Do I need to upgrade my motherboard in order to upgrade my CPU?

[trjackman]

I want to upgrade my CPU but im not sure if I need to upgrade my motherboard first. I have very little knowledge on this so i would greatly appreciate the help.

Motherboard: M5A97 R2.0
CPU: AMD FX-8320E Eioght-Core Processor

 

[CountMike]

That processor should work fine on that MB. But there's no current and much better processor for that MB.

 

[kraelic]

If you are upgrading to the 8320E from 6000 or 4000 series FX you should be able to.

If you are wanting something better than the 8320E it will require Motherboard, CPU, and DDR4 RAM

 

[boju]

Motherboard: M5A97 R2.0
CPU: AMD FX-8320E Eioght-Core Processor

Upgrade to or upgrade from?


Those two will work together but if want something else, as said will require new mobo and DDR4 memory.

Are you a gamer? If so what GPU do you have?

Guessing game oriented, If like to continue with Amd, it's Ryzen CPUs are doing really well, will surely notice a difference.

To get you started;

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/pcmasterracebuilds.com/blog/the-best-ryzen-gaming-pc-builds-1080p/%3famp

Google Ryzen benchmarks to get a grip on performance numbers in games between cpu models. Once happy on a particular processor, google best motherboard for that processor. Theres plenty good suggestions on here at Tom's, Anantech, Reddit and linustechtips that'll surely show up in your search results.

DDR4 with its low voltage of 1.2v and 1.35v is another change, Intel as well. They no longer use DDR3. 1.2v memory for stock memory speeds without overclock. If faster memory is supported, the motherboard memory specifications will describe them with an (OC) next to the memory frequency at the motherboard specifications page. you'll find those memory modules operate at 1.35v for the extra speed.

If going Ryzen, these CPUs crave memory speed so if/when looking for ram go for the highest the motherboard will allow and always go 2x sticks for dual channel as it doubles the memory bandwidth and aim for 16GB ram minimum. 8GB isn't enough in games today with video cards more than 4GB vram.

 

[trjackman]

Motherboard: M5A97 R2.0
CPU: AMD FX-8320E Eioght-Core Processor

Upgrade to or upgrade from?


Those two will work together but if want something else, as said will require new mobo and DDR4 memory.

Are you a gamer? If so what GPU do you have?

Guessing game oriented, If like to continue with Amd, it's Ryzen CPUs are doing really well, will surely notice a difference.

To get you started;

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/pcmasterracebuilds.com/blog/the-best-ryzen-gaming-pc-builds-1080p/%3famp

Google Ryzen benchmarks to get a grip on performance numbers in games between cpu models. Once happy on a particular processor, google best motherboard for that processor. Theres plenty good suggestions on here at Tom's, Anantech, Reddit and linustechtips that'll surely show up in your search results.

DDR4 with its low voltage of 1.2v and 1.35v is another change, Intel as well. They no longer use DDR3. 1.2v memory for stock memory speeds without overclock. If faster memory is supported, the motherboard memory specifications will describe them with an (OC) next to the memory frequency at the motherboard specifications page. you'll find those memory modules operate at 1.35v for the extra speed.

If going Ryzen, these CPUs crave memory speed so if/when looking for ram go for the highest the motherboard will allow and always go 2x sticks for dual channel as it doubles the memory bandwidth and aim for 16GB ram minimum. 8GB isn't enough in games today with video cards more than 4GB vram.

I want to upgrade from those. I am a gamer. Currently I have a R9 390X GPU and I have 32GB of ram, but it says DDR3 on the sticker on it so as you said ill need to change the ram as well correct?

From what you've told me about Ryzen I've looked at them and I think I want to go with either the Ryzen 5 2600 or the Ryzen 5 2600X. Do you have any suggestions? As far as the motherboard goes through a little research it seems that a lot of people are using the x470 for those CPUs. Does it matter if I get an Asus, Gigabite or MSI?

Is there any specific ram I should get with these?

