Athlon ii x4 650 Upgrade to fx-8350?

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Hotdawg179

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Aug 22, 2016
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So I've never upgraded a processor personally but I believe I've done enough research to do it on my own. I just want to ask the community before I go out and buy anything.

I understand amd cpus probably aren't the best to buy right now for several reasons but I like my rig and it definitely needs a new cpu, yesterday.

My board appears to be am3+ compatible and the fx-8350 seems to be widely recommended. However, do I really need 8 cores? I was also looking at the fx-4300 because it seems a little cheaper and from what I've read there's not much purpose to having 8 cores. I don't do video rendering or anything, just strategy games.

Other stats:
r9 270 graphics card
8gb ram
450w power supply
freezer 13co air cooler

1) Fx 8350 or fx-4300?
2) Will my power supply be sufficient?
3) Is the air cooler sufficient?
4) I haven't overclocked because I don't know how, should I look into just doing that for now?

Sorry to ask so many questions, but I'm new and excited. Thanks for your time and any help would be appreciated!
 
Solution
Ecky
That's kinda complicated to answer.

AMD's FX series have incomplete cores that share resources with other cores. Two cores make up one module, and the FX-4300 has two modules. Because of this, while the FX-4300 has 4 cores, they only perform like ~3.5 cores when they're all loaded up, and an FX-8350 only performs like ~6.5 cores.

More importantly, because each core slows down when its neighbor core in the module is activated, an FX-4300's single-threaded performance tanks when you use more than 2 of its cores, while you can load up to 4 of the FX-8350's before the cores start having to share, and the most important single aspect of a CPU is its single-threaded performance.

Be aware that your motherboard absolutely must support...
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Ecky

Ecky

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Feb 3, 2013
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That's kinda complicated to answer.

AMD's FX series have incomplete cores that share resources with other cores. Two cores make up one module, and the FX-4300 has two modules. Because of this, while the FX-4300 has 4 cores, they only perform like ~3.5 cores when they're all loaded up, and an FX-8350 only performs like ~6.5 cores.

More importantly, because each core slows down when its neighbor core in the module is activated, an FX-4300's single-threaded performance tanks when you use more than 2 of its cores, while you can load up to 4 of the FX-8350's before the cores start having to share, and the most important single aspect of a CPU is its single-threaded performance.

Be aware that your motherboard absolutely must support 125w CPUs to use the 8350. You have a 95w CPU, so don't take it for granted. If it doesn't, you could instead go with either an FX-6300, or an FX-8320e which is a downclocked 8-core that fits into 95w boards.

Your video card has a 150w TDP, and most FX CPUs exceed their TDP under load, so you can probably assume 150w from an 8350 also. The rest of your system might add up to 50-75w, so your power supply will probably be adequate, but only if you don't overclock.

EDIT: Regarding the cooler, your current cooler should work, it's bigger than the stock cooler for the FX CPU.
 
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bignastyid

bignastyid

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Whats the make and model of the motherboard? There are many AM3+ motherboards available that will not properly support a 125w CPU, due to poor power delivery and thermal issues. Also whats the make and model of the PSU? 450w is already on the small side for a r9 270, adding a power hungry cpu is likely going to require a psu upgrade aswell.
 
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Hotdawg179

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Aug 22, 2016
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Motherboard is m5a78l-m (asus)

According to google it should support either of the processors.

PSU is corsair vx-450-w (not sure if thats the information you need)
 
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bignastyid

bignastyid

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Putting a 125w cpu on that board is a bad idea, it has poor power deliver and is likely to throttle the cpu under load. If you want an 8 core cpu the look at the 95w 8320e or 8370e and you'll also want a top down style cpu cooler(the stock cooler or the raijintek pallas are examples of this style) so that it blows air over the vrms. Your current tower cooler will direct air away from the vrms and exacerbate the problem. The VX was a good unit unit and should suffice aslong as its not one of the heavily overclocked 270s, however it is an older PSU and you maybe approaching the end of it's lifespan.
 
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Hotdawg179

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Aug 22, 2016
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Well I suppose I'm really interested more in the single-threaded performance. I'm not locked into the idea of an 8 core cpu at all. I was under the impression that most of the games I play (total war franchise specifically) uses only 1-2 cores so I was looking at processors with the highest ghz.
 
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bignastyid

bignastyid

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Depends on how long you want it to be usable for. Newer RTS's are using more cores. While the 4300 is a small upgrade over the 650 imho it's not enough to justify the cost. My advice would be to keep saving your money and upgrade to a new platform. AMD has Zen coming at the end of the is year to the beginning of next or you could go Intel.
 
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Ecky

Ecky

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Current (existing) Intel CPUs will almost certainly have better single-threaded performance than Zen will have next year. An FX CPU would be an improvement, though relatively small, if you're mostly concerned with single-threaded performance. In some cases, FX CPUs regressed in performance per clock, but made up for it with higher clockspeed.
 
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bignastyid

bignastyid

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Yes the 8350 is a terrible idea with the board you have. With your motherboard(especially with a tower cooler) you are likely to see VRM throttling, under load the cpu will drop down to 1.4Ghz which will cause massive FPS drops. If you upgrade stick with a 95w cpu.
 
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