1. #1
    The Patient Solemnity's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Lightning Capital
    Posts
    275

    GPU or CPU Upgrade

    Price is not so important but I can only upgrade one thing before Legion. GPU or a new i5 (+ motherboard if there's a socket change). I have a 21:9 main monitor with AMD FreeSync, so I'm mainly looking for an AMD GPU.


    • What is the bigger bottleneck here? The i5 is overclocked to 4.5 GHz, GPU lost the silicon lottery and doesn't OC.
    • What will get me 100 FPS or more at the new Legion ultra open world?

    CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($290.23 @ Amazon)
    CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($114.88 @ OutletPC)
    Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
    Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($64.88 @ OutletPC)
    Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
    Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($82.74 @ Amazon)
    Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card
    Case: NZXT H440 (Matte Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Directron)
    Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($179.98 @ OutletPC)
    Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($129.95 @ B&H)
    Monitor: Asus VX238H 23.0" Monitor ($129.99 @ Micro Center)
    Monitor: LG 34UM67 34.0" 60Hz Monitor ($486.97 @ Amazon)
    Keyboard: Das Keyboard 4C Professional Wired Standard Keyboard ($124.99 @ B&H)
    Mouse: Logitech G502 Wired Optical Mouse ($96.99 @ Amazon)
    Speakers: Audioengine A5+ Black 100W 2ch Speakers ($399.00 @ Amazon)
    Total: $2200.59
    Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
    Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-26 20:22 EDT-0400

  2. #2
    Bloodsail Admiral sharpy's Avatar
    15+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Somewhere i call home.
    Posts
    1,233
    Gpu your cpu is fine still imo.

  3. #3
    The Patient Solemnity's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Lightning Capital
    Posts
    275
    Quote Originally Posted by Vegas82 View Post
    .1 more ghz likely won't make a big difference. Go with a new GPU.
    Quote Originally Posted by sharpy View Post
    Gpu your cpu is fine still imo.
    So not a big gain on the CPU. Should I wait and see how the 480 works out?

  4. #4
    The Lightbringer MrPaladinGuy's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Wherever the pizza is
    Posts
    3,277
    If that's stable at 4.5 you have literally no reason to upgrade the CPU, and frankly even if it was at stock there really isn't much of a reason to.

    Intel's best Skylake proc is still basically a 2500k with the generic 4.5 OC, though DDR4 3200+ and above can give massive performance gains when there's a severe CPU bottleneck.

    But that's a moot point, just upgrade the GPU since you want it before Legion launches and can't wait for AMD to compete with the GTX 1080
    10850k (10c 20t) @ all-core 5GHz @ 1.250v | EVGA 3080 FTW3 Ultra Gaming | 32GB DDR4 3200 | 1TB M.2 OS/Game SSD | 4TB 7200RPM Game HDD | 10TB 7200 RPM Storage HDD | ViewSonic XG2703-GS - 27" IPS 1440p 165Hz Native G-Sync | HP Reverb G2 VR Headset

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by MrPaladinGuy View Post
    If that's stable at 4.5 you have literally no reason to upgrade the CPU, and frankly even if it was at stock there really isn't much of a reason to.

    Intel's best Skylake proc is still basically a 2500k with the generic 4.5 OC, though DDR4 3200+ and above can give massive performance gains when there's a severe CPU bottleneck.

    But that's a moot point, just upgrade the GPU since you want it before Legion launches and can't wait for AMD to compete with the GTX 1080
    An RX 480 will do just fine in WoW I can currently run on ultra(Not 10) in legion with a 970. The RX 480 will be better or equal to the perfomance of a 980 for 200$ based on everything we know. Mind you can't run AA at a stable 60+ fps depending on where you are.

    The difference between a 3570k and a 6600k will be nearly impossible to tell for normal gaming uses. If you are streaming/multitasking/video editing or any other heavily CPU bound task the difference will definitely be there. But in the case you are doing anything I just listed it would be better to go with a 6700k. I'm rarely going past 40-50% cpu useage in WoW while multitasking tho so there's that.

    But yes, you should wait for the RX 480 being that it comes out in 3 days I believe.

  6. #6
    Blizzard games really have an nvidia preference, if WoW is your main game i highly suggest waiting to see what card nvidia brings out as a competitor to the 480. That being said WoW isnt very demanding on graphics card, surely a 7970 should be able to maintain 60 fps in most spots (of course barring the scenarios where that is impossible due to the nature of dx11 and draw calls).

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Fascinate View Post
    Blizzard games really have an nvidia preference, if WoW is your main game i highly suggest waiting to see what card nvidia brings out as a competitor to the 480. That being said WoW isnt very demanding on graphics card, surely a 7970 should be able to maintain 60 fps in most spots (of course barring the scenarios where that is impossible due to the nature of dx11 and draw calls).
    An RX 480 will run WoW perfectly fine. AMD cards are at a slight disadvantage but not enough of one to NOT buy a RX 480 over a 970.

  8. #8
    The Patient Solemnity's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Lightning Capital
    Posts
    275
    Quote Originally Posted by Mythbredor View Post
    An RX 480 will do just fine in WoW I can currently run on ultra(Not 10) in legion with a 970. The RX 480 will be better or equal to the perfomance of a 980 for 200$ based on everything we know. Mind you can't run AA at a stable 60+ fps depending on where you are.

    The difference between a 3570k and a 6600k will be nearly impossible to tell for normal gaming uses. If you are streaming/multitasking/video editing or any other heavily CPU bound task the difference will definitely be there. But in the case you are doing anything I just listed it would be better to go with a 6700k. I'm rarely going past 40-50% cpu useage in WoW while multitasking tho so there's that.

    But yes, you should wait for the RX 480 being that it comes out in 3 days I believe.
    What kind of FPS do you get with a 970 at ultra 10 in Legion, for mental comparison?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fascinate View Post
    Blizzard games really have an nvidia preference, if WoW is your main game i highly suggest waiting to see what card nvidia brings out as a competitor to the 480. That being said WoW isnt very demanding on graphics card, surely a 7970 should be able to maintain 60 fps in most spots (of course barring the scenarios where that is impossible due to the nature of dx11 and draw calls).
    I made a dumb move and got a FreeSync monitor and I would rather not waste the capability by switching to Nvidia, though I would probably like them better. My 7970 meets my monitors 75 FPS (open world) at slightly above high settings and a little AA. I'm mostly looking at a new card to maintain 75+ while enjoying at least some of the higher ultra settings.

  9. #9
    I sit at around 74 max 68 minimum with nothing interesting on screen going on. I disabled AA and render scale was set to 100%

    However I am using a 6700k which is pulling it's weight in gold.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •