CPU upgrade help please

[PotetWarrior]

I am planning on upgrading my CPU, it is almost 5 years old and loads up on 100% load each start up, it's a fx-4350 quad core 3.8 ghz, and I don't know what to upgrade to, I have a gtx 960 for the gpu, so whatever goes along well with that that doesn't break bank

 

[Oaklandmurphy]

Well the ideal cpu for that build would be a skylake i5, however, (as you probably know) it would require you to get a new motherboard and new ram and the upgrade will likely cost upwards of $300. If you want a cheaper option, the FX 8350 will be compatible with your current motherboard and ram and only cost ~$130. The downside is that although it has double the cores of your current cpu, it won't have better single core performance which is the most important thing for gaming.

 

[spentshells]

What is your budget? What is your current motherboard?

Here is a cheap yet massive upgrade

Intel Core i3-6100 3M 3.7 GHz - $125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1UH3Z96233

GIGABYTE GA-H110M-A (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel H110 $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128873

Team Elite Plus 8GB (2 x 4GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 40.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313737

Change of platform and huge performance increase for 210 dollars

I would suggest spending more on all three segments I offered but that would give you a huge performance boost in all games.

 

[VincentP]

You would have to check motherboard support for the FX 8350 as well, not all AM3+ motherboards will support it.
I wouldn't upgrade the CPU in a 5 year old motherboard anyway. The mb may not have long to go.
The Core i3 6100 is a good budget gaming CPU. An improvement on the FX 4350 in most situations, but may struggle in CPU intensive applications that can use more than two cores.
The Core i5 6400 or 6500 are much better again, and well worth the extra money.
These will need a socket 1151 motherboard and DDR4 memory.

 

[PotetWarrior]

*Edit* I have a biostar ta970, I don't mind the price, just don't want to go completely broke. My ram is ripjaw ram, would that have to be changed as well?

 

[spentshells]

I must suggest you provide an absolute maximum and we can try to get it as low as can be.

 

[PotetWarrior]

No more than 250-300

 

[VincentP]

*Edit* I have a biostar ta970, I don't mind the price, just don't want to go completely broke. My ram is ripjaw ram, would that have to be changed as well?

Yes, you need new RAM.
Ripjaw is just a marketing name. What you have is DDR3.
Most Skylake motherboards only support DDR4.