Better Option for AM3+ ?

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kongchalee

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Aug 26, 2017
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Currently Running FX-4100, should I upgrade to FX8350 or buy new motherboard to run Ryzen and just swap everything else?

Current set up

Kingston /8G HyperX Desktop Memory Kit - 16GB (4x 4GB), PC3-10600, DDR3-1333MHz, 240-pin DIMM, CL9, 1.5V, Non-ECC, Unbuffered
BIOSTAR TA990FXE AMD 9-Series Motherboard - ATX, Socket AM3+, AMD 990FX Chipset, 2000MHz DDR3 (O.C.), SATA 6.0 Gb/s, RAID, 8-CH Audio, Gigabit LAN, SuperSpeed USB 3.0, CrossFireX Ready
•MSI Radeon R9 270X TwinFrost - 2GB, 2x DVI, 2x Mini DisplayPort, 1x HDMI, DirectX 11, Dual-Slot, Eyefinity, CrossFireX Ready
AMD FX-4100 Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 2MB L2 Cache, 3.60GHz (3.80GHz Max Turbo), Socket AM3+, 95W, Fan, Unlocked,
OCZ Technology 256GB Vertex 4 Series SATA 6.0 GB/s 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive (SSD) With Industry's Highest 120K IOPS
Cooler Master Hyper N520 - CPU Cooler with Copper Base and 5 Heat Pipes (RR-920-N520-GP)
Ultra LSP750 750-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, SLI-Ready, 135mm Fan, Sleeved Cables, Matte Finish
 
Solution
sirstinky
Well think of it this way... Vishera FX is 5 years old now. Ryzen is brand-spanking new tech and affordable compared to similar Intel offerings. It will be vastly better than the current chip. The downside is you have to buy new board, cooler if you get a Ryzen that doesn't come with one (some do), and RAM. You can still use everything else like your graphics and drives. That would be up around $400 for a good setup. OR, you could spend $150 on the 8350 and get better results than your 4100 and not change anything else.
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Well think of it this way... Vishera FX is 5 years old now. Ryzen is brand-spanking new tech and affordable compared to similar Intel offerings. It will be vastly better than the current chip. The downside is you have to buy new board, cooler if you get a Ryzen that doesn't come with one (some do), and RAM. You can still use everything else like your graphics and drives. That would be up around $400 for a good setup. OR, you could spend $150 on the 8350 and get better results than your 4100 and not change anything else.
 
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Solution
I did what you are suggesting and I haven't regretted it. Though I did so prior to the release of Ryzen.

It totally depends how much you want to spend, what you what to do with it, and when you plan to go full-new. An 8350 and some faster RAM would make a very noticeable difference for you for under $300 and you can save up till next year or whatever. Or you can roll that cost into a new system now.

EDIT: I went from a Phenom II X4 965 BE to an FX-8370
 
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-I suppose this is only worth it because you are saving money by re-using your cpu cooler and ddr3 memory.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core OEM/Tray Processor ($279.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-B150M-D3H DDR3 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $374.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-02 03:53 EDT-0400

-If you lost the intel mounting parts for your cpu cooler, then get the Retail version that includes a cooler. It's $10 more.
There is a cheaper i5-6500.

Look locally or on other sites. If you get lucky and find a ddr3 Z170 board you can go with the i5-6600K or i7-6700K.

The FX-8320 is cheaper and is better than going with the cheaper i3.
 
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From what I've reads there are concern of voltage damage to Skylake CPU's when using DDR3, from the reviews I have read its best to only run DDR3L (low voltage) so either way needs new RAM. Just go Ryzen & DDR4 or if you can wait hold out for Intel Coffee Lake, the 6 core i5's & i7's are looking very promising. An i5 that can keep up with at 7700k?
 
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The smartest thing to do would be a swap to ryzen or intel however what do you want this pc to do?
 
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I have to agree. I started re-building my current system last March before I even knew about Ryzen (I was a bit out of the loop).

I swapped a Phenom II X4 965 BE for an FX-8370, hoping to just max out the board that I had and then upgrade in a year or whatever.

Turned out that my M5A97 EVO was not up to the task of overclocking the FX, which I like to do for fun and performance. I ended up being committed at this point and found a really good deal on Kijiji for a used Sabertooth 990FX board that came with 2x8GB of 2133 RAM, an FX-9590, and a 1TB 2.5" HDD. I snapped all of that up for $350cad and resold the FX-9590 for $125.

