Upgrade AMD APU CPU or convert to Intel CPU?

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H

Hardwhere

Honorable
Jan 30, 2014
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10,510
Hi there,
I have a HTPC I put together about two years back. Its got a decent GPU, but otherwise gaming performance can be kind of sluggish. I game casually, but would like to be able to play the new Battlefront and Arkham Knight at close to 1080p/30 fps. If its too pricey, then I can scale back that ambition. Here's what I currently have:

AMD A4-6300 Richland Dual-Core 3.7GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 65W AD6300OKHLBOX

MSI FM2-A75IA AMD Mini-ITX Motherboard

G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)

ECS GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Video Card

Cooler Master Elite 130 - Mini-ITX Computer Case

Should I just stick an AMD A10-7850K ($130) in there or opt for a Mini-ITX Intel motherboard, i3 Ivy Bridge (don't see any 1155 boards that support DDR3 1866) that will cost me $250-300?

Thanks in advance.
 
Solution
CTurbo
No. If I was going to change platforms, I would do it right by getting an i5 + GOOD motherboard and not an i3 + the cheapest LGA1150 board I could find.

A 760k would solve his problems without all of the hassle a new board brings like redoing your entire PC(everything is connected to the motherboard) or having to re-install and often repurchase/reacquire windows.
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Z

ZENprime

Reputable
Jul 2, 2015
503
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5,360
Cheapest upgrade will be the 760k if you can find any right now
will get you performance that is nearly as same as 860k so search well for it
other than that you are limited to :
860k + mini-ITX board Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI is a good choice .
i3 + LGA-1150 ITX board

860k starts from 70$ + best ITX board 90$ = 160$
I could not find a cheap ITX FM2+ board (strange) you might have better luck than me in that matter .
i3 cheapest starts from 100$ + cheapest ITX LGA-1150 board 70$ = 170$
or a great ITX LGA-1150 board 100$ = 200$

your choice .
generally i3 will offer better performance than 860k at a higher price of course .
max is 10-15 fps difference .
There are games which are horribly programmed and will run bad on both
 
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H

Hardwhere

Honorable
Jan 30, 2014
6
0
10,510


I would do either the 760k ($80-120 used off some sketch-looking sites) or a Mini-ITX Intel board ($65-80) with an Intel Core i3-4170 ($120). I can adjust my RAM to run at slower speeds, so that's no longer a worry.

I'm wondering if I should just opt for investing in the newer technology and try to sell the old mobo/CPU? Anything I'm missing here?
 
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ZENprime

Reputable
Jul 2, 2015
503
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80$ for used 760k is wayy tooo much for it , i mean last new one was selling for 77$ in newegg .
1866 ram down clock itself to 1600 when it is installed with intel as intel does not support any speed higher than 1600
some people say using 1866 in intel put damage to the processor in the long term ; but I would not care too much for that as the ram can down clock itself to 1600 .

About the selling you would probably if you want to sell them , sell them packed together apu + mobo , do not expect much from them .
you have your option with the cheapest is searching for a new 760k .
 
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H

Hardwhere

Honorable
Jan 30, 2014
6
0
10,510


The cost of a new Intel based mobo is about the same as the cost of the 760k, so that's a wash. Then it'd just be buying the i3 CPU. So going that route would be $120 more vs upgrading to the 760k. You don't feel as if its worth the $120 more?

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/147/AMD_Athlon_X4_760K_vs_Intel_Core_i3_i3-4170.html
 
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CTurbo

CTurbo

Pizza Monster
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Aug 27, 2013
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No. If I was going to change platforms, I would do it right by getting an i5 + GOOD motherboard and not an i3 + the cheapest LGA1150 board I could find.

A 760k would solve his problems without all of the hassle a new board brings like redoing your entire PC(everything is connected to the motherboard) or having to re-install and often repurchase/reacquire windows.
 
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