hard right now.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

OK,I would echo DWU's advice about the GPUs,as a Polaris refresh has been rumoured but if the RTX2070 is nearly £600,I suspect the GTX2060 will be out of your price range,or there will be multiple models,ie,a GTX2060SE,GTX2060,GTX2060TI,etc unless Nvidia surprise us and have a big gap between the RTX2070 and GTX2060. Of the current GPUs,the RX580 will be the better choice IMHO,as the extra VRAM will be useful at qHD,as even my GTX1080 can get pushed with regards to VRAM usage.

In terms of the CPU,for open world RPGs and RTS games,I would say Intel has the edge due to the nature of the engines used,but I have a few issues with going Intel currently:
1.)Prices have jumped up to silly levels due to 14NM shortages
2.)If you going for the mainstream 6C/6T CPUs,how will these fare in a few years time,when the new consoles are released and Intel has even moar cores?? I suppose that is a hard one to say.
3.)At least with my old IB CPU,the security patches didn't help my modded FO4 game as it is I/O dependent

The main disadvantage with AMD AM4 CPUs is that they do like faster RAM,and are a bit more finicky in that regard,but the performance jump over your FX8350 is massive though. Also unless you really intend to game at 1080p with £500+ graphics cards,I am uncertain how much of a difference it will make,unless the engine is severely single core limited(like what happens with Fallout 4 if you build settlements). But then again I am using a GTX1080 at qHD,with massive settlements and graphical mods,so that is combination of much more draw calls and more NPCs,so probably an edge case in reality.

If that is too much of a wall of text,the TLDR version is AMD is still better bang for buck currently.

[peterb]

Can't comment on the build, but howdedoody stranger!

[opel80uk]

Can't comment on the build, but howdedoody stranger!

Hi peterb! Keeping well I trust?!

[peterb]

Hi peterb! Keeping well I trust?!

Very, thank you - you too I hope?

[opel80uk]

AM4 should be a big improvement over the 8350 that you have, but when it came down to it I just ploughed my money into a Vega 56 and kept the 8350.

There are rumours of a new Polaris coming out, and with 2080 out the 2060 probably isn't that far behind. That makes future proofing seem hard right now.

OK,I would echo DWU's advice about the GPUs,as a Polaris refresh has been rumoured but if the RTX2070 is nearly £600,I suspect the GTX2060 will be out of your price range,or there will be multiple models,ie,a GTX2060SE,GTX2060,GTX2060TI,etc unless Nvidia surprise us and have a big gap between the RTX2070 and GTX2060. Of the current GPUs,the RX580 will be the better choice IMHO,as the extra VRAM will be useful at qHD,as even my GTX1080 can get pushed with regards to VRAM usage.

In terms of the CPU,for open world RPGs and RTS games,I would say Intel has the edge due to the nature of the engines used,but I have a few issues with going Intel currently:
1.)Prices have jumped up to silly levels due to 14NM shortages
2.)If you going for the mainstream 6C/6T CPUs,how will these fare in a few years time,when the new consoles are released and Intel has even moar cores?? I suppose that is a hard one to say.
3.)At least with my old IB CPU,the security patches didn't help my modded FO4 game as it is I/O dependent

The main disadvantage with AMD AM4 CPUs is that they do like faster RAM,and are a bit more finicky in that regard,but the performance jump over your FX8350 is massive though. Also unless you really intend to game at 1080p with £500+ graphics cards,I am uncertain how much of a difference it will make,unless the engine is severely single core limited(like what happens with Fallout 4 if you build settlements). But then again I am using a GTX1080 at qHD,with massive settlements and graphical mods,so that is combination of much more draw calls and more NPCs,so probably an edge case in reality.

If that is too much of a wall of text,the TLDR version is AMD is still better bang for buck currently.

