Good with AMD FX 8350

[cctaylor88]

I'm planning on doing a little upgrading to my computer as I have a bit of extra cash laying around. The good people on these forums have convinced my that purchasing an SSD is well worth the money so I will go ahead and purchase an SSD for sure. But, I am also considering buying a new CPU and motherboard with hopes of overclocking in mind...
For some reason I am really looking at the AMD FX 8350 CPU as I would like to stick with an AMD processor, and I notice it comes out of the box at 4.0GHz which is very nice. What are your thoughts on the CPU? Also I have noticed some listing for the chip that say 4.0(4.2 Turbo) what exactly is the whole 4.2 turbo about...
If I decided on this chip (AMD FX 8350) I would absolutely like to do some over clocking and that is why I think I will be needing a new motherboard as well, a motherboard that will allow for easy over clocking (for instance the mobo I have now...people are saying it doesn't have "direct vrm cooling" etc.

So to break this down, I am thinking of purchasing a new CPU/Motherboard that will allow for easy upgrading..what are your thoughts on the 8350 and what would you recommend as a CPU/mobo combination?
Also, would you recommend buying the CM Hyper 212 for this processor as I'd like to do some OC'ing or something else? Stock?

Thanks so much!

Current Setup is below:
Ram: g.Skill Ripjaws 8gb
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2
Motherboard: ASUS M4A87TD/USB3
Power: 600W OCZ
Case: MidTower
GPU: NVIDIA GTX 460

 

[Durvelle27]

Yes the FX 8350 is a good chip and would be a nice upgrade but in your case i would put the money into this


Add SSD
Upgrade GPU <----- do this instead of getting a FX 8350 & Mobo
Get CM Hyper 212+ / EVO and OC your current chip

 

[Idontcare]

If you are upgrading both mobo and cpu then you really should look to Intel.

The price/performance only favors AMD when you are upgrading the CPU but keeping everything else (including the mobo).

Its your money though, if you want to stick with AMD for sentimental/psychological reasons then that is fair too.

You can get to 4.3GHz easily with the stock HSF. Active cooling on any mobo is easy to do, just appropriately position an extra case fan or too where needed to ensure good air cooling of the VRM heatsinks.

Again, when it comes to objectively evaluating price/performance it doesn't pay off to replace the stock HSF with a superior air-cooler for the FX-8350.

Out of the box you'll get 4.3GHz for $190. To get an EVO you'll spend another $25-$30 but you are not going to get 15% higher clocks for your 15% higher investment.

So you really need to sort out what it is, exactly, that you are aiming to accomplish with your upgrade dollars.

Then seek to maximize that objective. If absolute performance or performance/dollar or performance/decibel or performance/watt are your goal(s) then going AMD is not going to be your preferred choice by the numbers.

 

[MrK6]

I agree with IDC.

Unless you're doing some insane multi-threaded work, you're not going to see the benefit from the upgrade to the FX 8350. What is the goal of the upgrade? Just to tinker or are you looking for more performance somewhere specifically? If you want to stick with AMD, try pushing your current processor further with an overclock. If you do want upgrade, Intel is simply going to give you much better performance for your dollar right now.

 

[jack.]

I just upgraded from a Phenom II X4 955 to an FX-8350 a month or two ago and I've been really happy with the upgrade. With that being said though, I was already using an AM3+ motherboard that supported the CPU, so it was just a drop-in upgrade for me. The performance difference between the FX-8350 and a similarly-priced Intel CPU didn't seem worth the expense of buying a new motherboard to go along with it but if I were buying a new MB to go a long with the CPU upgrade, I'd probably go with Intel.

 

[Puppies04]

I just upgraded from a Phenom II X4 955 to an FX-8350 a month or two ago and I've been really happy with the upgrade. With that being said though, I was already using an AM3+ motherboard that supported the CPU, so it was just a drop-in upgrade for me. The performance difference between the FX-8350 and a similarly-priced Intel CPU didn't seem worth the expense of buying a new motherboard to go along with it but if I were buying a new MB to go a long with the CPU upgrade, I'd probably go with Intel.

I agree with what you said (and what IDC and others said above). As a drop in upgrade a FX8350 could be an interesting idea but when looking at CPU and mobo most workloads and budgets favour an intel build in my mind.

 

[cctaylor88]

Alright it sounds like everyone here is heavily favoring an upgrade to Intel... If I got an Intel CPU then I would be looking at an i5 most likely or i7 if I could find a reasonable price...but what about the rest of my components? Is everything compatible as far as my GPU etc?

