Which CPU to upgrade to?

[marcooli0]

My rig:

OCZ Power Supply 750 watts
4 gb ddr2 RAM
AMD Phenom x4 940
HIS 7870
HA06 AMD 880G Motherboard

So I'm planning on upgrading everything in my computer except the power supply and GPU. I want to go up to an amd 970 or 990 for the motherboard and 8 gb ddr3 ram. Here's the thing, though: I don't know which cpu to get. Intel is out of the question since I'm limited to spending 200 dollars on a cpu at most.

What would you guys recommend? What does amd have to offer that won't overload my power supply but still not bottleneck my 7870?

I should point out that i do have an aftermarket cooler: the hyper 212

 

[pauls3743]

You say you're limited on what you can spend on the cpu but you're getting new memory and a new motherboard. What's your budget for the cpu with motherboard, we might be able to find a combo in the intel lineup for you to switch to.

Your power supply is more than ample for any upgrade you have planned. Hell, I run an overclocked i5-3570K and GTX680 on a 450W supply.

 

[marcooli0]

my total budget that I'd prefer to keep myself under is 400 for mobo, cpu, and ram. I haven't really found any intel cpus that go under that.

 

[clutchc]

Just a few examples:
Board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128580
Another Board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130665
Another Board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293
Free RAM with Board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148540
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115234

The i5-3470 IB will outperform any AMD processor for gaming: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html

 

[marcooli0]

couldn't I also get an i5-3570?

my concern is being somewhat up to date for at least the next 2-3 years. That's why I was considering the fx-8350.

 

[clutchc]

couldn't I also get an i5-3570?

my concern is being somewhat up to date for at least the next 2-3 years. That's why I was considering the fx-8350.

Sure you could. I was just throwing some under $350 combos out there for examples of how easy it is to keep an Intel based system under your budget. I'm still using an i5-2500K and a pair of GTX 570s I bought several years ago. No game too demanding to run with max eye candy @ 1920x1080 yet.

 

[trogdor796]

Any Ivy Bridge i5 will have no problem staying up to date for 2-3 years.

If you could get an unlocked 3570k, it would be better but the 3470 will still serve you well.

My 2500k hasn't been a bottleneck ever, and I doubt it will be for quite some time

 

[marcooli0]

damn, I knew intels were much faster than amds but are they really that fast? Is a 3.4 ghz intel quad core faster than an amd quad core clocked at over 4 ghz? And what causes this, out of curiosity? (forgive my lack of knowledge about hardware)

 

[clutchc]

Intel IB and SB processors' architecture have a greater IPS rate than AMD's. IPS=Instructions per Second

 

[cbrunnem]

couldn't I also get an i5-3570?

my concern is being somewhat up to date for at least the next 2-3 years. That's why I was considering the fx-8350.

i consider the 8350 out of date already. its much better then the previous 8150 but its still behind.

damn, I knew intels were much faster than amds but are they really that fast? Is a 3.4 ghz intel quad core faster than an amd quad core clocked at over 4 ghz? And what causes this, out of curiosity? (forgive my lack of knowledge about hardware)

yes intel is that much faster then amd. for your budget i think it would be silly not to get an intel i5

 

[marcooli0]

well then. Sounds like you've convinced me. I will be getting an i5 3570k then