Can I Use An AMD FX-8370E?

[WrektGlitch]

I have a Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2PT Rev 4.2, and my current processor is an AMD FX 4300, which has the same TDP as the 8370E. I know they're both AM3+ socket processors, so the fit is a guarantee. My question is this: Why isn't the 8370E listed as a supported processor on the Gigabyte website for this board, if the TDP is the same? I know a little bit about PCs, but not a lot, so this isn't making sense to me. Thanks in advance for the help. List of supported processors for my board is here.

 

[Dhikasen]

Well, i wouldn't use that 8 core processor on 780 chipset boards. Even if said that it have same tdp, the 8 core will stress your motherboard more. For example, your fx4300 have 95w tdp, but it's not always running on that power level. Tdp just mean how much power that processor able to take. Well, 8 core vs 4 core, the 8 core will need some more power than the 4 core. So the motherboard maker wouldn't risk that.

And also there's a chance that it will work, but need some bios update.

 

[Supernova1138]

TDP only indicates the heat it puts out, not the processor's actual power draw. Moving from 4 cores to 8 cores will increase the power draw, and your board's very weak VRMs simply can't handle it, which is why no 8 core CPUs are supported aside from a very low clocked Bulldozer chip, and that CPU probably had throttling issues on that board.

The FX 6300 is the best you're going to get on that board, if you want a bigger CPU upgrade, you're looking at a new motherboard as well, and at that point I would recommend switching to Intel rather than putting more money into the dead AM3+ platform.

 

[WrektGlitch]

So my best option realistically, without switching boards, is the FX-6300. That's not much better for the cost of the "upgrade". I feel like if I'm gonna upgrade the MOBO, it's gonna be to a DDR4 board, with at least 32GB of RAM support, which means quite a bit of money on RAM alone. Best Intel gaming processor around $200? The dream would be the i7-6700K, but that's just too expensive.

 

[WrektGlitch]

I can upgrade boards, and go with an 8370E for about $285, but with DDR3, which is fine, but it's not DDR4. I'd need a comparable CPU from Intel with a comparable board for around the same price.

 

[Dustybin]

What do you use your PC for? If it's a gaming machine an i5 and 16gb RAM would be fine. At that point you'd see far better gains from a GPU upgrade than going from 16 - 32gb RAM or from an i5 - i7.

 

[WrektGlitch]

What do you use your PC for? If it's a gaming machine an i5 and 16gb RAM would be fine. At that point you'd see far better gains from a GPU upgrade than going from 16 - 32gb RAM or from an i5 - i7.

I'm using it for gaming and streaming. Right now I have a single GTX 960. I wanna upgrade to a better CPU because the 4300 just isn't good enough. I would need to upgrade PSU, as well.

 

[WrektGlitch]

Another problem is that my case has two USB on top of it, and I'd like to be able to utilize those, so I need a board that can support them. I'm not sure how that works, though.

 

[Supernova1138]

If you want to save some money you can go for an older Haswell CPU and re-use your existing RAM. You should be able to get an i5 4460 and a compatible motherboard for $285.

As for your case's USB ports, are they USB 2.0 or 3.0? USB 2.0 are easy as just about any board is going to have a header for those. USB 3.0 support is a bit harder as some of the really low end budget boards won't have a header for it, but you should easily be able to find a board within your budget that has a USB 3.0 header, just look for one on the specs when shopping around.