Asus crosshair 4 upgrade options?

Darkst4r · 7 May 2014 at 17:32

Hi, after my PSU finally gave up the ghost after 5 or so years, ive decided I could do with upgrading my CPU too.

I currently have the old Asus Crosshair Formula 4 and to be honest im reluctant to change it.

It still looks the business after ive cleaned it up and has been a reliable backbone to my system since I installed it, I also dont fancy spending 170 squids on the Formula V.

My question is what are my options for a new Cpu using this board?

Ive heard the bios can be updated to run Am3+ plus processors but have heard mixed success stories doing this.

Anyone successfully running a decent and up to date processor using this method?

Im currently running an old Phenom II 955 at factory clock but want something a bit more up to date.

pastymuncher · 7 May 2014 at 19:08

It has beta support for Bulldozer but nothing after that. Cpu support list is here.

Darkst4r · 7 May 2014 at 22:07

Is there anything worth putting in there to upgrade from my Phenom II 955 or is it so old its a bin job and start from scratch?

pastymuncher · 8 May 2014 at 10:20

Well i wouldn't stick a Bulldozer chip in there. If i remember right they have worse IPC than the Phenom II cpu's, run hotter and use more power. Time for a new build i reckon.

Darkst4r · 8 May 2014 at 21:40

pastymuncher said:
Well i wouldn't stick a Bulldozer chip in there. If i remember right they have worse IPC than the Phenom II cpu's, run hotter and use more power. Time for a new build i reckon.

Gah not what I wanted to hear. Seems like such a waste binning such a good mobo because Asus decided not to support its products properly.

Darkst4r · 8 May 2014 at 21:51

Which Amd socket type looks the most future proof at the moment ?

Thinking about the New crosshair but dont want to limit my cpu choice if am3+ if being phased out.

pastymuncher · 9 May 2014 at 08:50

I don't think AMD has anything coming until at least 2015 which is when they are dropping the modular processors and going back to doing it the proper way. There may be a new socket then.

You have access to the MM don't you? You could get a 3570k and half decent Z77 board in there for around £150-160.

Martini1991 · 9 May 2014 at 09:09

Darkst4r said:
Gah not what I wanted to hear. Seems like such a waste binning such a good mobo because Asus decided not to support its products properly.

It's not Asus's fault, it's AMD's.
Asus went against the grain with the CH IV in the first place, even working on getting bulldozer support.

Piledriver *does unofficially* "work" in a CH IV, but it's flaky at best.

There's currently no future proof AMD socket, AM3+ is all but dead.

Martini1991 · 9 May 2014 at 09:17

pastymuncher said:
I don't think AMD has anything coming until at least 2015 which is when they are dropping the modular processors and going back to doing it the proper way. There may be a new socket then.

Think it's 2016 they're launching tbh, I'd be surprised if they made that tbh.
Unless they've had something in the pipeline for a while. To just abandon it and make another product will take time.

pastymuncher · 9 May 2014 at 14:50

That sucks even more then. Another 2+ years of crappy incremental increases from Intel due to no competition.

Darkst4r · 9 May 2014 at 15:04

pastymuncher said:
I don't think AMD has anything coming until at least 2015 which is when they are dropping the modular processors and going back to doing it the proper way. There may be a new socket then.

You have access to the MM don't you? You could get a 3570k and half decent Z77 board in there for around £150-160.

Im a bit of a sucker for the ROG series to be honest and have it in mind to build an ROG themed system but if the ch5 is all but dead I guess ill have to research the Intel options.

Seems like AMD have dropped the ball here by being stuck in a production point limbo where nobody really wants to spend the money on a product that is going to be obsolete before its time.

Ive been a pretty loyal AMD user over the years but it looks like Intel is now the way to go, although saying that I think Intel are renowned for bringing out a new socket type every 6 months but I guess you get more longevity out of their CPU's

Martini1991 · 9 May 2014 at 16:39

Yeah, the Intel and sockets being brought out all the time is generally born through ignorance, it's not the case.

When you look into sockets from the two, there's no black and white.

If you want ROG, the Maximus VII Hero looks good, probably about 160-170.