Video Card upgrade for Phenom II X4

[ZippyDan]

I have a desktop with the following:

AMD Phenom II X4 955
AMD Radeon HD 5700
Crucial M500 SSD
24GB DDR3 Memory

It works fine for me for my work-related tasks. I play games like Civ5 just fine.

I'm thinking of upgrading the video card: what would be a worthwhile upgrade for this machine? Or will the CPU be too much of a bottleneck?

 

[Elixer]

Not sure why you want to upgrade, since, as you said, the games you like play just fine.

I would keep it as long as it meets your needs, and then, get something new when the time comes that you need a better card. Maybe with the Zen CPU

 

[ZippyDan]

OK, say I want to dabble with current games

 

[Elixer]

Depends on the games.
You can get a 290X, but, you would be CPU limited in some games.

 

[ZippyDan]

Depends on the games.
You can get a 290X, but, you would be CPU limited in some games.

Ya, so I'm kind of looking for that sweet spot where

1. The CPU and GPU are well-matched
2. I'm not spending too much on an older machine

 

[.vodka]

Back when I had a 6850 @ 6870 clocks and my trusty E7300 @ 3.6 GHz (450*8, RAM 1:1), I thought I didn't have enough video card grunt for games like the assassins' creed of the time (was it brotherhood or revelations?, sure it was before AC3, memory is fuzzy right now). I regretted not buying the 6950 back then, seeing 30-40 FPS at most and a not very enjoyable experience.

Around that time I upgraded to my 2500k as I have it right now, and even at stock , suddenly the very same game with the very same 6850 ran at >60 FPS maxed out. And it continued playing every game up to last November when I upgraded to a 290, since the newer games from the PS4/XB1 generation proved too much for the little 6850. 4 nice years!


Considering the PII was quite similar to Core 2 in clock per clock comparisons and you have 4 cores in constrast to my experience with a dual core system, I'd say you could get a better graphics card but something like a 270x or 285 could be in the upper levels of what your system can handle. Cheap cards, thankfully. Still, having cards like aftermarket 290s on sale all the time (200-250 USD) that crush these two I've mentioned, they're not too tempting. You could get a powerful card and later upgrade the rest of your rig to follow suit, provided your PSU can handle the upgrade.

If you like nV, well, the 960 isn't a compelling buy in price/performance, the 970's future is dubious with its bizarre memory configuration, and the 980 is an overpriced piece of crap considering the 980TI completely destroys its for a little more, but then you're spending USD 650. Quite a stretch from a decent 290, and this card requires at least a highly clocked i5 to put it to good use. Not cheap.


By all means if you upgrade your card overclock that 955 (a BE, easy multiplier OC) to maximize your investment.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Grab something like a 280, 960, or whatever AMD's refresh will be.

 

[happy medium]

Grab something like a 280, 960, or whatever AMD's refresh will be.

I agree, but only if your overclocking your cpu, if not, mabe a 270 or gtx750ti.

 

[daveybrat]

I would say that an AMD 280 or Nvidia GTX 960 card would be a huge upgrade from what you have now without your cpu being too much of a bottleneck.

 

[happy medium]

I would say that an AMD 280 or Nvidia GTX 960 card would be a huge upgrade from what you have now without your cpu being too much of a bottleneck.

no if hes not overclocking it will be a large bottleneck.

His cpu runs at 3.2 which is like my q9550 @ 2.9 and believe me my cpu @ 2.9 would not push a 280 or gtx960.

If he can get that baby up at 3.9 or so , then mabe it would be worth it.

Hes running a 5770 even a gtx750ti is 2x faster at least.

 

[Captante]

I'd go with the best price you can find on a 290 or 290x.

Will the cpu be a huge bottleneck?

No doubt about it, but you'll also see a huge performance bump and will have a card worthy of holding onto for a few years vs 270x/280 which while still decent are much closer to EOL.


Edit: Option B is to snag a used 7950/70 or GTX-670/760/680 from FS/FT. If you find the right deal you should be able to get a nice card for around $100.

 

[el etro]

R9 285 or Nvidia GTX 960.

 

[Stuka87]

Going off personal experience with a 965BE, a 7950 is just about the highest end you want to go. There was a lot of games that the GPU would not run full out because the CPU was pegged, and that was with the CPU at 4GHz.

But it did allow me to run MUCH higher quality settings than I was able to with the HD5750 that I had before it.

