[SOLVED] Upgrading from a AMD Athlon X4 860K

[ITzCorey]

Hey,

I have had my PC a few years now and realised its come to the point where the AMD Athlon X4 860k has to go as its dragging everything down, i have searched for an answer already and seen people saying after the 860k there is no better CPU and to ditch fm2 and get fm3 and a newer CPU, is this the case? i was looking on amazon just to see different CPUs and came across a AMD Athlon X4 870K ? but seems exactly the same except the speed. I was thinking of saving up and getting the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 but this apparently requires a special MB and DDR4 ram etc which is going to cost rather a lot, so is there any other CPU thats just a little better than a 860K?

Also, would this be okay? https://www.amazon.co.uk/3-9GHz-Gigabyte-Motherboard-3000MHz-Bundle/dp/B07MPCCJLH/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=AMD+Ryzen+5&qid=1604684011&sr=8-2-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyQzhURVYyVzFYNUImZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAwNjM4NDcyTjRJUTNTTlFWRllZJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA0MDQ1MDgzSjlPOVk2SEpCV0ZNJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1 i could just save up for this i suppose as it comes with the MB and RAM too.

Was also just told i can buy a AMD A8-6600K for FM2 which is better than the 860k? why do people say the 860k is the best CPU for fm2 though?

 

[Wolfshadw]

You don't want to be spending significant amounts of money on old hardware. I would save up for the new system and once that is up and running, sell your old system to recoup some of the cost.

-Wolf sends

Edit: In answer to your question, the X4-870 is barely any better than your current. I doubt you'd notice the difference. Don't waste your money.

 

[DSzymborski]

The link doesn't work for me.

The 870K and 880K are basically just your CPU with very slightly higher clocks and anything your CPU struggles with, they will also struggle with. They're nearly five years old at this point.

There haven't been new FM2+ CPUs for a long time now and there's no meaningful upgrade on this platform. Any such upgrade will necessitate a new motherboard and RAM to go along with the new CPU. There's no "special" motherboard required by an R5 2600, just a modern AM4 motherboard. We're already seeing the end of the AM4 era approaching!

 

[ITzCorey]

Thanks for the responses, so don't bother with an AMD A8-6600K or 870k etc and just go for something like AMD Ryzen 5 2600 ?

 

[DSzymborski]

Thanks for the responses, so don't bother with an AMD A8-6600K or 870k etc and just go for something like AMD Ryzen 5 2600 ?

Depends on your budget and needs. There's nothing worth buying on your current motherboard. A Ryzen 2600 is already nearing it's third birthday itself and something from the following generation or, as supply loosens up, the most recent generation may be better purchases.

 

[ITzCorey]

Depends on your budget and needs. There's nothing worth buying on your current motherboard. A Ryzen 2600 is already nearing it's third birthday itself and something from the following generation or, as supply loosens up, the most recent generation may be better purchases.

Might sound silly but do AMD Ryzen CPU's need a special MB? so it seems i would need to buy an FM4 MB if i went the route of buying a Ryzen cpu,

 

[DSzymborski]

Might sound silly but do AMD Ryzen CPU's need a special MB? so it seems i would need to buy an FM4 MB if i went the route of buying a Ryzen cpu,

No such thing as an FM4. AMD stopped having a different socket for their entry-level parts. FM2+ has been dead for a half-decade.

There's no "special" motherboard. All mainstream consumer CPUs from AMD have used the AM4 socket since 2017. Though not all AM4 CPUs are compatible with all AM4 motherboards, so you have to check before buying anything.

 

[Wolfshadw]

I would also note that the Ryzen 5 2600 (2nd generation and which I have, btw) is also old technology. AMD is coming out the the 5th generation mid-range Ryzen processors in a short amount of time. Maybe enough time for you to save up.

-Wolf sends