I have recently bought an AMD FX-8320 with a msi 970a-g46 motherboard (yes I know it isn't that great). I was wondering if it would be worth it to buy the Intel i5 4670K and an Asus Z87-A DDR3 1600 LGA 1150 motherboard or to just buy a better motherboard for my 8320? Any suggestions or help is appreciated.
Should I switch to Intel?
- Thread starter digthis2
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Martell1977
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Is there something lacking in the performance you are getting? What programs are you running? What GPU?
Deus Gladiorum
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Yes, if you can return it for an i5-4670k, do so. The 4670k is an objectively better CPU capable of so much more than an FX-8320, and decimates everywhere. But I'm curious, what games are you running? With my GTX 770 and my FX-6300 @ 4.5 GHz I still get plenty of bottlenecking on certain games (it's yet to bring me below 30 fps on the worst games, save for Crysis 1 which has a slew of other issues in the first place), but for the most part I can endure it though I wish I had just gone for Intel instead. You will be much happier this way, but still, what games are you having this sort of performance for?
rwayne
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Absolutely not. The cost (which would be considerable) would not be worth the performance increase. While not as fast as a Core I-5 in most applications the FX-8320 is still a good processor.
I think when purchasing any new system 'Buyers Remorse' is totally human.
"Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda"
I don't think there is anything wrong with what you purchased. If I was in your situation I would be quite excited and would be looking towards playing some great games.
I think when purchasing any new system 'Buyers Remorse' is totally human.
"Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda"
I don't think there is anything wrong with what you purchased. If I was in your situation I would be quite excited and would be looking towards playing some great games.
I play games like skyrim, borderlands 2, metro last light, and assassins creed 4. Most of them run well but they will drop to around 20-40fps for no reason. I know I have a good graphics card so I didn't know if I bought a better board and just OC as much as I could or get a new cpu and board?
rwayne
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Your post is not uncommon. I have seen other ones before.
It is stressful to press the 'BUY NOW' button, then afterwards there is even more stress about wondering 'Did I do the right thing?'.
It is common with any major purchase. Automobiles, homes, big screen tvs. "GEE, I wish had bought that SONY 50" instead of that LG. Gee, I wish we had bought that house 2 blocks down in stead of this one." etc.
I think once you get acclimated to it and immersed in games you'll forget about any doubt or regret you ever had about your purchase. Let me be the first to congratulate you. I think you got a great PC. As you can see by my signature it is definitely better than mine.
It is stressful to press the 'BUY NOW' button, then afterwards there is even more stress about wondering 'Did I do the right thing?'.
It is common with any major purchase. Automobiles, homes, big screen tvs. "GEE, I wish had bought that SONY 50" instead of that LG. Gee, I wish we had bought that house 2 blocks down in stead of this one." etc.
I think once you get acclimated to it and immersed in games you'll forget about any doubt or regret you ever had about your purchase. Let me be the first to congratulate you. I think you got a great PC. As you can see by my signature it is definitely better than mine.
Deus Gladiorum
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I'm sorry, but rwayne you're absolutely wrong.
The games you want to play, digthis2, are very CPU bound and I too usually have CPU bottlenecking on these same games. Overclocking has helped, sometimes as much as 10 fps, iirc, but my frame rate dips anywhere from 30 - 60, though on average I stay nearer to the 60 end on all of these games. However, I know for a fact that an i5-4670k will make a MASSIVE difference. While I can't say the same for Assassin's Creed IV or Metro Last Light which are both GPU intensive in addition to being somewhat CPU bound, Skyrim and Borderlands 2 are very easy on the GPU and intense as hell on the CPU and they scale ridiculously well with a good CPU.
My friend and I both play Borderlands 2 quite often, and my frame rate stays between 40 - 60 with drops to 30 - 40 somewhat infrequently depending on where I am and what's going on. I have an FX-6300 OC'ed well past your FX-8320 (I'm at 4.5 GHz) and I have a very powerful GTX 770. Conversely, my friend has an i5-3570k and a GTX 660 Ti, a CPU far more powerful than mine and a GPU far weaker than mine, yet his frame rate never dips below 60 (I've played it for hours on his rig as well). I believe he overclocked, but I don't think he got past 4.0 GHz. Still, that should tell you a huge amount about how much the CPU matters in a game.
If you can return the FX-8320 and MOBO and get an i5-4670k and new MOBO for a reduced price, I highly recommend you do so.
The games you want to play, digthis2, are very CPU bound and I too usually have CPU bottlenecking on these same games. Overclocking has helped, sometimes as much as 10 fps, iirc, but my frame rate dips anywhere from 30 - 60, though on average I stay nearer to the 60 end on all of these games. However, I know for a fact that an i5-4670k will make a MASSIVE difference. While I can't say the same for Assassin's Creed IV or Metro Last Light which are both GPU intensive in addition to being somewhat CPU bound, Skyrim and Borderlands 2 are very easy on the GPU and intense as hell on the CPU and they scale ridiculously well with a good CPU.
My friend and I both play Borderlands 2 quite often, and my frame rate stays between 40 - 60 with drops to 30 - 40 somewhat infrequently depending on where I am and what's going on. I have an FX-6300 OC'ed well past your FX-8320 (I'm at 4.5 GHz) and I have a very powerful GTX 770. Conversely, my friend has an i5-3570k and a GTX 660 Ti, a CPU far more powerful than mine and a GPU far weaker than mine, yet his frame rate never dips below 60 (I've played it for hours on his rig as well). I believe he overclocked, but I don't think he got past 4.0 GHz. Still, that should tell you a huge amount about how much the CPU matters in a game.
