Help Choosing Best CPu

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23bobbyg

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May 1, 2013
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Need helping in choosing the best AMD CPU for my setup. Money is not an option as I have enough to cover any AMD CPU AM3+ (Just sold alot of stuff sitting around gathering dust) . Here is my setup.

MB- ASUS M5A97 R2.0
GPU- MSI 7770 GHz Edition
RAM-Corsair Vengence DDR3 1600MHz (12gb, 3 X 4gb)
PSU- Corsair CX600
Cooler- Corsair H55
HDD- Samsung 640 SSD
Case- Antec 900

Currently I am running an AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE
I want to choose the "best" processor for gaming and my setup, not necessarily the most expensive.

Thanks for your input
 
Solution
V
Here are some reference points. Tom's "Best Gaming CPU's for the Money". Upgrading from a Phenom II to a FX 4300 gives no noticeable increase in Gaming. The same will hold true for even the best current AMD chips. Here is a link to the summary page, but the whole article gives you a good overview of CPUs for gaming:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-performance.html

Now, you put that up against an upgrade in your graphics card. Upgrading to a 7850 or 650 Ti-Boost will give you about a 50% increase in gaming performance. If you can grab a 660 or 7870 Ghz edition on special, that will give you a 80-90% performance increase. Reference Tom's "Best GPUs for the Money"...
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vertexx

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Apr 2, 2013
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I would keep your CPU and upgrade your GPU. You'll see a much greater gaming performance increase. The Phenom II X4 is still a great gaming CPU, so I would stick with that until you're ready to upgrade you're whole platform (i.e. Mobo & CPU).

Running a 7770, you should try to upgrade to a 7850 or GTX 650 Ti Boost at a minimum. If you watch the specials, you can find a GTX 660 or HD 7870 GHz edition for the $165-175 price range if you wait for one with a good rebate. Whatever you get, make sure it has at least 2GB ram.

If you're not OC'ing your Phenom II, you should be able to get 4.0 Ghz easy out of that chip with a decent cooler - that will be a noticeable performance increase over stock.
 
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23bobbyg

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May 1, 2013
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Thanks for the quick reply and thanks for your input.
I was also contemplating upgrading the GPU, what I was weighing was if the overall performance boost would come from upgrading to a newer CPU which should help with the physics, speed of reading the ram, and just overall faster performance from just being newer tech, or just from upgrading the GPU?
I am having a hard time finding a quantitative answer.
 
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Swordkd

Swordkd

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Oct 3, 2012
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I just recently upgraded from a Phenom II 940 mildly oc'ed to just above 965 stock range to a 3570k and kept the same graphics card, 6870. I honestly don't notice a difference between the two cpu's. So my advice would be to upgrade your video card to a 7870xt, about 250 dollars and wait for the next release of amd cpu's. They will be socket AM3+, so you're good there. Tinker around and find a mild to decent overclock as well on the 965 if you aren't doing so already.
 
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vertexx

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Apr 2, 2013
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Here are some reference points. Tom's "Best Gaming CPU's for the Money". Upgrading from a Phenom II to a FX 4300 gives no noticeable increase in Gaming. The same will hold true for even the best current AMD chips. Here is a link to the summary page, but the whole article gives you a good overview of CPUs for gaming:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-performance.html

Now, you put that up against an upgrade in your graphics card. Upgrading to a 7850 or 650 Ti-Boost will give you about a 50% increase in gaming performance. If you can grab a 660 or 7870 Ghz edition on special, that will give you a 80-90% performance increase. Reference Tom's "Best GPUs for the Money".

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-performance.html

You can also Google GPU reviews from other sites that will show you the expected performance increase by upgrading your GPU.

Bottom line is, unless you have another use case where you need like 6 or 8 cores (i.e. Video encoding, rendering, etc), you will get very little noticeable increase by upgrading from your Phenom II to another AMD chip. Upgrading your GPU IMO is your best bet for a gaming performance boost.
 
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23bobbyg

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May 1, 2013
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Thanks for the info,
Exactly what I was looking for!!!!
 
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8350rocks

8350rocks

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Mar 14, 2013
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Actually, upgrading to the FX8350 would make a noticeable difference. You gain more clockspeed and better IPC as well as more cores.

Upgrading your GPU would make a much more noticeable difference in games though if you OC your Phenom II.

 
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23bobbyg

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May 1, 2013
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So if given the option between upgrading to a FX 8350 or a MSI N650ti-2GD5/OC BE GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST which should I go with if looking for gaming performance upgrade?
 
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23bobbyg

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May 1, 2013
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I apologize, did not see your response before I posted. This is a great deal! you would purchase this HIS ICEQ Turbo GPU above the FX 8350?
 
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vertexx

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Apr 2, 2013
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Take a look at this. If you have the cash and are willing to do the rebate, this is $175 after the $20 rebate:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127699&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-14-127-699-_-Product

If you want to stay with AMD, then I would wait for a special on a 7870 GHz edition. Just last weekend, there was a 7870 for $175 with a Newegg Promo code and rebates.

If you can grab it, get the 660 linked above, or subscriber to the Newegg emails for the promos, and watch/wait for a 7870 Ghz Edition promo.

But if you want something now, the 650 TI Boost you linked would be a great upgrade.
Enjoy!
 
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23bobbyg

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May 1, 2013
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Thanks guys, all signs point to upgrading the GPU to at least a 7870 instead of purchasing a CPU upgrade. I am glad I asked your opinions.

Proverbs 24:3-7

By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might, for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory. Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth.

 
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8350rocks

8350rocks

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Benchmarks of that HD 7850 vs. several other cards:

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graphcivdirt3metro-640x413.jpg


Be sure you update to newest version of Catalyst drivers.
 
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vertexx

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Apr 2, 2013
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The above review is a bit dated. The 650ti Boost beats the 7850 in most games according to most reviews I've seen. A good one is linked here:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_650_Ti_Boost_TF_Gaming/

I run a Phenom IIx4 965 overclocked to 4.0 Ghz plus a Powercolor HD 7850 overclocked to 1050 Mhz. The 7850 overclocked is a great card. But if I were buying today, I would probably buy the 650 TI Boost.

Again, better yet, find a 7870 Ghz edition on special and overclock that.
 
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23bobbyg

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May 1, 2013
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does it have enough to push the 650?
 
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