Should I upgrade?

ban-chan

Hey folks,

I'm looking at upgrading my computer for the upcoming games, and it also feels like it's getting old. It's atleast almost 2 years old, and I just want to see if it's just me getting the upgrade bug, or would it be worth it, and if so what should I upgrade? Thanks.

PC:
Processor: AMD FX8350
Memory: 16gb DDR
Mobo: ASROCK 990fx Extreme4 AMD
Graphics: AMD Radeon r9 280x
Pwr Sup: Not sure of brand 1000w
HD: Samsung 120gb SSD
2 TB HD
2 500 GB external HDs.

Thanks for the input.

Ridelynn

Computer looks fairly capable.

Sure, you can build faster today, but if your still gaming on 1080p you won't see much improvement.

Is there a game your playing where it isn't performing up to your standards?

eye_m

I think that every person who wonders if they should upgrade because their system is two years old, should upgrade and probably upgrade the whole system. I would also recommend donating your old system to one of the various children's charities or a halfway house, etc.

rojoArcueid

I have never used AMD processors or motherboards so i dont know the ones you posted, but an R9 280x seems too old to buy at this point. I was considering the R9 380x but it looks like it doesnt even run The Witcher 3 at higher than 30 FPS on max so thats a waste of money IMO. IM not going to pay for an overpriced PC to run games at 30FPS when a cheaper console does just that.

Like other -more knowledgeable posters- have said in many threads, if you are going to cut costs, dont sacrifice the video card, sacrifice something else. You can save some money and just get 8GB of RAM and get a faster RAM instead. Add the savings towards a better video cacrd.

ColeDaniels

Based on the specs you've listed I'd say no, you won't get much extra performance out of current hardware without spending a ridiculous amount of money to do it.  Wait until Q4 and AMD should have their new architectures available for both their CPU's and their GPU's, maybe it will be worth upgrading then.  If I'm not mistaken, Intel is not slated to have another new architecture ready until Q3 2017.  Intel's current line is good but, I don't personally consider it good enough to spend the money necessary to replace a current gen AMD system with top shelf Intel parts.  If you've absolutely got to upgrade now, I'd say get a 9000 series FX CPU and a R9 390 or better GPU but keep the rest the same until the new stuff comes out.

Tamanous

You would have to list the games you wish to play. You provide no benchmark to comment on so suggestions are meaningless.

If that hardware is just 2 years old and you think it won't perform then you had better be suggesting you plan on playing extreme top end games as high resolution. I use my 40" LED tv in my den for game play so only care about 1080p (I'm not really much of a gamer mind you ... I read more than play). My pc is intel/nvidia based and 4 years old and if I bought a new video card I could still play every single new game at 1080p with no issue. I still plan on using my pc for 2 more years.

Velocinox

I had a buddy that upgraded from a 200 series to a 950 and was able to play F4 at max, but other than that we're in a period where desktop performance upgrades are coming a bit slower than we're used to.

It's no longer every two years. In the last few years the upgrade term has increased from two years to about four. Desktops stay capable for longer then they used to. There's even current discussion as to if Moore's law is still applicable.

But then upgrading is fun, and if you have the money and you don't care about savings because you're never going to get old or retire, build a new machine and pretend it's years ahead of the old one.

Quizzical

Don't upgrade just for the sake of upgrading, especially from a system that isn't that old.  Wait until you run into some situation where you need more performance, and then upgrade--at that point, knowing specifically what you need to upgrade, rather than just getting something vaguely better on paper.

ban-chan

Thank you for all the replies. I was thinking of upgrading so that I would be able to game on all the new games like Division, F4, even witcher 3 at max. But I think I'll take the advise of just waiting it out. I don't own a console, and haven't in years, but have been thinking of picking up a PS4 to play some of the exclusives. May just do that until my PC really gets taxed.

Thanks again.

Quizzical

ban-chan said:

Thank you for all the replies. I was thinking of upgrading so that I would be able to game on all the new games like Division, F4, even witcher 3 at max. But I think I'll take the advise of just waiting it out. I don't own a console, and haven't in years, but have been thinking of picking up a PS4 to play some of the exclusives. May just do that until my PC really gets taxed.

Thanks again.

Don't upgrade over the vague prospect of a future game. Wait for the game to launch, try it out on your current system, and see how it does. You might find that the game runs great on the rig you have now. And if it chokes, then you know what you need to upgrade. Sometimes a computer that may seem like it could use an upgrade can last a few years beyond what you were expecting before you hit real problems. If that happens, then by the time you do upgrade, you get something massively better than you'd have gotten if you upgraded too soon.

breadm1x

System look's fine middle of the road to me.
Should be fine in 1080p

If your an AMD fan then wait till the end of 2016 AMD will release new CPU's
Until then decide of your 7970 (r9 280x)  is still fast enough.
I would guess that's the first upgrade.

Look for a 970 or a nice cheap 780ti or score a r9 290x (r9 390x with 4gb mem)
Should be around the 300,- mark.

AMD's Fury Nano has gone down in prize but itls still at about 499,-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131679&cm_re=Radeon_R9_Nano-_-14-131-679-_-Product

Cleffy

I have a similar system. Except I run 2 ssds and a step up in cpu and gpu. I am planning an upgrade late 2016 to an AM4 system. If you want to upgrade now, I recommend peripherals. What's the point of a good computer on a 22" monitor and cheap membrane keyboard?

GladDog

Your machine is fine.  You don't need anything more for this generation of games.  Ignore the upgrade bug!  Spend that money on a $500-600 gamer laptop so you can get into your games wherever you are... In about 2 years, a desktop upgrade may be a good option and that laptop will still be an adequate traveling gamer machine!