Is AMD FX4100 + AM3+ Motherboard ok for GTX660Ti

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Z

Zorton

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Hi, I built my own PC for gaming purposes last year and find that I have some spare cash (£300) to upgrade it slightly. I have just bought a Corsair 60Gb SSD drive and a CM 212 Evo CPU Cooler as well.
Before giving further detail, the PC is used for gaming but is primarily a home computer used by my wife and children.
Initially, I was debating whether to update the CPU from my current AMD FX4100 to an AMD FX8350 and then overclock. Then, after reading a lot on this forum and others and checking benchmark results, I then thought of buying an i5-3570k with a Z77 motherboard.
Now I am thinking of using the funds I have to upgrade my current Asus GTX550Ti to the current Asus Gtx 660Ti.

My current setup is as follows:-

1. (O/S) Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium w/SP1 - 1 PC - OEM - DVD - 64-bit - English
2. (Wifi) TP LINK 300Mbps Wireless N PCI Express Adapter
3. (PSU) OCZ Technology ZS Series 650W 80+ Bronze Power Supply
4. (Mobo) Asus AM3+ AMD 760G DDR3 uATX
5. (GPU) Asus GeForce GTX 550 Ti 975MHz 1GB PCI-Express HDMI
6. (CPU) AMD FX-4100 AM3+ 3.6GHz 12MB 95W
7. (RAM) Corsair 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1333Mhz CL9 XMS3 Performance Desktop Memory Kit
8. (CD-D) Best Value LiteOn 24x Int. DVDRW Black SATA + S/W
9. (HDD1) Seagate 500GB Barracuda SpinPoint SATA 3Gb/s 7200RPM 16MB 3.5"
A. (HDD2) Seagate 1TB 3.5 inch 7200RPM 64MB Cache SATA3 Hard Drive
B. (Case) Zalman Z11 Plus Midi Tower Case

I am limited to the £300 and want to improve the overall gaming performance of the machine. Any and all suggestions are welcome but leaning towards adding the CM 212 EVO Cooler, attempting to OC my current FX4100 and then add a new GTX660Ti ?

Thanks in advance.
Z
 
Solution
ksham
I agree with everything said. FX-4100 is weak. I would rather have an AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE over it.

I would not overclock just yet. Here are my changes:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£83.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£77.29 @ Dabs)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card (£139.93 @ Dabs)
Total: £301.21
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)


I opted to neglect the cooler because it is rather cheap. You can buy it a month later, but you can't do the same to upgrade a GPU or any other...
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yasserBasha

yasserBasha

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Bulldozer CPUs aren't any good for anything, they are really a TOTAL fiasco... I'd recommend getting piledriver instead, besides the MB is BAD for OC purposes (because of 4+1 power phase design) so you'll also need a new MB to OC.

Try this :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£83.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.49 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£77.29 @ Dabs)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card (£129.46 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £315.23
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-18 15:49 BST+0100)

The GTX 660ti is just too pricey for your budget and when you OC the 7850 you'll get strong performance and admirable FPS.

BEST LUCK
 
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cmi86

cmi86

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While I think saying bulldozer is "not good for anything" is a bit of an exaggeration, it is quite true that the 2nd generation Piledriver FX chips made many improvements to bulldozers initial design. They are faster per clock, clocked higher and more efficient in general. If you can get your hands on a 2nd gen FX I would suggest it. I also have to agree with avoiding 4+1 boards if overclocking will be your intention. I went through 3 different 4+1 boards trying to get a 4.5Ghz OC on my 6300, none were stable and all over heated. The first good 990 8+2 power board I bought took me first try to 4.5 with less voltage and dramatically lower temps.
 
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Z

Zorton

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Hey yasserBasha & cmi86.

Thanks a million for your candid answers. A little disappointed to be honest as I only put it together last June.
I thought it would be ok to OC my FX4100 CPU in combination with my Asus M5A78L/USB3 motherboard as I had found some links on this site and others where they had OC'd to 4.6 and safely at 4.2.

To be honest, I am a complete newbie and all my knowledge is based on the forums (tomshardware, Overclockers, etc) that I have been reading.
Also, as I have been using my Asus GTX550ti with no problems and found it very easy to install and never had any issues, so would like to stick with NVidia if possible.

Little bit lost on how to proceed tbh. I had looked at the GTX660 as well. Its £70 cheaper and according to a link on here, it can be Overclocked to match the performance of a Stock 660Ti GPU.

Anyhow, thanks again - may have to leave everything as is for now if my funds are too low ;'-(
 
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ksham

ksham

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I agree with everything said. FX-4100 is weak. I would rather have an AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE over it.

I would not overclock just yet. Here are my changes:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£83.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£77.29 @ Dabs)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card (£139.93 @ Dabs)
Total: £301.21
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)


I opted to neglect the cooler because it is rather cheap. You can buy it a month later, but you can't do the same to upgrade a GPU or any other part. So when you get enough for the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, buy it for overclocking. Also, remove one DIMM of RAM or buy a 2x 8GB. Filling up all 4 RAM slots will require you to up vcore due to higher load. It'll make your life harder.
 
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yasserBasha

yasserBasha

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How about That :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£59.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£26.81 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£77.29 @ Dabs)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card (£129.46 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £293.55
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-21 00:01 BST+0100)

You can OC both CPU&GPU easily and have a powerful performance within your budget.
 
