Processor troubles (aka what should I get?)

[JcGross]

So for a while now I've wanted to upgrade from my Phenom II 955 BE processor. I wanted to go for an FX 8350 because my motherboard said that it supports the FX line, and that it has AM3+ socket. But now before I gave my order, I looked up the compatibility and a lot of people say that my motherboard, which is a Gigabyte 970A-D3 doesn't support 125W processors because of the lack of cooling on the vrm, until revision 3 (I don't know what rev I have, I don't have time to check right now, but I will).

 

This puts the whole thing into a new perspective. I wanted this particular processor because I though I didn't need a new mb with it. But if I have to get a new mb maybe it's worth going over to Intel. But I really don't know a lot about Intel stuff, what their new products are, what are good for gaming, etc. And it's always been my understanding that Intel is a lot more expensive. I don't know what I should do. What do you guys suggest? I don't really relish the idea that I have to dish out an extra ~80 bucks for a motherboard.

[ShadowCaptain]

SNIP

 

If your motherboard supports the 8350 - it seems like a cheap decent upgrade

 

if you have to get a new board and CPU - get an i5 and cheap board

[blu4]

If you want to make a jump like this in terms of CPU horsepower you might as well upgrade your motherboard. If you are satisfied with AMD, stick with AMD. Going over to Intel is going to cost you a bit more.

[shawn finkenstead]

So for a while now I've wanted to upgrade from my Phenom II 955 BE processor. I wanted to go for an FX 8350 because my motherboard said that it supports the FX line, and that it has AM3+ socket. But now before I gave my order, I looked up the compatibility and a lot of people say that my motherboard, which is a Gigabyte 970A-D3 doesn't support 125W processors because of the lack of cooling on the vrm, until revision 3 (I don't know what rev I have, I don't have time to check right now, but I will).

 

This puts the whole thing into a new perspective. I wanted this particular processor because I though I didn't need a new mb with it. But if I have to get a new mb maybe it's worth going over to Intel. But I really don't know a lot about Intel stuff, what their new products are, what are good for gaming, etc. And it's always been my understanding that Intel is a lot more expensive. I don't know what I should do. What do you guys suggest? I don't really relish the idea that I have to dish out an extra ~80 bucks for a motherboard.

Well what's your budget? The I5 4690k is a great cpu. But if you need something with hyper threading grab a I7 4770K or 4790K. The I7 cpus get pricey though.

[kronickiller]

what revision do u the one i had did support it, but i got rid of it because of anoying audio lag on the optical lol

[kronickiller]

best way to test prob just overclock ur be and look at ur vrm temps lol

its a 125w processor and if u bring it up to 4ghz u prob got ur answer lol

[Slayer1443]

Get i5 I'f u need to get a new mobo would be a lot better compared to 8350

[JcGross]

When I get home i'll do more reshearch, but please recommend specific models, because I find the Intel naming schemes and socets quite confusing. Don't just say i5

[Rooah]

If you really don't wanna spend much money and the only issue is the board needing more cooling then you could just pick up some simple copper heatsinks and stick 'em on the board you have now for about $15. I personally haven't done this before so if you wanna try you should do some research first.

[Marcosoft]

You can give it a try with the 8350 and your old motherboard and if it doesn't work, change your mobo too. CPU $179 Mobo $100+

If you are doing a lot of video editing/encoding, the eight cores will help a lot, if you are thinking about gaming I would pick a cheap H97 mobo and an i5-4440

H91/H97/B85 are the names of the chipsets the mobos come with (970/990fx would be the amd analog)

I5s have 4 cores but way more powerful than AMD's. Games benefit more from fewer (down to 4), more powerful cores.

If you are planing on overclocking, it gets a bit more expensive tho.

Then I would recommend a z97 mobo (MSI z97s Krait) with an i5-4690k. $335

You have to think then of an aftermarket cpu cooler, being the 212 Evo the best price to performance ratio at $35

[JcGross]

I'm back. I looked at my mobo, it turns out it's a..... drum roll please.... rev 1.1. So it looks like I'm going to need a new mobo either way. What I don't understand is that my current CPU is also labeled 125W. And rev 1.0/1.1 also has heatsink on the vrm, albeit not as beefy as on rev 3.0. I'm going to start looking at the benchmarks of some of the recommended CPUs and mobo prices.

 

 

You can give it a try with the 8350 and your old motherboard and if it doesn't work, change your mobo too. CPU $179 Mobo $100+

If you are doing a lot of video editing/encoding, the eight cores will help a lot, if you are thinking about gaming I would pick a cheap H97 mobo and an i5-4440

H91/H97/B85 are the names of the chipsets the mobos come with (970/990fx would be the amd analog)

I5s have 4 cores but way more powerful than AMD's. Games benefit more from fewer (down to 4), more powerful cores.

If you are planing on overclocking, it gets a bit more expensive tho.

