Upgrade to Intel, or upgrade within AMD

[Javahooch]

My current build is this:

Spoiler

(Note: I have no idea if the RAM Modules I listed are the ones I have, when I was at the store I picked the first 2x4 modules I saw, same with the Optical Drive.)
CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 4GB TWIN FROZR Video Card
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-12 10:40 EST-0500

While I have decided on a CPU upgrade, I can't decide what to do. I found a Microcenter bundle for $325 for an i5-4690k and an Extreme4 Motherboard including tax. My other option is to go on the cheap and upgrade my CPU to an FX-8350.
I plan to do almost exclusively gaming, specifically playing Skyrim, Wolfenstein: the New Order, Shadow of Mordor and GTA V (if it ever comes out). I realize that the FX-8350 seems obvious because of the lower price tag, but I'm looking for something I can upgrade in the future to a significantly better processor. I'm not interested in overclocking.

 

[KoopaCreeper]

What GPU do you have? Intel would be better for gaming (and tons more expensive), but sometimes money is better spent for a better GPU.

 

[Javahooch]

What GPU do you have? Intel would be better for gaming (and tons more expensive), but sometimes money is better spent for a better GPU.

As in my listed specs, I have an r9 270x 4gb, but I got that as a Christmas present and would feel like a grade A d**che if I replaced it. Crossfire isn't really a solution as that would require an upgraded power supply.

 

[slyu9213]

In this case you can get a locked I5 or locked Xeon CPU with a decent cheap H87/H97 mobo and still get better performance in gaming than going to an FX 8300 series CPU. At least for Skyrim you'll get better perfomance with choosing Intel

 

[KoopaCreeper]

What GPU do you have? Intel would be better for gaming (and tons more expensive), but sometimes money is better spent for a better GPU.

As in my listed specs, I have an r9 270x 4gb, but I got that as a Christmas present and would feel like a grade A d**che if I replaced it. Crossfire isn't really a solution as that would require an upgraded power supply.

Sorry, I missed the list. If money isn't too big of an object then an locked i5 (or a 4690K if you're in to overclocking) would perform much better than a FX-6350 for gaming.

Comparison with last-gen Ivy Bridge CPUs - Haswell would see even more gains.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/fx-8350-8320-6300-4300_6.html#sect0

 

[mdocod]

There's very little difference in performance between the FX-6350 and FX-8350 in gaming workloads. Your performance bottleneck on your current motherboard is in fact the CPU-VRMs.... If you were to overclock your FX-6350, you'd manage higher clocks on it than an FX-8350 simply due to the constraints in power delivery from the motherboard. A 6 core piledriver clocked just 10% higher than an 8 core will perform better in 99% of games. Coincidentally, an FX63XX overclocked to 4.4ghz will have similar power dissiaption characteristics as an FX-8350 at stock speeds....

In some ways, given your motherboard, the FX-8350 would be a downgrade.

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My advise would be to upgrade when you have a reason to do so. When you run into a piece of software that isn't running the way you would like, and you have good reason to believe it is related to the CPU/platform.

 

[Javahooch]

There's very little difference in performance between the FX-6350 and FX-8350 in gaming workloads. Your performance bottleneck on your current motherboard is in fact the CPU-VRMs.... If you were to overclock your FX-6350, you'd manage higher clocks on it than an FX-8350 simply due to the constraints in power delivery from the motherboard. A 6 core piledriver clocked just 10% higher than an 8 core will perform better in 99% of games. Coincidentally, an FX63XX overclocked to 4.4ghz will have similar power dissiaption characteristics as an FX-8350 at stock speeds....

In some ways, given your motherboard, the FX-8350 would be a downgrade.

------------

My advise would be to upgrade when you have a reason to do so. When you run into a piece of software that isn't running the way you would like, and you have good reason to believe it is related to the CPU/platform.

I lack the know-how to overclock, and I also lack an aftermarket cooler. It seems like something I'd try and then massively screw up at. I guess I just don't really want to try it.

