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OptionalPoem01

Commendable
May 5, 2016
2
0
1,510
Hi All,

I'm currently interested in upgrading my good old computer that a friend build for me a few years back. Here are the specs:

Mobo: ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 + SB950 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD

PSU: CORSAIR CX series CX500 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb Quad-Core 3.4 GHz Socket AM3 125W HDZ965FBGMBOX Processor

RAM: G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBSR

GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP SLI

Now I've been shopping around and found that the FX8320-50-70 and the 9000 series are all basically the same chip just clocked at different speeds. My question is will my mobo support the FX8320 oc to 4.5-4.7 ghz? Also will I keep this bad boy cool using a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus or should I just put the $ into some water cooling?

In the future I will also upgrade my GPU to the Geforce 960 SSC and my RAM to 16 gigs.
 
Solution
bicycle_repair_man
The 212 Plus will do a fine job.

For the record, there are a lot of games that utilise more than four threads. BF 4 multiplayer, GTA V and The Witcher 3 are just a few examples.
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bicycle_repair_man

bicycle_repair_man

Splendid
Jan 10, 2014
5,752
2
28,960
Your motherboard does support the FX-8320 but how high an overclock you'll achieve is a complete unknown.

If I were you, I'd opt for the R9 380 over the GTX 960; better yet, get a GTX 970 and sacrifice the extra 8GB of RAM, which you arguably don't need.

Before you get into overlocking you should change the PSU. The CX series is fine for a basic desktop, but the cheap capacitors and thin wiring don't bode well for overclocking. Consult the PSU tier list at http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html and go for one in the highest tier you can afford. 600W will provide all the power you need.
 
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lodders

Admirable
Nov 2, 2015
1,888
0
6,460
There is no real point in upgrading your CPU.
You can probably overclock the phenom to nearly 4GHz,
Each core of the 8320 is not really more powerful or more efficient than each core of the phenom.
Your phenom has 4 cores, and no games use more than 4 cores, so your 8320 with 8 cores will be hardly any faster for gaming.
Meanwhile you will have to spend $$$$$ for PSU and cooling for the 8320.

My son is still gaming on a Phenom II x4 running at 4 Ghz, but soon I will give him the obvious upgrade, which is an Intel i5 like mine.
 
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