Is this a good CPU upgrade for my PC??? AMD CPU

[the_tobzster]

Hi guys, I'm thinking of upgrading my PC again as my current CPU is very old. Currently running with an AMD FX4100 OC'd by 15% but it's getting old now and can't keep up with my updated graphics card 'GeForce GTX 760 Asus DirectCU II OC Edition'. I am pretty sure it's bottlenecking, but I am no expert.

I don't have a large budget so was thinking an updated AMD cpu instead of intel. I was thinking the AMD FX8350. Is this a good card and would you recommend I upgrade this component?

I have checked that the motherboard is compatible and it is, but would appreciate some more experts advice! Many thanks for any suggestions!

 

[This never ends well]

what motherboard do you have as some boards will throttle a 8350 even at stock as the vrms sometimes cannot handle it, also will you br overclocking it as they get hot on the stock cooler

 

[pandem0nium]

As above ^. You'd need 4+1 power phases and a heatsink on the vrms at the very least.

And an8320e would be a beter choice, then clock it yourself.

 

[the_tobzster]

what motherboard do you have as some boards will throttle a 8350 even at stock as the vrms sometimes cannot handle it, also will you br overclocking it as they get hot on the stock cooler

Thanks for the comments guys. I have a Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 motherboard. It said on the website that it is compatible but you still think it will be a problem? Sorry I'm not an expert on PCs if you hadn't guessed haha. I would probably leave at the stock speeds anyway since it's such an upgrade from my current FX4100!

As above ^. You'd need 4+1 power phases and a heatsink on the vrms at the very least.

And an8320e would be a beter choice, then clock it yourself.

Interesting I looked at an 8320e, why would you say this is a better choice? Like I mentioned above, I would probably keep it at the stock speeds anyway.

Obviously my CPU is the weaker component in my pc, I've noticed in games I put the graphics right up and even though not all the GPU ram has been used (according to GPU-z) and despite the fact that on task manager it doesn't say that the cpu is at 100% I still get lag. Is there any easier way of testing for bottlenecking? Thanks

 

[Davedree]

As the first person in the uk to push an fx8320 to 5ghz on the 78lmt usb3 I can vouch for the motherboard being capable. Even if you have a modest overclock the vrms and phases will cope with an fx8 at 1.45v, this for recent silicon can get you into 4.7-4.9 ghz territory with good cooling. If you have a good cpu cooler then try overclocking your current fx4100. It'll get upto about 4.4-4.5ghz, or I'd get yourself either a fx6300 or an fx8320 or fx8320e and learn how to overclock using the amd fx overclocking guide on here.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18650181&page=16

Depending on games and your resolution you may not see much a difference in gamin results.

 

[pandem0nium]

Yeah, the board will be fine, it meets the criteria.

8320e is cheaper, and is a later revision of the piledriver cpus. It should require less voltages to reach higher/similar overclocks.

 

[the_tobzster]

As the first person in the uk to push an fx8320 to 5ghz on the 78lmt usb3 I can vouch for the motherboard being capable. Even if you have a modest overclock the vrms and phases will cope with an fx8 at 1.45v, this for recent silicon can get you into 4.7-4.9 ghz territory with good cooling. If you have a good cpu cooler then try overclocking your current fx4100. It'll get upto about 4.4-4.5ghz, or I'd get yourself either a fx6300 or an fx8320 or fx8320e and learn how to overclock using the amd fx overclocking guide on here.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18650181&page=16

Depending on games and your resolution you may not see much a difference in gamin results.

Yeah, the board will be fine, it meets the criteria.

8320e is cheaper, and is a later revision of the piledriver cpus. It should require less voltages to reach higher/similar overclocks.

Ok, thanks for the great advice guys I am learning a lot! Do you think I should go for the 8320/8320e over the 8350 then? Obviously the price being cheaper is very appealing since I don't have a lot of money to put towards this anyway!

Also is the 8320 much better than the 8320e? I noticed the e is cheaper on amazon, obviously I want this cpu upgrade to last me a few years so don't mind paying a little bit more and get the 8320.

One last question, do you think I will see a noticeable difference in gameplay over my current 4100 (OC'd 15%)? At the moment I don't feel I am getting the most out of my GTX 760 with my current CPU!

 

[pandem0nium]

I wouldn't get the 8320, it's older like the 8350.

You'd gain more avg fps by upgrading the gpu rather than the cpu.
The higher ipc and potential clock speed of the 8320e will help with minimums though.

 

[Davedree]

I wouldn't get the 8320, it's older like the 8350.

You'd gain more avg fps by upgrading the gpu rather than the cpu.
The higher ipc and potential clock speed of the 8320e will help with minimums though.

Don't make the mistake that the e editions are all better clockers and that non e editions aren't, all you are guaranteed is that that the e edition is post 2014 silicon. All the silicon 2013+ scales pretty much the same as 2014 unless it's a real old stock 8320 from 2012. The only difference with the E stamped is that they have refined p-states, nothing else. But generally the fx8320e is cheaper anyway.

 

[pandem0nium]

It does make sense to steer people towards the chips from the more mature process as there's better chances of getting a good one.

I had one of the first 8350s (old logo) and it needed quite a lot of volts for high overclocks.

 

[Davedree]

It does make sense to steer people towards the chips from the more mature process as there's better chances of getting a good one.

I had one of the first 8350s (old logo) and it needed quite a lot of volts for high overclocks.

Yeah I agree and the 8320e is cheaper usually, the base clock is pretty low on e editions so as long as the person is willing to clock then all is good.

 

[russell664]

If your willing to clock (worth it!) then get the 8320. Beware of the VRMs though, get a board with decent cooling on them.

 

[Davedree]

If your willing to clock (worth it!) then get the 8320. Beware of the VRMs though, get a board with decent cooling on them.

You are correct on the power reg of boards, his board is a budget board but has a very capable 4+1 phase power reg, but a 80mm fan over would certainly help. Also recent fx silicon doesn't require the 1.50-1.60v that some of the older fx silicon needed.

 

[Scurburg]

The main reason to go for the 8320e over the others is due to it being a fair bit cheaper and should clock to reasonable levels or at least match the fx9370's stock speeds (4.4). It really is a no brainer if you have a board that supports it and a good cooler. BTW you really must overclock these chips for it to be worth the upgrade. Its pretty easy with these chips though and IMO its half the fun.

If you want to keep things at stock clocks though, you are probably better off going for a locked intel i5 with a cheap board as it will offer better and more consistent performance gains for games, but of course will cost more than the AMD fx drop in alternative.

Generally for the fx range, a mb with a min of 6+2 vrms and good cooling is recommended especially when OCing, however I think you got lucky with the mb since they have shown to be surprisingly capable (even with only 4+2 naked vrms). Davedree has been singing their praise for a while now.