If I were to pick up an Intel CPU and MOBO what would you guys recommend? As I have never heavily researched Intel processors..and I know I would have to buy a completely new motherboard...I would also like to OC so keep that in mind.
Thanks so far really!

 

[CHADBOGA]

Alright it sounds like everyone here is heavily favoring an upgrade to Intel... If I got an Intel CPU then I would be looking at an i5 most likely or i7 if I could find a reasonable price...but what about the rest of my components? Is everything compatible as far as my GPU etc?

If I were to pick up an Intel CPU and MOBO what would you guys recommend? As I have never heavily researched Intel processors..and I know I would have to buy a completely new motherboard...I would also like to OC so keep that in mind.
Thanks so far really!

For the CPU, hard to go past the i5 3570K(K = unlocked multiplier).

 

[USER8000]

Why do you want to upgrade?? Are any applications you have,not running well??

I would probably do what was mentioned in post 2 and go with an SSD first. The motherboard supports SATA3.0 as it has the SB850 southbridge.

Haswell will be out in June too,and that will be using a new socket.

 

[cctaylor88]

I just want to upgrade because I can really... everything I am doing on my computer seems to run pretty well though. I just haven't really done anything to this computer since I built it 2.5 years ago.

What do you mean "hard to go past the i5 3570K" ? You mean its a very good CPU?
And I have no idea what Haswell is sorry... its the successor to "sandybridge" as in it will be replacing the current line of i3/5/7s?

 

[CHADBOGA]

I just want to upgrade because I can really... everything I am doing on my computer seems to run pretty well though. I just haven't really done anything to this computer since I built it 2.5 years ago.

There is nothing wrong with staying with what you got for a long time, if it is adequately meeting your needs.

What do you mean "hard to go past the i5 3570K" ? You mean its a very good CPU?

Yes. Costs between $215 to $235 depending on where you are, unless you are near a Micro Center and get one of their crazy cheap deals where it goes for $160 or something.

And I have no idea what Haswell is sorry... its the successor to "sandybridge" as in it will be replacing the current line of i3/5/7s?

Ivy Bridge is the successor to Sandy Bridge, and is currently Intel's fastest and relatively cheap, desktop processor.

In July, the successor to Ivy Bridge comes out and its code name is Haswell(no current motherboard will work with it).

 

[tweakboy]

Haswell for mobile that is. ivy bridge E is coming quarter 3 2013....... 6 to 12 cores

 

[cctaylor88]

Okay awesome so Haswell is a step up from the Ivy Bridge which is a step up from the Sandy Bridge then right?

I mean I guess I don't "need" to upgrade but then again people don't "need" a giant leather recliner to kick back in and watch their 1080p movies on, a folding chair will meet those needs. You see what I'm saying?

I'm just a full time student, I've sold both of my dirt bikes after I shattered my humerus, I sold all of my paintball markers as my friends are usually broke and its no fun alone, my computer is something I am on A LOT as I am either:
Using it to do homework/research
Surfing the internet
Mirroring my computer to my HD tv to watch movies

 

[CHADBOGA]

Okay awesome so Haswell is a step up from the Ivy Bridge which is a step up from the Sandy Bridge then right?

Yes.

I mean I guess I don't "need" to upgrade but then again people don't "need" a giant leather recliner to kick back in and watch their 1080p movies on, a folding chair will meet those needs. You see what I'm saying?

I'm just a full time student, I've sold both of my dirt bikes after I shattered my humerus, I sold all of my paintball markers as my friends are usually broke and its no fun alone, my computer is something I am on A LOT as I am either:
Using it to do homework/research
Surfing the internet
Mirroring my computer to my HD tv to watch movies

Fair enough.

I was more thinking that if your computer is serving you well now, it gives you the luxury of waiting till Haswell is out and seeing how well it performs, especially as an overclocked chip, rather than have to go buy something this week.

 

[cctaylor88]

Yeah I don't really see a point in waiting for Haswell especially since the price point when they drop will be anything but attractive, and that means waiting a few more months (at best) for a new CPU that won't be THAT much better than the current Intel set IMO... I mean maybe a 10% increase or something, obviously I'm just throwing numbers around. But like I said that's a lot more waiting, it will be a lot more expensive, and I doubt, unless were benchmarking here, make very much of a noticeable difference.

