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Do I really need to overclock an AMD FX-8350?

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I'm going to be building my first custom gaming/editing/rendering PC very soon, but it will mostly be for playing high res games such as Battlefield 3, Crysis 3, Planetside 2, Guild Wars 2, etc. The CPU I will be using is an AMD FX-8350 and my graphics card is most likely going to be a SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 Dual-X (Although a 660 Ti is still on my mind as well). Considering this is my first build, I don't really have an idea on how to overclock anything. But I have read that it is usually best to just either overclock either just your GPU and not your CPU or overclock your CPU and not your GPU. Considering the AMD 8350 is already set at stock 4.0 GHz, shouldn't that be good enough to run everything fast and smooth, without the need to overclock? Because I definitely want to OC my GPU, especially if I get a 7950 to maximize it's full potential. Do you guys think it's really necessary to OC my CPU? Would it really make a huge FPS and performance difference if I OCed it?


PC Parts List:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/AcKj

More about : overclock amd 8350

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CPUs Expert

You can overclock both first of all.

Think of overclocking as a free performance boost if it's done right, but if it's not done right it'll lead to a shortened lifespan of the components overclocked. I would jump the CPU up a bit to be same (try not changing the stock voltage if possible). Then overclock the GPU, I like to find its limit then back it up just a bit to be safe.

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CPUs Expert

thecolombianjesus said:
I'm going to be building my first custom gaming/editing/rendering PC very soon, but it will mostly be for playing high res games such as Battlefield 3, Crysis 3, Planetside 2, Guild Wars 2, etc. The CPU I will be using is an AMD FX-8350 and my graphics card is most likely going to be a SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 Dual-X (Although a 660 Ti is still on my mind as well). Considering this is my first build, I don't really have an idea on how to overclock anything. But I have read that it is usually best to just either overclock either just your GPU and not your CPU or overclock your CPU and not your GPU. Considering the AMD 8350 is already set at stock 4.0 GHz, shouldn't that be good enough to run everything fast and smooth, without the need to overclock? Because I definitely want to OC my GPU, especially if I get a 7950 to maximize it's full potential. Do you guys think it's really necessary to OC my CPU? Would it really make a huge FPS and performance difference if I OCed it?


PC Parts List:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/AcKj



Without overclocking that cpu you will not see the full potential of a 7950 at stock, much less overclocked and especially in games like guild wars 2, and planetside 2, which are cpu hungry.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/guild-wars-2-perfor...



The 8350 is very good for multithreaded workloads, but it falls short in gaming especially when paired with a higher end gpu in cpu bound games or multi gpu setups.


At $1200 you should really be thinking 3770k which would actually benefit your performance in both gaming and work, and dropping the expensive "gaming" stuff that does nothing to better your actual gaming...

andrewcarr said:
You can overclock both first of all.

Think of overclocking as a free performance boost if it's done right, but if it's not done right it'll lead to a shortened lifespan of the components overclocked. I would jump the CPU up a bit to be same (try not changing the stock voltage if possible). Then overclock the GPU, I like to find its limit then back it up just a bit to be safe.
Do you think the stock CPU cooler would be sufficient enough to OC it if I'm not going to change the voltage? Or should I just get the Hyper 212 EVO?
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Overclocking with the "either one or the other" strategy is in no way true. You could overclock them both and it will be just fine. Since you are getting a 990FX board and a 212 EVO, I'd recommend trying to shoot for some sort of an overclock. You should be able to get to 5.0Ghz on air alone. There are many tutorials on how to do it and will give you a performance boost of about 10-15% in most games. If you don't want to overclock at all, then you won't be needing an enthusiast grade 990FX board. A lower end model will do just fine.

Of course, you're computer will run just about every game just fine at all stock settings, but why not try and overclock?I don't know, but that's my two cents.

maxalge said:
Without overclocking that cpu you will not see the full potential of a 7950 at stock, much less overclocked and especially in games like guild wars 2, and planetside 2, which are cpu hungry.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/guild-wars-2-perfor...



The 8350 is very good for multithreaded workloads, but it falls short in gaming especially when paired with a higher end gpu in cpu bound games or multi gpu setups.


At $1200 you should really be thinking 3770k which would actually benefit your performance, and dropping the expensive "gaming" stuff that does nothing to better your actual gaming...

Hmm, that is something I did not know. Unfortunately, the 3770k is $150 more. I can't afford that at the moment. How about a i5 3570k? I was looking at the CPU before the 8350, and it looked like a really solid CPU for gaming and can OC like crazy, which is something I don't know how to do. Should I still get it?

jthill909 said:
Overclocking with the "either one or the other" strategy is in no way true. You could overclock them both and it will be just fine. Since you are getting a 990FX board and a 212 EVO, I'd recommend trying to shoot for some sort of an overclock. You should be able to get to 5.0Ghz on air alone. There are many tutorials on how to do it and will give you a performance boost of about 10-15% in most games. If you don't want to overclock at all, then you won't be needing an enthusiast grade 990FX board. A lower end model will do just fine.

Of course, you're computer will run just about every game just fine at all stock settings, but why not try and overclock?I don't know, but that's my two cents.

I see you have an i5 3570k. Would you recommend that CPU over the 8350? That's actually the previous CPU I was going to get before the 8350.
CPUs Expert

thecolombianjesus said:
Hmm, that is something I did not know. Unfortunately, the 3770k is $150 more. I can't afford that at the moment. How about a i5 3570k? I was looking at the CPU before the 8350, and it looked like a really solid CPU for gaming and can OC like crazy, which is something I don't know how to do. Should I still get it?



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($317.26 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Tempest 410 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1122.63
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-30 20:02 EST-0500)


Yes you can afford it.


Cheaper than your build, and leaves you plenty for a good keyboard/mouse.


Much better to save money angd get the fancy mouse/keyboards down the line.

thecolombianjesus said:
I see you have an i5 3570k. Would you recommend that CPU over the 8350? That's actually the previous CPU I was going to get before the 8350.



Both CPU's are excellent you cannot go wrong either way, now with the 8350 you get 8 cores. Single threaded performance the i5 has the edge though its not by much, mulit-threaded performance goes to the 8350. Looking at the price point the 8350 pack a lot for the money.

maxalge said:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($317.26 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Tempest 410 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1122.63
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-30 20:02 EST-0500)
Yes you can afford it.


Cheaper than your build, and leaves you plenty for a good keyboard/mouse.


Much better to save money angd get the fancy mouse/keyboards down the line.
Wow, that looks like an amazing build. The only thing that still leaves me on the edge of getting an i7 is this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4et7kDGSRfc
What are your opinions on it?
CPUs Expert

thecolombianjesus said:
That's very interesting. How would you compare an i5 3570k to the 8350 and the 3770k? Just curious.



For the gaming/work you want to do the 3770k is hands down superior. And you can get it for cheaper/equal price, so it's not even a discussion.


maxalge said:
For the gaming/work you want to do the 3770k is hands down superior. And you can get it for cheaper/equal price, so it's not even a discussion.

Alright sweet. I will definitely look into that i7 3770k. It looks like a beast overall. Just one last question: Will I have to overclock it a lot? If so, how much could I using a Hyper 212 EVO?
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