 

[boju]

Yes will need to change ram

Get the 2600x, it's faster and you get a better cooler which means better more consistent turbo speeds. https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-5-2600x,5579.html

For motherboard, any of those brands you listed with x470 chipset. Best of the Best, No Compromises section: https://www.techspot.com/bestof/amd-x470-motherboards/

For memory, Samsung B-die ICs are the best it seems. Avoid memory with Hynix chips. Read here for bit of conversation, read the lot, cl14 and cl15 Trident z offer Samsung B-die chips.

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/869877-ryzen-optimized-ram-worth-the-extra-money/

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/821616-what-does-b-die-mean/

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3412459/trident-flare-ram-ryzen.html

So go for Gskill Trident z series DDR4 as they have Samsung B-die ICs chips. Better suited for Ryzen.

Couple of suggestions;

2x 16GB https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232202&cm_re=F4-3000C14D-32GTZ-_-20-232-202-_-Product

or 2x 8GB https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820232205

 

[trjackman]

Yes will need to change ram

Get the 2600x, it's faster and you get a better cooler which means better more consistent turbo speeds. https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-5-2600x,5579.html

For motherboard, any of those brands you listed with x470 chipset. Best of the Best, No Compromises section: https://www.techspot.com/bestof/amd-x470-motherboards/

For memory, Samsung B-die ICs are the best it seems. Avoid memory with Hynix chips. Read here for bit of conversation, read the lot, cl14 and cl15 Trident z offer Samsung B-die chips.

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/869877-ryzen-optimized-ram-worth-the-extra-money/

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/821616-what-does-b-die-mean/

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3412459/trident-flare-ram-ryzen.html

So go for Gskill Trident z series DDR4 as they have Samsung B-die ICs chips. Better suited for Ryzen.

Couple of suggestions;

2x 16GB https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232202&cm_re=F4-3000C14D-32GTZ-_-20-232-202-_-Product

or 2x 8GB https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820232205

Alright I will probably end up getting:

2600x - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B428V2L/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1
Asus x470 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C57Q1XH/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1
2 x 8GB - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820232205


Also just making sure that my PSU is going to hold up to all of this, I have an antec with 750W

 

[CountMike]

Good choices, what's your GPU ? PSU is enough for all single GPU usage.

 

[trjackman]

Good choices, what's your GPU ? PSU is enough for all single GPU usage.

GPU - R9 390X

 

[CountMike]

That's not bad, should work nice for a while, it was bottlenecked by processor's low IPC performance.

 

[boju]

Nice selections there.

Antec 750w should be good enough. Which model is it and how old? If its 5years old or more would consider changing it.

You'll definitely see an improvement from the R9 390x compared the Fx CPUs.

Psu Tier list guides

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-psus,4229.html

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/631048-psu-tier-list-updated/

https://techguided.com/the-best-gaming-power-supplies/

 

[trjackman]

Nice selections there.

Antec 750w should be good enough. Which model is it and how old? If its 5years old or more would consider changing it.

You'll definitely see an improvement from the R9 390x compared the Fx CPUs.

Psu Tier list guides

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-psus,4229.html

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/631048-psu-tier-list-updated/

https://techguided.com/the-best-gaming-power-supplies/

Sorry for such a late response. Im not sure what model it is but i do know that it is over 5 years old. Could you possibly reccomend one for me?

Again, thank you for all the help!

 

[madmatt30]

Any antec 750w is going to be delta or seasonic.

Both decent & probably unnecessary changing it in all honesty

Age means nothing, how much use it's had does

I have 5year old psu's here that have likely seen less use than most members here would put them through in 18 months.

 

[boju]

Perhaps not necessary, as said depending on usage. Since it's for a new system, a system which will probably continue for another amount of year's would argue a new PSU wouldn't be a bad idea.

Any of the tier 1 PSUs, 650w~750w if considering. Xfx, Seasonic, Antec, Super Flower, Corsair to name a few.