Motherboard and CPU help

[LeBooze]

I am considering upgrading my CPU, but I have an old motherboard. Thought about going with the fx-8350, but I would need to get a new motherboard to support it. My board can only support 95W. So recently the fx-8370E came out and it is a 95W CPU, so I just wanted to ask if it would work. I have the gigabyte ga-78lmt-s2 motherboard. All help is appreciated.

 

[IInuyasha74]

http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=4311

Your motherboard does not support any 8-core CPUs, so it won't work with the FX 8350 or FX 8370E. You will need to buy a new motherboard if you want to upgrade.

What CPU do you have at the moment? I would advise using an AMD Vishera based 6-core CPU like the FX 6300 if you want to save money, or upgrading to an Intel system if you want to upgrade more.

 

[LeBooze]

http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=4311

Your motherboard does not support any 8-core CPUs, so it won't work with the FX 8350 or FX 8370E. You will need to buy a new motherboard if you want to upgrade.

What CPU do you have at the moment? I would advise using an AMD Vishera based 6-core CPU like the FX 6300 if you want to save money, or upgrading to an Intel system if you want to upgrade more.

I have a fx 6100

 

[wildfire707]

According to Gigabyte's web site, if that is the revision 1.0 board (you didn't say what rev number), it can support the FX-8100, FX-6300, FX-6120, FX-6100, FX-4300, FX-4150, and FX-4100 CPUs. Here is the link to that page:

http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=4208

Note: Some of the CPUs require the F5 BIOS to work.

If you do not have the rev 1.0 board, then it is different. You can find out what revision your board is by following the directions in this link:

http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/faq-page.aspx?fid=864

 

[IInuyasha74]

That is a Zambezi architecture, the original Bulldozer core. An FX 6300 is an upgrade but its not a big upgrade, not worth the cost. So if you want to upgrade it would be best to get an Intel CPU.
You could go a new motherboard and 8-core CPU from AMD, but those units are two years old now, and comparatively very inefficient in terms of performance and power consumption. An Intel Core i5 system would run you roughly the same price if you want to upgrade now, and will offer you upgrade options in the future.

If you want to go ahead with the upgrade, tell me which way you want to go and your budget and I will pick out a motherboard and CPU for you.

 

[IInuyasha74]

According to Gigabyte's web site, if that is the revision 1.0 board (you didn't say what rev number), it can support the FX-8100, FX-6300, FX-6120, FX-6100, FX-4300, FX-4150, and FX-4100 CPUs. Here is the link to that page:

http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=4208

Note: Some of the CPUs require the F5 BIOS to work.

If you do not have the rev 1.0 board, then it is different. You can find out what revision your board is by following the directions in this link:

http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/faq-page.aspx?fid=864

I already posted the CPU support list, and of the three board revisions being 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2 they all have identical CPU support lists. No 8-core CPUs are supported.

 

[LeBooze]

That is a Zambezi architecture, the original Bulldozer core. An FX 6300 is an upgrade but its not a big upgrade, not worth the cost. So if you want to upgrade it would be best to get an Intel CPU.
You could go a new motherboard and 8-core CPU from AMD, but those units are two years old now, and comparatively very inefficient in terms of performance and power consumption. An Intel Core i5 system would run you roughly the same price if you want to upgrade now, and will offer you upgrade options in the future.

If you want to go ahead with the upgrade, tell me which way you want to go and your budget and I will pick out a motherboard and CPU for you.

Thanks for all your help, I am mainly gaming on my computer so whatever cpu brand/model is best for gaming I would get. I know CPUs don't have a big impact in games, it is mostly the GPU, but I games seem to be getting more and more CPU intensive. So whatever you can find that won't break the bank.

 

[IInuyasha74]

If that is the case, I would say wait a little while. It is true games slowly advance and need more resources. Watch Dogs is a particularly CPU intense game at the moment and while the 6-core CPUs do a great job of budget gaming they are out performed by the FX 8XXX CPUs and the Intel Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs. Though this is like you mentioned depending on the GPU to a point. If its not fast enough the CPU won't be the problem.

Anyways like I said its best to wait, if you can and don't mind. Intel is coming out with a new CPU architecture called Broadwell. It brings several improvements, faster performance, and greatly reduced power consumption. Its expected to be out by the end of the year, though it could be delayed till Spring, its likely to be out this year though. Motherboards for it are already out. So if you can make do with your current system another month or two chances are you can get a better CPU that will last longer for roughly the same price you would spend now. Its what I would do personally, because even if you don't end up buying one other CPUs will drop in price and you will save money.

 

[LeBooze]

If that is the case, I would say wait a little while. It is true games slowly advance and need more resources. Watch Dogs is a particularly CPU intense game at the moment and while the 6-core CPUs do a great job of budget gaming they are out performed by the FX 8XXX CPUs and the Intel Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs. Though this is like you mentioned depending on the GPU to a point. If its not fast enough the CPU won't be the problem.

Anyways like I said its best to wait, if you can and don't mind. Intel is coming out with a new CPU architecture called Broadwell. It brings several improvements, faster performance, and greatly reduced power consumption. Its expected to be out by the end of the year, though it could be delayed till Spring, its likely to be out this year though. Motherboards for it are already out. So if you can make do with your current system another month or two chances are you can get a better CPU that will last longer for roughly the same price you would spend now. Its what I would do personally, because even if you don't end up buying one other CPUs will drop in price and you will save money.

Alright, sounds good. Thanks for all of the help!