Is it time to upgrade yet? Please help! AMD!

[streetranger]

I have three semesters left before I graduate and my computer is mainly used for School, as well as playing Warcraft, Diablo III, Neverwinter, etc...

My main goal is to increase my FPS with these upgrades. I had my system built at Fry's in September 2011. When I first purchased this system I could hit over 218 FPS with Vertical Sync turned off in non populated areas in Warcraft, but now I can just barely get to 100 FPS in those same areas. I purchased the system knowing I wanted to upgrade it at least once before I rebuild completely and was wanting to get some opinions on rather or not now is the time.

System Specs:

AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 3.4, OC'D to 4.0. Air Cooled.

8GB DDR3 1333 MHZ SECTOR 5 GAMER MEMORY

ASUS M5A97 Motherboard

Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 800W Powersupply 120mm silent fan

XFX HD 6970 2GB DDR5 Video Card HD-697A-CNDC

Thermal Take Frio CPU Cooler Dual 120 MM Fans.

Corsair Carbine 400R Mid Tower Case

Aerocool Touch 2000 Black LCD Fan Controller

Two Additional Silent 120mm Fans installed on the top of the Case, and two more on the front of the case.

Finally a cheap non blu-ray cd/dvr.

Other than being loud, this is by a mile the best desktop I have ever owned, and has literally given me no trouble at all. (Knock on Wood). I think a 2gb video card is still pretty good and it has a lifetime warranty on it I believe, so I want to keep that, but was thinking of upgrading to 16 gb of memory and the FX-8350 processor, and was wondering if you guys have any idea of what type of FPS increase I would see from this.

I remember that the 1100 T is an End of Line processor and wanted to know if something is coming after the FX-8350 that would be worth waiting for, that would still fit in my motherboard. Finally I was wondering how hard it would be to do this myself. Fry's built my system for me, but I would give this a try if it isn't too difficult.

Any advice on rather or not this is the time to upgrade, or if you see any conflicts with upgrading only the memory and processor would cause is much appreciated.

Best Regards!
Streetranger

 

[Theocnoob]

so I want to keep that, but was thinking of upgrading to 16 gb of memory and the FX-8350 processor, and was wondering if you guys have any idea of what type of FPS increase I would see from this.

None. Not in the applications you're running.

 

[ThorV2]

I would say yes or no. You could keep the cpu and upgrade gpu or upgrade cpu only. I would pick up some Crucial Ballistix Low Profile ram at 1600 because they oc great and an FX 6300.... No need for a 8350 the 6300 is great. Also you could get a new mobo to...

 

[Theocnoob]

I would say yes or no. You could keep the cpu and upgrade gpu or upgrade cpu only. I would pick up some Crucial Ballistix Low Profile ram at 1600 because they oc great and an FX 6300.... No need for a 8350 the 6300 is great. Also you could get a new mobo to...

None of that is going to increase this guy's FPS in the games he's playing.

 

[streetranger]

Thanks for the responses guys. I am open to whatever and posted this thread on several forums to see what type of responses I get. It seems as if no one likes the ram I have, so I will probably replace that for sure. I am kind of surprised that most think I should get a new video card instead of a processor. What motherboard do you suggest?

 

[peanutbudder]

The 1100T is still a great cpu and correct me if I'm wrong but I think it outperforms 8xxx fx series cpus in gaming. I would upgrade the ram to at least 1600mhz and 2133 if you want to go that route but memory prices are pretty high. If I were you I would grab a 7970 ghz edition best performance/ cost ratio and some new ram and call that a day. You might even be able to sell the 6950 to cover some of the cost for a newer gpu.

 

[streetranger]

What brand of memory is considered the best for gaming? I would also be willing the sell the 6970. I have over 10 years and 100 percent feedback on ebay, so I could sell it there easily. There is nothing wrong with it at all, I will check and see what I can get for it!

 

[peanutbudder]

I have always used Corsair memory for my pc's because I believe they have great quality control. I loved my dominators they were heavy, black pcb, and had a great heatsink (not that they really need them.) It boils down to how much are you willing to spend and although you like 16gb it's not really needed for gaming purposes. A 8gb kit should be just fine for 90% of games/applications on the market.

Edit:

I love these and are hoping to get a set next month.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233183

 

[Ajay57]

I think 16 GB is not really needed and also make sure if you do decide to buy, it has to be compatible with AMD etc. The only other thing i would humbly say is up grade your GPU card to about 3 GB of GDDR5. Which could help you with certain games that need that amount of Ram. AJ.

1, http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=718118

This study by one of our members will give you a rough idea!

 

[Knufire]

2GB of vRAM is fine for single monitor game.

IMO the build is still fairly well balanced and pretty powerful..if you're hitting 100FPS in your situations, I'd wait to upgrade. Memory upgrade won't really affect gaming performance at all.