FM2+ MB... Athlon 760k or AMD APU

[king3pj]

I recently replaced the 2GB 7850 in my main gaming machine with a GTX 970. My gaming PC is hooked to a TV in my living room and I use it for games I can play with a controller. It's uncomfortable playing intense keyboard and mouse games from a couch.

I put my old 7850 in a computer I originally built cheaply for remotely connecting to my computer at work. Since then I have been using this for games that are better at a desk like Civ V, Diablo 3, Sim City, and especially Smite.

This computer currently has the following specs

2GB Radeon 7850
A4 - 5300
Gigabyte FM2+ GA-F2A75M-HD2 motherboard
4GB of 1600MHz RAM
Corsair 430W power supply

I know the processor is weak, the RAM is low, and I should have a stronger power supply. This is not my main gaming machine so I'm not willing to buy a new motherboard, new copy of windows, and new power supply. I could buy new RAM but I don't think that's a problem for my current use.

This works well for the most part. I have been playing Smite every night with maximum settings and it's generally smooth. However, about once every 2 or 3 matches I get big framerate drops for 10 seconds or so. I'm thinking an upgrade from that cheap 3.4GHz dual core processor built into the A4 could fix this without costing me too much money.

I can get the Athlon 4 core 760k 3.8GHz processor for $98 from Amazon. Would I be better off with that or trying a higher level APU in dual graphics mode with my 7850? Again, I only have a 430W power supply in this machine and I'd rather stick with stock cooling so overclocking probably isn't an option.

 

[ingtar33]

no apu will dual graphics with that 7850, get the athlon II x4 760k

 

[king3pj]

no apu will dual graphics with that 7850, get the athlon II x4 760k

Thanks for the quick response. Will that give me a noticeable improvement for games like Smite, Diablo 3, Civ 5, Sim City, and Divinity: Original Sin over the A4-5300? The clock speed will only increase from 3.4GHz to 3.8Ghz but the 760k is quad core and the A4 is only dual core.

 

[madmatt30]

Seeing as you have an fm2+ board & are currently running a CPU that will let you update to the latest mb bios then at $80 the 860k is a no-brainer.
Cheaper than the 760k and outperforms it in every way.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00MU00IOQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1424446226&sr=8-1&keywords=860k&dpPl=1&dpID=41hPfZOaoLL&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

 

[TechyInAZ]

Only the R7 240/250 and Radeon 6670 support dual graphics. I advise just to get the athlon 760k or 860k.

 

[king3pj]

Seeing as you have an fm2+ board & are currently running a CPU that will let you update to the latest mb bios then at $80 the 860k is a no-brainer.
Cheaper than the 760k and outperforms it in every way.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00MU00IOQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1424446226&sr=8-1&keywords=860k&dpPl=1&dpID=41hPfZOaoLL&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

Thanks man. It's ordered and on the way. Is updating my BIOS as simple as downloading something from Gigabyte's website?

 

[boosted1g]

The 860k will be a noticeable improvement from the a4, so for $80 it is not that bad of a buy. Just know that that 860k which is the best of the best right now for that socket is still less then an fx-6300 or core i3.

 

[madmatt30]

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4759#bios

FD bios - I believe its an exe that flashes from windows so should be a 2 minute job.

 

[king3pj]

The 860k will be a noticeable improvement from the a4, so for $80 it is not that bad of a buy. Just know that that 860k which is the best of the best right now for that socket is still less then an fx-6300 or core i3.

Thanks. Yeah, I realize I'm not going to get a performance CPU for $80. Again, this is a secondary computer I'm trying to turn into a low end gaming machine for games that are better played at my desk. My main PC has a GTX 970 and an FX 6300 overclocked to 4.0Ghz thanks to Madmatt's help in another thread.

I don't think any of the games I'll be playing on this demand a high end machine though.

 

[king3pj]

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4759#bios

FD bios - I believe its an exe that flashes from windows so should be a 2 minute job.

Thanks again!