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So right now running a Core 2Duo OC to 3.44ghz, 4gb ram, 1 TB HDD, 650 TB HDD, and a R7 200 series GPU which is midish grade, like a 250 i think.
Looking at getting a Mushkin ECO2 SSD or a R9 280X, what would be best for overall performance, mainly gaming? Guessing GPU, but wondering if my system is already bottlenecking my current card., dont say upgrade whole PC, already saving for a $1,500 pc.
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If it were me I would just chug along with what you have until you can buy the new PC.
You will see a little improvement with a new GPU. But more than likely you dont have the PSU to run a 280x in that system. There is a good chance that dropping something like a 280x in a system & PSU that old will damage the PC & GPU. Or else it just wont have the power to push that gpu.
Adding an SSD with your OS on it will improve boot & load times, so that is something you can do.
My advice is to leave the current PC as is and whole. Possible even sell it for a couple of hundred bucks when you get closer to being able to build a new PC.
Edit: You dont necessarily need $1500 for a new PC. A budget of around $1200-1300 will get you something very nice.
Just got a brand new 650w EVGA PSU, my pc is no chump, the GPU was a quick replacement
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For a CPU that old (not being rude either) I'd pick the SSD. Chances are very big that your CPU will be the bottleneck for a better GPU and thus you won't be able to enjoy the extra power the GPU should give. This while the SSD certainly will make a good impact on your loading times (and in a lot of MMOs performance and FPS as well).
Agreed
An SSD would be my choice in this situation. Even with the new PSU a GPU will be bottlenecked by the cpu.
Not being rude either. But adding a new PSU does not better that system in any way regarding performance or make it less "chumpish"
It just powers the old components you already have.
the plus side is you can salvage the new parts to put into your new PC when the time comes.
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It just needed a new PSU, was a good deal. I do know about PCs, just want peoples opinions. The new parts is exactly what I am doing, HDDs, PSU, Case etc all goin to next build, all are less then year old.
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My honest opinion..
Get the SSD now. You will see immediate gains when putting your OS and a game or two on there.
After that just use the PC as is until you can buy the new CPU / Mobo/ GPU ect. for the new system. The PC you have isnt bad and while you may not be rocking ultra settings you should be able to play what you want until a new system is built.
So just abandon the APU, MB wit DDR4 thats sitting empty of hdds and psu and just get a SSD
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Short answer: No
Long answer: Depending on which of the A8 processors you have, it's likely faster than you current Core 2 duo, but no matter which A8 you have they are all budged processors and can't be expected to keep up with R9 280X.
This changes things a bit... Now I'd say get the GPU and if possible an extra 4Gb and rock on!
Well guys, I made a bargain decision. Got this
http://www.asus.com/us/Graphics_Cards/R9270XDC2T2GD5/
For $150 USD
in a few months I will have a 97mainboard and unlocked i5 with 8gb, might buy another and crossfire or wait for a new AMD HBM card. Thank you all.
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I would have went with the SSD as well.
What APU has DDR4 support right now? None that I know of, only the X99 platform right now has DDR4 support.
What APU has 8 cores right now? None that I know of. The latest I know of is four core.
Maybe you have a FX8xxx or FX9xxx with DDR3... then it is a bit different discussion (but I still would have went with the SSD).
The upgrade from a R7 250-something to a R9 270X will be noticeable though. But that 270X isn't something you'll want to carry over to a $1,500ish new PC, whereas any size SSD would carry over easily - if not as boot drive then at least as supplemental fast storage.