Upgrading from FX 8350 to i5 6600k worth it?

Minty649 · 6 Mar 2016 at 15:54

Hi guys, so the title says it all really. Is it worth me upgrading from an 8350 to an i5 6600k. I use my pc for everyday use and gaming, i dont edit etc. Obviously i would have to upgrade my board and ram aswell so was just wondering if its worth it all in the end.

Current build:

CPU: FX8350 @4.5ghz
Mobo: Asus Sabertooth 990fx
RAM: Crucial Tactical tracer 8GB
GPU: R9 280X
PSU: EVGA supernova 750w
OS: Windows 10

Thanks

David Bisset · 6 Mar 2016 at 16:01

It'll be a faster CPU for gaming, so not a terrible idea, though you'll more often than not be held back by your GPU I'd have thought.

Personally I'd either look for a new GPU instead or more likely wait till later in the year, see what the new GPUs are like then (Pascal/Polaris) and also hope Zen forces a price war on CPUs.

Minty649 · 6 Mar 2016 at 16:11

David Bisset said:
It'll be a faster CPU for gaming, so not a terrible idea, though you'll more often than not be held back by your GPU I'd have thought.

Personally I'd either look for a new GPU instead or more likely wait till later in the year, see what the new GPUs are like then (Pascal/Polaris) and also hope Zen forces a price war on CPUs.

Yeah might not be a bad idea to wait and see what the new ranges are tbh. But the reason i wanted to change the CPU was because i play CPU intensive games such as arma/squad etc.

David Bisset · 6 Mar 2016 at 16:16

If games you currently play are suffering in performance then might be worth upgrading sooner

in which case the 6600k is a nice step up for most games (I've no idea how threaded those games are so not sure how well a clocked 8350 would handle them). Have you looked at usage levels to make sure the CPU is holding the GPU back?
(With no framerate cap the GPU will fall down from near 100% to lower if CPU is holding it back)

Minty649 · 6 Mar 2016 at 16:20

David Bisset said:
If games you currently play are suffering in performance then might be worth upgrading sooner in which case the 6600k is a nice step up for most games (I've no idea how threaded those games are so not sure how well a clocked 8350 would handle them). Have you looked at usage levels to make sure the CPU is holding the GPU back?
(With no framerate cap the GPU will fall down from near 100% to lower if CPU is holding it back)

My GPU can reach 100% load on certain games so not bottlenech as such

pastymuncher · 6 Mar 2016 at 18:46

You have decent components now so why not wait and see if Zen is any good at the end of the year?

Concrete · 6 Mar 2016 at 19:32

Minty649 said:
My GPU can reach 100% load on certain games so not bottlenech as such

That means the GPU is bottlenecking your CPU, as the CPU has redundant capacity.

That board should push the 8350 to 4.8 without too much difficulty, then hold out for Zen.

Martini1991 · 6 Mar 2016 at 19:51

With a 280X, just wait till Zen.

Minty649 · 7 Mar 2016 at 00:52

Okay thanks guys

gpuerrilla · 7 Mar 2016 at 19:39

Or you could order something and by the time they deliver it by DPD to N.Ireland Zen will be out...

This never ends well · 7 Mar 2016 at 23:47

Concrete said:
That means the GPU is bottlenecking your CPU, as the CPU has redundant capacity.

That board should push the 8350 to 4.8 without too much difficulty, then hold out for Zen.

No it aint bottlenecking, as you want 99-100% gpu usage, when i had my 8350 @4.8 i was running two 7950's @99% usage.

Yeah board would even do 5ghz but if the OP has not got the cooling, they cannot run it higher.

This never ends well · 7 Mar 2016 at 23:50

I would save your money or go for a new gpu, but if you really want to upgrade i would go for a 4790k for the about same price, unless you have to be on ddr4.

AiiR · 8 Mar 2016 at 00:45

You'd see slightly better average fps I reckon but a new cpu, board and memory isn't worth doing for a 280x.

Martini1991 · 8 Mar 2016 at 07:34

jamiehard1989 said:
No it aint bottlenecking, as you want 99-100% gpu usage, when i had my 8350 @4.8 i was running two 7950's @99% usage.

Yeah board would even do 5ghz but if the OP has not got the cooling, they cannot run it higher.

Comprehension fail.

Also, an FX8350 isn't pushing two 7950's at 99% as a blanket statement.

This never ends well · 8 Mar 2016 at 09:40

Martini1991 said:
Comprehension fail.

Also, an FX8350 isn't pushing two 7950's at 99% as a blanket statement.

Yes it will with a game that has xfire support.

Have you had a 8350.

Martini1991 · 8 Mar 2016 at 10:09

jamiehard1989 said:
Yes it will with a game that has xfire support.

Have you had a 8350.

I don't need to have had an fx8350, to know that blanket statements are a fallacy.

You've literally made a statement that doesn't apply to all situations in the slightest. At 1080p, there will be a vast amount of games that simply don't run 99% on both gpu's on max settings in game.

I can accept some games may very well. In the same respect there are ones which don't.

danoliver1 · 8 Mar 2016 at 13:05

Buy a 390/970 gfx card instead.

gpuerrilla · 9 Mar 2016 at 19:23

As mentioned already, get a better GPU or wait till Zen. Nothing to see here.

Panos · 10 Mar 2016 at 11:11

Minty649 said:
Hi guys, so the title says it all really. Is it worth me upgrading from an 8350 to an i5 6600k. I use my pc for everyday use and gaming, i dont edit etc. Obviously i would have to upgrade my board and ram aswell so was just wondering if its worth it all in the end.

Current build:

CPU: FX8350 @4.5ghz
Mobo: Asus Sabertooth 990fx
RAM: Crucial Tactical tracer 8GB
GPU: R9 280X
PSU: EVGA supernova 750w
OS: Windows 10

Thanks

Depends.
Do you play single core games like World of Tanks or many ancient ones? If so yes you will see difference even if you upgrade to an old 4770 (not even K model).

If you play current games only, and especially upcoming DX12 ones, no. Grab a R9 390 or stockpile the money for a big upgrade end of the year with Zen & Polaris.

ukxenon · 11 Mar 2016 at 06:22

Agree buy a 970 and wait till zen