Bored, is this worth the ug?

[mojothehut]

Hey all.
So I have a decent system, just kinda bored and have the itch to switch to Intel. Right now I'm on an AMD 975@4.1ghz, along with an AMD 7950 (950/1300) and 16gb DDR1600 on a 990fx mobo.

Thinking about upgrading my cpu&mobo to an i7 4770k and an ASUS Z87-PLUS LGA 1150.

Would this be a noticeable upgrade? I plan on using my current ram&gpu.
I casually game, WoW, Guildwars 2, Far Cry 3. I'd probably do some mild overclocking, like 4.1 or 4.2ghz :awe:

This AMD rig has done me well, just bored and itching for new tech. But I guess only if it's actually worth it...

 

[daveybrat]

Look at my sig below. I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. Feeling the itch to upgrade, but still don't have any real problems playing the games i do now.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Depends on the settings you use, locations, server pop, play style...

Are you having a problem now maintaining 60 fps? I imagine so because my 1090T @ 4.5GHz was problematic in WoW for me. But I don't know about FC3 since you have have GPU.

If you are just gaming, the i7 is a waste.

I would suggest using MSI Afterburner with it's OSD or just monitor in the background. Play your games and see if your GPU is limiting your experience or if it's your cpu...

You can tell (generally) by if the GPU is at 99% utilization when your fps dip or not.

 

[TerryMathews]

Would make better $$ sense to slap an 8350 on your existing rig. Looking at Anandtech's Bench, you would get smaller but similar performance increases at a fraction of the cost.

AMD gear isn't worth a whole lot ATM on the secondary market, it's a buyer's market considering how completely Intel holds the high end. You would take a bath on selling your proc and especially your motherboard.

 

[Idontcare]

My vote is with Terry. Spring for an 8350, and if the budget allows get a bigger/faster SSD and do a new OS install (upgrade to Win7 Ult x64 or Win8 Pro) to really take advantage of the newest thread schedulers.

(Personally I like Win8 Pro and I use it with my FX-8350 and 3770K's, but you won't find much love for it in this forum)

 

[monstercameron]

My vote is with Terry. Spring for an 8350, and if the budget allows get a bigger/faster SSD and do a new OS install (upgrade to Win7 Ult x64 or Win8 Pro) to really take advantage of the newest thread schedulers.

(Personally I like Win8 Pro and I use it with my FX-8350 and 3770K's, but you won't find much love for it in this forum)

I have kinda had that itch myself to upgrade my 965BE but I am broke...was thinking about fx chip but dont know if the 6350/8320 would work in my board, i have an http://us.msi.com/product/mb/870A-G54.html#/?div=Basic , it says am3 ready but doesnt show in the supported cpus list, any thoughts?

 

[Idontcare]

I have kinda had that itch myself to upgrade my 965BE but I am broke...was thinking about fx chip but dont know if the 6350/8320 would work in my board, i have an http://us.msi.com/product/mb/870A-G54.html#/?div=Basic , it says am3 ready but doesnt show in the supported cpus list, any thoughts?

Any time I see (1) AMD mobo, and (2) unsupported CPU for that mobo, I am leery because we know these mobo guys all got bit by those 140W Phenoms that burned out their boards and so now they hardwire the current limiters into the board and intentionally do not list any CPU that they know will pull too many amps.

So even if the board will run with an 8320 in the socket, you do so at the risk of burning up the board (if it doesn't have the current limiters built-in) or having your processor throttle (if it does have them built in).

Asking the mobo maker is probably going to be a pointless endeavor because they will have to toe the company line which is "that CPU is not listed as being supported by this mobo".

So your only angle of attack here is to sift through the mobo forums and find someone who has the same mobo/cpu combo you are thinking of putting together or find someone who knows what happened when someone else tried that combo.