Need a short-term upgrade solution: Running m5A78L/USB3, Phenom II x4 965, r9 270x

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steelchampion

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May 28, 2012
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Hi,

So ideally, I need a whole new computer with i5 and GTX 1060 etc etc, but that's simply not feasible right now. The motherboard does support CPU's up to 140w so I was thinking about upgrading the CPU to an FX 8350, however I am aware that my GPU will then be bottlenecking. Is the upgrade still worth it anyway? Will I see any improvements? Or should I think about upgrading something else? It's for gaming mostly. Any recommendations would be great - thanks!

As title suggests, my specs are:

Mobo: Asus M5A78L/USB3
Ram: 8GB
GPU: R9 270x
CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 Black Edition

The setup was great 5 years ago, but it's simply starting to struggle now.
 
Solution
Ditt44
If you are looking closer to year to upgrade, you may want to do the second-hand Intel route. BUT, depending on budget, you could get a new AMD build for about $500USD. Tempting.

I think once AMD motherboards are in better supply, prices there will drop. As time goes on the BIOS for all makers will become more stable and offer more options. I would expect AMD to offer short-term sales/deals on their CPUs. The R3 series really won't do much to the market pricing, in my opinion, for users wanting to game or have high productivity machines as the R3 is not meant for that. RAM won't get cheaper. Demand will keep it there plus any price-fixing the makers have going behind closed doors, plus the U.S. rattling swords in Asia...
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jaslion

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Dec 17, 2012
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Keep what you have for now and save up for a new system. The fx 8350 whilst it is better would just be a waste of money as it already is 4 years old and also no longer great for games.
 
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steelchampion

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May 28, 2012
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10,510
Thanks for the responses.

I'm thinking I could get an i5 4590 or similar second hand, then get a cheap LGA1150 mobo, that way I could also keep my DDR3 RAM. I could do this for around £150 - only slightly more than the price of a new FX 8350. Would this be advisable? Or am I really scraping the barrel here?
 
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jaslion

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Dec 17, 2012
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How short term is the upgrade if its a month or 2-3 then don't do it if its like 3-7 months maybe and 8 months + why not. A 4590 will be better than the 8350.
 
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Ditt44

Ditt44

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Mar 30, 2012
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You are at the end of the road with any AM3/3+ build. Investing more money now in anything that is specific to those architectures is a waste. New SSD or GPU that you can migrate forward could be worthwhile but you may not see full benefits with your current CPU.

Your budget should determine your path. If you can spend X now, what does it get you? If you can save for a few months and then have X+ to spend, what does that get you? Unless you "need" to upgrade right this moment, wait. Prices in all categories are going to fall.

Whether you are interested in Intel or AMD, prices in both will come down in the next few months once AMD motherboards are in better supply and likely Intel will be pressured to cut prices. RAM is likely to still stay high if not increase, according to sources. The GPU market is going to be shaken out more with Vega...the 5xx series looks rather weak though and probably won't muster must from Nvidia in price drops. Nvidia should drive their own pricing down without AMD's help.

Ideally, know your budget and needs and even if you have to wait a few weeks or months, get the best components you can afford and migrate what you can to save costs upfront and replace those later.
 
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steelchampion

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May 28, 2012
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Honestly, probably more like a year or so until I could afford a whole new rig. Is there any reason why this wouldn't work in theory? I'll do a clean install so that shouldn't be a problem. My PSU is an old Corsair CX 600w and the RAM is some pretty cheap Corsair DDR3. I don't recall what cooler I have, but it's not what came with the CPU at least.
 
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steelchampion

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May 28, 2012
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Great response - thanks!

You may be onto something about waiting a few months to see prices come down a bit - although what with them already coming down recently with thanks to Ryzen, are they likely to fall again any time soon?
 
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Ditt44

Ditt44

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Mar 30, 2012
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If you are looking closer to year to upgrade, you may want to do the second-hand Intel route. BUT, depending on budget, you could get a new AMD build for about $500USD. Tempting.

I think once AMD motherboards are in better supply, prices there will drop. As time goes on the BIOS for all makers will become more stable and offer more options. I would expect AMD to offer short-term sales/deals on their CPUs. The R3 series really won't do much to the market pricing, in my opinion, for users wanting to game or have high productivity machines as the R3 is not meant for that. RAM won't get cheaper. Demand will keep it there plus any price-fixing the makers have going behind closed doors, plus the U.S. rattling swords in Asia.....

Wait. I've told several people that with your questions here. Patience and allow the markets to settle; let the new product lines roll out and see what happens. By mid-May you should have a good idea and in the meantime you can wish-list items to suit your budget.
 
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Solution
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steelchampion

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May 28, 2012
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10,510


Perfect.

I shall wait a month or so and keep my eyes peeled, though in the mean-time, I shall keep an eye out for any bargains.

Thank you!
 
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Avro Arrow

Avro Arrow

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Nov 12, 2009
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You have a Phenom II X4 965 BLACK EDITION. That means it was meant to be overclocked. Use it as AMD intended and overclock the hell out of it. Failing that, I wouldn't get an FX-8350 for a rig that was primarily for gaming. I'd get an FX-6300 for that. I was originally going to get an FX-6300 but then Tiger Direct dropped the price on the FX-8350 by $50 and here I am now with an FX-8350. Seriously though, try overclocking first. That should buy you some time and it doesn't really cost anything at all. This way you won't be throwing good money after bad and you'll have the money for your REAL upgrade. BTW, why on earth would you get an Intel i5 when the AMD R5 smacks around it like a red-headed stepchild? And why get a GTX 1060 when the RX 480 gives much lower frame variance (smoother gameplay) and superior horsepower compared to the GTX 1060 for only $10 more? You need to be smarter than this unless you're looking to pay through the nose for "adequate" performance. Brand loyalists are stupid, don't be stupid, be smart. Right now AMD offers the best value at the price points you would be looking at so why would you say you want an i5 and GTX 1060 when they've both clearly been beaten by AMD?
 
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steelchampion

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May 28, 2012
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10,510


Thanks for the contribution!

Sorry, as you can see, I've been using this setup for the last 5-ish years, so any hardware released between then and now I have no experience with - I only know what I read.

With regards to i5 vs Ryzen, I have no loyalty here, it's simply a case of i5's have been going strong for the last few years, whilst AMD have been releasing seemingly sub-par processors (for example, this conversation with the 8350), so I think the wariness is warranted.

And with regards to the 1060 vs RX 480, you're probably right here, (assuming you mean the 3gb 1060) though I haven't researched too much into GPU's yet simply because it's the CPU which is causing me the most issues right now.
 
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Avro Arrow

Avro Arrow

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Well, I can understand your trepidation. The thing is that looking forward, Ryzen definitely looks like the best bet. Now, the reason I said an FX-6300 is because it is adequate in most games today and also costs only $80 so it's not like you're breaking the bank on it. I still think that you should try overclocking first because it's always best to try the cheap solutions before the expensive ones. Right now, the gaming CPU landscape is in a bit of chaos because while the Intel CPUs are nominally faster at gaming than the AMD CPUs, we don't know if that's going to change or not. For instance, in two weeks the performance of Ashes of the Singularity increased on Ryzen CPUs by a whopping 30%! The FX-6300 should last you a year, especially if you get an RX 480 with it. In that time, it will be much clearer whether the better choice is the i5, or the R5. In this way, I think that you would be able to limit both your risk and your expenditure while still buying yourself some much-needed time.
 
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