First steps in AMD world

Hello dear members, i've come to this place in hopes to find some answers about mystical AMD cpu and what to do with it.
I'll start form the beginning, so my story would make sense.
Just two days ago I recently bought an AMD barebones PC setup.
It came with msi 970a-g43 board, an FX4100 amd bulldozer and 4Gb GeIL Enhance CORSA (Ddr3,1600MHz ,CL9).
Included with Powercool 550w PSu and Radeon 6770 1gb ddr5 gpu.
All of this in nice thermaltake case for just 140pounds.
Now all of it would be nice, if only I could remain satisfied and I'm not.
After putting everything together, I found this setup to be rather slow.
Now what I intented to do, is to go for AMD FX8530, but after reading couple of reviews on google, i got confused.
I know the PSU the previous bloke was using is a cheap ''something'', but asides from that, I'm looking for a decent gaming rig.

My dream involves upgrades like this:
CPU: FX8530
RAM: Just add +4gb of the same make/model Geil I have right now (so i would get 8gb in total).
PSU- Corsair HX850.
GPU- thought of HD6970 but somehow i feel reluctant, would like some insight.
Board: now this is under question mark, because I am not familiar with amd as a species, let alone radeon gpus or amd cpu, but I feel like this board is.. well, not good )gut feeling?).
I must confess, I was an Intel guy, who just loves Intel+ nvidia, but this time I guess I have to get into AMD if the fate has decided it to happen.

I've been out of gaming lately (for last 2 years), but feel free hitting me with specs, because I had the honors working in pc repair shop as tehnician(thats my little secret), but in 2 years time the tables been turned and I've lost myself into comparing every little shiney thing with anything else out there.
For my wish list, I would like to get Assasins Creed Unity run pretty smooth medium/high. Current setup runs it on low and still manages to stutter.
Thanks in advance, looking forward for some good info, i believe this is the place to get it

MrSomebody welcome to the forum. If you really want to step up to the Fx 8350 you need a stout motherboard to run one, well, if overclocking this becomes even more important. I personally wouldn't try running a Fx 8350 on the Msi 970a-G43 motherboard for two reasons. It is only a 4+1 Vrm section and there are no heatsinks on the VRM section. It may be able to run it at stock settings, but the 4+1 Vrm will be struggling to keep up with the power demands of the 8350. Msi has not had a good reputation of quality components in the last few years here in AMD land. That said if the VRM section fails, which they are known to do, it could take the Cpu and other parts with it.

From what I've read Assassins Creed unity is a bugged game to begin with so switching the Cpu may or may not resolve your issues. It also seems that the game is more dependent on the Graphics card the the Cpu. The 6770 with 1 g of Vram is outdated and a low end card to start. I feel your issues lie more with the Gpu then anything else.

What resolution are you playing at and how much do you plan on spending on upgrading. You may want to start by upgrading the Gpu first and see if your issues persist. What budget would you be willing to spend to upgrade the setup?

Mandrake4565 said:

MrSomebody welcome to the forum. If you really want to step up to the Fx 8350 you need a stout motherboard to run one, well, if overclocking this becomes even more important. I personally wouldn't try running a Fx 8350 on the Msi 970a-G43 motherboard for two reasons. It is only a 4+1 Vrm section and there are no heatsinks on the VRM section. It may be able to run it at stock settings, but the 4+1 Vrm will be struggling to keep up with the power demands of the 8350. Msi has not had a good reputation of quality components in the last few years here in AMD land. That said if the VRM section fails, which they are known to do, it could take the Cpu and other parts with it.

From what I've read Assassins Creed unity is a bugged game to begin with so switching the Cpu may or may not resolve your issues. It also seems that the game is more dependent on the Graphics card the the Cpu. The 6770 with 1 g of Vram is outdated and a low end card to start. I feel your issues lie more with the Gpu then anything else.

What resolution are you playing at and how much do you plan on spending on upgrading. You may want to start by upgrading the Gpu first and see if your issues persist. What budget would you be willing to spend to upgrade the setup?

