Need help choosing CPU

[Lazar_99]

So i have an athlon II X2 CPU and a Biostar N68S3+ and i want to upgrade the CPU and motherboard. I was thinking about getting an MSI Z77A G43 and an Intel Core i3-3240 CPU. What do you guys think?

 

[shawnohayon]

So i have an athlon II X2 CPU and a Biostar N68S3+ and i want to upgrade the CPU and motherboard. I was thinking about getting an MSI Z77A G43 and an Intel Core i3-3240 CPU. What do you guys think?

I think that you have a very good motherboard, but i would reccomend that you get something a bit better for a cpu, such as a i5 3570k. It's really fast in benchmarks and games that i have seen even at clock speed, and im planning on using it for my first build in a few weeks. Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MU_Engineer]

So i have an athlon II X2 CPU and a Biostar N68S3+ and i want to upgrade the CPU and motherboard. I was thinking about getting an MSI Z77A G43 and an Intel Core i3-3240 CPU. What do you guys think?

You could do that, or you could upgrade to a 95 watt quad-core like the Phenom II X4 955 (95 watt version only) or the Athlon II X4 650. That would be quite a bit less expensive than moving to a dual-core Ivy Bridge setup. If you really wanted to spend that kind of money to upgrade, either get a good quad-core Ivy Bridge like an i5-3570K (which costs about $300 just for the CPU) or get yourself an AM3+ setup that can handle 125 watt CPUs and plop an FX-83xx series unit in there for 2/3 of the price and quite a bit more performance. I personally would get the faster Phenom II X4 or Athlon II X4 for your current board.

EDIT: Never try to do math tired...it just doesn't work.

 

[maxalge]

So i have an athlon II X2 CPU and a Biostar N68S3+ and i want to upgrade the CPU and motherboard. I was thinking about getting an MSI Z77A G43 and an Intel Core i3-3240 CPU. What do you guys think?

What's your max budget?

 

[NoUserBar]

Updating the bios might allow for an upgrade to a faster cpu for cheap.

Not sure how phenom's compare to i3s

 

[dudewitbow]

Updating the bios might allow for an upgrade to a faster cpu for cheap.

Not sure how phenom's compare to i3s

they are relatively similar when the 965 is overclocked.

edit: includs 955 as well, they are similar

 

[Lazar_99]

You could do that, or you could upgrade to a 95 watt quad-core like the Phenom II X4 955 (95 watt version only) or the Athlon II X4 650. That would be quite a bit less expensive than moving to a dual-core Ivy Bridge setup. If you really wanted to spend that kind of money to upgrade, either get a good quad-core Ivy Bridge like an i5-3570K (which costs about $300 just for the CPU) or get yourself an AM3+ setup that can handle 125 watt CPUs and plop an FX-83xx series unit in there for 2/3 of the price and quite a bit more performance. I personally would get the faster Phenom II X4 or Athlon II X4 for your current board.

EDIT: Never try to do math tired...it just doesn't work.

I have some problems with this motherboard. Its small and my graphics card is blocking a PCI connector and 2 SATA2 ports and i could barely plug in the HDD and DVD drive in the other two. Also i don't like its electrolytic capacitors and i don't want to have my motherboard die in the next 2 years even though my power supply is overkill for the system (Corsair TX650). Though i would AVOID bulldozer because its like having a nuclear reactor next to you, if i OC it, it would EAT more power than my GTX 660 and runs hot as hell. I heard an Intel i5-3570k setup (i5,motherboard,ram,dvd drive,SSD,HDD) without the GPU need 127W which is less than the bulldozer 8 core itself needs. I may get the i5-3550 or 3470, i don't want to spend that much on an i5-3570k though since i won't OC it

 

[Lazar_99]

I think that you have a very good motherboard, but i would reccomend that you get something a bit better for a cpu, such as a i5 3570k. It's really fast in benchmarks and games that i have seen even at clock speed, and im planning on using it for my first build in a few weeks. Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL this is the first time i hear a good thing about a cheap 35$ motherboard. Though i said i have problems with its size (very small) and my GPU is blocking some connectors bellow it and two SATA2 connectors as well and i could barely plug in the HDD and DVD in the other two SATA connectors so a new motherboard is needed

 

[Lazar_99]

What's your max budget?

Right now i don't have money for a new CPU and motherboard but i was just planing to what should i upgrade. I watched some videos on youtube about AMD's Faildriver and came to the conclusion that i should only get it if i already have a 990FXA board. I need a new motherboard and CPU so i wanted to try intel for a change. The MSI Z77A and Core i5-3550 or 3570 is a good upgrade though. Lower power consumption and higher performance than the faildriver processors

 

[mohit9206]

they are not faildriver. they are actually a decent improvement over the bulldozer cpu. the fx-6300 particularly is pretty good value for money

 

[maxalge]

they are not faildriver. they are actually a decent improvement over the bulldozer cpu. the fx-6300 particularly is pretty good value for money

Well he is thinking of getting a z77 mobo with a 3570 so yeah....


Amd cpu's really should not even be considered.

 

[Lazar_99]

they are not faildriver. they are actually a decent improvement over the bulldozer cpu. the fx-6300 particularly is pretty good value for money

Still the 3570 EATS the FX 8350 and if we look at power consumption AMD should be avoided at all costs

 

[NoUserBar]

If you aren't planing on buying right away, and you already know what to choose, shouldn't this have been a discussion instead of "best answer" thread? Just sayin.

