CPU upgrade from Phenom ii X4 840

[Ben Mash]

hey guys and gals,

I think I've pushed my rig to the limits and hit the ceiling of what its capable of playing. here's my current set up:

CPU: AMD Phenom ii X4 840 3.2Mhz
Mobo: MSI 870-g45 MS- 7599 ver 2.1
GPU: Radeon 5770 HD 1GB
PSU: xfx pro 550w
RAM: 2X8GB gskill DDR2
1TB HHD
Handmedown Corsair water kit to CPU (no model # showing so dunno what type)

I've had pretty good success playing CS GO with it, about 120fps on low graphics and managed to play newer titles (fallout 4, GTA 5, crysis 3) on lowest settings with minimal lag after the odd tweaks guides and whatnot.

Buddy just picked me up a copy of PlayerUnknownsBattleGrounds a couple weeks ago and i know the game isn't optimized and I've done all the .ini tweaks/ steam launch multicore options/ settings and sliders on lowest and I'm getting a max of 15FPS, unless im in a vehicle or gunfight then its 10 or if I'm parachuting at the beginning then I'm getting 1FPS as the landscape renders lol.

another buddy that i play with on PUBG is offering me a GTX 960 2gig that he has lying around if i upgrade my CPU, as he says my CPU wont handle it well. to try and raise the FPS a bit more.

I realize the whole rig is kicking the bucket here pretty quick and I'm saving up the funds to just buy all new; but with a year and a half old and a new one on the way, im not going expecting anything for a year or so to save up the 1500$ish.

Now for the question..

TLDR: im looking to budget upgrade my CPU to give me a couple more years out of my system, does anyone know a logical upgrade CPU that i could swap out for my Phenom and keep everything else the same for under 100$ or a new CPU/Mobo combo for under 100$ that could hold me over for the next couple years while I save for a all new rig.

 

[photonboy]

1) ignore me...

2) The way to check is:
a) find motherboard support site, then the "CPU support list" for your EXACT motherboard
b) find the most powerful CPU's
c) PASSMARK is a good, rough guide to compare-> https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Phenom+II+X4+840&id=357

*So you need the single thread to be noticeably higher, AND at least four cores.

OTHER:
The HD5770 is very weak, so at least the GTX960 should make a huge difference. In fact, you may even be able to play the new DOOM as that games uses threads really well. (I'm aware it's technically below spec)

 

[photonboy]

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/870G45.html#support-cpu

Something like the X6 1090T is probably the best... you'd have to check EBay.

But.... it's really not going to make a big difference in most games. The extra cores won't help most, and it's really not that much faster per core:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Phenom+II+X6+1090T

I think the GTX960 path is your best bet and just keep everything else.

OTHER:
As for saying "as he says my CPU wont handle it well", well every game is different. You can get a GREAT GAMING EXPERIENCE with what you have plus GTX960 as long as you choose the games carefully and tweak as needed.

For example, maybe you get 60FPS in a game (with GTX960) instead of 90FPS with a much better CPU. Is that bad?

It's really not as shitty as some people might let on. I wouldn't play GTA5 likely, but there's PLENTY of games I can recommend. If you want a LIST I can make you one.

 

[Ben Mash]

Wow, the X6 is still like 180$ on nxic. yeah from what i can read about it 6 cores over 4 cores isn't needed for gaming more for encoding and video editing.. I'll keep my eyes peeled for a used one on the cheap side...

I'll see if i can get the 960 to work and go from there. thanks for the input