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I'm looking to spend no more than 120 pounds on GPU, and homehow I would like to look into Nvidia cards anyway.
Motherboard price is an unknown value, since I want something reliable ( will Gigabyte be allright?)
CPU price @ amazon is about 130pounds.
The current GPu is weak, no doubt about that, however it runs crysis 3 pretty good on medium (with AA off and shadows on low, posprocessing low and objects/details on high).
I've read about vram issue here on forum already, but my motherboard wasnt in the list.
So the correct steps would be PSU-> Board-> CPU-> GPU?
Thanks!

Before anything else, I would upgrade that PSU. I can't get any google results for a "powercoler 550w psu review" search query related to an actual PC PSU, which isn't usually a good sign. Add to that the fact that PC is not known to produce quality PSUs (as far as I know), and that you want to upgrade to some of the most power-hungry parts in the business, and you can see my concern.

If your only planning on 1 GPU and the 8350, the go to PSU around here is the EVGA Supernova 750w G2. That should save you some money and still provide ample power for even a dual GPU solution should you opt for one down the road (especially if your going Nvidia).

Dlaw said:

Before anything else, I would upgrade that PSU. I can't get any google results for a "powercoler 550w psu review" search query related to an actual PC PSU, which isn't usually a good sign. Add to that the fact that PC is not known to produce quality PSUs (as far as I know), and that you want to upgrade to some of the most power-hungry parts in the business, and you can see my concern.

If your only planning on 1 GPU and the 8350, the go to PSU around here is the EVGA Supernova 750w G2. That should save you some money and still provide ample power for even a dual GPU solution should you opt for one down the road (especially if your going Nvidia).

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The review can be found in here :
http://geekzplanet.com/forums/showt...ly-Powercool-550W-Modular-Power-Supply-Review

Thanks for the advice about PSu, I'll look into that.
Double GPu option is on standby, because although current board have 2x pci-ex, I guess I'll have to change the board to solve the probable vram issue, since fx8530 sounds rather temperamental.
About the GPu choice itself- is there something you could suggest, because sweet marbles, there are so many cards out there I cant even imagine where to start.
I could just grab the first one in 120pound range, just paying attention to shader version, directX support and so on, but I believe there are some rock solid choices already acknowledged by users worldwide. Top 5 gpus 2015 google search gives everything above my budget. Only option left is R7 260X OC. But i believe it will choke on next years game releases, so maybe I should tighten my belt and get something better? Thanks for replay mate, Cheers.

It doesn't really look to me like the PSU was put through the paces on that review. http://www.jonnyguru.com/ is the go to site as far as I know, and I can't find a review on that PSU there. I don't know if it's good or not, but I wouldn't trust it unless I saw concrete proof that it won't blow up and take other parts with it, not to mention possibly starting a fire.

Where would you be purchasing the GPU from? I have no idea what pounds convert to in USD, nor pricing where you live. I know that the GTX 960 is pretty decent for 1080p gaming for the price, but it's not the best. Still, it might be the best option in your price range.

Also, VRAM is the memory dedicated to video rendering, as in the memory built into dedicated video cards. You mean the power delivery issue likely pertaining to your board, caused by a less than adequate VRM (voltage regulator module) section on your board. Just wanted to clarify that, as it can be confusing to people trying to help.

I would focus on PSU and that second stick of memory first, then GPU, and then the CPU and board as you have funds for them. I will tell you though, that the recommended boards for the 8 core FX CPUs are on a short list, and I don't think any of them are cheap.

If it were my build this is what I would do. I would get an Fx 6300+ Asus M5A97 EVO R 2.0 + Evga 100-B1-0500-KR then the best Gpu you can find for your budget. If you really feel you need a Fx 8xxx chip get a 8320e because they're less expensive then the 8350 and is basically the same chip. Note though that you will need a bigger Psu if running the 8xxx chip especially if you plan on overclocking. The M5A97 Evo board should be able to Oc a Fx 6300 on ambient temps to around 4.8 on average the 8xxx chip to around 4.5.

Mandrake4565 said:

If it were my build this is what I would do. I would get an Fx 6300+ Asus M5A97 EVO R 2.0 + Evga 100-B1-0500-KR then the best Gpu you can find for your budget. If you really feel you need a Fx 8xxx chip get a 8320e because they're less expensive then the 8350 and is basically the same chip. Note though that you will need a bigger Psu if running the 8xxx chip especially if you plan on overclocking. The M5A97 Evo board should be able to Oc a Fx 6300 on ambient temps to around 4.8 on average the 8xxx chip to around 4.5.

