IS this setup sufficient to run current games @ 30fps and 1080p?

[Zwilloway]

Hey guys, long story short a friend is dumping hundreds into an upgrade project and I"m grabbing his AM3 motherboard. Right now I've got an AM2 board so the upgrade will be quite nice.

I was going to throw in a Phenom II X4 955 @ 3.2Ghz per core and w/ 6Mb of L3 Cache.
My graphics card is a Radeon R9 270X w/ 2GB.
I'll have 8Gb of cheap DDR3 RAM.

Long story short, and all other components in reasonable shape, do y'all think I could play games like Crysis 3, The Witcher Wild Hunt, Battlefield 4, and Fallout 4 on high graphics, 720 or 1080 resolution, and at least 30 fps? I don't care about aa/post-processing, and I'm on a budget so springing for better is out of the question.

 

[RobCrezz]

Sure, as long as you keep the settings at a sensible level then you should be able to play them. I would suggest using a good CPU cooler and overclocking to get the most out of the Phenom II.

 

[Zwilloway]

Sure, as long as you keep the settings at a sensible level then you should be able to play them. I would suggest using a good CPU cooler and overclocking to get the most out of the Phenom II.

Would something like a Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO work? It's not an expensive aftermarket piece, but reviews seem to think its big copper pipes get the job done.

 

[RobCrezz]

Sure, as long as you keep the settings at a sensible level then you should be able to play them. I would suggest using a good CPU cooler and overclocking to get the most out of the Phenom II.

Would something like a Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO work? It's not an expensive aftermarket piece, but reviews seem to think its big copper pipes get the job done.

Yep for sure, its the best budget cooler.

 

[Zwilloway]

Sure, as long as you keep the settings at a sensible level then you should be able to play them. I would suggest using a good CPU cooler and overclocking to get the most out of the Phenom II.

Would something like a Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO work? It's not an expensive aftermarket piece, but reviews seem to think its big copper pipes get the job done.

Yep for sure, its the best budget cooler.

Alright, thanks! I appreciate the quick response

 

[sabertooth23]

You can run battlefield 4 at 50fps on ultra 1080p with that r9 270x
So lower settings will provide a good framerate.
Witcher 3 is a heavy game, r9 270x will provide a framerate of about 40fps at medium settings
However your CPU is just above the minimum required CPU so you will be able to run it

 

[PandaBear270]

The Phenom will stand its ground in gaming, but that does not mean there are better alternatives today for same or even less money.

 

[Zwilloway]

The Phenom will stand its ground in gaming, but that does not mean there are better alternatives today for same or even less money.

What are some of these alternatives PandaBear270?

 

[PandaBear270]

FM2 Athlons provide serious value for the price with the 860k being around 80$ (newest AMD architecture, steamroller, 28nm) and if you can stretch the budget to the cheapest i5 4460, it would be really good and better than a i3. I would reccomend the FX 4300 or the FX 6300 (older architecture, 32nm) but I am dissapointed about their motherboard requirements, you have to spend a lot in proper VRM cooling and phasing to avoid any throttle.

Just consider than an athlon will perform identically to an i3 in gaming, both have 2 FPU cores and 4 threads. But if you have already the Phenom, try to overclock it, it will serve too.

 

[Zwilloway]

Just consider than an athlon will perform identically to an i3 in gaming, both have 2 FPU cores and 4 threads. But if you have already the Phenom, try to overclock it, it will serve too.

I thought the Athlon's were crippled by having no L3 cache? My friend's mobo has an Athlon II X4 620 in it, are you saying that'll get the job done?

 

[RobCrezz]

Just consider than an athlon will perform identically to an i3 in gaming, both have 2 FPU cores and 4 threads. But if you have already the Phenom, try to overclock it, it will serve too.

I thought the Athlon's were crippled by having no L3 cache? My friend's mobo has an Athlon II X4 620 in it, are you saying that'll get the job done?

No, the Phenom II is much better than that. Hes referring to the newer FM2 based athlons, but I wouldnt recommend them. Stick with the Phenom II unless you can upgrade to a i5.

 

[PandaBear270]

l3 cache is beneficial but not essential.
If you are going with that 620 or the Phenom, get the Phenom, it will perform better. But not by much margin anyway.

 

[Zwilloway]

Alright so I did a little looking, and I realized that for only 200 I could buy the following and pair it with my R9 gpu. The Phenom II with a cooler and RAM would have been 150, so I'm thinking I can spend 50 dollars more anyway.

AMD FX-4350 4.2GHz
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

Does this seem like a winning setup? I did a little research, it seems so. But confirmation from those in the know here, is always good.

 

[PandaBear270]

That FX will perform close to a i3, for budget is not bad. If you overclock it, it will perform even better.
But that motherboard will have problems in OC, i only see it appropiate for stock. Could you get a Gigabyte 970 UD3 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128651) for a bit more? It has 8+2 phases of power vs 4+1.

 

[Zwilloway]

That FX will perform close to a i3, for budget is not bad. If you overclock it, it will perform even better.
But that motherboard will have problems in OC, i only see it appropiate for stock. Could you get a Gigabyte 970 UD3 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128651) for a bit more? It has 8+2 phases of power vs 4+1.

Yeah. I'll go with that. Gonna order it all now.

I'll also probably have to get the arctic silver, correct? And are there any guides on proper overclocking of this kind of cpu?

 

[PandaBear270]

Yes, that is one of the best thermal compounds out there.
Do not worry for OC, it is really easy and you will find out fast that is intuitive and fun. Im sure some of my fellow enthusiasts here can provide you with a link for a guide.

 

[Zwilloway]

Yes, that is one of the best thermal compounds out there.
Do not worry for OC, it is really easy and you will find out fast that is intuitive and fun. Im sure some of my fellow enthusiasts here can provide you with a link for a guide.

Alright. By the way, I'm doing it through Amazon (fast shipping, other discounts) and they have what seems to be the same mobo, except the model number ends with D3P instead of UD3P, is this an issue? Same specs it seems. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DJ3DWFK?keywords=GIGABYTE%20GA-970A-UD3P&qid=1446228668&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

 

[PandaBear270]

The UD3 for overclocking, the D3P for use at stock.
How much is your budget? the FX 6300 would be really good, for only 15 dollars more, you get two extra cores that will help with next gen gaming.

 

[Zwilloway]

Oh yeah, and will OC'ing work on Windows 8 or 10? I don't run 7 anymore.

 

[PandaBear270]

OC runs at BIOS level, no relation with operating system.

 

[Zwilloway]

Alright, I'll get the UD3 off Gigabyte then and wait. Just need a confirm that my choice of OS isn't gonna buzzkill, and I'll order it off!

 

[PandaBear270]

Then what will you get? I reccomend you to get the UD3 and the FX 6300 and overclock it to 4,5-4,6 to get the best performance per price possible.

 

[Zwilloway]

Alright cool, I appreciate it. Gonna order the stuff now. Is there a way to upvote you on this board?

Gonna get the 4350 because of the ~16% higher clock per core stock, and some research that would indicate gaming doesn't make good use of more than 4 cores anyway.

 

[PandaBear270]

Yes the 4350 is another interesting option, and provided its higher stock frequency, theoretically it would OC more.

 

[Zwilloway]

Yes the 4350 is another interesting option, and provided its higher stock frequency, theoretically it would OC more.

So it would seem. I don't plan on OC'ing right away anyways, I'll start OC'ing in a few years when games get more advanced (if the consoles don't hold them back that is) and I need that extra few hundred Mhz per core. But by then I'll probably have thrown in a new GPU anyway so we'll see.

I don't upgrade often, as you can tell