Figuring out optimal CPU upgrade for my PC.

K1V · Jun 3, 2014

Greetings,

I am seeking to improve the performance of my PC for newer generation games, namely - Wildstar.

I was told that my current CPU is garbage - AMD Phenom II X4 955.

Current:
ASUS Motherboard - M4A87TD EVO
750W Corsair PW-Supply.
ATI Radeon HD 5770 1gb
12 Gigs of Ram

Ran CPU-Upgrade here: http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-ASUS/M4A87TD_EVO.html

I am confused on 2 points:

1) Running CPU-Z, I have a AM3 (938) socket. Will I be able to use AM3+?

2) Is my CPU my weakest link? Or should I consider upgrading my Motherboard as well?

Thanks!

damric · Jun 3, 2014

Phenom II 955 is not garbage. They are still very capable gaming CPUs. If you have adequate cooling, you could easily overclock it to 3600MHz or even 4GHz if it is a C3 stepping chip. Overclocking the CPU-NB also helps that CPU a lot.

You would be better off with a GPU upgrade, something like the r9 270/HD 7870.

If you do decide on CPU upgrade, I'd go for an Intel Haswell i5.

geofelt · Jun 3, 2014

Your cpu chip is NOT garbage.
But, it looks like you do not have a good upgrade for cpu power with that motherboard according to your link. The X6 core chips may sound bood, but for gaming, your X4 will still be better. It turns out that the effectiveness of the X6 cores is not as good, and significantly worse than the intel cores.

It looks to me that your 5770 is the weak link for a gaming pc.
I would look towards a jump in graphics power first. Budget $150 or so for something like a GTX750ti.
To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:

a) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.

Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
set to 70% and see how you do.

You could also experiment with removing one core in the bios. This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many cores.

If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.

If you do decide that you need a cpu boost, I would look at an intel quad and a Z97 based motherboard.

K1V · Jun 4, 2014

Thanks a lot for your replies folks, will try the "tests" tonight and report back.

Really appreciate the help - I was dreading having to do a major overhaul.

damric · Jun 4, 2014

HD 5770s were also known to be good overclockers, often hitting 1GHz core.

Between CPU and GPU overclocking, you could have as much as 30% or more free performance left on the table.

logainofhades · Jun 4, 2014

CPU is a bit old, but still decent for most games. Some newer titles it might struggle a bit. Upgrade that GPU to a GTX 750ti at minimum, but nothing over an R7 270x, as the cpu will start bottlenecking some with a 270x. You could get a 4770k and probably wouldn't gain more than 5fps due to the weak GPU you have now.

Now if you plan a CPU and motherboard overhaul in the near future, get the fastest GPU you can afford, and live with the bottlenecking until you get your new hardware.

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Figuring out optimal CPU upgrade for my PC.

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