Is the AMD Phenom 965 still a strong CPU?

[bingaloman]

So I am building a small form factor PC which supports up to a micro atx motherboard.

I have a good deal for $110 on a FX-8120, but my problem with that is there are no micro atx motherboards that have 9xx chipsets to go along with the FX 8120.

I also have a good deal on a Phenom 965 so should I go with that? How well does the 965 still hold up now compared to other CPU's?

And if the 965 isn't enough would you recommend AMD FX 6100 or would that still need a 9xx chipset mobo?

Thanks for any help

 

[utroz]

Well the 965BE is a 125watt cpu so it is not really the best thing to put in a small form factor PC, some motherboards can not support it and only support up to 95watt cpu's. As far as performance it is not too bad, in single threaded code it is as fast as a fx6100 and almost as good in mulithreaded in my opinion. I would try to get a 95watt cpu or less for a micro atx system. The FX8300 is one and the 1055T and some 1065T cpus are 95watt. There are others you just would have to do a search on cpu-world.com to findout. Once again this is all just my opinion and not the holy scriptures of computer building.

 

[bigj1985]

Yes the 965 is still a very powerful CPU. However like UTROZ says not good at all for a small form factor box. To much energy and heat. But for a desktop box ya it's still a champ and will play with all the latest and greatest GFX cards

 

[MajinCry]

If I remember correctly, the 965 BE is only, clock for clock, 25% slower than the i5 2500k. Not necessarily true 100% of the time due to Intel's anti-competitor shenanigans, but the 965 is a great performer for the price.

I mean, the i5 2500k costs 200% of the price of the average 965 BE.

But I wouldn't put it in a small case, unless there are a rather large number of case fans.

 

[shadovraven]

Phenom 965 is still considered a powerful cpu but it requires a solid mobo and it's not always a good choice as stated above. It generates a lot of heat and its tdp is higher than most of new cpus. In other words Phenom 965 is definitely not a cpu for micro atx motherboard. For a small factor pc I'd suggest either i3 3220 or FX 6300. If you can get some solid standard atx mobo, going for Phenom 965 is a great choice, of course if rest of your specs are enough to handle it.

 

[dragonlord12832]

Go with an A4, since you won't be using it for too much heavy processing, it should do just fine and keep tyour temps down.