Upgrade Path.

[worf105]

Hey all,

I think I have created this post on the wrong section of the forum (off-topic) so I have created a post here.  If I am in the wrong place please delete the thread.......

It's time to upgrade my system now and would really appreciate some advice from my fellow Gigabyte users.

I am not a hard-core gamer but I do buy such games as "Call of duty" and the like and play the single player missions. I would like the best eye candy I could get from my system while playing the above mentioned game(s).   

I am using a BenQ GL2460HM 24-inch Widescreen LED Multimedia Monitor at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 to play games via HDMI.

I was thinking of Two upgrade paths, Just the Graphics card or the whole system.

If just the graphics card needs to be upgraded then I was thinking of the R9 280 or the R9 290 or any other suggestions. (AMD or NVidia)

If it was the whole system I was thinking about I need advice..... (AMD or Intel)

Kind Regards,

Andrew

[worf105]

I would like your opinion on the following for a possible upgrade:

GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) ATX Motherboard
AMD (Piledriver) FX-8370 4.00GHz (4.30GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 8-Core Processor
Corsair Vengeance Pro Silver 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit
Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X OC 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Thanks,

Andrew

[dmdilks]

Just make sure you get the right version board that will support all the CPU. Some of the version of that board doesn't support all CPU.

Down the road if you want to upgrade the CPU to FX 9370 or FX 9590 you need the version 4.0 board. The CPU you want will run on all the version boards.

Plus make sure who you are getting it from. That version board has the latest bios update to support that FX 8370 too.

[worf105]

Thanks dmdilks

I will be getting the components from aria and they have said the motherboard is version 4.0

the AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core FX-9370 Black Edition 4.40GHz (4.70GHz Turbo) (Socket AM3+) Processor is on a good price at the moment, should I go for this one?

so my new system would be as follows:

AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core FX-9370 Black Edition 4.40GHz (4.70GHz Turbo) (Socket AM3+) Processor
GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) ATX Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance Pro Silver 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (CMY16GX3M2A1866C9)
Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X OC 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Samsung 840 SSD 256GB Drive + 2 SATA Drives
Corsair TX850W Power S

OR

Intel Core i5-4690K 3.50GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor
Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
16GB Mushkin Enhanced BlackLine Frostbyte #997069 (2x8GB) 1600 (PC3-12800) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM CAS 9-9-9-24 1.5V
Palit GeForce GTX970 4GB (Maxwell) Nvidia PCI Express Graphics Card
Samsung 840 SSD 256GB Drive + 2 SATA Drives
Corsair TX850W Power S

Thanks,

Andtrew

[dmdilks]

The only difference between the two is really price. The Intel will be higher in price. On the CPU's make sure you get nice cooler for them.

What ever you one want to buy. They are both going to do the job that you want to do. I myself I like Intel. I do have a AMD machine with that FX 9370 CPU too.

[worf105]

Hi dmdilks,

Ive just ordered the following:

GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) ATX Motherboard
AMD (Piledriver) FX-8370 4.00GHz (4.30GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 8-Core Processor
Corsair Vengeance Pro Silver 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit
Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X OC 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

As you say, get a nice cooler for the CPU.  I did for my current system but I read that the stock coolers that come with the retail box AMD CPU now are OK.  Will track the temps with the stock cooler and if needed buy a after market one.

Thanks again for your help,

Take care,

Andrew