Choosing a processor

[xJayyy]

Hey guys it's pretty much christmas I plan on getting some new parts for my PC and I want to get a new processor preferably 4ghz + Quad Core, but I'm not the best with hardware so I was wondering what would be compatible with my current hardware.

Specs: http://prntscr.com/9h1058

Thanks in advance.

 

[Robert Cook]

well you have a AMD APU, so not too much you can do with that motherboard. I would try to get a cheap AM3+ board with a FX6300 if you wand some performance or just get a 4300. Also I would look into a phenom and a AM3 board, while older, the phenom is often cheaper and can sometimes beat out or tie the FX chips that were supposed to replace them. Intel would be nice, but with out a budget amount, I am unsure if that would fly.

 

[larkspur]

Hey guys it's pretty much christmas I plan on getting some new parts for my PC and I want to get a new processor preferably 4ghz + Quad Core,

What is your PC used for? What makes you want a new CPU/APU? I couldn't tell from the image, does it have a graphics card installed?

 

[Robert Cook]

Hey guys it's pretty much christmas I plan on getting some new parts for my PC and I want to get a new processor preferably 4ghz + Quad Core,

What is your PC used for? What makes you want a new CPU/APU? I couldn't tell from the image, does it have a graphics card installed?

Well it is an APU... but the video card is a valid point, of there is none, then a FX chip or phenom will not work, as they have no on board video.

 

[Robert Cook]

I looked over the list more, it appears there is no GPU, just the cores in the APU.

 

[xJayyy]

Hey guys it's pretty much christmas I plan on getting some new parts for my PC and I want to get a new processor preferably 4ghz + Quad Core,

What is your PC used for? What makes you want a new CPU/APU? I couldn't tell from the image, does it have a graphics card installed?

Just for games and editing, and yes I have a R9 270x Graphics card

 

[xJayyy]

I looked over the list more, it appears there is no GPU, just the cores in the APU.

 

[Robert Cook]

nice card, I had one, it was a good card. in this case, a phenom or FX chips is perfectly viable, but you will still need a AM3+ or AM3 board. if you get a phenom make sure to get a black edition so you can OC. I have a 965BE, which while mine is an exception for certain was able to OC to 5.0 GHz, and on some days better. the average on a half decent motherboard seems to be around 4.3

 

[xJayyy]

nice card, I had one, it was a good card. in this case, a phenom or FX chips is perfectly viable, but you will still need a AM3+ or AM3 board. if you get a phenom make sure to get a black edition so you can OC. I have a 965BE, which while mine is an exception for certain was able to OC to 5.0 GHz, and on some days better. the average on a half decent motherboard seems to be around 4.3

Dang I'm currently at a stable 4.3ghz

 

[xJayyy]

nice card, I had one, it was a good card. in this case, a phenom or FX chips is perfectly viable, but you will still need a AM3+ or AM3 board. if you get a phenom make sure to get a black edition so you can OC. I have a 965BE, which while mine is an exception for certain was able to OC to 5.0 GHz, and on some days better. the average on a half decent motherboard seems to be around 4.3

Should I go with this? http://

If so can you link me a cheap motherboard? Btw thanks for the help man

 

[larkspur]

In your situation, if I wanted more CPU power and the ability to run higher-end graphics cards without the CPU being a drag, the thing I'd do is to sell the APU and the motherboard and buy an unlocked Intel i5 or i7, a good overclocking SLI/XFire-capable motherboard and a good heatsink. For gaming/editing you really can't go wrong with an i5 or i7 and the OCing potential gives you a very solid platform that will have a lot of longevity (these chips are plenty fast enough at stock for today's games and GPUs). You'll be able to run any graphics cards over the next few years without any fear of your CPU being too weak to keep up. But that is all going to be pricey... but really if you are looking for significantly more gaming/editing performance, it's going to be hard doing it with an APU-based system and the performance of the FX series of CPUs is pretty underwhelming...

 

[xJayyy]

In your situation, if I wanted more CPU power and the ability to run higher-end graphics cards without the CPU being a drag, the thing I'd do is to sell the APU and the motherboard and buy an unlocked Intel i5 or i7, a good overclocking SLI/XFire-capable motherboard and a good heatsink. For gaming/editing you really can't go wrong with an i5 or i7 and the OCing potential gives you a very solid platform that will have a lot of longevity (these chips are plenty fast enough at stock for today's games and GPUs). You'll be able to run any graphics cards over the next few years without any fear of your CPU being too weak to keep up. But that is all going to be pricey... but really if you are looking for significantly more gaming/editing performance, it's going to be hard doing it with an APU-based system and the performance of the FX series of CPUs is pretty underwhelming...

What I plan on doing now is selling my motherboard and apu and buying a FX 9590 with an AM3+ board

 

[larkspur]

Well first-off let me assure you that I'm not a fanboy of any type. I've used AMD, Intel and Nvidia in many, many builds over many years.

The problem with the FX 9590 is simply that it is a maxed-out, factory-super-overclocked FX-8320. In games it performs about the same as an i5-4690k at stock clocks. What that means is that you can OC an i5-4690k and achieve better gaming performance than the FX-9590 on current games assuming you use a high-end graphics card or multiple graphics cards. Your R9 270x isn't powerful-enough to tell the difference. There are some major disadvantages to the FX-9590:
1) It barely has any room whatsoever to overclock.
2) It requires a high-end cooling solution - AMD recommends liquid cooling (it doesn't come with a cooler). Liquid cooling blocks do nothing to provide airflow to the motherboard's VRM heatsinks - and with a 220w CPU, they are going to need airflow so plan on adding a fan somewhere in there to keep the motherboard cool. It's 220w at max load at stock clocks - that's a LOT of heat to dissipate!
3) It requires an AM3+ board that is compatible with 220w CPUs (not all AM3+ boards can handle 220w CPUs). So even if you find one, I would never use a "cheap motherboard" with a power-monster like that unless you want to risk a fried, dead system.
4) It costs the same as the i5-4690k but REQUIRES a high-end third-party cooling solution and a high-end motherboard. An i5-4690k can get a good OC with a cheap CoolerMaster 212 EVO and a lower-end motherboard (but I always suggest a good, solid motherboard if you OC).
5) There is no upgrade path. If you build with an i5-4690k you can at least drop in an i7-4790k sometime down the road...
6) Since it is such a power-monster you need to make sure your PSU has enough juice.

Obviously, it's totally up to you but I think you'll be better-served in the long run by picking up an i5-4690k and it is the same price as that FX-9590 that you linked. The i5-6600k is also an option but seems to be significantly more expensive. Also keep in mind - if your current system is satisfying your needs, you don't have to change anything.

I've been looking for a direct comparison, but Anandtech's Bench app isn't playing nice (probably user-error heh heh heh) so here's Anandtech's and HardwareCanucks review of the FX-9590. Pay attention to the Gaming benchmarks:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8316/amds-5-ghz-turbo-cpu-in-retail-the-fx9590-and-asrock-990fx-extreme9-review/8

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/62166-amd-fx-9590-review-piledriver-5ghz-11.html