PC Upgrade opinions

[SHimmer45]

I have a rather oldish AM3 973 2.8Ghz x4 based system (16GB RAM HD6870 SSD etc) which is use for playing a couple of blizzard titles & video & recently upgraded to 8.1 ent so i can use hyper-v on it (hence quite alot of RAM)

however driver support is getting a little flakey, so thinking of changing it.

budget is rather limited so was thinking along the lines of an AMD FM2+ quad core system which i assume should give me better performance?

would the newer APU's be better than the HD6800 card i have installed

 

like to have more cores than relying on hyper-threading but i imagine things have moved on quite a bit in terms of performance

 

(be a long time since i purchased any new hardware for myself )

Edited March 3, 2016 by SHimmer45

[3s-gtech]

Better performance - probabaly a little, though it's dependent on what you're running. Depends on your actual CPU - if it's a Phenom, it will be a little quicker in some circumstances and much slower in others (to the equivalent APU). Your GPU will be far faster than any APU's integrated solution though.

 

An AM3+ system would be quicker again, but that's not a socket I'd endorse this year (wait for Zen!) The alternative would be an Intel setup, but obviously costs will far greater.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

How about a new (refurbished) box entirely?

 

I've got some HP Z420's here that are a fantastic price.

 

Xeon E5-1620 3.60GHz Quad core (PassMark - Intel Xeon E5-1620 @ 3.60GHz - Price performance comparison)

16GB DDR3 RAM

No HDD

No GFX

DVDRW

600W 90% Efficient PSU

2 Years Warranty

 

Just £375

 

You would be able to use your existing drives/graphics card and get a massive performance boost for relatively little outlay

[SHimmer45]

Better performance - probabaly a little, though it's dependent on what you're running. Depends on your actual CPU - if it's a Phenom, it will be a little quicker in some circumstances and much slower in others (to the equivalent APU). Your GPU will be far faster than any APU's integrated solution though.

 

An AM3+ system would be quicker again, but that's not a socket I'd endorse this year (wait for Zen!) The alternative would be an Intel setup, but obviously costs will far greater.

 

current cpu is a phenom II X4.

i had a feeling that the HD6870 is still better than an APU (however an non APU FM2 might be a solution)

so its likely i wouldnt really notice much difference in CPU tasks .

@ICTDirect_Dave that would be pushing things a little past my budget, however that would blow my current box into the weeds and then some.

and very likely that if i decide to wait i will perhaps go down this type of route.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

current cpu is a phenom II X4.

i had a feeling that the HD6870 is still better than an APU (however an non APU FM2 might be a solution)

so its likely i wouldnt really notice much difference in CPU tasks .

@ICTDirect_Dave that would be pushing things a little past my budget, however that would blow my current box into the weeds and then some.

and very likely that if i decide to wait i will perhaps go down this type of route.

 

 

No problem. If you want me to look at cheaper (but still awesome) options, drop me a PM with your budget. I'll see what I've got here

[3s-gtech]

(however an non APU FM2 might be a solution)

 

It's a budget option, sure.

 

Have a look at AMD Phenom II X4 920 vs Athlon X4 860K

UserBenchmark: AMD Athlon II X4 860K vs Phenom 920

 

There's a good upshot in performance for relatively little outlay, but it is an aging platform.

[SHimmer45]

a VERY again platform (AM3)

like to get my monies worth