Which motherboard and CPU to upgrade to

[guppy44]

I'm looking to upgrade my current configuration.

Current setup:

ASUS M4A88TD-V motherboard
AMD Phenom II x6 1055T processor

I recently bought a new R9 290X Lightning GPU and started playing Wolfenstein: The New Order. While the card handles everything on Ultra and custom max settings, there are occasional bottlenecks going on. I'm not overly picky about such things but it can be annoying.

I haven't kept up with all the latest-and-greatest for quite a while so I'm looking for a good upgrade.

I've been recommended either this motherboard with this CPU for $167.98

OR

This motherboard with this CPU for $215.87.

I'm not sure if it's worth almost $50 more for the i5.

I play some games, but mainly have many browser tabs and programs open simultaneously. The bottleneck with my current CPU is a bit annoying and ever since I have upgraded to this GPU the computer hard freezes on and off. I've read on this site it's an issue with the chipset in my current motherboard, so that also fuels the interest in upgrading the motherboard and CPU.

 

[guppy44]

Honestly i would get a fx 8350 and overclock it. Im one of the ones that like going intel/nvidia-ati/amd but i have a i5 4670k and it plays fine but most games now are starting to go for 8 cores and the fx seems like the better choice.

I've done intel/ati once, currently have AMD/ati, and now will be intel/ati again. I do like the idea of keeping them "together" as well.

Originally I looked at the 8350 but was recommended to go with an 8320 or 8320e and overclock it. However, the i5 seems to have better benchmarks and stronger cores so I went that route. I haven't bought the CPU yet, but the motherboard I bought is for the intel chipset.

 

[bigjay420]

Honestly if your going intel than i would get the i5 4670k or the i5 4690k they are both the same as the 8350/8320 as in clock rates same chip higher base clocks.

 

[Calnin]

8 cores vs stronger architecture when it's between amd's fx 8350 vs intel's i5 46xx. The 8 cores are nice and all, but the overall gameplay is still probably going to be better on the i5 because of superior architecture. Sure the fx 8350 can overclock nice, but the i5 4670k/4690k can also overclock nice. Both overclocked to the same speed, the i5 would come out on top in most cases.

You could also buy a xeon e3 1231 or something if you want. Only thing is that it's not an overclockable chip. It's an i7 without the integrated graphics basically.

If you want to utilize the overclocking features of your motherboard at some point in time, get an i5 4690k. In most cases, the i5 will play just as well as the i7 gaming wise. In some cases, it'll be better.

 

[guppy44]

Yesterday I put in an order for an i5-4690K CPU. That's the last piece I needed. The Gigabyte z97 Gaming 5 motherboard and EVGA G2 850 watt PSU have already arrived, and it's one day shipping on the CPU, so I should have everything up and running this week.

Thank you all for your help.

 

[Darth Rache]

Yesterday I put in an order for an i5-4690K CPU. That's the last piece I needed. The Gigabyte z97 Gaming 5 motherboard and EVGA G2 850 watt PSU have already arrived, and it's one day shipping on the CPU, so I should have everything up and running this week.

Thank you all for your help.

Congrats man you will love the build. It will be a HUGE upgrade over your old Phenom.