FX-8350 ? will it handle games 6-8 years from now ?

Fraxure13 · Feb 3, 2014

I am gonna build my firs gaming rig, and right now I am on the market for CPU, PSU and MOBO.

since I want to build a PC for gaming, I decided to choose i7-4770k but now I am thinking its a little bit "overkill" so I watched some vids, and found out FX-8350 is a good CPU, so I decided to take a look but I am a little worried cause it is released on 2012 and its now 2014 so I think its too "old" but still I see dudes build their rig with FX-8350, so my question is will it handle games 6-8 years from now ?

I want the hard truth or else I will go with an i5 4670k (but it is not a "recommended" CPU of Watch dogs (I want to play this game on high)) My budget is fine I can buy an i7 but I think the extra 100$ is not "worth it"

vmN · Feb 3, 2014

It's rather complicated to guess about.
Looking at the last couple of generations of CPU's there havent been much of a performance increase, and the peformance increase from each generations seems to lower and lower. (talking about raw CPU performance)

When games starts to utilize all 8 cores, they would require stronger cores than the fx line currently have.
An i5 should be able to handle watchdogs game without trouble, unless they wont even optimize the game(shame on them if they dont).

But 6-8 years is a really long time, and things might change, but with a qualified guess, my answer would be no.
The closed you would come would be a 4930k > 4770k > 8320.

ferooxidan · Feb 3, 2014

if future games utilize more core and better multitasking then maybe it will suffice, i doubt it tho, but if ur budget is alright, buy whatever overkill now and i guarantee you in 6 years it just a mainstream rig. Go get the Extreme series, e.g. All those procie utilizing socket LGA2011 and chipset X79.

bignastyid · Feb 3, 2014

It will be about the same as trying to use a pentium 4 for current games. In other words it will probably be close to worthless for new games in 6-8 years. But I can only guess as my ability to see the future hasn't been working.

Gaidax · Feb 3, 2014

Probably not, really. It is already like 3 years old technology now.

6 years is a VERY long time in technology terms. I bet we will have smartphones in 6-8 years which would be able to pull near FX-8350 performance in 6 years from now, that is IF we will even use smartphones then and not something else like glasses/watches/whatever.

I guess in 6 years from now it will be a VERY entry level minimum specs CPU.

Fraxure13 · Feb 3, 2014

Gaidax :

How about an i5 4670k ?

Gaidax · Feb 3, 2014

Fraxure13 :

Same... 6 years is a lot to ask, really.

Don't sweat it though, unless you buy one of those beast Intel Extreme CPUs' you will be badly outdated in 6 years for now anyway, so just get whatever is most reasonable for you now.

VenBaja · Feb 3, 2014

Let me put it this way. Would you use a Core2Duo to play today's games? That was the tops 7 years ago. You're looking way too far into the future. Heck, the 8350 probably won't be relevant in THREE years, nevermind 6-8. I really wouldn't worry about it though, as I don't think it'll be too hard for you to scrounge up $300 for a cpu/mobo upgrade over the next 6 years.

CooLWoLF · Feb 3, 2014

It will probably play games 6 years from now at medium quality graphics, as long as its paired with upgraded graphics cards along the way.

The Phenom II came out in 2008 and plenty of people still use them to game on. My old PII 945 still chugs along in any games I throw at it, just at lower quality settings to obtain good frames.

Fraxure13 · Feb 4, 2014

ok then it is set 17 4770K

Senpos · Feb 4, 2014

Agreed with vmN. Get FX-8320 and have fun using it for time you want. It's cheap and enough powerful. So, you will be able to save some money and upgrade your rig in future according to new technologies.

4Ryan6 · Feb 4, 2014

FX-8350 ? will it handle games 6-8 years from now ?

If all you play is Solitaire and Mahjong Yes!

Cutting edge games released 6 to 8 years from now?

Absolutely NOT!

There's nothing out today that will be able to do that!

jaguarskx · Feb 4, 2014

Difficult to say... since it depends on your expectations. The FX-8350 is already a little over 1 year old. Can a CPU still be considered "good enough" after 7 to 9 years? It depends on your expectations. The lower they are the longer the CPU will be usable.

My Core 2 Quad Q9450 is approaching 6 years old. While I find that the performance is still adequate I will be upgrading soon to the i5-4670k. This will be an interim upgrade for me since the i5-4670k will go into my HTPC. When Intel releases Skylake (2015) or Skymont (2016) I will build a new primary rig that I plan on keep for at least 4 years... unless my performance requirements increases...

The Q9450 is still capable of playing games, but it definitely bottlenecks more recent games that are CPU intensive.