If you cannot find an HD7950, then go for an R9 285.

 

[happy medium]

Going off personal experience with a 965BE, a 7950 is just about the highest end you want to go. There was a lot of games that the GPU would not run full out because the CPU was pegged, and that was with the CPU at 4GHz.

But it did allow me to run MUCH higher quality settings than I was able to with the HD5750 that I had before it.

If you cannot find an HD7950, then go for an R9 285.

So your saying that with your cpu @ 4.0 with a lot of games you were bottlenecked but then in the same sentence you tell a guy with a cpu @ 3.2 to buy the same gpu or a faster one.

ANd its well known that Nvidia gpu's play better with slower cpu's, that should also be a consideration.

 

[B-Riz]

I would say get a used 7970 / 7970 Ghz / R9 280x.

Will work well with what you have and can be carried to the next CPU / mobo / RAM upgrade.

 

[bbhaag]

I have my 965 OC'ed to 3.7 and I've got it paired with a GTX560 Ti 2gb. I must say it works pretty good. The most demanding game I play is Star Citizen which isn't really a game yet but it's pretty demanding. Anyway it runs it pretty good on medium settings with a 1920x1200 res.

I picked it up for $60 in FS/FT forum. Might be worth looking into if ya don't mind going used.

EDIT:I should have mentioned that I also run an M500 with 8gb of ddr3 ram.

 

[Headfoot]

I would say get a used 7970 / 7970 Ghz / R9 280x.

Will work well with what you have and can be carried to the next CPU / mobo / RAM upgrade.

This. Used 280 / 7950 Boost / 7970 / 280x can be found for $100-140 depending on model.

Totally worth it and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than a 560 Ti. I have no idea why people keep recommending old midrange Fermi cards...

 

[sm625]

I would go no higher than a used 7950.

 

[Leyawiin]

I have an X4 980 BE stored away right now. I've tested it over the years with a GTX 670, HD 7950, HD 7850, GTX 660 and GTX 750 Ti. The GTX 670 was tiny bit better than the HD 7950 and a lot better than the three lower midrange cards. This was @ 4.1 Ghz or the stock 3.7 Ghz. I put those same cards in my i5 4690k main PC and every one showed a pretty sizable jump in performance (even the GTX 750 Ti). Basically, almost anything you put in it will be bottlenecked somewhat and I definitely wouldn't go higher than a GTX 960. Plus you really should try to get it up to about 3.8 Ghz if you can.

 

[myocardia]

I have a desktop with the following:

AMD Phenom II X4 955
AMD Radeon HD 5700
Crucial M500 SSD
24GB DDR3 Memory

I'm assuming this is a pre-built from Dell or HP, or the like, since you made no mention of a motherboard. If so, which exact model number is it? If it isn't, what motherboard do you have, and more importantly, which exact model of power supply?

 

[rancherlee]

If he has a 5770 he can run a 7850, that's the jump I made with my 3.7ghz PII and more than doubled the frame rate in games. I jumped to a 7950 and the Phenom II held that card back noticeably. 7850 was/is a single plug card.

 

[happy medium]

If he has a 5770 he can run a 7850, that's the jump I made with my 3.7ghz PII and more than doubled the frame rate in games. I jumped to a 7950 and the Phenom II held that card back noticeably. 7850 was/is a single plug card.

I was trying to tell these guys..................

Your absolutely correct.

 

[Blitzvogel]

If he has a 5770 he can run a 7850, that's the jump I made with my 3.7ghz PII and more than doubled the frame rate in games. I jumped to a 7950 and the Phenom II held that card back noticeably. 7850 was/is a single plug card.

I agree with this. Before I built my current i5 system (just last January), I was still rocking a Phenom II x4, and I moved up from a 5850 to this current R9 270 (in December). The Phenom II despite being a bottleneck for some newer titles in some instances, still performs decently for it's age and like someone said earlier, a new card can be transplanted into a new build when you're willing to make the jump.

 

[rcarlos243]

I would say get a used 7970 / 7970 Ghz / R9 280x.

Will work well with what you have and can be carried to the next CPU / mobo / RAM upgrade.

this especially that they can be have for about $100 or less on ebay.

 

[Headfoot]

Check your PSU before you get any card here too. If it can handle a 7950, get a used 7950. They are very reasonably priced used.