Need A CPU Without Changing Motherboard

Susedester13 · May 26, 2013

I would really like to upgrade my CPU because it has been a bottleneck in many games. Here are my specs: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c03154290#N208
Note: I also changed the PSU to a 450w and the gpu to a single radeon 6850

USAFRet · May 26, 2013

Get one of these:
FX-4100 (Zambezi) 65W
FX-6100 (Zambezi) 95W
FX-8100 (Zambezi) 95W
FX-8120 (Zambezi) 95W or 125W
FX-8150 (Zambezi) 125W

That is what your motherboard supports.

The_Doctor · May 26, 2013

Susedester13 :

FX-8150 is the best for your board but you can also have :

FX-4100
FX-6100
FX-8100
FX-8120

DSzymborski · May 26, 2013

USAFRet :

I think he already has the FX-6100 from the link. If he can get to the 8150, it's an upgrade, though not an earth-shattering one.

I'm a little surprised that his 6100 (assuming that's what he has) is bottlenecking a 6850. Not a fan of the 6100, but the 6850 was a midrange card in 2010.

Susedester13 · May 26, 2013

The main reason I'm looking for an upgrade is to future proof for the next gen games. I'm running most games on medium to medium high settings at 60 fps. Sometimes performance is even worse. My CPU isn't overclocked because I don't know how. Would oc'ing be better than buying a new motherboard and CPU? And should I look at a new gpu?

jaguarskx · May 26, 2013

Brand name PCs do not allow you to OC. The BIOS is very limited. Getting the FX-8120 or FX-8150 would likely be your best option.

DSzymborski · May 26, 2013

Susedester13 :

Overclocking can be very difficult given the motherboards most brand name computer companies will use in the rigs they sell. You'll have extremely limited options in the bios and software results are mixed. Some you'll be able to OC some, more you're kind of stuck.

To be perfectly frank here, even if there was such a thing as future proofing, your ability to do that will be very limited by your motherboard. Your motherboard limits you to Bulldozer CPUs, which was a disappointing family, especially in applications that don't use a bunch of cores.

Are you sure you're getting bottlenecked? A 6100 should be able to get the 7870 range.

Also, who made your power supply? Is it a 450w from a reputable manufacturer or one of the bargain basement 450s that need to be treated like a 300w? That'll affect our recommendations.

Susedester13 · May 27, 2013

It's a corsair psu so I read it could be treated like a 500w. I'm not sure if I'm bottle necked but it feels like when there are many entities on a screen my fps suffers rather than when graphics are cranked to max. It sometimes can't even handle flash games with too much on the screen.

DSzymborski · May 27, 2013

Susedester13 :

Ah, the power supply's good news then.

Have you thought about tinkering with settings and FRAPS, checking CPU loads when these things are happening, and downloading a benchmark tool or two? It may make the issue clearer. It's not a CPU I'm crazy about, but it really should be handling midrange GPUs fairly well.

Susedester13 · May 27, 2013

I have 3dmark or something similar to that. I'm just really concerned about upgrading for next gen console games when I can't max out current games. And I have checked the loads and it is usually relatively low, but gets spikes occasionally.

DSzymborski · May 27, 2013

Susedester13 :

If the CPUs are fairly low, then it's probably not a CPU bottleneck. Take a game you play a lot and change the settings and check the frame rates at different settings. Will at least give you an idea of what's going on - if you reduce settings and your performance doesn't improve, it's more likely a CPU issue and vice-versa.

What games are giving you the most trouble? It may be informative if you're having more trouble with games that are more GPU or more CPU intensive as a group. From what you describe, something else *may* be going on.

chrisafp07 · May 27, 2013

Considering your system right now the most noticeable upgrade is a gpu, plain and simple. Your 6800 series card is very outdated. A 7850 would be a great upgrade for you in its 179.99 pricerange now.

Susedester13 · May 27, 2013

Will I see a notable difference upgrading the gpu? Because if I'm going to spend the money I'd like to get the biggest upgrade possible in my 500w limit

chrisafp07 · May 27, 2013

Susedester13 :

Yes, your gpu will give you the most noticeable increase ion performance that you could add. After you upgrade your gpu you can look at your cpu but def gpu first, you'll be able to bump up all your game settings and play a faster framerates.

Susedester13 · May 27, 2013

Ok, so I should upgrade my gpu, but would a jump to the 7950 be better than a 7850 because I would like to see a notable difference!

Susedester13 · May 28, 2013

And absolutely no for a amd fx-8350

chrisafp07 · May 28, 2013

Susedester13 :

If it is in your budget certainly, the 7950 is a solid improvement over the 7850 with more Vram. You will definitely have a noticeable difference from the 7850, and of course with the 7950 you will be able to run most games in ultra settings, even current gen. Crysis 3 may be the only game to slow that card down abit but will still run very smooth at higher settings.

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