Budget CPU Upgrade Advice

[Dave420]

Hi all,

I'm looking to upgrade from an Intel Pentium G3260 (socket 1150) to something around the $100 price-range. I'm hesitating between buying an i3 4170 for about $130, and changing my motherboard to fit an am3+ socket and getting the fx-6300 for around $70 ($130 with a new motherboard included).
My main wish is gaming and maximising performance without having my r7 240 1 gb GDDR5 (GPU) bottleneck my system. Ive seen that the fx-6300 gets a higher overall CPU rating (about 1000 higher), while the i3 has a higher single thread rating (about 700 higher).

I appreciate any and all advice/info/suggestions you guys might come up with. Thanks a bunch in advance!

 

[Barty1884]

For around $100 there are better options that an i3 or FX6300 IMO. Really depends on your location and availability &/or shipping costs.

I'd avoid the FX6300 though - especially as you;'ll need a new motherboard.

For example, while this is poorly listed, it's an i5-4590S.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-i5-4590-3-3GHz-Quad-Core-BX80646I54590-Processor/263381572469?epid=218318015&hash=item3d52c3db75:g:7X8AAOSwm3paLhc5

Quad Core, 3.0Ghz boosting to 3.7GHz.


The R7 240 is going to hold back anything much stronger than the Pentium though - but gives you a stronger foundation for future GPU upgrades.

 

[feelinfroggy777]

No, you dont want to go with a fx6300. Don't put a dime in a dead platform. Have you looked for a used i5 4690? A quick search on ebay shows them available for $150. You may be able to find a better deal than that if you look a little longer. It will perform much better than the 6300.

If you really want to get better gaming performance though, then I would not go for the CPU and I would get a new GPU. The 1050ti will pair nicely with your G3260. For gaming, the GPU is much more important than the CPU.

 

[captaincharisma]

whatever you do do not go the am+ 3 socket route cause the fx CPU's are very poor performers and most FX CPUs get outperformed by intel Pentiums. if you were looking to go AMD route you need to look at an AM+ 4 socket. but if your trying to reuse you DDR3 ram then stick with intel CPUs for the motherboard you have. you should be able to find a reasonably priced 4th gen i3/i5 CPU

 

[cryoburner]

I agree that you should look to the pre-owned market to get the best performance for your money. That generation of processors is a few years old now, so some people are upgrading their systems to newer platforms, and you should be able to find a used i5 for around the cost of a new i3.