Are Fx Series actually that bad?

[Raymond9000]

I been looking on youtube on games and they seem to run fine on max everything. I understand that their microarchitecture sucks, but is there anything else bad about them?

I can't really get a i5 2500K as it will put me over my budget. I am either going with 6100, 1090T BE (if there is any store that still sell them), or 965 BE. All I want to know is how future proof is 965BE and 1090T BE, as it will be my CPU for 2-3 years (maybe more) to run games (MP3, LOL, NBA, Batman etc.) Also what's a good AMD MOBO.

GFX: 7850 (hope it lowers as well)
PSU: Cosair 650W v2

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

A 4170 and 81xx aren't that bad for gaming, but with Piledriver coming in October, it doesn't make any sense to buy a FX CPU right now.

A 965 BE is about as future proof as any of the BD chips. My recommendation is just wait for Piledriver.

 

[Raymond9000]

A 4170 and 81xx aren't that bad for gaming, but with Piledriver coming in October, it doesn't make any sense to buy a FX CPU right now.

A 965 BE is about as future proof as any of the BD chips. My recommendation is just wait for Piledriver.

I want to make a custom build now, but I can always wait. It good cuz I will save money. So wanna tell me more about the Piledriver?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

So wanna tell me more about the Piledriver?

It should be a good bit better than Bulldozer (15-20%). It'll also be on AM3+, same as Bulldozer. It still won't rival current i5's and i7's, but it'll certainly help close the gap.

 

[Raymond9000]

It should be a good bit better than Bulldozer (15-20%). It'll also be on AM3+, same as Bulldozer. It still won't rival current i5's and i7's, but it'll certainly help close the gap.

That's good to hear, as I have a AMD Turion x2 and I m okay with it. Plus no new intel cards are coming for a long time right?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Haswell (Intel's next CPU) will come out sometime in Q2 next year (April-May).

 

[Raymond9000]

Alright. Thanks for your help, I will wait til Oct then as some prices will drop.

 

[skitz9417]

i was going for fx series but im also wait for the pd cpu to come out

 

[yehia7000]

Amd cpus have the best price for performance as when you play gtx 580 with i7 3770 k and compare it to the same rig with amd fx 4170 , you will see 8 -10 fps difference in some games and in other you wont see any difference , the difference will be in multiplayer games ,and sli or crossfire scaling , if you have money try the i5 as it is the best cpu in games but if you have amd x6 1090t or fast bulldozer dont wast your money paying for 8 fps you should pay for very strong video card like gtx 680 or hd 7970 to see the real difference .

 

[Kamen_BG]

The FX Series really arent that bad.They just arent a big improvement over the Phenom II X6.From what i saw in the trinity reviews piledriver will be almost as fast as a Phenom II per clock.It will clock higher and will consume about the same power.

Now about future proofing...You can never know how much your system is going to last.That depends on your needs and on how fast technology progresses.But at this rate i'd say if you arent a very serious gamer your pc will last you around 4 years.

About the motherboards.There are 3 main chipsets right now.If youre going to overclock look for a 990FX board or a 990X one.
Here's a very good cheap 990FX motherboard.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130650
It's as good as the top models it just lacks the bells and whistles.

Here's another good motherboard.This one's a bit lower end so it will perform a bit worse when using two graphics cards.It will also somewhat limit your overclock.But if you havent got the money for a higher end motherboard this one is the best one for the price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157280&Tpk=970%20Extreme3

 

[Raymond9000]

The FX Series really arent that bad.They just arent a big improvement over the Phenom II X6.From what i saw in the trinity reviews piledriver will be almost as fast as a Phenom II per clock.It will clock higher and will consume about the same power.

Now about future proofing...You can never know how much your system is going to last.That depends on your needs and on how fast technology progresses.But at this rate i'd say if you arent a very serious gamer your pc will last you around 4 years.

About the motherboards.There are 3 main chipsets right now.If youre going to overclock look for a 990FX board or a 990X one.
Here's a very good cheap 990FX motherboard.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130650
It's as good as the top models it just lacks the bells and whistles.

Here's another good motherboard.This one's a bit lower end so it will perform a bit worse when using two graphics cards.It will also somewhat limit your overclock.But if you havent got the money for a higher end motherboard this one is the best one for the price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157280&Tpk=970%20Extreme3

I am not that hardcore in terms of gaming (not a lot of BF3, Diablo etc.), plus I need it to do video editing, photoshop work etc. I am just going to wait for the PD and be an underdog as I don't wanna spend too much. Plus everything will be cheaper by then!!!

@yehia7000: I would get a 1090T, but most stores (online and in retail) don't sell it anymore and it is only 20-30$ less than i5-2500K. I am thinking of the 7970, but 7850 is a bang for your buck right now.

 

[quilciri]

Unless you know you will be using highly multithreaded apps, an 8k or 6k FX chip will be a waste for you, as would the 6 core phenoms. If you want an FX chip for a gaming machine, stick with the 4100 or 4170 (or wait for piledriver); ditto the 900 series of phenoms.

If you live near a microcenter, you can get a great deal on a 4100+motherboard combo (or 965 combo for the same price). They will almost certainly offer a combo deal with one or more piledriver chips as well once they debut.

have fun!

 

[amuffin]

965BE+990FX board, you can make it to Piledriver and see how it compares.

 

[Raymond9000]

Unless you know you will be using highly multithreaded apps, an 8k or 6k FX chip will be a waste for you, as would the 6 core phenoms. If you want an FX chip for a gaming machine, stick with the 4100 or 4170 (or wait for piledriver); ditto the 900 series of phenoms.

If you live near a microcenter, you can get a great deal on a 4100+motherboard combo (or 965 combo for the same price). They will almost certainly offer a combo deal with one or more piledriver chips as well once they debut.

have fun!

I live in Canada, where it is more expansive and tax pretty much ruins it.

@amuffin: I would, and I have seen videos and my friend's 965BE, but I want to wait for the PD before I will even spend a dime.

 

[buzznut]

I have an FX 8120 overclocked to 4.4 Ghz and I can run anything I like. However it doesn't seem like the best investment right now, but to answer your question I think of it much like the Phenom I CPU's which got a bad rap but weren't that awful.

If you couldn't wait then I would say go ahead and get an AM3+ mobo and a phenom II quad core. I don't know the availability of the 955BE, but that would be good, also the newer 960T is a good choice. Ultimately though, it may be wiser to wait. Although we are not certain of the performance of unreleased chips, this is just an extrapolation of data from the testing of some trinity CPUs.

AMD fans like myself are certainly hoping for improved desktop CPUs, however AMD has indicated they aren't interested in pursuing desktop performance and are more interested in putting their efforts into APU architecture.

So if you wait until Sept/Oct, you may find a better desktop performance CPU or you may wish to invest in an APU, but for now the best budget performance can be had with a core i3 CPU or even a pentium processor:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-2.html

 

[lazyboy947]

a 960T can be unlocked to 6 cores, which i think is the only quad core that can do that if the cores r usable.

 

[amuffin]

Not 100% guaranteed that those 2 extra cores are stable!

AMD locked them for a reason.

 

[lazyboy947]

not all some were locked to sell as the marked quad core. so some are stable, if so its a win, if nots u still have a good quad core...