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This is interesting advice. Well I went for 85xx because it was pretty much in every topic that contained sentence: ''upgrade from fx41xx to ''.
I dont plan on overclocking(just yet), I just want to make the system a wee faster. Thanks for advice!

Absolutely nothing wrong with your decision, I really like my Fx 8350 and as a matter of fact use it as my every day system over my I7 4770k. My reasoning for the Fx 6300 is, if gaming is your object, in most cases you will not see much difference with the 8 core over the 6 core. I also have a Fx 6300 and I don't notice any difference when I'm running it over the 8356. They also run a bit cooler then the 8xxx chips. That said I do suggest you consider using a 650w Psu, if there is the slightest chance you may Oc the 8350. I do also suggest you getting a mother board with a 6+2 Vrm power phase section at a minimum. This is a good thread if you want to inform yourself on what you need to run an AMD Fx well. In it there is a section on quality recommended motherboards. Really have a look through the section on the motherboards, these AMD Fx chips can be great chips but only when properly mated to a stout motherboard. If they are not it can be a very unrewarding experience for you. Just because a board says it can run an Fx 8xxx chip doesn't mean it will do so well.

having hacked away at lots of fx stuff, here's my upgrade path for you.
#1, psu, why let a cheezy psu cause you to have to buy everything twice, I've been there, done that.
#2 get another stick of the exact same ram you have, dual channel mode and timings matter much more than ram speed. don't bother with faster ram, in game your eyes will never, ever see it as long as your over 800 speed ram.
#3, gpu, save, save, save, the gpu is what draws the picture on the screen, get the gtx970, save, save, save, you won't be sorry you did.
#4, big, honky air cooler, you can clock up your four core now and have enough cooling for the hotter cpu later, you're going to need it!!!!
#5 motherboard, going to need a good one to mush an 8 core, and like the psu, one "pop" and game over..... nuff said.
#6, the cpu, why is it last? the 4 core you can clock up, most games can only use less than 4 cores, so through put is the name of the game here.
by the time you get to the cpu you have all the support staff in place for it and not blow it up and have to start over.
the 8 cores are top shelf and have the best through put in fx, all fx start out life trying to be an 8 core, the 8 core is 4 modules of 2 paired cores each, a six core is an 8 core that couldn't cut the mustard, it is then tested for 6 core use, if it passes, it's sold as a six core, if it fails, it's then sold as a four core.
the six core is the perfered cpu for gaming, less cooling needed than an 8 core, better throughput than a 4 core at the same clocks, can regain throughput by clocking higher than an 8 core on lesser cooling.
why not just get an 8 core and kill the un needed cores you might ask..... the cores you turn off are not "off" they just arn't given any work to do and still draw power and add heat, it's better to get a six core and run it as a 2, 4, or six core as needed.

@caddi daddy . Thanks for the explanation, although it still escapes me, why would you suggest using 6 cores (thats basically fx6300) for gaming, instead of shooting for the stars(85xx).
I might sound a little bit off the main idea here, but after I threw together a simple intel build (i5 4790k)+ MSi Z97+8gb ram+ gpu(???), it seemed like there would be no problems as with this amd build, since all the headache to rebuild all pc for one single cpu upgrade would be gone ( i hope you still follow where im going with this).
I finally have some free time/cash to do some shopping, so for now my shopping list for tomorrow looks like this:
4gb geil enhance ram 2x4gb modules (since I already have same kit in my pc right now).
Corsair RM850- i like to be futureproof'd, in case a wild sli-config may appear inside my case .
And for the motherboard... well here i finally have some doubts. I figured that it doesnt really pay off to completly rebuild whole pc, so I might aswell just take a decent graphic card (no idea what should i get, but i'll just let myself to fall into tempation while im shopping).
Since assasins creed unity is out, I'm looking forward to get my build to run it at least @medium graphics. Since i dont have much time to sit by pc all day, the need for ACU capable pc is more like a bucket list wish.
But the problems with that is more than 1.
First- 8Gb of ram will be the bare minumum anyway.
I've seen youtube videos of guys playing it with same 6300 and not breaking a sweat.
I've checked the VRM database in the forum for my board, and it seems that 8 cores are not recommended....
So the bottom line: Corsair+ extra ram+ fx6300(as i see no point to pursue 8xxx) and decent graphic card should be a pretty nice in my opinion :/.
As for games, im still stuck in SniperElite 3, Grid autosport and that kind of games. Now the gta5 specs are out, so Im looking forward to it as well. PS3 just doesnt feel the right system to enjoy it. Im simply confused, because it seems,that amd builds need either more attention to details, or more cash . Either way, im still open for ideas. Cheers

You will love the FX 6300.

