CPU. I don't know what to get, everything is too confusing.

[BarrelJuice]

Been looking for a CPU for ages because mine is garbage. I need help. I prefer a lack of bias in responses.

Part List:

GPU: Radeon R9 380 (Gigabyte)

CPU: AMD Athlon 4X 3.4Ghz

RAM: 8GB (4x2) Corsair Vengeance Blue

PSU: EVGA 500W

MOBO: BIOSTAR… no one knows what this is, really.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009MS47B4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

CASE: NZXT Source 210 Elite Mid Tower (It's big and white.)

Gonna vomit some thoughts here:

Okay, so I don't have a lot of money. My budget is $300 (would prefer under $200, but I'm unsure if that's possible, considering what games I want to run and how I want to run them... that info is below) for a CPU and (most likely) a new Mobo.I have an FM2 setup right now and the only replacement I could get with this socket that I was considering is the A10 6800K. But that doesn't look too great.

A lot of people said the FX 6300 was pretty great for budget CPUs. Opinions?

I don't care if it's Intel or AMD (not too familiar with Intel because I've stuck with AMD since I built
this rig)

Intels look really good and all but SO EXPENSIVE.

My intent with this computer is to be able to play games on high/ultra. Games like GTA V, Sleeping Dogs (I need to finish this and can't play it about 20 FPS at this point), Doom, etc. I like big open world games so they strain my garbage CPU.

I think a little slack for the future would be fine, but I honestly just want to be able to run new AAA games on High settings at 60 FPS.

I'm satisfied with my GPU and don't have the cash to upgrade it, but I'm pretty sure it's a good GPU.

So yeah, help me compare and choose. (don't tell me what's best like a douche, tell me why it's the best.) I'm not looking for Intel or AMD fanboys to try and shove their CPUs down my throat, just want factual recommendations. Sorry I made you read so much, rest your eyes. Thanks.
-Andy

 

[BadActor]

More expensive than AMD, but will have better gaming performance and more upgrade options.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI B150M Pro-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($61.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($31.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $288.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-23 21:59 EDT-0400

 

[treewithahat]

If your budget is $300, I would go for something a littler better than an FX-6300. You can afford an I5-6500 (Skylake) along with an H170 motherboard. You cannot overclock, but it still performs fairly well. The Gigabyte GA-H170-GAMING 3 motherboard is about $100 from newegg and the I5 is $200.

 

[Evil Mastermind]

I honestly say wait for kaby lake or zen because it looks fun unless if you need then get skylake

 

[synphul]

You're partly going to be limited by your gpu. Running AAA games at 60fps on high graphics gets demanding. If you mean 'high' as in a step above 'medium' then it may just get you to the 60fps threshold.

Techspot's review of the r9 380 for sleeping dogs @ 1080p to get 48fps on very high, 40fps on gta V @ 1080p at ultra (likely closer to 50-60 at medium graphics).

If an i5 is out of your budget consider an i3. An i3 will still outperform an fx 6xxx and actually costs about the same. Intel isn't 'sooo expensive' and is a myth. Their more expensive chips are more expensive because they perform better. At a given pricepoint amd and intel compete quite close. In a game like doom an i3 outperforms an fx 8370 and costs considerably less.

http://www.techspot.com/review/1173-doom-benchmarks/page5.html

An i3 does no worse than an fx 6300 in gtaV
http://www.techspot.com/review/991-gta-5-pc-benchmarks/page6.html

Sleeping dogs, the i3 has better avg and min fps than the fx 8350.
http://www.hardwarepal.com/best-cpu-gaming-9-processors-8-games-tested/

If you go with a skylake i3 and wish to upgrade you'll have the option of dropping in an i5 or i7. Going with the fx, your upgrade choices will be much fewer. Provided the am3+ (amd) motherboard you choose has enough vrm/power to handle an 8 core cpu, you can add more cores and go from an fx 6xxx to an fx 8xxx but it won't do a whole lot for the core performance. Your next option beyond the fx is zen which would be a whole new motherboard/cpu and ddr4. Zen won't be out until end of the year.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B150M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($34.79 @ Amazon)
Total: $210.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-24 05:53 EDT-0400

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($90.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $170.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-24 05:55 EDT-0400

If you ignore the ddr4 ram for the skylake i3, the i3/mobo vs fx 6300/mobo run about $5 different with the i3 showing stronger performance. The amd board could be had for less but they start taking the heatsinks off the vrm which can lead to mobo thermal throttling under heavier loads especially if you overclock it. Rather than just pair it with the cheapest board available (nor is it the most expensive). Many amd throttling problems can be overcome by using decent boards (in my opinion).