 

[Solomutt]

I'd go with a new video card. The Sapphire Vapor-X 7950 I bought sits right in the $300 range. That 460 would make a decent card to sell, recouping some of the ~$300 the 7950 will cost.

Why That card?
For me:
Cooling
3GB RAM, so it can support very large texture sets
Faster than Nvidia counterpart, and finally reaching -actual- parity as AMD fixes their memory bus driver.
I like the architecture ( personal, technical perspective)
I like supporting AMD. That's a completely individual thing. I even prefer their 8320 I have, due to it's architecture, and my workload scenario.

One thing I dislike about the AMD processor side is that their PCI-E controller is not integrated on CPU.

 

[Hubb1e]

I'm just a full time student, I've sold both of my dirt bikes after I shattered my humerus, I sold all of my paintball markers as my friends are usually broke and its no fun alone, my computer is something I am on A LOT as I am either:
Using it to do homework/research
Surfing the internet
Mirroring my computer to my HD tv to watch movies

I'm sorry about your accident. Dirt biking is fun but dangerous. I preferred just motoring around on my XR400 known as the moto-couch because it was so relaxed. It made me less aggressive.

Anyways, none of the uses you stated justify an upgrade. Your computer is already pretty fast and I don't think you'll notice any difference if you upgrade the CPU. Even your GPU is overkill for your use case. There are other things you can do to it if you want to tinker with it. You can add an SSD. This is the best upgrade you can do to your computer ever. It will feel like a completely new machine because flash memory is so much faster than a spinning mechanical harddrive. Spend your money on an SSD. Then, you can always tinker with a new CPU cooler on your current rig, overclock that a bit, make it quieter, etc. There's plenty you can do with your cash but a CPU upgrade is not going to give you any satisfaction. It's not your bottleneck.

 

[Rvenger]

FYI - Second gen Piledriver FX cpus are due in June. Higher IPC through frequency under the same power envelope. (We hope)

http://wccftech.com/amd-launch-rich...cpu-refresh-expected-june-2013/#ixzz2K7ocBTdi

 

[The Alias]

you guys also have to take into account 1155 is essentially a dead socket whereas am3+ has been confirmed to be good through 2014 so although ivb i5 (i3 ehhhhh) would be better for gaming and a few other tasks he'd have no upgrade path but pd would be better for multitasking, video encoding, and for keeping the same mobo for a long amount of time while being able to upgrade cpus

 

[ShintaiDK]

FYI - Second gen Piledriver FX cpus are due in June. Higher IPC through frequency under the same power envelope. (We hope)

http://wccftech.com/amd-launch-rich...cpu-refresh-expected-june-2013/#ixzz2K7ocBTdi

Its not higher IPC if you just increase clocks

 

[The Alias]

Its not higher IPC if you just increase clocks

higher ipc has been confirmed

 

[ShintaiDK]

you guys also have to take into account 1155 is essentially a dead socket whereas am3+ has been confirmed to be good through 2014 so although ivb i5 (i3 ehhhhh) would be better for gaming and a few other tasks he'd have no upgrade path but pd would be better for multitasking, video encoding, and for keeping the same mobo for a long amount of time while being able to upgrade cpus

The amount of applications the FX series is faster can be counted on what, a hand or 2? And the server roadmap for AM3+ doesnt exactly show anything worth buying.

 

[ShintaiDK]

higher ipc has been confirmed

Where? I am just curious since its the exact same PD cores.

 

[guskline]

Look, I own 2 2500ks, a 8150 AND a 8350 (see sig). IDC has wriiten extensively and tested the 8350. If you already own an AM3+ mb like I did (Sabertooth 990FX rev 1) the 8350 upgrade makes sense. I warn you that decent AM3+ mbs that support OCing are not cheap. Also, due to AMD's tenuous financial situation there is no guarantee that future cpus will be on the AM3+ platform.
If you live near a MicroCenter buy an Intel 3770k with a decent Z77 mb on combo price deal and don't look back.

 

[CHADBOGA]

Look, I own 2 2500ks, a 8150 AND a 8350 (see sig). IDC has wriiten extensively and tested the 8350. If you already own an AM3+ mb like I did (Sabertooth 990FX rev 1) the 8350 upgrade makes sense. I warn you that decent AM3+ mbs that support OCing are not cheap. Also, due to AMD's tenuous financial situation there is no guarantee that future cpus will be on the AM3+ platform.
If you live near a MicroCenter buy an Intel 3770k with a decent Z77 mb on combo price deal and don't look back.

What do you use your 4 computers to do?