Can I handle a AMD FX 9370?

Coldgie

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Jul 2, 2016
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GPU: MSI RX 480 8 GB
MOBO: MSI 970A-G43
POWER SUP: Corsair CX 750w
8GB RAM

Ive been told the FX9370 needs at least a 1000w power supply to be able to run. I currently have the 9370, but my games run at low fps. Ive been told its because of my motherboard (which is 4 years old) or because I dont have a good enough power supply. So should I invest in a new motherboard or a new power supply?
 
Solution
You would never need 1000 watt Power Supply for any Cpu your motherboards mosfets are not covered with a heat sink so it will throttle your cpu and cause you to have low fps when your gaming
Do not spend any money on a FX-9XXX CPU. Those 220W CPUs are notoriously unstable and there are literally hundreds (if not more) of threads of users having issues with them here on Tom's.

Either wait for Ryzen or move over to an Intel based system if you can't wait.
 
i wouldnt buy that CPU. if you're planning on a new motherboard, might as well get a core i5 instead. otherwise wait for ryzen......see how that pans out. no one should buy AMD FX chips any longer. waste 'o money. the 9370 is just an overlocked 8350, basically.
 
MERGED QUESTION
Question from Coldgie : "Can my build support the 9370?"

GPU: MSI RX 480 8 GB
MOBO: MSI 970A-G43
POWER SUP: Corsair CX 750w
8GB RAM

I already have an 9370 installed, im only asking if my build can support it. Ive been told the FX9370 needs at least a 1000w power supply to be able to run. I currently have the 9370, but my games run at low fps. Ive been told its because of my motherboard (which is 4 years old) or because I dont have a good enough power supply. So should I invest in a new motherboard or a new power supply?
 
Get a new motherboard and pick one that has heat sinks on the mosfets and your be good to go. But a 990fx motherboard works best with that cpu . You would never need 1000 watt Power Supply for any Cpu if you get a power supply it will not help your situation in any way.
 
That motherboard will in no way support a 9 series FX cpu. So regardless of the absolute waste of money it would be to use the cpu and a cooler able to actually cool it, the answer is a definite No.
If you must invest money, an intel Haswell lga1150 would be the wisest path, you'd at least get decent performance and be able to reuse the ram and possibly the cpu cooler if you kept the Intel mounting hardware.

There's less than a dozen actual boards that'll fully support an fx 9, not all 990Fx boards will, and only 2 970's that I know of.
 
You already have that CPU installed on that motherboard? Blimey, you are lucky your motherboard hasn't caught fire yet. That CPU is a fire hazard! The MSI 970A-G46 (which is your motherboard but with heatsinks on VRMs unlike yours) couldn't even handle my old FX 8120 properly! Sell those parts off and build a ryzen system when its out or intel system. Your PC is a fire hazard In my opinion.

Also if the CX in the CX750 is green and black, get rid of that PSU as well. The Green and Black CX series PSU's are terrible quality PSUs from corsair.
 


Ive got a H60 liquid cooler on the CPU, and it stays at a pretty low temp. Ive also never had problems with the PSU, but what would you suggest for something within a decent price range?

 


It's not the CPU you have to worry about. Its the Voltage Regulator Modules or VRM's for Short. The VRM's on that motherboard were not even intended for 125 watt FX 8000 series CPU. Little Lone the 220 watt FX 9000 series. Its a Bloody miracle you didn't hit a CPU workload yet that fried the motherboard VRMs like KFC fried chicken (damn it im hungry now lol). As for PSU Option's, I would probably advice a Seasonic M12II or S12II 620 Watt PSU. Seasonic makes good PSU's and that should provide sufficient wattage.
 
I think your build can handle the FX 9370. Being at 4.4 GHz Base at 1.53750V like the 4.7 GHz FX 9590, your CPU should draw slightly lower power than the 220W of the 9590.
You should be more concerned about your CPU temperatures to be below 61.1°C, which is possible with that AIO of yours.

You should also check your VRMs on your motherboard if they have heatsinks. If they do not have heatsinks, I would be surprised your board could survive with that CPU. But just Ziptie some little 40mm or 80mm fans from some $10 laptop coolers and you will be fine if you dont overvolt it further.

You might even reach 4.7 GHz easily with 1.53750V, heck mine reached there at 1.49375V and is now cruising at 4.9 GHz at comfortable temperatures at 1.60625V. If temperatures are already high, you might want to disable 4.7 GHz Turbo Core (only works when 4 or fewer cores are utilised) and undervolt to around 1.4-1.45V or lower at 4.4 GHz.
Watch the temperatures, I need to stress this as it is the main cause of lockups even with sufficient voltage.

Your PSU is sufficient, provided that your CPU is not sharing a 12V rail with the motherboard or GPU (if using multi rail PSU). If yours is single rail you are fine with your current build. I recommend 650W or more for this, 750W if you plan on overclocking, 1000W if you plan to crossfire another RX 480 in the future and overclock. Plug in any extra "for extreme overclocking" CPU power wires as these are necessary to supply the increased power draw of the FX 9370.

It is quite amusing how so many people try to dismiss the problem as impossible and coax the OP to sell his build and go to a Z170 platform. Problem is, most people dont want to spend the unnecessary costs and time. It may be easier to say buy X buy Y, but isnt itbetter to reduce waste and try to make the most of what you currently have?
 


Maybe you should look up some specs before posting. Because running a 9370 on the OPs motherboard is absolutely horrible advice. The motherboard he has a wholly inadequate power delivery system for a 9xxx series cpu, even 125w cpus have been known to struggle on that board due to VRM throttling. Even if the VRMs were cooled they are simply too weak. The 970a-G43 only has a 4+1 VRM phase, for a 220w CPU you need atleast an 8+2 phase(preferably digital) for the 220w cpus.
 
The main problem with the VRM's is heat. They are not designed to run at the excessive heat that a 9 series FX is capable of. What doesn't happen is temps showing up on tests. Sure the cpu is running cool on a h60, the stock cooler that used to come with those 2 cpus was an h80i equivalent. With the VRM's overheated, the board is going to drop performance to maintain temps in a pathetic attempt to not fry. As it is, it's a minor miracle that the cpu even works since it's not supported in the bios at all for that cpu.
Basically its only a matter of time before the board is ruined beyond repair. You could sink a bunch of money into a MSI 970 Gaming, which is built for that cpu, but what will happen is all of a sudden it'll actually perform at full rated specs and that little h60 will quickly prove to be inadequate.
So now not only do you need to replace the board, but cooler and psu. You are racking up expense to get performance that's worse than my old I7 3770k.
So, is it really worth it, just to hang on to a disaster?