Few questions on AMD CPU's

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Michael Perkins

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Jun 2, 2013
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I have always been a fan of AMD's CPU's, having used two of them in the first two systems I built. Last year in June I got the AMD Phenom 2 x4 965 BE and I couldn't be happier with it. I don't do a lot of hardcore gaming, so I paired it with a Radeon 7770 and I have been able to play pretty much everything I want on at least high settings. Unfortunately for me, I built the new PC and stopped following the tech. I have been looking at a new build this summer, and going back and forth between the new AMD APU's and the FX series. So here are my questions:

1. I want something that is going to be supported for a while as far as socket goes. From what I can tell, the FX series uses the AM3+ socket, while the APU's are using the FM2+ socket. Which one of these looks to be the more supported as we continue? I cannot seem to find an answer.

2. With the AMD APU's if I were to go for the A10 7850k, would I be getting better, same, or worse performance than with my Phenom from above with the 7770?

3. I recently found a cheaper alternative to the CPU hunt in the Athlon 2 750k. I can't seem to find anything definitive as far as how high I could possibly go on the graphics card without worrying about bottlenecks.

As I said, I am not a 1080p gamer (crap eye sight lol), but I want something that can play 720p at high or ultra setting with no problems.
 
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logainofhades


1) I also believe AM3+ is a dead platform

2) Kaveri would be no faster than the OP's Phenom II, clock for clock.

3) I agree, that if you truly want to stay with AMD, you might want to keep what you have it if it working to your satisfaction. If your motherboard...
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caqde

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The 7850 should be about as fast as your Phenom x4 965 CPU wise but use less power. The FX cpu's with 6+ cores are faster CPU wise. Socket support Intel and AMD are both reaching the end of both sockets due to the coming of DDR4 in the near future (expect it within the next year or so 2016 at the latest). I do expect more support for FM2+ but either way not much support for any current socket either way.

Intel's upcoming Broadwell will likely be the last DDR3 chip for Intel sockets (Consumer wise) and AMD chips based on Excavator will likely be the last DDR3 chip for AMD. Broadwell shouldn't be much faster than Intel's Haswell as it is meant to drop power consumption more than improve performance Excavator should be a bit faster than Steamroller (~10% average) a bit better than the improvement from haswell to broadwell but AMD is catching up though and the rumored successor to excavator in 2016 should hopefully show promise.

In short FM2+ will likely get one more chip and chipset combo coming to it.
Intel should have another chip coming for the desktop (Wether it will be socket compatible is debateable knowing Intel)
Future support for AM3+ CPU and chipset wise is largely unknown but seems unlikely atm. If it does get a Steamroller or Excavator based chip it won't be until 2015 at the earliest but even then no rumors or news points to such a chip.
 
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JOOK-D

JOOK-D

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1) FM2+ since AM3+ seems to be no longer supported (next high-end AMD chips coming 2015/2016, unlikely to be on AM3+). FM2+ might see a few more additions.

2) Depends on the application. I believe Kaveri has slightly higher per-core performance than the FX series (could be wrong, I seem to remember reading it somewhere). The FX's are basically on par with the Phenoms.

3) I'd keep your Phenom. Possibly overclock it if you have a capable motherboard and CPU cooler.
 
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Michael Perkins

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Well part of the need/want of building a new PC is that it has turned into more of a family use computer. My dad smokes about two packs of cigarettes a day, and I (stupidly) never realized that smoke plays murder on PC components. I love the system I have, but I don't want to reuse any of the parts because I don't know what kind of damage has already been done.

This new system is going in my own room, away from the smoke for the most part.

I should also qualify that when it comes down to it, I want the best performance for my money, and if at all possible I want the ability to expand in a year or two, need be. I have been considering a cheaper version of an i-3 or -5 as well, with the option to really spruce things up later if and when I need or want to. I have never built an Intel PC, but I can't imagine the build is any different save for a different shape or size for the CPU.
 
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logainofhades

logainofhades

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1) I also believe AM3+ is a dead platform

2) Kaveri would be no faster than the OP's Phenom II, clock for clock.

3) I agree, that if you truly want to stay with AMD, you might want to keep what you have it if it working to your satisfaction. If your motherboard supports FX 6300 or 8320, you might want to consider it as a fairly inexpensive upgrade, though. It would add a bit longer life to the system.

As a side note, if do you want something with a clear upgrade path, you want to switch to Intel. H97 and Z97 boards will support Broadwell.

Edit- NVM on 3. I just saw the reasoning on this being a new system. I think an i3 or i7, with an h97 board would be a good idea, for a new rig. Some Z97 boards are not much more expensive at this time though.
 
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