Get one, and shut down 2 cores for more power savings and less heat if you want. Plus they are just a blast to tinker with.
Pair it with a good board, and you're golden.

The Sabertooth is the preferred board- it's stout and got lots of bells and whistles.
If you are going air cooling, no less than the Noctua NH-D14.
With the D14, you can get up to 4.7Ghz with 4 cores, and about 4.6 Ghz with all 6 cores enabled.

For RAM, skip Kingston, it's all trouble.
The Corsair RM850 is plenty of clean power for an AMD rig - good choice.


With AMD, you save money because the CPU's are cheap. The motherboards are not as cheeep. You get what you pay for. More $$ generally means higher quality.

With Intel, the CPU's are sky high in price, but are offset with low motherboard costs.

If you are looking to overclock, don't disappoint yourself. Get the FX.

I'd have to agree with silver, if you like tinkering with your cpu FX is just fun, and pretty tolerant if you're new to it, I haven't killed one yet, but my board isn't really stout enough I think it would Bork before the chip

SubPar said:

I'd have to agree with silver, if you like tinkering with your cpu FX is just fun, and pretty tolerant if you're new to it, I haven't killed one yet, but my board isn't really stout enough I think it would Bork before the chip

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Then i guess thats that. Ill get my hands on 63xx and hopefully ill get a little better pc than i currently have. Thanks for advice @ SubPar, @ Silver_Pharaoh.

Mandrake4565 said:

Absolutely nothing wrong with your decision, I really like my Fx 8350 and as a matter of fact use it as my every day system over my I7 4770k. My reasoning for the Fx 6300 is, if gaming is your object, in most cases you will not see much difference with the 8 core over the 6 core. I also have a Fx 6300 and I don't notice any difference when I'm running it over the 8356. They also run a bit cooler then the 8xxx chips. That said I do suggest you consider using a 650w Psu, if there is the slightest chance you may Oc the 8350. I do also suggest you getting a mother board with a 6+2 Vrm power phase section at a minimum. This is a good thread if you want to inform yourself on what you need to run an AMD Fx well. In it there is a section on quality recommended motherboards. Really have a look through the section on the motherboards, these AMD Fx chips can be great chips but only when properly mated to a stout motherboard. If they are not it can be a very unrewarding experience for you. Just because a board says it can run an Fx 8xxx chip doesn't mean it will do so well.

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Manny, I don't think the M5A97 is 6+2 power phase. I think it's 4+2. I don't think you get into 6+2 until you get into the Asus M5A99x series which is the minimum I would recommend for overclocking the 6 core FX AMD CPUs.

trents said:

Manny, I don't think the M5A97 is 6+2 power phase. I think it's 4+2. I don't think you get into 6+2 until you get into the Asus M5A99x series which is the minimum I would recommend for overclocking the 6 core FX AMD CPUs.

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Pretty sure you're correct on the M5A97 LE R 2.0/ R 2.0 boards but the M5A97 R 2.0 Evo is 6+2

M5a97 R 2.0, -> 4+2
M5a97 LE -> 4+1
M5a97 EVO -> 6+2

If you plan on over clocking In the future I recommend the crosshair v formula z motherboard, it's a bit pricey but I love it and it runs my fx8350 nicely.

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But I liquid cool it to keep the temps down

Haturee said:

If you plan on over clocking In the future I recommend the crosshair v formula z motherboard, it's a bit pricey but I love it and it runs my fx8350 nicely.

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But I liquid cool it to keep the temps down

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Solid board, but I thought it was mainly for LN2?

Silver_Pharaoh said:

Solid board, but I thought it was mainly for LN2?

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Not for just LN2, more so for extreme overclocking. I agree it's a great board but total overkill unless someone is planning on overclocking the pee out of every aspect of their system. The Sabertooth is almost as good of a board without all the bells and whistles though also overkill for most users.