Hardware Upgrade advices please!

[artur3004]

Hello everyone!

My friend is playing with the thought to upgrade his GPU, so he want to sell his 270x to me for 90€/100$, so i could use it in CrossfireX with my AMD Radeon HD 7870.
But then i need a new Mainboard because i haven't a second PCIe x16 port. Unfortunately my AMD Phenom II X6 1045T isn't the newest CPU, so changing to a new CPU maybe, for example a soocket 1150 CPU?
What i want to play GTA 5 in max graphics, if possible, that's my target.
My current PC
AMD Phenom II 1045T 2.7GHz
8GB DDR3 RAM
ASUS M4A88T-M/USB3 MB
AMD Radeon HD 7870
700W power supply

I thought about buying a i7-4770 and a CrossfireX compatible Mainboard, but what do you think? Any other suggestion?

 

[raystriker]

First, can the R270x and 7870 really crossfire?
I have no info about that.



You should get the i5 4690K instead, gaming performance between the 4770 and the 4690k isn't much, and by a little tweaking, performance on the i5 is better

or if you feel rich, get the i7 4790k
Accordingly get a new mobo, possibly a Z97 or H97

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

#I just checked, the r270x and the hd7870 can be hybrid crossfire'd but the performance gain won't be much.#
Edit: my source was inaccurate, the R270X is a rebadged HD7870, so if you match their clock speeds, you'll have a very decent performance gain.

 

[Originality]

There's no way the R270X and 7870 can CrossFire. IIRC, 7870 can only CrossFire with another 7870 or 7850 (not sure about that last part).

Since you've not mentioned budget, and your target is "max graphics"...
CPU: Core i5-4690K (for best value) or i7-4790K (if you insist on wasting money on a core i7)
Motherboard: <Insert your favourite brand Z97 motherboard here>
GPU: Two R9-280X or R9-290 in CrossFire. To MAX it out, it's very demanding from what I've read.
PSU: Make sure your 700W PSU is from a good brand, or it may not be able to take two graphics at once...

 

[raystriker]

Some guys made the HD7870 crossfire with the r270x o.O
Believe me, I was equally surprised.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

And yes @Originality , Crossfire can be done on cards of the same family, for eg. 7870 and the 7850

 

[Originality]

Colour me surprised. Got a source for that?

 

[raystriker]

http://www.legitreviews.com/amd-radeon-7000-radeon-r200-series-mixed-crossfire-testing_126124

Have a look at that.


http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=391612

It seems that this guy was able to do it...

 

[Kioku]

You guys really didn't know that? When the r series was announced, amd themselves even made the statement that it was possible.

I do agree about the i5 though. Got an i7-4790k.. Gaming wise there's no difference compared to my old i5-4670k.

290x crossfire or one gtx 980 ti.

 

[Originality]

I didn't know since my last AMD graphics card was the HD4870 (and X2).

 

[artur3004]

Well technically the 270x contains a Pitcairn chip, just like the 7870.
But what is better
A Intel i6 Haswell + new MB + my friend's 270x
or
just a new gpu for example 290x (or nvidia euivalent)
Is my current cpu ok enough for the future?

 

[raystriker]

You should atleast upgrade to an i5 with the R270x (crossfired with your HD7870).

The AMD Phenom II X6 1045 is seriously outdated. Even i3s beat it.

If you buy a R290X or equivalent, it would bottleneck and just be wasted on your current AMD.

 

[GreatCrippler]

I personally would not Crossfire the cards. And I must be in the minority here. If I am building an AMD system, I use an AMD video card. Any Intel system, I use Nvidia. Sheesh Hardly needed, I am just odd. i7 4770K and an Nvidia GTX 970 is where I would start, though I think Intel will have the 1153 boards out in the next month or so, so I might wait.

 

[raystriker]

I personally would not Crossfire the cards. And I must be in the minority here. If I am building an AMD system, I use an AMD video card. Any Intel system, I use Nvidia. Sheesh Hardly needed, I am just odd. i7 4770K and an Nvidia GTX 970 is where I would start, though I think Intel will have the 1153 boards out in the next month or so, so I might wait.

If you read this thread from the start, our friend already has a HD7870 and is getting a pretty cheap offer on the R9 270X. Crossfiring them might get them to the 970's level?

 

[artur3004]

Woah, are Phenom II X6 so bad nowdays?
What mainboard would fit to what i5 cpu if i choose the crossfirex way?
And my power supply has unfortunately only 1x pcie 6 pin and one with 8pin, is it okay to pull the power with adapters from other wires? (BTW i have 2x DVD burner, 2x SATA 3,5" HDD (7200rpm/5400rpm), 1x SSD and a ASUS Xonar DX in my pc installed)

 

[GreatCrippler]

If you read this thread from the start, our friend already has a HD7870 and is getting a pretty cheap offer on the R9 270X. Crossfiring them might get them to the 970's level?

Oh, I read it. I just don't think they will perform that well together. A pair of 270x falls short of the 970. I just think if he's going with a new build anyways, better off buying a single GPU to upgrade with.

 

[raystriker]

How much are you willing to spend? @artur3004

 

[artur3004]

Let's see, 450$/400€?

 

[raystriker]

Great, so get the i5 4690 (around $230 or something) and a good $120 mobo of your choice and the R9 270x from your friend.
So, 230+120+100=450.

Alternatively, you could go a cheaper mobo and get a good cpu cooler too.
Cheers!