Best Upgrade from AMD 955be @4ghz

[Sency]

Hi everybody,

I have a Amd 955be paired with an R9 280x. With my recent addition of Eyefiniti I have seen my FR reduce by almost half. I can get my FR back to 60fps but i have to reduce some settings but overall plays really well. I was going to crossfire with another 280x but I'm not sure if my cpu is up to the task and my motherboard is only PCIe x16/x4. This chip has lasted me a good 5 years so I was looking for an upgrade that can hopefully do the same. I mostly game and browse but like to have quite a few programs open as well. My budget will be around $600-800CAD.

System
Coolermaster HAF912
AMD 955be @4ghz w/H60 cooler
Asus M4A88TD-evo USB3
Asus R9 280x 3gb
2x4gb Corsair XSM3 @1333mhz
EVGA Supernova 80plus gold 750w
500gb Samsung evo SSD
1tb WD Black HDD

Thanks All5

 

[clutchc]

My guess is that your CPU is bottlenecking the 280X as it is. My 965BE @ 4.0 GHz was at 100% usage with my R9-280 in most games. The R9-280 was also at or near 100% usage, so that told me the old Phenom II was at its max with the 280.

You have a high quality board, unfortunately, it is limited by its AM3 socket. Any faster CPUs will have to be bought used since they are long obsolete. If you can find one of these and OC it as well as you did the 3.2 GHz 955BE, you may get some more life from the old AM3 socket. Short of that, you are looking at a new platform.
PhII X4 970,975, 980
PhII X6 1090T, 1100T

If you move to a new platform, go Intel for the best performance.

 

[Gam3r01]

^This
I wouldnt really both with anything less than the x6 phenoms if you decide to keep that platform.

My 965@4.22 (Now 4.0 thanks to windows 10 >:L) can just fully support a 760.

 

[clutchc]

^This
I wouldnt really both with anything less than the x6 phenoms if you decide to keep that platform.

My 965@4.22 (Now 4.0 thanks to windows 10 >:L) can just fully support a 760.

Odd... I just ran Firestrike today with my 965BE and a GTX 960 FTW. Compared to Win 7, Win 10 gained me a 2.5% performance increase. Nothing to brag about but not a decrease. But I'm getting off topic...

 

[Gam3r01]

My BIOS wont hold 1.525v after the update, and overdrive (as a last resort) resets each time windows resets. 1.488v isnt enough to keep 4.2 stable.

 

[Sency]

Thanks all
As much as I would hate to it looks like its time to retire this chip. I do have enough of spare parts to make a decent backup if i ever need it. Going forward I would like to get something that would last me the next 5years. Would the current I7 4790k be ok or is it worth waiting for I7 6700k? Also would my current psu be enough to support 2x 280x and would said gpu's get me through the next 5 years?

Thanks again everybody

 

[madmatt30]

Regarding the PSU I'm running 280x cf with an oc 8320 & at the plug with a power meter it pulls a max of 660w.
Others would say no but I reckon you're fine.

Running mine on a cm gx750 & no problems at all.

 

[madmatt30]

Regarding the PSU I'm running 280x cf with an oc 8320 & at the plug with a power meter it pulls a max of 660w.
Others would say no but I reckon you're fine.

Running mine on a cm gx750 & no problems at all.