AMD A10- 7890K APU
When I built my current tower three years ago (an eternity in computer life), the AMD FM2+ socket was brand new and people were flocking to it. So I jumped on the bandwagon and decided to build a mid-range gaming tower using an AMD quad core processor at 3.4 GHz and 8 GB DDR3 RAM with a Gigabyte Geforce 750ti with 4GB DDR5 dedicated video memory. Now it's time to think about upgrading and I'm looking at the AMD A10-7890K processor. Looking at the specs, this processor requires DDR3 RAM at 2133 MHz, I have DDR3 1866 MHz RAM. So in order to replace my processor, I have to upgrade my RAM. The problem is that DDR3 is being replaced by DDR4 as the de-facto standard. Now I have a choice. Upgrade my RAM to 2400 MHz or higher (allowing for a little overclocking down the road) or move to DDR4 RAM. If I make the move to DDR4 RAM, I'm looking at a Ryzen processor ($$$) and a new motherboard ($$$) and DDR4 RAM ($$$). Basically, except for the video card and power supply, a complete system rebuild which is not within my budget at this time.
Sticking with a system running DDR3, I considered the AMD Athlon X4 880k pictured below:
AMD Athlon X4 880k CPU
It comes with a decent stock cooler, runs stock at 4.0 GHz (4.2 GHz turbo) which would suffice for now, and requires DDR3 2133 MHz minimum RAM. I have a dedicated video card so I don't need integrated video, but I'm still stuck with DDR3 RAM, which is increasing in price due to the availability of DDR4 RAM. My only choice is to go with DDR3 2400 MHz RAM, anything faster and the price is so high so I'd be better off with a new motherboard, and I save $90 vs the A10-7890K
The computer industry specializes in forced upgrades and who can blame them, it generates extra revenue. That being said, after 3 years I shouldn't be facing this dilemma already. With a 650 watt power supply and an Gigabyte Geforce 750ti 4 GB video card, I have enough to get by with this configuration, for now. However my next upgrade looks like a forced one to a processor and motherboard supporting DDR4 RAM!
Totally agree on the point that 3 years is an eternity in computer technology. Bought a i5 6400 in October which costed ~165 €. What do you get for 165€ now? An Ryzen 5 1400. Isnt that just crazy? Hyperthreading an a higher clocking speed (~2.7 on the i5 and at least 3.7 on the Ryzen).
I also agree that RAM prices are still hilarious (almost like the GPU market right now LMAO). I guess its the best for you if you just save up some money as long as you can stand the suffering from your PC :)
Sad part is if you went with Ryzen 5 1400, you're looking a new motherboard and ram too! I think I can buy myself 3 years with the AMD Athlon X4 880k and DDR3 2400 MHz RAM. Might throw in an SSD boot drive to make me feel better.
I am happy for you. I will follow you because I am a geek and I like to have news like this on the hardware. Good job
I have to say that the upgrade trap actually lessened quite a bit. I'm rocking an amd fx8350, r9 280x with 16gb ddr3 ram and I'm still able to play most games in medium to high settings. You're totally right with the prices though. I can get an 580x for the same price as my old 280x. Thought about crossfire but maybe i'll just upgrade to the 580x at the end of the year.
With star citizen 3.0 around the corner an upgrade is becoming mandatory soon...