8350 is comparable to i5 performance wise I've heard, not power usage wise. You seem to know that already though.

Piledriver is not Bulldozer etc, it's Sandy Bridge to Westmere. But you know that too probably.. P:

 

[Lazar_99]

If you aren't planing on buying right away, and you already know what to choose, shouldn't this have been a discussion instead of "best answer" thread? Just sayin.

8350 is comparable to i5 performance wise I've heard, not power usage wise. You seem to know that already though.

Piledriver is not Bulldozer etc, it's Sandy Bridge to Westmere. But you know that too probably.. P:

Heart tells me to buy an i5-3570. Brain tells me to buy AMD because i can't wait to get the money for an i5. I can't make the decision. I always change my mind. I wanted to go AMD but after seeing some stuff on youtube and tom's hardware i change my mind and want intel.

 

[mohit9206]

just listen to your brains and get the fx-6300 coz heart doesnt tell the truth .. lmao

 

[Lazar_99]

just listen to your brains and get the fx-6300 coz heart doesnt tell the truth .. lmao

How come?

 

[mohit9206]

How come?

coz heart cant think and make decisions but brains can. and the fx-6300 is good bang for the buck cpu at just $130 and performs similarly to other 8 core cpu's which are much more expensive . as for i5-3570k its a dead socket soon enough. so fx-6300 has upgrade path which i5 lacks

 

[Lazar_99]

coz heart cant think and make decisions but brains can. and the fx-6300 is good bang for the buck cpu at just $130 and performs similarly to other 8 core cpu's which are much more expensive . as for i5-3570k its a dead socket soon enough. so fx-6300 has upgrade path which i5 lacks

Take a look at this: http://www.techspot.com/review/586-amd-fx-8350-fx-6300/
Especially the power consumption. The Piledriver chips consume more power than two 6850's in crossfireX mode, i don't need a CPU that needs a power plant to run it and yet get POOR results in gaming. My power supply is gonna need a replacement after a year with the FX 6300 (i have an Antec HCG 620)

 

[MU_Engineer]

Take a look at this: http://www.techspot.com/review/586-amd-fx-8350-fx-6300/
Especially the power consumption. The Piledriver chips consume more power than two 6850's in crossfireX mode, i don't need a CPU that needs a power plant to run it and yet get POOR results in gaming. My power supply is gonna need a replacement after a year with the FX 6300 (i have an Antec HCG 620)

The FXes do NOT consume more power than two 6850s in Crossfire mode unless you overclock them about as far as they will go. The 6300 is a 95 watt chip and will consume no more than 95 watts unless you overclock it; the 8320 and 8350 are 125 watt chips and won't consume more than 125 watts unless you overclock them. There is a wattage meter built into Bulldozer and Piledriver chips that cuts Turbo boost until the chip does not exceed its TDP if you leave settings at stock. The HD6850 is a 127 watt chip and the FX-83xx will use as much power as one HD6850.

The power figures TechSpot put out are total system power draw figures using very high-end AM3+ and LGA2011 motherboards, a decent but not really comparable in features LGA1155 motherboard and an enormous 1250 watt power supply. You are getting the power draw of the entire system plus the inefficiency of running the huge PSU at <10% (well outside its peak efficiency range) through much of the test. Note that the highest power draw chip at stock was actually the i7-3960X; it uses as much power as an FX-8350 overclocked by 500 MHz.

 

[Lazar_99]

coz heart cant think and make decisions but brains can. and the fx-6300 is good bang for the buck cpu at just $130 and performs similarly to other 8 core cpu's which are much more expensive . as for i5-3570k its a dead socket soon enough. so fx-6300 has upgrade path which i5 lacks

Also the AM3+ will soon be a dead socket. Not possible to make a good processor on that architecture. I just wish that AMD makes a efficient but low power consuming CPU like intel

 

[Lazar_99]

The FXes do NOT consume more power than two 6850s in Crossfire mode unless you overclock them about as far as they will go. The 6300 is a 95 watt chip and will consume no more than 95 watts unless you overclock it; the 8320 and 8350 are 125 watt chips and won't consume more than 125 watts unless you overclock them. There is a wattage meter built into Bulldozer and Piledriver chips that cuts Turbo boost until the chip does not exceed its TDP if you leave settings at stock. The HD6850 is a 127 watt chip and the FX-83xx will use as much power as one HD6850.

The power figures TechSpot put out are total system power draw figures using very high-end AM3+ and LGA2011 motherboards, a decent but not really comparable in features LGA1155 motherboard and an enormous 1250 watt power supply. You are getting the power draw of the entire system plus the inefficiency of running the huge PSU at <10% (well outside its peak efficiency range) through much of the test. Note that the highest power draw chip at stock was actually the i7-3960X; it uses as much power as an FX-8350 overclocked by 500 MHz.

So on tech spot the 250W consumption of the FX 8350 was the power draw of the entire system? Although if i get the 6300 i'm gonna have to upgrade 2 years later but with a i5-3550 i think not. If i am to go with AMD i would get the FX 6300 and this board: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3894#ov
and if i am gonna go with intel i would get an MSI Z77A G43 and an i5-3550. I am also quite tempted to go with intel because its just humiliating to see one of the slowest i5 ivy bridge processors crush all AMD processors in gaming and gaming is what i do the most...

 

[FlintIronStagg]

Get the i5 for gaming. You wont be disappointed

 

[Lazar_99]

Best answer selected by lazar_99.