Opinions on three processor upgrades.

[chrisjames61]

I have three household computers that I am mulling doing processor upgrades. My goal is just to squeeze a couple more years out of these machines. We are not gamers. I live close to a MicroCenter in Yonkers, NY.

I currently have a Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 with a 1055T running at 3900 MHz. I don't imagine AMD will be introducing a AM3+ processor better then the FX 8350 so I surmise I would get one and ride it out with that.

The second machine is a Gigabyte 970A-DS3 with an unlocked six core 960T running at 3850 MHz at close to stock voltage. I was thinking of getting a 6300 since this board is an early model doesn't have mosfet heat sinks and I think is 4+1 power phase.

The third machine is an Asus M4A785TD-V-EVO and has a 965 BE. Any suggestions on a good upgrade this board could handle would be appreciated.

I know these processors are still adequate for my needs but Its a good time to upgrade and also support AMD.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Johan45]

In all honesty I would spend some time OC'ing what you have. Upgrade the cooling etc. If you're not gaming or video editing it's not neceddary.
Or if you really need to scratch the itch start from the ground up and build one system with all the good parts.
Fx processors are very demanding and would work on that Giga board. The others I'd say no. I recently picked up a FX-6350 and it's one nice chip. Would pair up with the UD3 and you'd have a lot less heat to dissipate.

 

[Mandrake4565]

chrisjames, welcome to the forum, as far as upgrading processors the 960T+Giga 970a and the 785 + 965 have arguably the best processors that those boards can handle. There really isn't a better processor out there that those boards can handle. If you're really looking to upgrade, how about a SSD?!? As far as the UD 3 board I agree with Johan, the 63XX Fx is a pretty nice chip, they don't need as much cooling as the 8xxx chips. Don't get me wrong the 8350 is a great chip but they a demanding as Johan said. They run hot and draw a lot of power, if planning on overclocking they require nothing short of uber high end cooling. Finally stay away from that Microcenter if you are itching for parts, you'll walk out with a shopping cart of new equipment!

 

[Johan45]

Finally stay away from that Microcenter if you are itching for parts, you'll walk out with a shopping cart of new equipment!

Ya I know those problems.

Ya and where are my manners. To the OCF

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Chrisjames, what are each of the machines used for? That will determine what my answers are

 

[dostov]

I'm gonna have to agree with previous answers and say that there's not much processor upgrading to do there. The new FX are not that much better than the Phenoms.

If you still have HDD in your machines, then SSD is probably the most noticeable upgrade you can do!

 

[manu2b]

Well, a phenom x6@4ghz roughly equals a [email protected]. Keep your phenom, OC them a tad more and wait for steamroller.

Look at the classified: thuban's sell for $100 or more. There is a reason for it!

 

[chrisjames61]

In all honesty I would spend some time OC'ing what you have. Upgrade the cooling etc. If you're not gaming or video editing it's not neceddary.
Or if you really need to scratch the itch start from the ground up and build one system with all the good parts.
Fx processors are very demanding and would work on that Giga board. The others I'd say no. I recently picked up a FX-6350 and it's one nice chip. Would pair up with the UD3 and you'd have a lot less heat to dissipate.

The 6350 is what intrigues me. Its just a higher binned 6300 I would imagine. I have a Hyper 212 Evo. Part of me says get the 8350. Part of me says get a 6300 or 6350 and down the road build a new system from scratch. That is- when we find out the AMD road map. I also have an A10-5800 and an FM2 board. It performs fine for my needs.

 

[chrisjames61]

chrisjames, welcome to the forum, as far as upgrading processors the 960T+Giga 970a and the 785 + 965 have arguably the best processors that those boards can handle. There really isn't a better processor out there that those boards can handle. If you're really looking to upgrade, how about a SSD?!? As far as the UD 3 board I agree with Johan, the 63XX Fx is a pretty nice chip, they don't need as much cooling as the 8xxx chips. Don't get me wrong the 8350 is a great chip but they a demanding as Johan said. They run hot and draw a lot of power, if planning on overclocking they require nothing short of uber high end cooling. Finally stay away from that Microcenter if you are itching for parts, you'll walk out with a shopping cart of new equipment!

I do have SSD's in all my computers. They are great upgrades. I work in graphic arts and am a Mac guy. That being said I love to tinker so I love pc's too.

 

[chrisjames61]

Chrisjames, what are each of the machines used for? That will determine what my answers are

Nothing too demanding! I just like messing around.

 

[RGone]

I currently have a Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 with a 1055T running at 3900 MHz. I don't imagine AMD will be introducing a AM3+ processor better then the FX 8350 so I surmise I would get one and ride it out with that. = Well from your posting it is pretty apparent what you have kept up with for real on the FX processors. You do not say which Revision of 990XA-UD3 you have since the first revision is not much good for FX processors as they made big changes to the UD3 Rev 1.1 boards to make them more suitable for FX processors. But still would only recommend a 6 core processor since you are most likely NOT prepared for the BIG heat that comes with the FX processors and most certainly HOT, if you clock up an FX processor so the raw CPU speed tries to make up for the lower IPC than an Intel cpu.

The second machine is a Gigabyte 970A-DS3 with an unlocked six core 960T running at 3850 MHz at close to stock voltage. I was thinking of getting a 6300 since this board is an early model doesn't have mosfet heat sinks and I think is 4+1 power phase. = This board in general opinion is not good enough to handle FX processors that are huge power draws thru the VRM circuit and make BIG heat when overclocked to the point they make pretty good gaming rigs.

