Christmas CPU Upgrade :D

What motherboard do you have at the moment?

You do not want to run a modern 8 core CPU on that board. It has crappy VRMs.

Anyway. As for what you should get, it really does not matter much.

If you plan on doing any form of overclocking, get the 8320 setup and maybe a better 990fx board.

The Asus board you linked to is a LE version of a good and very popular motherboard.
This one
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-502-AS&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=2046

The one you picked doesn't have VRM heatsinks so it's not good for overclocking.

I use this motherboard on my FX8320 @ 4Ghz and have no problems. I also purchased it from Overclockers. I have been using them since 2007 and they are good. Also Scan and Ebuyer are good.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-349-GI&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=2046

I have had my AMD FX8320 overclocked to 4.2Ghz on the board but i have fine performance at 4Ghz so i haven't found the need to keep it that high.

The Haswell CPU is a good choice too and it will be better suited to Skyrim by quite a bit.
I'm not sure what performance problems you have with it but i played it fine and heavily modded with no issues.
Battlefield 4 can use more cores so i don't think you will see any difference with the graphics card you use. Also if you plan on recording/streaming your game play i would go with the FX8320.

At the end of the day this is your decision
Whatever you choose Happy Christmas and more importantly Happy Gaming

Your board has exposed VRMs... what a shame.

I would get a FX 8320 and get a 990FX motherboard.

The difference between AMD and intel for gaming.
Firstly, you need to decide what your priorities are, and what you will use the PC for.
Things such as: light gaming, heavy gaming, basic work (e.g. MS Office), heavy work (e.g. video editing, 3d modeling).
For the most part in current games the biggest difference will be made by the selection of the GPU. Get a great GPU + worse CPU rather than worse GPU + great CPU.

The AMD FX CPU's have many cores, which are weaker.
intel i5's have less cores, which are stronger.

The intel's consequently have better performance per core. In older games, the intels perform better as those games are optimised for good performance with only a few cores (single-threading).
In newer games, the AMD FX's really shine due to the introduction of games using more cores (multi-threading), which may continue into nextgen (unconfirmed).

The difference comes in depending on what you want to use the PC for. If you're on a tight budget, save some money and go with the AMD and spend the extra money on a better GPU that will give you better performance than any CPU could.

i5: Good for older games (single-threaded), Good for newer games (multi-threaded), Good for general work, great all-round CPU and probably the best around for current games (may change in future).
AMD: Slightly worse for older games (single-threaded), Great for newer games (multi-threaded e.g. BF4, Crysis 3), Good for light/heavy work, extra cores are great for 3d modeling and video editing or rendering, great CPU whilst costing much less than the intel. Even though it's worse in older games it will run them perfectly well and smoothly.

Regardless, both will perform well.
For an i5, I would recommend an i5 3570k or a 4670k. Why? They are king for gaming performance at the moment and since they are the k version they are unlocked and can be overclocked in future for a performance boost.

For an AMD, I would recommend a FX 6300/8320/8350 (might as well get the 8320, it's an 8350 clocked lower at stock which you can change) [Do NOT go with a bulldozer CPU, only piledriver. List here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piledriver_(microarchitecture) <-- That should all be one link, not sure why it splits.]. Why? Great multi-threaded performance for newer games and heavy work, are just fine in older games (not overkill, can deliver smooth frame rates maxed with a good GPU), and are great for productivity with a tame pricetag.

As a general guide for gaming: (FX's piledriver, intel's sandy/ivy/haswell)
- FX 4300/4320/4350 = i3
- FX 6300/6350 = i3 or mid i5
- FX 8320/8350/9xxx = i5 (k) / i7 (well-threaded games, streaming [i7 hyperthreading isn't very beneficial to gaming]).


In conclusion, budget gaming/work: AMD. Not on a budget gaming/work: i5/i7. The i5 currently delivers better performance but don't get the impression that the AMD is lagging behind. They are great for gaming and work with a really great pricetag, just not currently up there with intel. In newer games though such as BF4 the AMD's have caught up in performance and in some cases deliver better performance than the intel's for much less money. You will get great, smooth FPS with either.
Either solution will game just fine with a nice GPU, focus mainly on that.

Some non-synthetic benchmarks between the FX 83xx series and the i5/i7's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4et7kDGSRfc & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu8Sekdb-IE The i5 will win in the majority of cases.

TL;DR - FX 6300/8320/8350 or intel i5/i7 k. Get the best GPU possible (save some $$$ from cheaper CPU), any will be fine.

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I haven't overly looked into this thread, skim-read it instead, but I'd go for the i5 in your situation as you'd be looking at a new motherboard too. A high-end haswell i5 (the 4670k if you can, not a necessity) and a nice motherboard to pair with it.

The FX 8320 matches an i3 in some benchmarks of single/poorly-threaded games but beats them in newer titles and by far in productivity apps. If you're looking at Skyrim in particular, intels beat every single AMD offering. However, AMD's can potentially perform better than an intel in the same price bracket since the AMD's are unlocked (able to be overclocked for more performance) and the intel non k's are only able to be overclocked by a very small margin (it may have been 200-400MHz).

The 4100 you have at the moment is worse than the Phenom's it should have replaced - it's a slow quad-core and is bulldozer architecture, piledriver improved upon it massively. In BF4 an FX 83xx would perform on par with a high-end i5, in some cases it can beat it, in others it loses - it would be more than capable. I believe intels are better in Borderlands.

It all comes down to what games you play / what you need it to do / how much you want to spend. Sorry if some of this info isn't clear, still a little hungover :lol: Merry Christmas btw.

I think the reason you are hearing conflicting arguments is because not everyone plays the same games. I'll post a couple of benchmarks to show you how different games use a CPU differently.
If you post your budget i will also see if i can find you some good deals.

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2011/12/mod-boosts-skyrim-performance-by-up-to-40-per-cent-could-be-faster/

Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I assume a 4440 would run just like a 4670 would at lower clock speeds. The 4440 is 3.1GHz (turbo to 3.3, almost the stock speed of the 4670 [which turbos to 3.8, stock 3.4]). So, again I assuming, not that much worse than a 4670. A few FPS off depending on the game. Personally I like unlocked CPUs so I'd only go for the 4670k

£164.99 inc. VAT

http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/Intel+Core+i5-4670K+3.40GHz+%28Haswell%29+Socket+LGA1150+Processor+-+Retail+?productId=55828&source=skinflint

The 4440 would be a huge step up from the 4100, no doubt.

Anyway, I'd go for a full step up rather than an almost-full step up. Save up a little if you have to to get the 4670k, IMO if you're pairing it with a Z87 mobo. If you were planning to with an H87 or a B85(? I think that's what they're called for this socket) then you could go with the 4440.

Damn
I wish i could drive to overclockers to pick up my parts

I have to settle for them delivering. I use them mostly because the delivery vans have GPS tracking so i can see exactly when my new parts will arrive:lol:

Also you might want to consider the crossfire ready motherboards for when you add another 270x
I did that and wow it's a fast set up

You too mate, don't drink too much haha

No problem.
Have a great christmas holiday yourself and a happy new year