 

[KoopaCreeper]

There's very little difference in performance between the FX-6350 and FX-8350 in gaming workloads. Your performance bottleneck on your current motherboard is in fact the CPU-VRMs.... If you were to overclock your FX-6350, you'd manage higher clocks on it than an FX-8350 simply due to the constraints in power delivery from the motherboard. A 6 core piledriver clocked just 10% higher than an 8 core will perform better in 99% of games. Coincidentally, an FX63XX overclocked to 4.4ghz will have similar power dissiaption characteristics as an FX-8350 at stock speeds....

In some ways, given your motherboard, the FX-8350 would be a downgrade.

------------

My advise would be to upgrade when you have a reason to do so. When you run into a piece of software that isn't running the way you would like, and you have good reason to believe it is related to the CPU/platform.

I lack the know-how to overclock, and I also lack an aftermarket cooler. It seems like something I'd try and then massively screw up at. I guess I just don't really want to try it.

Okay then, at Micro Center, you can get an i5-4590 for $159 (not sure if you can get combos though)

UPDATE: most combos with 4690K are $40 off; that's the price difference between the 4690K and 4590, so go for a 4690K combo.

 

[bmacsys]

My current build is this:

Spoiler

(Note: I have no idea if the RAM Modules I listed are the ones I have, when I was at the store I picked the first 2x4 modules I saw, same with the Optical Drive.)
CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 4GB TWIN FROZR Video Card
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-12 10:40 EST-0500

While I have decided on a CPU upgrade, I can't decide what to do. I found a Microcenter bundle for $325 for an i5-4690k and an Extreme4 Motherboard including tax. My other option is to go on the cheap and upgrade my CPU to an FX-8350.
I plan to do almost exclusively gaming, specifically playing Skyrim, Wolfenstein: the New Order, Shadow of Mordor and GTA V (if it ever comes out). I realize that the FX-8350 seems obvious because of the lower price tag, but I'm looking for something I can upgrade in the future to a significantly better processor. I'm not interested in overclocking.

An 8350 would cook the vrm's of your Extreme4 as is well documented on enthusiast web sites. You would see vrm induced throttling under heavy load even at stock clocks.

 

[Javahooch]

My current build is this:

Spoiler

(Note: I have no idea if the RAM Modules I listed are the ones I have, when I was at the store I picked the first 2x4 modules I saw, same with the Optical Drive.)
CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 4GB TWIN FROZR Video Card
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-12 10:40 EST-0500

While I have decided on a CPU upgrade, I can't decide what to do. I found a Microcenter bundle for $325 for an i5-4690k and an Extreme4 Motherboard including tax. My other option is to go on the cheap and upgrade my CPU to an FX-8350.
I plan to do almost exclusively gaming, specifically playing Skyrim, Wolfenstein: the New Order, Shadow of Mordor and GTA V (if it ever comes out). I realize that the FX-8350 seems obvious because of the lower price tag, but I'm looking for something I can upgrade in the future to a significantly better processor. I'm not interested in overclocking.

An 8350 would cook the vrm's of your Extreme4 as is well documented on enthusiast web sites. You would see vrm induced throttling under heavy load even at stock clocks.

I'm afraid I don't know what VRM throttling is. I tried googling it but still couldn't find out.
The Extreme4 is an LGA 1150 board, so I'd be using it if I got the i5, not with the FX.

 

[slyu9213]

He probably mistaken the extreme3 for extreme4 as youlisted both builds

VRM chips I believe is what delivers the power to the CPU (not sure). Higher end mobos have higher power phases and heatsinks to cool them. Lower ends have less and no heatsink.

 

[LookItsRain]

The extreme 3 does not overclock well as it is a 4+1 power phase design so an 8 core is out of the question and really would not be a worthwhile upgrade.
Your only option is intel, any i5 will do, as well as 4 core ht xeons.