Thank you both for the replies! Soooooo, if it is the case that AMD is still better bang for buck, and I’m looking to at least try to futureproof for the next few years, what sort of hardware should I be looking at? Would something like the following be reasonable, overkill, or not worth the upgrade from what I’m on, given I’ll only be playing at 1440 for that period?:

CPU - AMD Ryzen 5 2600X – £200*
https://www.cclonline.com/product/25...ooler/CPU0538/

MOBO - ASRock AB350 Pro4 AMD Socket - £65*
https://www.cclonline.com/product/23...board/MBD2135/

RAM - Corsair Vengeance LPX 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4 2400 MHz C16 - £70*
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMK...geance+LPX+8GB

How would that lot look if I was to stick it with an RX580? Does the MOBO look ok? And for gaming would I need more than 8GB of RAM?

Thanks!

*Prices are just a guide, I would look at finding the best price if set up looks ok.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Well I am currently in the process of upgrading from an IB based Xeon E3 1230 V2/Core i7 3770 with a GTX1080 to a Ryzen 5 2600 non-X with the same card and I have a qHD monitor.

I would say a 2600 non-X would do the job too. With RAM go for the fastest reasonably priced stuff.

I would go with a B450 board for compatibility reasons. The MSI B450 Tomahawk or B450M Mortar look good choices IMHO.

I won't usually recommend Corsair RAM for Ryzen but thus set seems OK so far:

https://www.cclonline.com/product/25...hite-/RAM3778/

There is better RAM for another £25 more though but I have not checked for any better deals since Friday.

Edit!!

Ryzen likes faster RAM - slow RAM and especially single RAM DIMMs will affect performance,moreso than Intel.

[opel80uk]

Well I am currently in the process of upgrading from an IB based Xeon E3 1230 V2/Core i7 3770 with a GTX1080 to a Ryzen 5 2600 non-X with the same card and I have a qHD monitor.

I would say a 2600 non-X would do the job too. With RAM go for the fastest reasonably priced stuff.

I would go with a B450 board for compatibility reasons. The MSI B450 Tomahawk or B450M Mortar look good choices IMHO.

I won't usually recommend Corsair RAM for Ryzen but thus set seems OK so far:

https://www.cclonline.com/product/25...hite-/RAM3778/

There is better RAM for another £25 more though but I have not checked for any better deals since Friday.

Edit!!

Ryzen likes faster RAM - slow RAM and especially single RAM DIMMs will affect performance,moreso than Intel.

Thanks CAT. Couple of questions:

Is there any particular RX580 8GB card that I should be looking to get, or avoid? From what I have read so far, I am leaning towards this XFX card:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071CD6K6Z/?tag=pcp0f-21

Also, with regards to the motherboard, is there a big difference (specifically compatibility wise) with the MSI B450 Tomahawk, and this one that gives a 40 quid steam voucher?
https://www.cclonline.com/product/26...board/MBD2524/

[opel80uk]

Very, thank you - you too I hope?

I am.... apart from not having enough time to post of Hexus of course!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks CAT. Couple of questions:

Is there any particular RX580 8GB card that I should be looking to get, or avoid? From what I have read so far, I am leaning towards this XFX card:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071CD6K6Z/?tag=pcp0f-21

Also, with regards to the motherboard, is there a big difference (specifically compatibility wise) with the MSI B450 Tomahawk, and this one that gives a 40 quid steam voucher?
https://www.cclonline.com/product/26...board/MBD2524/

Gigabyte has implemented shocking cooling on a lot of their boards which is a shame as Gigabyte and Asus BIOSes are better than the others. The MSI boards I suggested have reasonably solid VRMs and the cooling is solid.

Regarding the RX580 cards,IIRC that XFX one was meant to be solid but I would need to check.

[opel80uk]

Gigabyte has implemented shocking cooling on a lot of their boards which is a shame as Gigabyte and Asus BIOSes are better than the others. The MSI boards I suggested have reasonably solid VRMs and the cooling is solid.

Regarding the RX580 cards,IIRC that XFX one was meant to be solid but I would need to check.

Thanks for the heads up CAT - I feel really out of the loop on all this!!!!

[emilsobo]

I would recommend going for the 1060 6gb over the RX580 but to be honest for 1440p gaming i would recommend at least a 1070 also i would recommend upgrading the cpu in the near future to a newer generation (Ryzen 2nd or 3rd gen or intel 8/9 gen)