• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

965BE @ 4GHz or FX8320

head5000

head5000

head5000

Associate
Joined
11 Feb 2012
Posts
56
Looking for advice on a CPU upgrade.

Currently running 965BE at 4GHz (hyper 212) paired with a 7950.

Do you think it would be worth the investment to upgrade to a FX8320/8350?

Whatever i get it will be OC'd. This is primarily for GTA 5.

Thanks in advance.
 
there are two options
1)tweak your 965 BE
-increase CPU clock to 4-4.2 GHz. I had Hyper212 and I used 1.5V for CPU voltage (but I had Scythe Ultra Kaze fan 3000rpm)
-increase your uncore to the 2800 MHz, you need for it around 1.3-1.45V at CPUNB voltage

2) if your board is not weak and have strong VRM, after you take FX-8300. Its cheap, good OC able and with low voltage scaling up to 4.5 GHz. The current for FX-8000 is higher than for Phenom, not matter at voltage (example 1.4V vs 1.4V). So my tip is max around 1.425V with Hyper 212 and FX-8000.
 
Its unlikely that an FX-8 will be a drop in upgrade for you so you will probably need a CPU+MB. Also since your priority is GTA V, an upgrade to an i5 would be recommended. This should suit you needs and give a nice boost in performance across the board:

Gigabyte Z97X-SLI - Devils Canyon Core i5 4690K Bundle £277.98:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-006-GI

An AMD FX-8 is another options, but you would be compromising some performance in most games (including GTA V unfortunately) for the saving and the platform is getting a bit dated too. I would NOT recommend this in your case, but here is one of the cheapest recommended, tried and tested OCing combos for you to compare:

FX8320e + Asus 970 EVO 2.0 £189.98:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-383-AM&groupid=701&catid=1967&subcat=1825
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-502-AS&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=2046

Another option could be second hand, but with obvious risks. A worthy consideration is an X58 mb + Xeon 5650 (or better). Some details can be found in this thread:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18618052
 
ALXAndy said:
Board looks OK to me and has decent cooling so I would give it a whirl.
Click to expand...

It does have 6+2 and is an ASUS which should handle it but its an 890 chipset with no listed support for the fx piledriver range. There is a risk it will not work.

If it does however, it is a good upgrade!
 
Thanks for the replies. I pushed the OC abit harder and got 4.1. I tried for 4.2 but it wasn't stable even at 1.5V. I also pushed the 7950 and got a fairly decent improvement. Regarding the mother board the Asus website does state support for the FX range.

I think stick with this for awhile and then go for my first Intel in a few months.

I've been out of the loop for a few years. Great to see quality advice is still given so quickly.
 
The only support for the FX range is for the 8100 series which is Bulldozer and even then only beta support. I posted the cpu support list in post #6. The 8300 series is not even on the list so may not even work.

A graphics card upgrade may give you a boost though.
 
pastymuncher said:
The only support for the FX range is for the 8100 series which is Bulldozer and even then only beta support. I posted the cpu support list in post #6. The 8300 series is not even on the list so may not even work.

A graphics card upgrade may give you a boost though.
Click to expand...

He's only running 1680x1050, besides the lack of cpu support the fx8 wouldn't be a huge upgrade from phIIx4,
I can guarantee that 7950 isn't being fully utilized in most games due to his resolution and the cpu.
 
In that case just stick with what you have until Skylake (even though it's going to be stupidly expensive) or AMD's Zen but that's next year and you may not want to wait that long.
 
Well, after taking all your advice I had been consdiering buying my first intel CPU.

then the sales hit and the 4690K was dropped along with the Asus Z97-K.

Looks like ill be getting a good upgrade next week.
 
I appreciate the idea of waiting for skylake. but but the best rig is the one can you can use now. the 4690k will see me through for years to come. To be honest, ive been using this 965BE for 5 years. Its been really good to me but ive always known it would hold back the 7950. My laptops have all been intel and they have never skipped a beat. I look forward to the full desktop experience,
 
To be honest, X4 965 or even an X6 (nb freq @ 2800 mhz) overclocked will be just the same shoe. I got both, all overclocked. Even i got FX 8350. They are good for budget pc but the performance is lacking way behind of intel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom