[stevierayk]

My current build...
-ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870 6 x SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
-AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb Quad-Core 3.4 GHz Socket
-G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM

I want to upgrade this so I can play BF4...
-EVGA GeForce GTX 960 02G-P4-2966-KR 2GB SSC GAMING w/ACX 2.0+, Whisper Silent Cooling Graphics Card
-G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-2133C9D-8GXL

I run Window 7 64. I also have 650 wattt Corsair. I want to overclock my processor to 3.6 and upgrade my stock fan. Unit is well ventilated. PC part checkers says it will work...just want your thoughts regarding this. Is this a good idea? Thanks guys. I am novice but can do most of this stuff. Thanks for any input and suggestions.

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 stevierayk.

Good GPU upgrade and increase RAM quantity but consider,

A card with 4GB vRAM as more and more games are able to use more than 2GB, especially so if you plan to play at 1140 > http://www.gamersnex...enchmark-vs-2gb

For an extra $20 > http://www.newegg.co...ID=3938566&SID=

 

I would caution using the G.SKILL DDR3 2133, it has not been tested by G.Skill on your board, you may not be able to enable that speed, max is

RipjawsX1600MHz > http://www.gskill.co...ip=48&model=259

From Asus, On the MB QVL,

1. Due to CPU spec., AMD 100 and 200 series CPUs support up to DDR3 1066Mhz. With ASUS design, this motherboard can support up to DDR3 1333MHz.

2. When overclocking, some AMD CPU models may not support DDR3 1600 or higher frequency DIMMs. (means both enabling XMP or manual setting of timing).

> https://www.asus.com...O/HelpDesk_QVL/

 

 

 

 

[iammykyl]

 stevierayk.

Good GPU upgrade and increase RAM quantity but consider,

A card with 4GB vRAM as more and more games are able to use more than 2GB, especially so if you plan to play at 1140 > http://www.gamersnex...enchmark-vs-2gb

For an extra $20 > http://www.newegg.co...ID=3938566&SID=

 

I would caution using the G.SKILL DDR3 2133, it has not been tested by G.Skill on your board, you may not be able to enable that speed, max is

RipjawsX1600MHz > http://www.gskill.co...ip=48&model=259

From Asus, On the MB QVL,

1. Due to CPU spec., AMD 100 and 200 series CPUs support up to DDR3 1066Mhz. With ASUS design, this motherboard can support up to DDR3 1333MHz.

2. When overclocking, some AMD CPU models may not support DDR3 1600 or higher frequency DIMMs. (means both enabling XMP or manual setting of timing).

> https://www.asus.com...O/HelpDesk_QVL/

 

 

 

 

[stevierayk]

Thank you Iammykyl.  I will take your advise on the RAM and go with this...

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231402

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-8GBRH

 

 

In regards to the motherboard, I found a an ASUS R9 380($200-$30 rebate) and pcpartpicker.com says its compatible.  Seems like best buy for you buck(better benchmarks) but I talked to guy at ASUS and he said they "might" not be compatible due to the PCI Express being a 2.0 and ASUS R9 being a 3.0. Anymore thoughts....are they still compatible? I really don't want to upgrade my motherboard. It seems that they might be backwords compatible as long as they are PCI 16X...

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814121963

ASUS Radeon R9 380 STRIX-R9380-DC2OC-2GD5-GAMING 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Thanks again for any input.

Edited by stevierayk, 27 December 2015 - 09:25 AM.

[iammykyl]

Best Answer

Gday.

Your RAM selection is OK.

You are right, all PCI Express 3.0 cards are backwards completable with PCI Express 2.0.

Your linked Asus card is only 2GB vRAM and open air cooler, dumping most of the heat into the case.

If you prefer a R9 380, a better solutions, 4GB and higher clocked, > http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814202166