FX Series CPU Upgrade

[ttower2020]

I currently have an AMD FX-4300, and am looking for an upgrade. I am thinking about getting an FX-8350. I was hoping someone could shed some light on compatibility (Mostly Software/BIOS related) with my current setup. Here is a list of my components. I do have a watercooler as well, so the high heat output shouldnt be a problem.

CPU - AMD FX-4300
GPU - EVGA GTX 1050 2GB
RAM - 12GB @1600 MHz
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-USB3
PSU - EVGA 750 Watt

Another option is to save up for a while and get a Ryzen series, but I would rather keep most of what I already have if it is worth it to upgrade just the CPU, not essentially my whole system.

 

[Barty1884]

Neither an 8350, nor a 9590 would be good choices, for a couple of different reasons.
1. Neither CPU is particularly "good", based on extremely dated architectures at this point.
2. The 8350 would likely throttle on that board. The VRM design is underwhelming to support the 125W TDP CPUs. You could go with a good downdraft aircooler to give the VRMs some airflow but, even then, I doubt it would be an overly smooth experience.

The FX9590 will [strike]burn down your house.[/strike] throttle on almost any board out there, included the 990FX boards that were released to attempt to handle that complete mess of a CPU.
https://community.amd.com/thread/180356

It's an overclocked, overclocked, overclocked CPU with a TDP of 220W, and a real world power draw greater than that.
Don't do it.

 

[sizzling]

Your motherboard does not support the FX9XXX series. The FX8350 is 125w which officially is supported by your motherboard but that motherboard is known to have problems with 125w CPU’s due to its weak 4+1 VRM’s.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Time for a new core system , don't invest in the very outdated FX platform.

 

[ttower2020]

I know what you are saying, but I don't have a large budget to easily afford a new CPU, Motherboard and RAM. Practically, I need to stay within the AM3+ socket that I have, for at least a while. Where should I go from here? And yes, Ill defiantly avoid the 9590.

 

[Barty1884]

Then I would stick with the FX4300.
Any gains you can get will be disproportionate the to cost.

Stick with the 4300 for now, and save for a new platform. Any money you spend on that system (other than storage, PSU etc that you can move forward) would be wasted IMO.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

You will need to invest in great cooling and an expensive board to continue on FX , which would be a waste of $$$.

 

[jonuf02]

I just went from having the FX8350 for quite a while to the Pentium G4600 which blows it away in feeling. I think most of the gain is due to new architecture, DDR4-2400 RAM speed, and new NVMe SSD for the main drive. The FX8350 was originally purchased to experiment with virtualization, but ended up as a normal Win7 PC that never felt very impressive. It has certain use cases, but not a great processor. You can build a pretty inexpensive system with the 7th gen G4600 or 6th gen G4560 that will impress you. Current gen motherboards are cheap, SSD are cheap or use what you have.

G4600 = $80-90
Motherboard = $50-80 (check for a used B250 board on Ebay if you're on a budget)
8GB of DDR4 = $60

For less than $200 you could upgrade the 3 necessary base components. I am able to play current games with those specs and a RX 580 GPU I bought used for $120, thanks to failed miners. The Samsung 970 Evo M.2 NVMe drive was a vast improvement, but a little costly. If you have a standard SSD it will be good enough.

 

[ttower2020]

Thanks. Not what I wanted to hear, but kind of what I expected. I guess ill save for the next who knows how long. I do have an SSD already, one of my first upgrades to the system.@jonuf02

 

[Barty1884]

While not 'perfect', a 4c/8t Ryzen5, compatible board & 2x4GB DDR4 3000MHz is ~$250.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1400 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($129.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B350M PRO-VD PLUS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($52.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team - Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $253.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-05 16:24 EST-0500

While budget varies individual to individual, by the time you upgrades an FX CPU and got appropriate cooling, you'd probably be halfway to an entirely new, modern platform.