Will this be worth it?

[TBarr50]

My current build is as follows

CPU - AMD FX-6300 3.5 GHZ -Stock Cooler
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3
Case - Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Case
RAM - HyperX Blu Series 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 CL9 DIMM Gaming Memory Kit (2 x 4 GB) - XMP Ready
Power - Corsair Modular 750W
GPU - AMD Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB GDDR5 384 Bit
Cooling - Various cheap fans form Maplins...
SSD - Cheap 120GB
Storage - 1TB Seagate

Im looking at a few parts and end up with the upgrade of

CPU - AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight core 8320 Black edition
Motherboard - AS rock 990FX Extreme3 AMD 990FX
RAM - GeIL Black Dragon 16GB 1600Mhz dual channel
Case - NZXT Phantom 410 Enthusiast midi tower
CPU cooler - ACX EVGA CPU Cooler 120mm

If I get all this I'm left with roughly £200 for a new GPU so what would be the best option for that also?
Thanks.

 

[vrumor]

You should upgrade to an i5, keep your RAM and your 7970 for now.

 

[maddogfargo]

My current build is as follows

CPU - AMD FX-6300 3.5 GHZ -Stock Cooler
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3
Case - Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Case
RAM - HyperX Blu Series 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 CL9 DIMM Gaming Memory Kit (2 x 4 GB) - XMP Ready
Power - Corsair Modular 750W
GPU - AMD Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB GDDR5 384 Bit
Cooling - Various cheap fans form Maplins...
SSD - Cheap 120GB
Storage - 1TB Seagate

Im looking at a few parts and end up with the upgrade of

CPU - AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight core 8320 Black edition
Motherboard - AS rock 990FX Extreme3 AMD 990FX
RAM - GeIL Black Dragon 16GB 1600Mhz dual channel
Case - NZXT Phantom 410 Enthusiast midi tower
CPU cooler - ACX EVGA CPU Cooler 120mm

If I get all this I'm left with roughly £200 for a new GPU so what would be the best option for that also?
Thanks.

FX 8 core will run as well as an i5 in most games, slightly better in some modern titles that are well threaded/optimized, slightly worse in older titles that don't use a lot of CPU cores. GPU handles most of the graphics load so CPU is secondary. Performance is so close it's not worth changing platforms at this level.

You do not need a 990FX board for an 8 core or to overclock. You only need it if you plan to SLI or Crossfire your GPUs.

A good 970 board that will support an FX 8 core will do just fine. One of my favorites is the Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P because it has a good 8+2 phase power circuit and LLC calibration. Got my FX 6350 to 4.950GHz stable on that board. It's solid.

Low latency DDR 1600 RAM will be fine for gaming. Look for CL 7 or 8 on DDR 1600, CL 8-9 if you get DDR 1866.

Hope that helps.

 

[TBarr50]

Any other opinions?

 

[TBarr50]

My current build is as follows

CPU - AMD FX-6300 3.5 GHZ -Stock Cooler
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3
Case - Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Case
RAM - HyperX Blu Series 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 CL9 DIMM Gaming Memory Kit (2 x 4 GB) - XMP Ready
Power - Corsair Modular 750W
GPU - AMD Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB GDDR5 384 Bit
Cooling - Various cheap fans form Maplins...
SSD - Cheap 120GB
Storage - 1TB Seagate

Im looking at a few parts and end up with the upgrade of

CPU - AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight core 8320 Black edition
Motherboard - AS rock 990FX Extreme3 AMD 990FX
RAM - GeIL Black Dragon 16GB 1600Mhz dual channel
Case - NZXT Phantom 410 Enthusiast midi tower
CPU cooler - ACX EVGA CPU Cooler 120mm

If I get all this I'm left with roughly £200 for a new GPU so what would be the best option for that also?
Thanks.

FX 8 core will run as well as an i5 in most games, slightly better in some modern titles that are well threaded/optimized, slightly worse in older titles that don't use a lot of CPU cores. GPU handles most of the graphics load so CPU is secondary. Performance is so close it's not worth changing platforms at this level.

You do not need a 990FX board for an 8 core or to overclock. You only need it if you plan to SLI or Crossfire your GPUs.

A good 970 board that will support an FX 8 core will do just fine. One of my favorites is the Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P because it has a good 8+2 phase power circuit and LLC calibration. Got my FX 6350 to 4.950GHz stable on that board. It's solid.

Low latency DDR 1600 RAM will be fine for gaming. Look for CL 7 or 8 on DDR 1600, CL 8-9 if you get DDR 1866.

Hope that helps.

So is the CPU upgrade worth it or should I get a better mobo/cooler and OC my current one and invest the extra money into a GPU? So is that RAM I listed ok?

 

[maddogfargo]

My current build is as follows

CPU - AMD FX-6300 3.5 GHZ -Stock Cooler
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3
Case - Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Case
RAM - HyperX Blu Series 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 CL9 DIMM Gaming Memory Kit (2 x 4 GB) - XMP Ready
Power - Corsair Modular 750W
GPU - AMD Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB GDDR5 384 Bit
Cooling - Various cheap fans form Maplins...
SSD - Cheap 120GB
Storage - 1TB Seagate

Im looking at a few parts and end up with the upgrade of

CPU - AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight core 8320 Black edition
Motherboard - AS rock 990FX Extreme3 AMD 990FX
RAM - GeIL Black Dragon 16GB 1600Mhz dual channel
Case - NZXT Phantom 410 Enthusiast midi tower
CPU cooler - ACX EVGA CPU Cooler 120mm

If I get all this I'm left with roughly £200 for a new GPU so what would be the best option for that also?
Thanks.

FX 8 core will run as well as an i5 in most games, slightly better in some modern titles that are well threaded/optimized, slightly worse in older titles that don't use a lot of CPU cores. GPU handles most of the graphics load so CPU is secondary. Performance is so close it's not worth changing platforms at this level.

You do not need a 990FX board for an 8 core or to overclock. You only need it if you plan to SLI or Crossfire your GPUs.

A good 970 board that will support an FX 8 core will do just fine. One of my favorites is the Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P because it has a good 8+2 phase power circuit and LLC calibration. Got my FX 6350 to 4.950GHz stable on that board. It's solid.

Low latency DDR 1600 RAM will be fine for gaming. Look for CL 7 or 8 on DDR 1600, CL 8-9 if you get DDR 1866.

Hope that helps.

So is the CPU upgrade worth it or should I get a better mobo/cooler and OC my current one and invest the extra money into a GPU? So is that RAM I listed ok?

First I would get a better motherboard and cooler and see if a good OC on the FX 6300 meets your needs.

PCPartPicker part list /
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $148.98
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-13 18:11 EDT-0400

You should be able to get 4.5GHz or better on the FX 6300 with these 2 parts. Maybe higher.

If not, then just get a better CPU. That motherboard and cooler will easily support up to an FX 8370. If you think you might go higher on the CPU, look at the Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 Rev 4 or later. It should be able to handle up to a FX 9590.

Your GPU is fine. It is equivalent to an R9 280x.

The RAM should also be fine as long as the CAS Latency (CL) is 7 or 8.