Get the AMD FX 8350, stick with current Phenom II x4 965 BE 3.4ghz, or wait for steamroller?

Liam Murphy

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Apr 4, 2013
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Hey all!

So I bought this PC mainly for skyrim back in late 2011. And while my GPU is still holding fast, I could use a CPU upgrade soon. Here are my specs.

CPU: Amd Phenom II x4 965 BE
GPU: EVGA Geforce GTX 570
Ram: 8GB
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth 990FX

So, I have a couple options. I can stick with this CPU, wait for the supposed next-gen CPU's the steamroller, idk when that is coming out, or get a AMD FX 8350.

I am using my computer for: Gaming, Video Recording/Rendering, Adobe Premiere Pro/Photoshop/Illustrator, and of course internet surfing. I am so tempted to get the 8350 because of its great price/performance ratio, and the multi-core setup of the 8350 would help me A LOT for gaming streaming/recording. So, what should I do? Thanks guys!
 
Solution
As I posted earlier, I had just received my 8350 in the mail today and here are the numbers I have in comparison to a 965 @ 4.3Ghz, an FX6300 @ 5Ghz and this brand new FX8350.

System settings are identical except CPU - Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0, 16GB DDR3 1600, Sapphire 7870 XT @ 1200 Core/1600 Memory, Hyper 212 Evo, Crucial M4 SSD

Cinebench 11.5 CPU test:

965 @ 4,336Mhz - 5.16

FX6300 @ stock - 4.48

FX6300 @ 5.01Ghz - 6.37

FX8350 @ stock - 6.91

FX8350 @ 4,730Mhz - 8.11

3DMark Vantage

965 @ 4,336Mhz - 21851 - http://www.3dmark.com/3dmv/4598862

FX6300 @ stock - 20978 - http://www.3dmark.com/3dmv/4649590

FX6300 @ 5Ghz - 25082 - http://www.3dmark.com/3dmv/4649609

FX8350 @ stock - 24417 - http://www.3dmark.com/3dmv/4649642...

griptwister

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Oct 7, 2012
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Get the FX 8320. Save yourself some $$$. And if you don't plan on overclocking, You probably should go for the FX 8350. But for now, an 8 core CPU will be worth your investment because you stream and record. By the time steamroller comes out, you can save up some money and wait for a couple months after release and sell off your old parts and actually have some money left over for other things. (at least, that's the way it should go lol)

Don't let people fool you into believing that an i7 would be better for this... as it is NOT.
 

Liam Murphy

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Apr 4, 2013
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Yeah I'm mostly happy with the general gaming performance with my 965 BE. But the video rendering times and recording performance isn't quite good enough for what I need at the moment.
 

ish416

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Jul 5, 2012
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I had been asking myself this question for a few months. My 965 however is overlcocked to 4.3 Ghz and does most everything as well as a stock clocked SB i5. Then I thought about the FX6300, ordered one and have to say, it's an absolute beast @ 5.0Ghz and the best CPU for $130, easily. Well, I thought about it a bit more and decided I needed to get my hands on an FX8350. So today I just received it in the mail. I will be installing it in my system this evening.

I can post 3dmark and cinebench results from my 965 @ 4.3Ghz and the FX8350 at stock speeds and then with a bit of an overclock if you would like to see the performance difference.
 

ikaz

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Well I meant gaming performance, however multiple threaded apps would also get a boost due to more cores.

 

8350rocks

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FX8350 could be OC'ed past 5.0 GHz...I have seen a stable OC to 5.6 GHz...and it's a MONSTER at that clock speed...everything is instantaneous...lightning fast.

Personally I have just about decided to bite the bullet and OC my own...will be waiting to buy a liquid setup first though...
 

ish416

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Jul 5, 2012
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As I posted earlier, I had just received my 8350 in the mail today and here are the numbers I have in comparison to a 965 @ 4.3Ghz, an FX6300 @ 5Ghz and this brand new FX8350.

System settings are identical except CPU - Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0, 16GB DDR3 1600, Sapphire 7870 XT @ 1200 Core/1600 Memory, Hyper 212 Evo, Crucial M4 SSD

Cinebench 11.5 CPU test:

965 @ 4,336Mhz - 5.16

FX6300 @ stock - 4.48

FX6300 @ 5.01Ghz - 6.37

FX8350 @ stock - 6.91

FX8350 @ 4,730Mhz - 8.11

3DMark Vantage

965 @ 4,336Mhz - 21851 - http://www.3dmark.com/3dmv/4598862

FX6300 @ stock - 20978 - http://www.3dmark.com/3dmv/4649590

FX6300 @ 5Ghz - 25082 - http://www.3dmark.com/3dmv/4649609

FX8350 @ stock - 24417 - http://www.3dmark.com/3dmv/4649642

FX8350 @ 4.73Ghz - 26606 - http://www.3dmark.com/3dmv/4649657


Make of that what you will. I expect to get at least another 200 Mhz out of the FX8350 when I actually get a chance to mess with it some more.
 
Solution

Liam Murphy

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Apr 4, 2013
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Thanks a lot! Thank you for taking the time to do this. I am going to mark you as the solution because of your effort. It seems like getting the 8350 is the way to go, once I can muster up the money for it. Looking forward to it. :D
 

ish416

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Jul 5, 2012
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I would have done this regardless. If I buy an upgrade for something, I want to make sure I get my moneys worth. It just so happened that you were in the same position I was in a few days ago. Glad to help.