CPU Upgrade

[austinallen97]

Looking to upgrade my CPU from my A-4 5300 to the Athlon Quad Core 760K or the 750K FM2 socket CPU's. What is your opinoin?

[999?]

intel

[Stevie Kenarban]

What's your budget? And what do you plan to use your PC for? Just gaming or also editing/ rendering?

[austinallen97]

I don't know, I'm kind of AMD based.

[austinallen97]

Yeah well I might try something new! Like switch to an Intel CPU/MOBO. I would really like an unlocked quad core CPU with at least 3.4Ghz, and keep it all under $200.

[_I_]

are you near a microcenter?
http://www.microcenter.com/site/stores/default.aspx

i5 4670k /w z87 combos start at $220+tax
http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/intel-processor-bundles.aspx

[austinallen97]

About 4.5 hours away.It's funny you would say that because my buddy has the exact same one. I'm trying to build a budget one though and would like to keep it under $200 smacks.

[_I_]

to keep it under $200 for a cpu/board combo you would need to drop to a cheaper b or h board and a non k cpu

or maybe a z87 board and i3 4130
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1zBUQ
then you can get a 4670k in the future and overclock with a good cooler

[labyrinth]

What GPU do you have? In gaming GPU is important, you can have the mother of i7 if your GPU sucks, you're gaming will suck.

[Rove]

I'd recommend the Athlon x4 750K or 760K. I have a A10 6800K and it's a very capable CPU.

If you've got lots of money to spend go for the A10 6800K, the A10 5800K is also good. In terms of value the Athlon II x4 750K is the best value and the Athlon II 760K is close to it in value and offers better performance.

So if it's between the Athlon II x4 FM2 CPUs then it really just mostly depends on if you want to spend the extra $10 on the higher clockspeed or not. The 750K might be able to overclock just as high but the 760K will perform better at stock. Who knows, maybe they did something new with the 760K and it can overclock even higher but I kind of almost figure that it's really just the same CPU with a different factory setting, or near enough.

I also like and use AMD and I think there is no reason to change your motherboard for now since the Athlon II x4 FM2 CPUs (being like my A10 6800K) are enough to get done any gaming you want to do. Gaming is much more about your GPU anyways, specially if you have a AMD GPU because of Mantle. Even using a Nvidia or other GPU it's about the GPU.

You must have a separate dedicated graphics card to use a 750K or 760K though as I hope you are aware. If you are using the integrated graphics of your A4-5300 then you won't have any graphics (and your computer won't work) when you upgrade to a 750K or 760K that has no integrated graphics. So please make sure you have a real separate graphics card before this upgrade OR uprade to another APU with even better integrated graphics as well as better CPU like a A10 5800K or A10 6800K.

[senseidongen]

An Intel CPU would be better, yes. If your PC is for gaming and general web-browsing, unless you've got a seriously powerful GPU, you wouldn't really be able to tell the difference. All comparative reviews I've ever read say exactly the same thing:

"With a single GPU, all quad core [thread if you're being pedantic] CPUs perform with a small margin of each other, except in a few specific games and even then, an AMD quad core is perfectly sufficient"

I think you should get the Athlon X4 750K/760K - it'll be a huge upgrade from the A4 and will cost far less than an Intel i5/i3 option (plus you won't need to remove the motherboard)

EDIT: for context, I also have an A10-6800K (basically an Athlon X4 with integrated graphics) and I will also second that you must have a separate graphics card, otherwise your PC won't work.

[XFleshcoated]

The cpu intel would be better of amd cpu, but the amd, for me, has an execellent quality\price ratio

[Stevie Kenarban]

İlk olarak XFleshcoated tarafından gönderildi:

The cpu intel would be better of amd cpu, but the amd, for me, has an execellent quality\price ratio

Not so much anymore, at least for AMD GPUs. Bitcoin mining inflated prices and now the prices are worse than Nvidia cards.

A point of refrence

[Rove]

True on higher end GPUs, up to the HD 7790 or R7 260X there is still not really any effect.

[austinallen97]

I like your thinking, and for that I thank you! I will go with one of the two 750K or 760K, one will win. I have the EVGA GT640 SC 1GB only because of my PSU, it doesn't have enough juice to put the GTX 650 ti to good use. My plans are to upgrade the CPU, RAM, PSU, then go for the GTX 650/660.

[Rove]

I'd like to recommend the HD 7790 or R7 260X GPU above the GTX 650 or 650 ti and the GTX 660 above that. Don't get a regular GTX 650 at all, not worth it. The HD 7790 1GB, R7 260X 2GB or the GTX 660 should be the one you get depending on how much you will spend.