The third machine is an Asus M4A785TD-V-EVO and has a 965 BE. = That 7xx chipset board probably has the best cpu in it right now. Especially if you had enough cpu cooling and case cooling to overclock the processor some. An SSD for the operating system would make this config feel nearly new.

Throw the 1055T processor in the M4A785TD board and put an FX6300 in the 990XA-UD3 is about the ONLY Cpu change that is in front of you that makes real sense based on how the boards you have are equipped for FX processors. You will need about 4.5Ghz from an FX-6300 to pull up beside the 1055T when it is running 3.9Ghz. Something like that anyway. You will need aftermarket cooling for the FX-6300 like a Coolermaster 212 EVO or similar to be able to reach 4.5Ghz or so with FX-6300 with a semblance of stability.

You might be much more rewarded performance-wise with more ram or SSD's for your operating system and really if you >> "Nothing too demanding! I just like messing around" << I can assure you if you put FX processors in a board not capable of sustaining the power demands...you will be "messing" around.

 

[chrisjames61]

I currently have a Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 with a 1055T running at 3900 MHz. I don't imagine AMD will be introducing a AM3+ processor better then the FX 8350 so I surmise I would get one and ride it out with that. = Well from your posting it is pretty apparent what you have kept up with for real on the FX processors. You do not say which Revision of 990XA-UD3 you have since the first revision is not much good for FX processors as they made big changes to the UD3 Rev 1.1 boards to make them more suitable for FX processors. But still would only recommend a 6 core processor since you are most likely NOT prepared for the BIG heat that comes with the FX processors and most certainly HOT, if you clock up an FX processor so the raw CPU speed tries to make up for the lower IPC than an Intel cpu.

The second machine is a Gigabyte 970A-DS3 with an unlocked six core 960T running at 3850 MHz at close to stock voltage. I was thinking of getting a 6300 since this board is an early model doesn't have mosfet heat sinks and I think is 4+1 power phase. = This board in general opinion is not good enough to handle FX processors that are huge power draws thru the VRM circuit and make BIG heat when overclocked to the point they make pretty good gaming rigs.

The third machine is an Asus M4A785TD-V-EVO and has a 965 BE. = That 7xx chipset board probably has the best cpu in it right now. Especially if you had enough cpu cooling and case cooling to overclock the processor some. An SSD for the operating system would make this config feel nearly new.

Throw the 1055T processor in the M4A785TD board and put an FX6300 in the 990XA-UD3 is about the ONLY Cpu change that is in front of you that makes real sense based on how the boards you have are equipped for FX processors. You will need about 4.5Ghz from an FX-6300 to pull up beside the 1055T when it is running 3.9Ghz. Something like that anyway. You will need aftermarket cooling for the FX-6300 like a Coolermaster 212 EVO or similar to be able to reach 4.5Ghz or so with FX-6300 with a semblance of stability.

You might be much more rewarded performance-wise with more ram or SSD's for your operating system and really if you >> "Nothing too demanding! I just like messing around" << I can assure you if you put FX processors in a board not capable of sustaining the power demands...you will be "messing" around.

I already have Samsung SSD's in all three rigs. 16 gigs of ram in all three. I have 212 EVO's in all three. The 990XA-UD3 has chipset revision 02 and soutbridge revision 40. Bios F9. The 960T and 1055T are in Antec 900's and the 965 BE is housed in an Antec Skeleton.

 

[RGone]

PCB revision of the motherboard and not chipset is the concern.

Sounds like you need to build a 'quick' Intel rig for funzies. You are nearly upgraded out currently.
RGone...

 

[chrisjames61]

PCB revision of the motherboard and not chipset is the concern.

Sounds like you need to build a 'quick' Intel rig for funzies. You are nearly upgraded out currently.
RGone...

RGone, that's what I figured. Is it printed on the PCB? I am feeling lazy. Something about Intel bores me. One thing that bugs me is they lock their multipliers, disable virtualization and stuff like that.

 

[caddi daddi]

I see nothing to upgrade, thuban and phenom are great cpu's, and to go fx he would need boards, and even then it would not be much more than an update and less of an upgrade.

for me I would stand with what you have got.

 

[RGone]

First I like my FX-8350 >> BUT I was prepared for its' heat and power consumption and those two have consequences.

I expect that most users have more computing power than they can use. However there are those that really
need the power and there are ways to get it and have all the adjustability many like. At a price though as always.

In the case of this link to cpu-world one should remember that the i7 920 is 4 platforms old in Intel land and
each successive platform has been faster to an extent. So the latest AMD cpu vs a four platform old Intel cpu.
BUT the 1366 Platform had unlocked multiipliers with the i7-920.
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/321/AMD_FX-Series_FX-8350_vs_Intel_Core_i7_i7-920.html
AMD FX-8350 vs Intel Core i7-920

Now the socket 2011 SandyBridge-E will be succeeded by the IvyBridge-E in socket 2011. SandyBridge-E and IvyBridge-E are both multiplier unlocked and clock like AMD unlocked cpus, but do better in single threaded games than AMD.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-4960x-ivy-bridge-e-benchmark,3557.html
Intel Core i7-4960X Preview: Ivy Bridge-E, Benchmarked
By Chris AngeliniJuly 16, 2013 10:00 PM