Best CPU and Board To Use with R9 390?

[relyks0]

I recently got a AMD R9 390 Nitro GPU. It appears that my CPU is bottlenecking me while gaming and want to upgrade. The i5 4690k and 6600k both seem like good choices but am not sure.

Specs:

Motherboard: ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0
CPU: Fx-8350 With themaltake Cooler
GPU: Saphire R9 390 Nitro
Ram: 8gb ddr3
PSU: Corsair 750 watt
Case: Corsair 760t

 

[R_1]

is there a budgetary limit? must have features?

 

[relyks0]

is there a budgetary limit? must have features?

I'd like to keep it under $350 US. On board sound would be nice as i don't have a sound card.

 

[Martell1977]

I recently got a AMD R9 390 Nitro GPU. It appears that my CPU is bottlenecking me while gaming and want to upgrade. The i5 4690k and 6600k both seem like good choices but am not sure.

Specs:

Motherboard: ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0
CPU: Fx-8350 With themaltake Cooler
GPU: Saphire R9 390 Nitro
Ram: 8gb ddr3
PSU: Corsair 750 watt
Case: Corsair 760t

You could always try overclocking the CPU to see if that helps. But if you want to upgrade and budget allows, there is no good reason not to go with the i5-6600k, it's the latest platform and will give you another generation of upgrades as Kaby Lake is said to use the same socket. However, with the 6600k you will likely have to replace the RAM as well, to DDR4.

 

[relyks0]

I recently got a AMD R9 390 Nitro GPU. It appears that my CPU is bottlenecking me while gaming and want to upgrade. The i5 4690k and 6600k both seem like good choices but am not sure.

Specs:

Motherboard: ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0
CPU: Fx-8350 With themaltake Cooler
GPU: Saphire R9 390 Nitro
Ram: 8gb ddr3
PSU: Corsair 750 watt
Case: Corsair 760t

You could always try overclocking the CPU to see if that helps. But if you want to upgrade and budget allows, there is no good reason not to go with the i5-6600k, it's the latest platform and will give you another generation of upgrades as Kaby Lake is said to use the same socket. However, with the 6600k you will likely have to replace the RAM as well, to DDR4.

What is a good motherboard to pair with the 6600k? Is the CPU fast out of the box or will it need overclocking?

 

[Martell1977]

What is a good motherboard to pair with the 6600k? Is the CPU fast out of the box or will it need overclocking?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($118.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $416.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-17 03:02 EST-0500

You shouldn't need to OC, but it's always an option. If you don't care for OCing and want to get the price down a bit, you could go with a differnt motherboard chipset and the non-k version of the CPU.

 

[relyks0]

What is a good motherboard to pair with the 6600k? Is the CPU fast out of the box or will it need overclocking?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($118.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $416.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-17 03:02 EST-0500

You shouldn't need to OC, but it's always an option. If you don't care for OCing and want to get the price down a bit, you could go with a differnt motherboard chipset and the non-k version of the CPU.

Thanks for the replies! I've never heard of ASRock before... would any Z170 mobo work well?

 

[Martell1977]

Thanks for the replies! I've never heard of ASRock before... would any Z170 mobo work well?

Just about, have to make sure it's compatible with the RAM type and speed. I always suggest ASUS and ASRock as, in my experience, they have always been the best quality. Over the years I have tried others, like gigabyte and MSI, and have had nothing but bad experiences with them. I know others probably have had the opposite, but this is how it's been for me. ASUS and ASRock are my go-to brands for motherboards.

 

[R_1]

Thanks for the replies! I've never heard of ASRock before... would any Z170 mobo work well?

Just about, have to make sure it's compatible with the RAM type and speed. I always suggest ASUS and ASRock as, in my experience, they have always been the best quality. Over the years I have tried others, like gigabyte and MSI, and have had nothing but bad experiences with them. I know others probably have had the opposite, but this is how it's been for me. ASUS and ASRock are my go-to brands for motherboards.

Asus and ASRock are my go to brands too.