Powerbolt · Feb 4, 2014

Overkill now, equals mainstream down the line. The 4770K would serve you well for years to come if you take care of it.

NorthernIrish · Feb 4, 2014

Depends really if you pair the beast cpu with an ati r9 200 series gpu like the r9 290x you should be set for at least 4 years thats only if mantle gets better and better so far decent results from bf4 mantle update should get better though.

danforthewin · Feb 4, 2014

No, it won't. By then CPUs will literally have 3x the transistors on the die. Games will be rendered in extremely high resolution, and no CPU will be adequate to game at high levels.

Fraxure13 · Feb 7, 2014

Thx for all your answers, but I am now set to i7 4770K
I am still earning the money to buy it along with mobo and PSU. I think I will be able to upgrade or buy the parts this coming april or may

nagasama · Feb 10, 2014

Like jaguar, I too had a q9450. 5-6 years old. Even when it was new it was not a top of the line chip. Overclocked it did good. I just upgraded to 4670k last month. Let me tell you...the 9450 was, like jaguar says, "adequate". But it bottlenecked my sli 460s playing bf3, with a 3.6ghz 24/7 OC. I don't even want to know how bad it would bottleneck the 780 that replaced them. Night and day difference between the two processors. The 4670k with a healthy overclock is one of (if not THE) the best gaming cpus ever made. Will it be "adequate" in 6 years? Almost certainly, unless Cpu tech advances by leaps far larger than it currently does. That being said, it will not be a top of the line cpu anymore. Obviously. If you are looking for that long of a lifetime in your Cpu, I would agree that a 4770k would likely be the best bet at this time. Some folks upgrade every 2-3 years, and for those people the 4670k is the best choice imo.

thx1138v2 · Feb 10, 2014

Also keep in mind that in 6-7 years RAM, hard and SSD's will also have changed along with their interfaces and even possibly something will come along putting Blu-Ray to shame. PCIx may even be gone.

So in that kind of time frame you probably won't be able to use any of the components in your current build.

I did my most recent build after 9 years and the only thing I reused was the case. It wasn't that I didn't want to reuse old components but that the mobo's no longer supported them. For example, try to find a mobo with a PATA as opposed to SATA interface today much less a PATA drive.

God only knows what an OS will look like in 8 years.

And keep in mind that the _rate_ of change is accelerating, not staying the same.

Chuckiechan · Feb 10, 2014

I don't know about the processor, but the big expense is the video cards.

We build our computers to run our video cards, so they have us over a barrel unless people can't afford to finance the infrastructure to play the game!

I do think AMD is on the right track with combining the two. After others come into the market and whore it out, they'll be getting cheap like everything else!

vmN · Feb 10, 2014

Are you talking about AMDs APUs?
A lot of intel cpu product have an IGP too.

nagasama · Feb 10, 2014

Upgrading the gpu is irrelevant if your Cpu cannot process information fast enough to keep it fed. Point in case was my q9450 only using 70-80% of my sli gtx 460s. My 4670k pegs my 780 at 98-99% 100% of the time. Aka as much data as the gpu can handle.

genz · Feb 11, 2014

Keep in mind that an i7 4770k definitely won't last 8 years either.

The smarter decision is really the AMD. Sure you'll upgrade sooner, but you won't replace the motherboard when you do so the total cost will likely make your first 3 upgrades combined be around the same price as a 4770k.

Plus to be perfectly honest even a 3700 or 2600 is a more future proof design as an external VRM means that you have a much bigger scope to over clock harder later in life and thus squeeze every last bit of performance from your chip before an upgrade.

genz · Feb 11, 2014

@nagasama

The whole idea that your GPU must be running at 100% is a stupid fragment of flawed and made up Tom's forum logic.

Assuming no frame limiters and such, If your GPU is at 70%, then your CPU is probably at 100% on at least one core, but if your GPU is at 100% now it's the limiting factor and your CPU isn't at 100%. If by extremely long testing you find a setup that uses near 100% of both bits of hardware, guess what? It won't be the same for any other game. E.g I bet CoD runs on even core2duos/780ti's great because its all GPU. I would say the opposite for a game like Crysis 3.

vmN · Feb 11, 2014

genz :

He would likely have to upgrade the motherboard too, unless he will still be riding on DDR3 6-8 years ahead.
AMD might even abandon FX line or even the entire AM3+ socket, nothing is guaranteed as a lot can change.
3700 and 2600 is in no mean more future proof. Haswell i7 is 5-15% stronger than IV's i7. IV's i7 is 5-15% stronger than SB i7. Tell me about the much bigger scope? IV wasn't too good at overclocking either...

FX-8350 ? will it handle games 6-8 years from now ?

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