Upgrade my AMD FX-4350 or just get a new MoBo and jump on the Intel bandwagon?

[nullatrum]

So I want to upgrade my good ol' 4-core processor. It's served me well, but I Don't get a steady 60 fps in games, for example, on ultra, all the time.When a lot of players or a lot of things are going on, it drops, sometimes to a steady 30 fps 🙁. I know it's not my graphics card's fault since I have a GTX-970 and I've seen those things run WoW (that's the game in question here) 60 fps with ultra settings all the time.

This is the same with many other games, sometimes its 60fps, but when the environment gets too complex or there are just too many things going on, my framerate decreases.

So I got an FX-9370 and tried to install it the other day, thinking this will be great. However, after installing it failed to boot my pc. I tried everything suggested in a thread I posted yesterday, alas it all failed. Right nowI just have the FX-4350 back in my PC and I'm going to return the 9370. So my real question is if I should upgrade to like an fx-8350, try it again with another 9370 (it must've been faulty, here's the thread in question), or just give up on amd.

In which case I would buy a new MoBo (not sure which yet) and get most likely a i7 4790k. Although maybe there is an even better 8-core intel cpu available now? Not sure. Either way, I'm guessing an 8-core will improve my frames. consistently like my friends with the i7-4790k and a GTX combo.

What do you guys suggest?

 

[NightAntilli]

With that motherboard, why not overclock your FX-4350 rather than upgrading? You should be able to reach 4.8 GHz with it. That will alleviate the bottlenecks quite a bit.

 

[Kenneth Barker]

Intel will give you better performance, but at the cost of more $. That is a call you must make.

If you want to save $ stick with the updated AMD FX chips. The socket should be the same for these chips. What Mobo are you using currently for the AMD chips? You should be able to update the BIOS to work the new FX-9XXX series of chips. Dependent on the Mobo of course. The bigger FX will solve your problems most likely, and be your cheapest way out. However, I personally would go intel if I had the money. Atleast until AMD steps their game up. I used to be a massive AMD fan, but they have been a let down in general these past handful of years

 

[laviniuc]

hey, noticed i think on the video that you didnt plug in the extra power connector (i think) the 8 pin one next to the cpu cooler, top-left of the socket near the black vrm heatsink?

edit: or maybe you did and i couldnt see it properly on the video?

 

[nullatrum]

Intel will give you better performance, but at the cost of more $. That is a call you must make.

If you want to save $ stick with the updated AMD FX chips. The socket should be the same for these chips. What Mobo are you using currently for the AMD chips? You should be able to update the BIOS to work the new FX-9XXX series of chips. Dependent on the Mobo of course. The bigger FX will solve your problems most likely, and be your cheapest way out. However, I personally would go intel if I had the money. Atleast until AMD steps their game up. I used to be a massive AMD fan, but they have been a let down in general these past handful of years

Hey I have an asus sabertooth 990fx. It's at version 2501 which should be correct for the 9370, I've tried reseating power cables and nothing's worked on that cpu so I presume it's just a faulty cpu.

With that motherboard, why not overclock your FX-4350 rather than upgrading? You should be able to reach 4.8 GHz with it. That will alleviate the bottlenecks quite a bit.

Okay Antilli I might as well try overclocking the processor, good point. Do you have any good resources for overclocking and how to do it? I've only tried it once before and it was not succesful, and I don't remember much either. Just do it from the bios, right? Not the software that comes with the cpu?

 

[Kenneth Barker]

hey, noticed i think on the video that you didnt plug in the extra power connector (i think) the 8 pin one next to the cpu cooler, top-left of the socket near the black vrm heatsink?

edit: or maybe you did and i couldnt see it properly on the video?

Check this. This would cause your problem if its true

 

[laviniuc]

hey, noticed i think on the video that you didnt plug in the extra power connector (i think) the 8 pin one next to the cpu cooler, top-left of the socket near the black vrm heatsink?

edit: or maybe you did and i couldnt see it properly on the video?

Check this. This would cause your problem if its true

it woudl indeed, since the 4350 gets away with less wattage, you need the eps power cable for it, the second non modular cable (the big one is the atx power, second one is the one that goes on that connector)

 

[nullatrum]

I wish that was the problem but I think I have the power connector in question plugged in. I took a picture of where I think you're describing

 

[laviniuc]

yep... it's plugged...

 

[NightAntilli]

Okay Antilli I might as well try overclocking the processor, good point. Do you have any good resources for overclocking and how to do it? I've only tried it once before and it was not succesful, and I don't remember much either. Just do it from the bios, right? Not the software that comes with the cpu?

This is the best guide around;
http://www.overclock.net/t/1348623/amd-bulldozer-and-piledriver-overclocking-guide-asus-motherboard

I used it myself to overclock my FX-8320 from 3.5 GHz to 4.5 GHz. Since you have a better motherboard and a less power hungry CPU and the same cooler as me, you should be able to reach higher than me if you have an average chip.