What Can I Upgrade To?

[zeketheman1960]

Hello, I would like to know which is the fastest processor my pc is able to upgrade to?


Specs:
Operating System:
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU:
AMD FX-6300 35 °C
Vishera 32nm Technology
RAM:
8.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 799MHz (11-11-11-28)
Motherboard:
MSI 760GMA-P34(FX) (MS-7641) (CPU1)
Graphics:
C27F398 (1920x1080@59Hz)
2048MB ATI Radeon 550 Series (MSI)
Storage:
931GB Seagate ST1000DM010-2DM162 ATA Device (SATA )
Optical Drives:
No optical disk drives detected
Audio:
Realtek High Definition Audio

Thank you so much!

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

At this point, the AM3+ platform is so old and underperforms so badly that I really strongly recommend upgrading to a new platform. I would suggest upgrading to the AM4 platform, which necessitates buying a new CPU, motherboard, and RAM, but it is totally worth it. AMD's lowest end Ryzen, the Ryzen 3 1200, is nearly a 50% increase in performance over your FX-6300 and costs just under $80. Something like a 6 core/12 thread Ryzen 5 2600 is over 90% faster, and that CPU can be had for $160.

If you simply can't for some reason, the best CPU that your motherboard supports is the FX-8370 (at 21% performance increase). Basically anything up to and including the 8000 series FX CPUs you can use in your motherboard. Your board doesn't support the 9000 series FX chips.

 

[zeketheman1960]

What motherboard do you recommend? I need all my parts to be on and under $125 I am on a budget right now.

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

Unfortunately you won't be able to get onto the platform for that kind of money. The AM4 platform is pretty affordable, but you need to upgrade your CPU, motherboard, and RAM... and that just isn't possible at that budget. I'm not really seeing anything that you can upgrade on that budget that will make any difference in your performance. Basically the minimum upgrade with a B350 motherboard, Ryzen 3 1200, and 8GB of DDR4 3200 is going to cost about $250. The setup I'd recommend for a minimum is a B450 motherboard, a Ryzen 3 2200G, and 8 GB of DDR4 3200 would be closer to $280.

So, I've just looked at one other thing. There is a new CPU out from AMD for the ultra low end of their AM4 platform, it is the Athlon 200GE and while only 12% faster than the FX-6300, it would get you on the platform for arounf $200. From there you can save up and a great gaming system is just a drop in Ryzen 5. I put together a PC Part picker of the least expensive AM4 platform I could build. You can upgrade the motherboard if you see fit, it will probably add something like $20-30 to get a more reasonable gaming grade board. The 8GB of RAM will be completely fine and the only upgrade later would be adding more if you needed it.

I think this is the only way you are getting on the AM4 platform anywhere near your budget.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Athlon 200GE 3.2 GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $199.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-21 22:01 EST-0500