FX 4300 vs Athlon x4 860k vs AMD A10-5800k

pandatech · Dec 4, 2015

I'm currently using an AMD A10-5800k with a GTX 950, i got the discrete graphics card since I was no longer happy with the graphics performance of my APU.

Now I'm planning on upgrading my CPU since I feel like it is bottlenecking my graphics card.

The prices where I live
FX 4300 - 60€, Athlon X4 860K - 76€, FX 6300 - 113€

Is replacing my APU processor with these CPUs worthwile?
I do not exactly know how they compare with my current setup. Will they continue to bottleneck?
I would opt for the Athlon X4 860K, what do you guys think?

Thanks in advance,
Peace!

ZENprime · Dec 4, 2015

They are really close in performance except fx 6300
FX 4300 is a slightly bigger x4 860k
FX 6300 adds 2 extra cores which helps in multi-player and less resources usage
other than that the performance difference between 5800k/4300/860k is not above 7% in any mean .
Do you have an fm2+ board ?

if you are going to change motherboard then go intel it will give you much performance
I don't think 5800k will bottleneck 950 , but it will be slow in CPU intensive games

For the cheapest thing : get a good cooler and overclock your CPU (need a decent motherboard) .

Or just go intel route if you will change motherboard

pandatech · Dec 4, 2015

ZENprime :

Thanks for the info, good to know that they do not outperform each other. I already ordered an aftermarket cooler but i think my Asrock FM2A55M-HD+ won't be able to handle an OC reliably since it doesn't have the A88X (Bolton D4) chipset for FM2+ boards.

I would love to go the intel route but unfortunately my budget is very limited

I could ditch my APU and old mainboard and use them to upgrade the old work computer of my dad. That would leave me some space for upgrades, but I do not have more than 200€ to spare.
Are there any viable budget intel cpu + mainboard combos?
Are there any AMD cpu+mainboard combos which noticeably outperform my old setup?

I would love to hear from you again (no homo),

Cheers!

ZENprime · Dec 5, 2015

I don't know where do you live in europe so I will use germany website :
What cooler did you get ?
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320E 3.2GHz 8-Core Processor (€135.12 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (€85.24 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €220.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-05 18:31 CET+0100

Change the CPU to 6300/50 if overbudget ....
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intel :
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4170 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor (€126.40 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (€76.17 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €202.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-05 18:35 CET+0100

Basically any high-clocked i3 haswell + a LGA1150 board in budget of 200euro

The intel i3 will edge out in CPU intensive games , and the AMD FX 8 will edge out in multi-player thanks to it's extra cores .
Pick depending on what will you do , both will get nearly same fps in most games in single player mode

pandatech · Dec 5, 2015

ZENprime :

Thank you very much for your advice. I think I'll have to opt for a cheaper option, I live in Austria and here the parts cost like 15-20€ more each than in good ol' Germany. Plus, my dad's PC needs new RAM as well, so my budget is even more limited(from 200€ cut down to 150€

)

I'm using a be quiet! pure rock because according to reviews it's supposed to be less noisy than a hyper evo 212.

I'll probably get the athlon x4 860k and overclock it using either
Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H (µATX) - 65€
or
ASRock FM2A88X Pro3+ (ATX) -75€ as mobo.
Both are relatively high quality according to this guide.

I don't know whether to get the µATX or ATX mobo, both should be able to fit into my ATX tower, however, I'm not sure if I'll ever use all the features of the bigger mainboard.

ZENprime · Dec 5, 2015

Seems fine with the Gigabyte board , stay away from asrock , try to get a heatsink a88x asus board , asus is the best in terms of power vrm which is important in overclocking , or a heatsink gigabyte board , generally search for a88x heatsinked board , or have a case fan next to the VRM area if you got a no heatsink motherboard .

That cooler is 150W TDP , which means small oc (4.3/4.4) maybe you are luckly and push more ...

Mindfactory ships to austria , FX 4300 has an l3 cache which gives more single core power than the APUs

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-4300 3.8GHz Quad-Core OEM/Tray Processor (€64.21 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 51.4 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (Purchased For €0.00)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (€85.24 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €149.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-05 19:21 CET+0100

pandatech · Dec 5, 2015

ZENprime :

Isn't the x4 860k more powerful in raw core performance though? I don't really know how the L3 cache is going to affect ingame performance exactly.

Hmm, I could still return the be quiet! pure rock and go for another cooler, would the hyper evo 212 be a viable option?

The Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P is a great mobo, unfortunately it is sold out completely in Austria and mindfactory demands 20€ for shipping to Austria. Similar (OC reliable) AM3+ mobo cost +100€ here, which means I'm SOL.

con635 · Dec 5, 2015

pandatech :

ZENprime :

Isn't the x4 860k more powerful in raw core performance though? At least that's what some people say, I don't really know how the L3 cache is going to affect ingame performance exactly.

Hmm, I could still return the be quiet! pure rock and go for another cooler, would the hyper evo 212 be a viable option?

Your right the 860k is stronger per core, the a88x chipset is better than the 970 and the l3 is so poor it barely makes a difference in most games, on the other hand the fx will clock higher to make the performance up so its still a tough choice.

pandatech · Dec 5, 2015

con635 :

I made my decision, Athlon x4 860k all the way, I'd chosen the FX 4300 (and the crazy OC achievable with this beast) but I'm not willing to spend more than 100€ to get a mobo that can handle aforementioned OC (the cheaper Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P is sold out everywhere in Austria

).
So even though the FX 4300 is 15€ cheaper and is theoretically able to deliver better performance with OC, I'll have to opt for the x4 860k + a light OC and a much cheaper reliable mobo.

Thanks everybody, you guys really know your stuff

ZENprime · Dec 5, 2015

hyper evo 212 is rated for 180W TDP which is better than 150W

a cache reduces memory latency , CPU uses cache first to search for information , if there is no information or no cache level , processor starts to search in RAM which has very high latency compared to level caches
It is not something to look at if you are limited in budget ....

Just go for 860k and OC into 4.5+ (try to search for a good OC-able motherboard that has heatsink VRM like asus a88XM plus)

pandatech · Dec 5, 2015

ZENprime :

Thanks for the input, very detailed advice

I'm just a dirt poor son of a gun, so I try to get the most bang for my buck, by no means am I not happy or dissatisfied with your suggestions

I ordered the GA-F2A88XM-D3H which is 10€ cheaper than the asus a88XM plus and should be able to handle a moderate OC with ease.

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