How far ahead of the game is the i5 3570k?

[Rennn]

 

upgrading CPUs only leads to a few fps increase.

 

I bought a Intel Q8200 back in 2008 and it lasted me for sometime UP UNTIL all the games started to be ported from console to PC, recently bought a new motherboard, 2x4gb of ram and an Intel i7-4770K stock clock setting.... difference in Skyrim and other games was AMAZING

 

 

Well, that's your problem. The Q8200 is below average on every level. Virtually anything would be an improvement over that. Dubnoman's i5 is a different story altogether, and won't be a significant drain on performance.

Edited July 28, 2013 by Rennn

[Dubnoman]

Thanks again, guys. I know my i5 is great and that i7s are overkill for PC gaming. I wasn't actually ever considering replacing my i5 with an i7. In fact, by the time I want a better CPU, I'll be getting a new motherboard for a newer CPU type and that won't be for quite some time. I just wanted to know how good my CPU should be in the not-too-distant future, and you guys say it'll still be great in that time frame.

 

My motherboard has two PCIe 3.0 slots and allows crossfire. So we don't need to get in depth on what it takes to crossfire two cards, I'd just like to know, if I was going to take my GPU and add a second one to crossfire with, I'd want the exact same card, right? I know the brand and model number of my Radeon HD 7950 and it is on sale on newegg.

 

This is anyone's guess, but if I took two 3 GB Radeon HD 7950 cards and crossfired them, should I expect their performance to be about the same as a 6 GB GPU released in 2014 (something pretty high end, like $350 to $400). Vindekarr indicates this would be the case.

 

Vindekarr, you say you have dual 7870s. Those are very good AMD cards. How well do they compare to 7950s? About the same, right, but which are better?

Edited July 29, 2013 by Dubnoman

[hoofhearted4]

7950s are a step up from 7870s. they are what i have, and eventually ill get two for xfire.

 

also a 6GB card would probably be closer to $1000+. 6GB VRAM is only seen on flagship GPUs. when Crossfiring (or SLIing in the case of nvidia) the VRAM doesnt add. two cards with 3gb VRAM still gives you only 3gb. the cards can just share the data and make it faster. the horsepower you get though its added together (for lack of a better term)

[Vindekarr]

The 7870 is a slightly older card than yours and occupied a similar market niche, the 7950 is essentially just a newer model. The 7950 has slightly better cooling, power, speed and is a little bit smaller, so it's definitely better. I mentioned the 7870 because, while it's not as good, it does make a perfect card for Crossfire because you can get several for extremely low prices.

[JimboUK]

The RAM is going to be the important thing, the new consoles have 8GB of it, you really want to treat 8GB as the minimum.

[Dubnoman]

Hmm. So when the PS4 and XBO launch and developers start making games for PS4, XBO, and PC in 2014, I think I'll upgrade my PC. We are already starting to see this with games like The Witcher 3 and Titanfall. Let us say The Witcher 3 releases in Q4 2014 and I go to upgrade my GPU shortly before the game's release. By that time, there will be new lines of AMD and Nvidia cards, and spending $400 will probably get you a GPU with 4 GB and possibly you could get some cards with 5 GB at that price (just guessing). I'm figuring it could be like that by, say, September 2014.

 

So Crossfire will really make a difference, but won't increase the VRAM. Let us say in Q3 2014 I could get a really good GPU with more RAM at a price that isn't too much (let us say $400, give or take a bit, is the limit). Should I go with crossfiring two of the type of card I have now, or get a GPU from a new Geforce or Radeon line that has more VRAM? Would your advice depend on whether, with all the things I mentioned, it was either 4 GB or 5 GB of VRAM on the card?

 

 

The RAM is going to be the important thing, the new consoles have 8GB of it, you really want to treat 8GB as the minimum.

 

I'm thinking 16 GB of RAM in a PC will start to be relevant for gaming once the next gen gains momentum. I heard a rumor that The Witcher 3 will utilize 8 GB of RAM for systems that have enough RAM (so the computer would need 12 GB or 16 GB in order for this to work with them). I think once I see devs start announcing that their upcoming AAA games for PC will utilize 8 GB of RAM for higher end systems, I'll throw in a 8 GB stick of RAM.

Edited July 29, 2013 by Dubnoman

[Vindekarr]

Well, I'd prioritise a high-end RAM kit and then add another 7950(which will be even cheaper by then) in crossfire as a sort of afterthought, but that's just me.

Edited July 29, 2013 by Vindekarr

[Dubnoman]

Well, I'd prioritise a high-end RAM kit and then add another 7950(which will be even cheaper by then) in crossfire as a sort of afterthought, but that's just me.

 

Thanks for your continued input. As you can see I'm trying to gauge what type of upgrade would be smartest in about a year from now via input from people who have more insight on these things.

 

So the extra VRAM (higher than 3 GB) won't be too important for the first few years of next gen? If I did this upgrade in 2014 and just did system RAM upgrade and crossfired Radeons, I'd be fine with 3 GB VRAM in the next two years to follow?

 

System RAM on PCs can't pick up some of the load for VRAM on GPUs, right? You only see that on machines specifically made with a unified memory configuration?

Edited July 29, 2013 by Dubnoman

[Vindekarr]

AT this stage, 3GB VRAM should be just fine, it's a lot more than the Consoles have, and console power dictates PC game system reqs. As for RAM, you'll need at minimum 8GB, preferably 10-12GB. A good cheap option would be a 16GB G-Skill RAM set and an extra 7950, because RAM is cheap and between those two upgrades, you should have absolutely no problems running anything at it's best for quite a few years; it's a LOT more power than the next gen consoles, so you'll have a very comfortable buffer for the next few years.

[hoofhearted4]

i still doubt youll see 8gb being used anytime soon in gaming. 8gb will be more then enough for a while. at least untill ddr4 comes out i bet.