CPU upgrade options??

[gity69]

Im looking to upgrade my Phenom 965 x4 black to something with better performance (i feel it is bottle necked for my GPU) and am considering several options. I would love some advice as to the longterm viablility of each of these options.

1. upgrade to fx series probably 8150?? despite the hate i see for these on the www there are also some glowing reviews for gaming applications and ppl saying it will be better utilized in the future (trying to separate fanboy hate to unbiased review is difficult).

2. wait for pile driver and see how that pans out

3. scrap am3 setup and go sandy bridge, expensive but i could probably swing an i3 and mobo if there are some cheap options

last question does anybody know if new intel chip replacing sandy bridge will be the same socket as is currently in use.

Thanks in advace for any advice

 

[amuffin]

Overclock.

 

[CaedenV]

The Phenom2 and the FX series are right on par with each other for gaming... but you can OC the Phenom further, so you are better off where you are. Similarly the i3 will not be much faster than your current setup... at least not enough faster to make a practical difference like the i5 would.
The bulldozer fixes are already here... and they changed nothing at all. The idea behind the general design was good... but there were some fundamental flaws that sabotaged everything that was good about it. If they fix things in piledriver then it would be worth waiting for.
Remember that Ivy bridge will be here shortly, and even if you do not jump on it you will be able to find some used SB equipment for cheap on ebay as the enthusiasts upgrade their 'old' equipment, so keep an eye out for a good steal. Either way it would give you an extra month or so to scrounge up a little more money to throw at the problem.

For now I will agree with amuffin; Overclock is your only real answer for now until you are ready for a massive upgrade, and your CPU should not be a major bottleneck on the system unless you are playing something heavily CPU dependent... and even then you should still manage very playable frames.

I will also agree with amuffin's motto: Muffins are good, cupcakes are not!

 

[diellur]

1. The FX series simply haven't justified themselves as gaming CPUs, although I note that Toms has included the FX-4100 as an honourable mention for gaming CPU of choice in the £85 bracket. Could be worth some research if you don't want to go down the Intel path.

2. Well, I think you'll be waiting a while seeing as Bulldozer hasn't been out that long! If you have the time, then sure...but it might be a long wait.

3. There are certainly cheap options...you can get a Pentium G840 and a S1155 mobo for around the £100 mark, and that's a solid basis for a budget gaming machine. It would also allow you to upgrade the CPU in the future, if you wanted.

And lastly...that's the general consensus. Obviously, not 100% as Ivybridge is not here yet, but it's planned to be a S1155 chip. So you could get the G840 (or G630, if you're really stretched on budget) now and throw in an Ivybridge CPU next year. AFAIK, the next Intel socket change will be Haswell, which is the CPU after Ivybridge.

 

[FALC0N]

The bulldozer fixes are already here... and they changed nothing at all.

Which is evidence that the patches didn't really work. The problem they are supposed to fix are very real and testable.

Agree with everything else you said though. To OC his current setup his definitely the best option at this juncture.

 

[gity69]

Thank you for the informative answers. I have bought a nice heatsink/fan now so i can overclock without worrying about temps. I am a total nub at OC'ing could someone help with this I have an ASRock mobo and it a the octuner utility but i dont know what setting to use for voltage and multiplier etc. Also my RAM is set a 1333 i would like to oc it to 1600 any help is much apreciatted.

 

[gity69]

Best answer selected by gity69.