Upgrading AMD Phenom(tm) II X3 720 Processor $120 budget.

[Jakestriker]

My Motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H The 3 cores on my X3 are just not cutting it now that games like FC4 and dragon age inquisition want 4 cores+ so what would be the next step up for me?

 

[clutchc]

Short of replacing the MB, the best you can do is find a used Phenom II X4 or X6 on someplace like ebay. And it would have to be one of the high end Phenom IIs. Sad part is that they are getting scarce. I have an unused Phenom II X2 B59 that unlocks to a quad core @ 3.4 GHz that I have been wanting to sell, but haven't gotten around to putting it on ebay yet.

 

[Jakestriker]

Ok well then I guess I will look around for some if not looks like most AMD cpus are cheap and with black Friday and cyber Monday around the corner I know I will find a deal.

 

[clutchc]

Ok well then I guess I will look around for some if not looks like most AMD cpus are cheap and with black Friday and cyber Monday around the corner I know I will find a deal.

Remember, you can't use a new FX-xxxx processor in that motherboard because it doesn't have an AM3+ socket. Phenom IIs are the best you can use in an older AM3 socket. I doubt you'll find what you need new at any retailer.

 

[surihtanil]

I have a AMD 965 Black Edition 3.4ghz. I have it overclocked to 3.8ghz. My idle temp is 38c to 40c underload its 55c - 58c. I have had this CPU for 4-5 years and its been overclocked most of its life. I have overclocked it and ran benchmark test before to 4.1ghz. It will blue screen on me if I leave it that high for long periods of time. I have a zalman heatsink/ fan which I paid like $40 for from amazon.

I plan to upgrade before the year is out only because I want to upgrade I honestly probably don't even need to upgrade. I the 965 is one of the best CPU's AMD ever built. If its something you're considering I would say buy it... cheap/effective. I see people saying they run 270s and 280s among other nice parts with this CPU and not experiencing any bottlenecking. Rather or not they're bottlenecking on these high end machines with this CPU... I can't say for 100%. It doesn't matter either way its a good CPU.

 

[Jakestriker]

Ok well then I guess I will look around for some if not looks like most AMD cpus are cheap and with black Friday and cyber Monday around the corner I know I will find a deal.

Remember, you can't use a new FX-xxxx processor in that motherboard because it doesn't have an AM3+ socket. Phenom IIs are the best you can use in an older AM3 socket. I doubt you'll find what you need new at any retailer.

Ya I know I was just looking at new egg and I was thinking about getting a whole new set up with
GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990FX or ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Killer AM3+ AMD 990FX with AMD FX-8320 it's only $10 more then the 6 core version so why not?

Yes I know I am going to need to buy some DDR 3 ram but that's so cheap now compare to 3 years ago.

 

[clutchc]

@ Jakestriker
Probably a wise move. There comes a point that you end up just putting good money into an old system, and you still end up with an old system.
Of those 2 boards, I would recommend the Gigabyte. I have had both. (long story I won't bore you with here) I returned the Asrock and kept the Gigabyte after seeing the difference. Better quality. Better design. Oh, and the Asrock cut my finger. Heat sinks were sharp as razors.

@Surihtanil
I too have a PhII X4 965BE on another machine (@ 4.0 Ghz), and it's running a R9-280. I tried several benchmark pgms and games, and have not found one that causes the old Ph II to bottle neck the R9-280 yet. I never see it hit 100% usage, while the card will often hit 100% usage depending on the game/benchmark. That tells me the CPU is not bottlenecking the card.