What is the best AM3 socket CPU for Gaming and Streaming

Nov 8, 2018
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What is the best AM3 socket CPU for Gaming and Streaming, because for the moment I'm stuck with a Athlon x2 240 at 2,8 Ghz on a pre-built Dell computer (Inspiron 570). I "upgraded" it with a R5 230 GPU, but still want to upgrade it to a R5 240 that is on for 30€ on ebay, i want to be sure there is no bottleneck with that GPU. / Quel est le meilleur processeur de socket AM3 pour les jeux vidéos et le streaming, car pour le moment je suis coincé avec un Athlon x2 240 à 2,8 Ghz sur un ordinateur Dell préconstruit (Inspiron 570). Je l'ai "mis à niveau" avec un GPU R5 230, mais je souhaite tout de même le mettre à niveau pour un R5 240 à 30 € sur eBay, je veux être sûr qu'il n'y a pas de bottleneck avec ce GPU.
 
Dell's website says the Inspiron 570 supports up to Phenom II X4, so probably something like the 95 Watt version of the Phenom II X4 965 would be about the best you could get on that board. Phenom II X6 aren't stated to supported and that probably means any 125 Watt chip also won't work.

Realistically it's time to look at an entirely new computer. That Dell is about 10 years old now and the Phenom II X4 really isn't up for modern gaming and streaming. Extreme low end GPUs like the R5 230 and R5 240 are also poor choices, current integrated graphics are better. You're probably best off saving up until you can get something like an R3 2200G a motherboard, and DDR4 RAM. You may also need a new case and power supply if Dell went proprietary with their motherboard form factors and PSU connectors.
 

King_V

Illustrious
Ambassador
Do not put any money into a CPU upgrade for the AM3 platform - it's not worth it.


Assuming you're in France:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor (€165.17 @ Cdiscount)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (€75.91 @ Amazon France)
Memory: Patriot - Viper 4 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (€119.99 @ Amazon France)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (€95.99 @ Amazon France)
Total: €457.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-30 17:40 CET+0100

The built-in video of the 2400g will outperform the R5 240.

I don't know if you need wifi built into the motherboard, I did not check for that. If so, then you might need a different motherboard, which will cost more.

Also, possibly account for a Windows 10 license (not sure if you have Windows 10 on your existing machine, but it might not be transferable).

Now, you will need a case as well. I don't think new motherboards can be swapped into Inspiron cases as I think (but am NOT sure) that they have a proprietary power connector on the motherboard, and possibly proprietary connectors for the front panel (power switch, power and HDD lights, reset switch, etc)
 

Dark Lord of Tech

Retired Moderator
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($164.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B450M-A/CSM Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($79.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($107.90 @ OutletPC)
Total: $352.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-21 12:16 EST-0500


RX570 4GB $99.00 \ Single DVI connection on card.
https://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Rad...ie=UTF8&qid=1550769430&sr=1-4&keywords=RX+570
 
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True. Again, stick to a 4 core athlon or something and then upgrade to a newer platform. If you did get an am3+ mobo you could use your current am3 cpu and have an upgrade path to 8 core fx, which are conciderably better but still very outdated.