AMD Phenom x4 970 vs ??????

[Specialjesus]

Any suggestions on an upgrade from my current phenom x4? Was thinking of either the FX6300 or the AMD 8350/8320. Right now it seems like some games are using 90% plus cpu when running. im setting a max budget around 160 for this. Any insight would be appreciated. I have a new MSI 970 gaming MB to install.

Current specs:
EVGA 960
16gb ram
MSI 870 MB
AMD phenom x4 970 BE

 

[clutchc]

The FX-6300 probably wouldn't be enough of an upgrade to make it worthwhile. The old Ph II X4 970 BE is still a pretty good gaming CPU... all things considered. Especially if you OC. You'd have to go to the FX-8350 to see enough of a performance increase to begin to make it worthwhile.

I ran my Ph II X4 965 BE @ 4.0 GHz and my FX-6350 @ 4.0 GHz. This is how they compared in Firestrike with a R9-290X: http://www.3dmark.com/compare/fs/5683948/fs/5682776#
Except for physics, you're talking single digit percentage performance increases.

 

[Specialjesus]

So you pretty much suggesting to just OC my current CPU? I have a new cooler master evo 212 to install for a cooler. I just want to justify the upgrade.

 

[clutchc]

So you pretty much suggesting to just OC my current CPU? I have a new cooler master evo 212 to install for a cooler. I just want to justify the upgrade.

If your board is safe for OC'ing and you have a high quality 500W or better PSU, yes. OC it. If OC'ing isn't your thing, and you want to upgrade for gaming, I would suggest moving to an Intel platform. What is the model of your MSI 870 board? PSU?

 

[Specialjesus]

Well i have a new MSI 970a Krait edition to install, since my old 870 has a bad dim slot. My PSU is a EVGA NEX750B

 

[clutchc]

Well i have a new MSI 970a Krait edition to install, since my old 870 has a bad dim slot. My PSU is a EVGA NEX750B

Splendid. You're good to go if you decide to OC the Phenom II X4 970. If you decide to upgrade to a Fx-8350, good also. You should get a good price for the Ph II X4 970 on ebay if you want to sell it. They are a bit scarce. Heck, I'd even be interested in it.

 

[Specialjesus]

are they really that good that they are sought after? Apparently the new board has easy OC software built in.

 

[clutchc]

are they really that good that they are sought after? Apparently the new board has easy OC software built in.

It's not that they are "that good". It's just that folks like to collect CPUs that were not made in large numbers. The Ph II X4 970, 975, and 980 were the top end Phenom BE quad cores made back then. And they were made in limited numbers. I had a 980, but let it get away.

You won't get much OC'ing using built-in OC'ing software. Got to do it the old fashioned way; in BIOS.