Everything is kosher now and I really have no complaints about my current rig. She holds her own in OC'd mid-level town and I'm happy with that...for now. If I were you, making this decision now, I wouldn't even question going for Ryzen.
 
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He has the 1.5Volt ram not the higher 1.65volt ddr3 like my system has.

http://www.gigabyte.us/Motherboard/GA-B150M-D3H-DDR3-rev-10#ov
This Gigabyte board supports DDR3 memory.

May i suggest....

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - FX-8300 3.3GHz 8-Core Processor ($93.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Video Card ($142.29 @ Amazon)
Total: $236.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-02 22:37 EDT-0400
 
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An FX-8350 would perform substantially better than an FX-4100. Your 990FX motherboard can absolutely support it. If you're comfortable overclocking get the FX-8300 - with a decent air cooler you should be able to get it up to 4.4 Ghz to 4.5 Ghz no problem.
 
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This, check my rig. 4.5 was pretty drama-free, just basic stuff. She would go higher but WAY more voltage was needed even for 4.7 in my case.
 
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I seen the FX-9590 is on sale. So what if you underclock it a bit to 4.4ghz? Or add a second cpu cooler fan. It's binned for 4.7ghz if you can keep it cool. The 220watt TDP is the issue here, so maybe at 4.4 with a small voltage drop it can be a compromise 180watt chip..

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - FX-9590 4.7GHz 8-Core OEM/Tray Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Video Card ($142.29 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: be quiet! - Pure Wings 2 61.2 CFM 140mm Fan ($11.77 @ OutletPC)
Total: $274.05
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-03 20:19 EDT-0400


-I added a extra fan for the cpu cooler. You will have to use tiewraps, twist ties, something. You gonna have to make the cpu cooler do as much as it can.
 
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NO, the 9590 is substantially harder to cool. The 8370s are mostly capable of reaching the same kinds of clocks with much less drama.

The 9590 requires a custom loop to play with
 
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They are not "exactly" the same. They are all "8-core" Vishera CPUs on 32nm process but they binned differently. See stolen text below

The 9590 9370 and 8370 are all the same bin. None of them is going be a bad chip and all should do 5Ghz on 1.55V or less volts.
FX 8350 8320 these are also the same bin. These are really hit and miss. You can find some great 8350s and 8320s but they aren't consistent. Typically you can expect 4.8Ghz on 1.5V from these and 5Ghz at around 1.6V but again these have some pretty major variance.
FX 8300. This is the worst 8 core bin there is. None of these are good.
 
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To make the amd fx series relevant today you need to oc them quite a bit. Chips like the fx 9590 and 9370 are out of the question since they can barely run at stock clocks with a 240mm aio liquid cooler.

A fx 8370 can oc quite high to 4.8ghz usually and will run on a 240mm liquid cooler however you are looking at spending around 300$ then on a cpu that might not even reach that clock.

If you sell what you have and restart you can get a ryzen 1300x or similar. Those cpu's are at stock already faster than a fx 9590 at 5ghz and even have a bit of oc potential (you can just get the r3 1200 and oc it to 4ghz on stock cooler no problem if you want to be cheaper)

This is why the fx series is a bad investment even once ocing. If you already have a fx 8xxx than sure oc it and see if it gives you what you need but investing now in one is just not wise since even the ones running at 5 ghz are more often than not not enough to run the bigger games anymore.
 
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I haven't run in to any issues, yet. But I definitely agree.

FX doesn't make sense to do today unless there are mitigating circumstances.
 
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The person thaty bought my system with a fx 8320 at 5.2ghz had quite the drops in bf1 and I've had to go and upgrade the cpu to a core i7 6700k.

Now that I own my old fx 8320 again I do not enjoy playing games on it (that are more demanding) and just use it as a render slave since thats one of the things it still does well.
 
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Yes, that is the rub. I came from a Phenom II X4 965, so it's all gravy for me still in the performance department.

I game at 1900x1200 @ 60Hz so it does alright. I haven't had issues in BF1, but every system is different.

I plan to upgrade next year probably, this rig was a bit of a pet project and mostly used parts or ones that can be re-purposed.


 
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