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Z

Zorton

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Thanks to yasserBasha & cmi86 & ksham for the answers.
I very much appreciate you sharing all your knowledge and expertise.
Based on the negative feedback on the AMD FX4100 + the Asus AM3+ mobo that I bought last August (and reading up after coments), I have decided to scrap both.

However, I don't want to invest in another AMD CPU so going to buy an i5-3570k & Gigabyte SKT-1155 Z77-DS3H motherboard which has been recommend by a few sites as good for OCing. Comes to £243. I already have the CM 212 EVO bought and paid for which leaves me with £57.
If I can sell my GTX550Ti for £40, have a total of £97. Plus, saw a used FX4100 go for £50 on ebay so add that to the pot and I am up to £147.
Which will allow me to buy the 650Ti Boost or the 660.

Thank you guys.
 
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catshannon

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965 be is cheaper than all dozer chips and more effective than them apart from 8150 (with 2nd cores disabled) just go on amazon you can OC it very easily too
 
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yasserBasha

yasserBasha

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DON'T get tis MB it's not a good overclocker
Instead get the Asrock z77 extreme4; with a power phase design 8+4 you'll have much room for OC with great peace of mind

If you just can add more £40 you'll get a good deal :

http://www.ebuyer.com/398379-asrock-z77-extreme4-socket-1155-vga-dvi-hdmi-7-1-channel-audio-atx-z77-extreme4

BEST LUCK
 
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ksham

ksham

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I agree with catshannon. The FX-41xx, FX-61xx, and FX-81xx aren't worth buying. The FX-6300 is a solid CPU. If you want to one up it, get a FX-8350. It is cheaper than the i5-3570K and can (for the most part) be on par with the i5-3570K. That said, the FX-6300 will fit your budget nicely and afford you a good GPU. There's no point in wasting money on something that you may not use to its full potential. Just buy the ones we suggested. They will do you justice. Have fun with them and not worry about what you could've, would've, should've picked instead.

The i5-3570K may be a bit more future-proof, but not by much. And if it's for gaming, the FX-6300 can last a while as games are mostly GPU-intensive. Nowadays, you can build a gaming computer with just a Pentium Core 2 Duo CPU. So with the $100 saved, put a down payment on the next GPU upgrade. :)
 
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Z

Zorton

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[/quotemsg]
DON'T get tis MB it's not a good overclocker
Instead get the Asrock z77 extreme4; with a power phase design 8+4 you'll have much room for OC with great peace of mind

If you just can add more £40 you'll get a good deal :

http://www.ebuyer.com/398379-asrock-z77-extreme4-socket-1155-vga-dvi-hdmi-7-1-channel-audio-atx-z77-extreme4

BEST LUCK[/quotemsg]

Thanks. I had read about the AsRock Z77 Extreme4 and the newer AsRock Z77 Extreme6. Have added them to my wish list on Zon for now but will spend the little extra required.
Definitely going to go the i5-3570k as not only is the PC for gaming but home use also. On top of that, my experience with the AMD FX4100 / related Mobo has left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I would rather pay now and get some peace-of-mind and longevity with Intel CPU going foward.

Thank you!
 
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Z

Zorton

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Hey All,

Just looking for a little more advice.
Since I last posted, I have gone over budget and bought an Asus Gtx 660Ti, and an i5-3570k.
I am now looking at getting the AsRock Z77 Extreme 4 as was suggested here by a few people but just wanted some suggestions on RAM.
Looking to get 8 or 16 Gb - most likely the latter in the form of 2 * 8gb Sticks.

Considering I am gonna stick with the CM 212 Evo CPU Cooler, what type of RAM would be good to get with the rest of the kit I have just bought?

Many thanks,
Z
 
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theonerm2

theonerm2

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I don't know about FX 4100 but my FX 8120 does pretty good. I got it and my motherboard about a year ago for just about $170. Cheap and it gets the job done. I have no issues with any games or programs. Had I not found that deal I might not have went with bulldozer but it has not let me down yet. If you can find good deals on the CPU's they might just be worth checking out but I would never pay full price.. I'd rather go with piledriver or wait for steamroller.
 
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Z

Zorton

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Sorry Guys, I am like a bad smell that wont go away.

I returned the i5 and decided to go with the AMD FX-8350 which I bought via aria.co.uk.

I have the following board - "Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Motherboard (Socket AM3+, Up to 16GB DDR3, USB 3.0, uATX)" and according to the ASUS site, its a 4+1 125w and with the latest BIOS upgrade, can work with the FX-8350.

Is this ok to keep or should I change mobo. Looking for stability and the ability to be able to OC in the future if the need arises.
Apologies for the constant badgering.

TO recap, I bought an Asus GTX 660 ti, an AMD FX-8350, a Cooler Master EVO 212 CPU Cooler and another drive (60Gb SSD) for just Windows and booting.

If my motherboard needs to be replaced, can you please recommend a good Motherboard for the AMD FX-8350 (stability, features and overclocking).....
 
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yasserBasha

yasserBasha

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Z

Zorton

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Thank you.
I have a OCZ 650w PSU and think it should be ok but will double check.

I might get this motherboard ? Its a little more expensive but don't plan on upgrading againfor some time so might be worth spending the extra bit now?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-Sabertooth-990FX-R2-0-Motherboard/dp/B008RPYAS8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=98RLFXN1XNS6&coliid=I3Q00WXJ1JXZRH

Thanks for all your help Yassar. Its much appreciated.
 
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