When is it time to upgrade from my FX 8350 @ 4.0 GHz

[Cavasi]

I've had this CPU for 1 year in my system, paired with an R9 290.

I am really looking into upgrading my PC, as soon the hardware is going to not be on par.

When is it time to upgrade this? Kaby Lake?

Also, if I want longevity, would it be worth it to go with the (i7 7700k)?

 

[heavyartillary9]

well, i would wait for kaby lake, or see what amd comes out with on the new zen stuff, but to be honest, the fx series is already showing its age in most games, it depends on what you play at on to how much longer you can use it

 

[Ecky]

Time to upgrade is when it's no longer making you happy. I'm still very content with my 4 year old i5, but I don't play many AAA games.

For longevity's sake, an i7 will last longer than an i5 but will be little different in most of today's games.

 

[Cavasi]

well, i would wait for kaby lake, or see what amd comes out with on the new zen stuff, but to be honest, the fx series is already showing its age in most games, it depends on what you play at on to how much longer you can use it

At this point, would overclocking even be viable? Or should I just wait it out? I can still enjoy all the games at play on high settings for now

 

[heavyartillary9]

then keep what you have to you start getting low preformance, by then you should have plenty saved for a beast build!!

 

[synphul]

If zen stays on track it should be an option in around 3-4mo or so. So long as your current system is performing the way you want there's no reason to upgrade. Whether you wait for zen, kaby lake or went with skylake right now you'll be looking at a new cpu, new motherboard and ddr4 ram along with reinstalling windows.

Overclocking is viable if you have a decent aftermarket cooler and a motherboard that can handle it, it would be viable at any time. If it means making a bunch of new purchases like getting a different am3+ motherboard along with a different cooler then I'd say no. For most games the fx cpu's can almost always benefit from overclocking to help overcome their lower ipc performance but if looking at upgrading in the next 6mo or less I wouldn't invest any further into it. It seems to be performing fine for you and should continue to do so for the next few months.

 

[Cavasi]

If zen stays on track it should be an option in around 3-4mo or so. So long as your current system is performing the way you want there's no reason to upgrade. Whether you wait for zen, kaby lake or went with skylake right now you'll be looking at a new cpu, new motherboard and ddr4 ram along with reinstalling windows.

Overclocking is viable if you have a decent aftermarket cooler and a motherboard that can handle it, it would be viable at any time. If it means making a bunch of new purchases like getting a different am3+ motherboard along with a different cooler then I'd say no. For most games the fx cpu's can almost always benefit from overclocking to help overcome their lower ipc performance but if looking at upgrading in the next 6mo or less I wouldn't invest any further into it. It seems to be performing fine for you and should continue to do so for the next few months.

It should be pretty easy to overclock, I have a Gigabyte 970A-UD3P and a Hyper 212 EVO cooling my CPU, right now it sits at like 28*C idle

 

[synphul]

Idle temps aren't really what you need to keep an eye on. Use amd overdrive and keep an eye on thermal margins and see how your temps are while gaming. The motherboard is a decent one so should handle overclocking, just keep an eye on temps under load. It will help boost your performance in games most likely and improve your experience for the time being if you decide to wait and see how zen shakes out.