Then I would recommend a z97 mobo (MSI z97s Krait) with an i5-4690k. $335

You have to think then of an aftermarket cpu cooler, being the 212 Evo the best price to performance ratio at $35

 

I already have a hyper TX3, but I need to change the fan because it's gotten quite loud, especially on higher RPMs. That's going to be a whole new thread on what fan I can put on it, because the one that came with it is a 2800 RPM one, and I don't know if I should put some third party, lower RPM fan on it.

The problem is that I don't want another 4 core processor, I feel that's kind of a waste of money right now. I think that with the dawn of the new generation of console games we will see a lot more 8 core processors in system requirement tables. But I don't know. I'm also really unsure of Intel's price/performance ratios. But as I said, I'll look at some benchmarks. Thanks for the recommendations.

The i5 4690k looks pretty cool at first glance. I'm going to investigate.

[Marcosoft]

I'm back. I looked at my mobo, it turns out it's a..... drum roll please.... rev 1.1. So it looks like I'm going to need a new mobo either way. What I don't understand is that my current CPU is also labeled 125W. And rev 1.0/1.1 also has heatsink on the vrm, albeit not as beefy as on rev 3.0. I'm going to start looking at the benchmarks of some of the recommended CPUs and mobo prices.

 

 

 

I already have a hyper TX3, but I need to change the fan because it's gotten quite loud, especially on higher RPMs. That's going to be a whole new thread on what fan I can put on it, because the one that came with it is a 2800 RPM one, and I don't know if I should put some third party, lower RPM fan on it.

The problem is that I don't want another 4 core processor, I feel that's kind of a waste of money right now. I think that with the dawn of the new generation of console games we will see a lot more 8 core processors in system requirement tables. But I don't know. I'm also really unsure of Intel's price/performance ratios. But as I said, I'll look at some benchmarks. Thanks for the recommendations.

I don't know a lot about fans but most people go with the Corsair SP120 (quiet or performance), they will probably recommend that one.

Intel 6 or 8 core processors are VERY expensive but the best there is. They are labeled i7-5xxx and 4930k

You can also try Intel Xeon E3 processors which have 4 cores with Hyperthreading (kinda sorta 8cores). The most popular are the E3 1230 v3 and E3 1231 v3 which also fit the 1150 socket. They can not be OC'd and do not have an integrated GPU and are cheaper than the i7-47xx

[meltingtomato]

When I get home i'll do more reshearch, but please recommend specific models, because I find the Intel naming schemes and socets quite confusing. Don't just say i5

Intel currently supports 2 sockets, mainstream LGA1150 & enthusiast/workstation LGA2011-V3.

The motherboard chipsets most will use with LGA1150 are H81, B85, H87, and H97. Many of us however like to overclock, so we use the Z87/Z97 chipsets. A lot revolves around one socket!

For LGA1150, we have (price low to high) Celeron, Pentium, Cores i3, i5, i7, and the workstation but still fantastic Xeon E3-V3.

Unlocked, overclockable Intel CPUs are denoted with a K or C suffix.

LGA 2011-V3 uses thr X99 chipset, and only supports high end i7 and E5 Xeon chips. In mosy cases, not some you need.

[meltingtomato]

One thing is should add, although it probably makes sense anyway, is the higher the model number, generally, the higher the performance.

If you have more question, feel free to ask.

[JcGross]

One thing is should add, although it probably makes sense anyway, is the higher the model number, generally, the higher the performance.

If you have more question, feel free to ask.

Believe it or not, I wasn't sure of that. On benchmarks I only see the 4670, and can't see the 4690. But I guess they are very similar. I might still go with the 8350, because it's so cheap that even if I have to buy a new mobo I still come out ahead in price/performance. And the intel motherboards are just atrocious. No native 5.1 support on any of them, even the more expensive ones.

[vembutech]

Fx 8350 is bestmotherboard. Go ahead

[Blackie Sheen]

When I get home i'll do more reshearch, but please recommend specific models, because I find the Intel naming schemes and socets quite confusing. Don't just say i5

Entry level I5: i5-4460

Motherboard chipset: h97

 

High tier I5: i5-4690k

Motherboard chipset: Z97

 

Sockets in both cases are by def 1150

[meltingtomato]

Believe it or not, I wasn't sure of that. On benchmarks I only see the 4670, and can't see the 4690. But I guess they are very similar. I might still go with the 8350, because it's so cheap that even if I have to buy a new mobo I still come out ahead in price/performance. And the intel motherboards are just atrocious. No native 5.1 support on any of them, even the more expensive ones.

4670 to 4690 & 4770 to 4790 are just refreshed versions of the same chips with a better thermal material under the heat spreader.

No native 5.1 support? I can't check for it now, but I know Intel boards support it. Hell, my Maximus VI Impact supports it, albeit in a very ghetto way, even though it is mini-itx.

If you do choose to stick with the AMD route, I recommend going for boards with the 990 chipset, like my current board, the 990FXA-UD3. Even if you don't overclock, the fact that my power delivery can stay cool even under 24/7 Folding@Home is very comforting. Plus, it has most of the modern creature comforts one would need, unlike the 970A-G46 I had.