If you can return the FX-8320 and MOBO and get an i5-4670k and new MOBO for a reduced price, I highly recommend you do so.
rwayne
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Deus,
$100 motherboard
$200 for a Core I-5
Then another $100 if he got an OEM version of Windows
Is it really worth $400??? Seriously???
Home built computers are hard to return and harder to sell. And if you do sell it the buyer will expect you to fix it or at least provide some sort tech support. And yes they will call you every time they suspect something is wrong just to ask questions. I would not want to deal with the stress of that or the hassle of trying to return a bunch of parts especially when there is nothing wrong with them. Even if they don't call just knowing the stress that they could and hold you accountable to some level.
Is it really worth it? Really?
$100 motherboard
$200 for a Core I-5
Then another $100 if he got an OEM version of Windows
Is it really worth $400??? Seriously???
Home built computers are hard to return and harder to sell. And if you do sell it the buyer will expect you to fix it or at least provide some sort tech support. And yes they will call you every time they suspect something is wrong just to ask questions. I would not want to deal with the stress of that or the hassle of trying to return a bunch of parts especially when there is nothing wrong with them. Even if they don't call just knowing the stress that they could and hold you accountable to some level.
Is it really worth it? Really?
- Aug 23, 2011
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That board has a VRM temp issue with Higher end FX chips which causes it to throttle, maybe at some point MSI will release a Bios update to fix it but for now don't OC a 125 watt FX on it. Aside from that it is a very nice budget board that has got good reviews, if your goal was to OC that FX you should have not purchased a budget motherboard. Now should you buy Intel? well do you have $$$$ burning your pocket because your wont actually gain a huge amount of performance for the money you shell out over what you have now. Should you buy a new MB that depends on if you plan on Overclocking more than 10% because that's about all that I would push that board for now.
Wow. I agree with both of you and both have made very valid and extremely important points. I know how tough it can be returning and selling things so I will stick with the 8320. In a few years I will make an upgrade to it. I would definitely like to switch motherboards though just so I can OC and get a little more performance out of it. Any recommendations on a good mobo for under $150?
Deus Gladiorum
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If I haven't convinced you, oh well. If what delaro is saying is true and your CPU may be throttling, I recommend my board, a Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3. I was able to overclock it to 4.5 GHz pretty easily, but can't get any higher though that can be due to the piece of silicon (i.e. my CPU) more than the motherboard itself. I've heard of people getting as high as 4.8 GHz on it though, a goal I'd love to have obtained without destroying my CPU, but that's the luck of the draw I suppose:
UPDATE: Scratch that, that board is best for 6 cores and has issues with some revisions have a crappy VRM (I guess I lucked out and got a good revision then). This board is better for your CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131851&clickid=wJUzS00Wn2dhSwCQDeQ2t15xUkT1kCy5WwsbQ00&iradid=97618&ircid=2106&irpid=79301&nm_mc=AFC-IR&cm_mmc=AFC-IR-_-na-_-na-_-na
Just a warning, the FX series is going to die. AMD hasn't released a new FX CPU since 2012, they didn't release one in 2013, they aren't planning to release one this year, and their roadmap says nothing about updating the FX series in 2015. This could change with time for the 2015 estimate, but for this year there's no chance it'll happen. AMD has seemingly given up on their FX buyers. The money to be had is in their APU line, where they can combat Intel on integrated graphics. Intel is far too entrenched here in the realm of dedicated CPUs to be outdone. In other words, I feel like this is a dead socket.
ElMoIsEviL
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The Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard can run an AMD FX-8350 oc'ed to 4.5GHz with ease. The Asus board listed in the comments, the ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0, is actually weaker than the UD3 in terms of its power delivery capabilities. UD3 has an 8+2 Power Phase setup vs the R2.0s 6+2 Power Phase setup. Either board would work but the UD3 is the better board of the two.
The revision 3, no longer sold, of the Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard had issues with the heatsink used over the VRM. This has been rectified with the revision 4 of the board (which also added even more powerful VRMs to boot).
So yeah... the Gigabyte board is your best bet.
As for Skyrim, it's an old DX9 game. It only uses 1-2 cores. You're not going to be seeing any big titles that only use 1-2 cores anymore. So it isn't really worth dumping your CPU and board and going all in with an Intel i5 and new Intel board imo.
The revision 3, no longer sold, of the Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard had issues with the heatsink used over the VRM. This has been rectified with the revision 4 of the board (which also added even more powerful VRMs to boot).
So yeah... the Gigabyte board is your best bet.
As for Skyrim, it's an old DX9 game. It only uses 1-2 cores. You're not going to be seeing any big titles that only use 1-2 cores anymore. So it isn't really worth dumping your CPU and board and going all in with an Intel i5 and new Intel board imo.
ElMoIsEviL
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Not sure why you're talking about the MSI board since I was talking about the Gigabyte 990FXA UD3.
rwayne
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I can't fully comment as I don't own one but from what I understand the 8320 is not a great overclocker. At least not as good as the 8350. They are both the same same chip but the results of the 8350 are better from what little I have read.
I don't think I would personally spend $150 to get a few more frames of performance as the amount of improvement likely would not be appreciable.
I would be more inclined to spend $150 on an Solid State Drive if one is not currently in your system.
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