Best AMD desktop CPU

[Darxide]

Hello!
I've been out of the loop for a while, so excuse my ignorance lol.
It's time to replace my gaming desktop, and I need some advice.

First, before I make my decision, is there anything big on the horizon from AMD? Like in the next 6 months?
When are we expecting steamroller to arrive if at all?
I always seem to fall into the trap of buying just before something new comes along.

ATM my desktop is an Asus M3A79-T deluxe with Phenom II 940 black, oc'd to 3.6Ghz, and 4Gb of PC2-8500.
So I'm thinking an upgrade is due as I'm stuck with DDR2, SATA2 USB 2 etc etc...
What I'm looking at is the FX8350 black with 8Gb of DDR3.
Would that be a major improvement from my current?
Also what type of RAM does that chip need? I know DDR3, but does it need a specific speed? I assume I can use higher to allow OC'ing?

I'm posting in the AMD section because although I could go Intel, and I haven't ruled that out, I've always found AMD to be better value for money. I don't need the 'absolute best', I'm not a benchmark whore lol.

Anyway any advice welcome.

[tbone8ty]

Wait for kaveri steamroller

Fx-8350 would be a nice upgrade

New mobo?

[Darxide]

Wait for kaveri steamroller

Fx-8350 would be a nice upgrade

New mobo?

D'oh! Forgot to mention motherboard. Looking at the Asus Crosshair V 990FX.
Hmm, are we expecting steamroller anytime soon? I'm sort of wanting to do this soon. Do you think steamroller will use AM3+ or a new socket?

[Andi64]

I'm gonna get killed for saying this on the AMD forum, but when you're shopping for mid-range for that price Intel has better options.

IMHO, a good AMD combo would be a cheap 990FX, like MSI 990FXA-GD65V2, with a FX-8320 thats about U$S285. If you're looking to expend ~450 bucks (8350/Crosshair V) I would go for a 4670/Z87 or 4770/Z87 combo even with a lower end board...

[tbone8ty]

My fx-8350 oc to 4.6ghz

Don't expect much more than that on decent air cooling.

Also look at the fx-6300 if u wanna save some dough

Also check out new amd apu richland part (a10-6800k)

People are getting nice OC's 4.8-5.2ghz on good air cooling

Also new amd chips do well with high freq ddr3 memory look at 2133 or 2400 ;)

[Andi64]

My fx-8350 oc to 4.6ghz

Don't expect much more than that on decent air cooling.

Also look at the fx-6300 if u wanna save some dough

Also check out new amd apu richland part (a10-6800k)

People are getting nice OC's 4.8-5.2ghz on good air cooling

Also new amd chips do well with high freq ddr3 memory look at 2133 or 2400 ;)

If he goes for discrete graphics, and looking at his signature he will, there is no point for even considering the 6800K. I would love to see how that 6800K stands against a 4 core Phenom II, I really don't believe there is much difference (4Ghz Ph2 vs 5Ghz 6800K). I really love those APUs, but because of the entire CPU+GPU package. If you look only at the CPU, it's just an FX4300 2M/4C, that even at 5Ghz kinda sucks.

[tbone8ty]

I'd go a10-6800k with 2400mhz memory and a nice fm2 a85x mobo

[Andi64]

Again, why would anybody buy a 6800K over a FX8320 if you are using discrete graphics? Both are U$S150.

[Evantaur]

new CPUs announced next week in E3... wait until then atleast

[tbone8ty]

Can't wait!

This 2!

http://wccftech.com/amd-possibly-unveiled-generation-radeon-hd-8000-series-e3-2013/

[tbone8ty]

Again, why would anybody buy a 6800K over a FX8320 if you are using discrete graphics? Both are U$S150.

Because it runs at a higher clock than the 8320 so ipc will be better plus better power consumption

[Andi64]

Some of them hit 5Ghz, not all. For gods sake, it's a 2 modules CPU vs a 4 modules CPU and you would pick the 6800K for 200 to 400Mhz difference and the OBVIOUS power consumption difference 'cause it is HALF the CPU the 8320 is??

The entire point of buying an APU is the freaking integrated GPU, that Darxide WILL NOT USE. The guy want's to make an upgrade you know?

[Darxide]

Hmm, couple of good points there.
I would tend to rule out the APU chips on the grounds that I don't need it. I will be using a discrete card. The PC is used mostly for gaming.
I have a decent budget, and I haven't ruled out going Intel, as you can see from my sig I'm NOT a fanboi of either camp, I have both. I love my i7 laptop, but that's mostly used for gaming away from home. I actually find it quite amusing that my laptop has both Intel and AMD stickers on it! (Intel CPU and AMD GPU) But I digress...
My plan here is to have an eyefinity setup in the game room.
I would rather spend more on a top quality motherboard, I'm fussy that way, I like my desktop to have a good solid board with lots of features. And as I'm going 3 monitor, I might end up running dual GPU's. So a low end board is out.
Someone mentioned new CPU's being announced at E3? Is that likely? If it is, I highly doubt it will be steamroller. From what I'm reading that's 2014 at the earliest.

[Darxide]

I'm gonna get killed for saying this on the AMD forum, but when you're shopping for mid-range for that price Intel has better options.

IMHO, a good AMD combo would be a cheap 990FX, like MSI 990FXA-GD65V2, with a FX-8320 thats about U$S285. If you're looking to expend ~450 bucks (8350/Crosshair V) I would go for a 4670/Z87 or 4770/Z87 combo even with a lower end board...

That was a brave thing to say on an AMD forum lol.
There is some logic in what your saying, and as I say, I haven't ruled out Intel.
Where I am, UK, the i5 4670 is ?175, only slightly more than the FX8350 which is ?160, and I can get a good 1150 board like the Asus Sabretooth Z87 for the exact same price as the Crosshair V 990FX.
So price wise, they're pretty equal.
I hate decisions!

[tbone8ty]

Some of them hit 5Ghz, not all. For gods sake, it's a 2 modules CPU vs a 4 modules CPU and you would pick the 6800K for 200 to 400Mhz difference and the OBVIOUS power consumption difference 'cause it is HALF the CPU the 8320 is??

The entire point of buying an APU is the freaking integrated GPU, that Darxide WILL NOT USE. The guy want's to make an upgrade you know?

Higher clocked 2 module chip will always be faster than a lower clocked 4 module chip. And for gaming this is the perfect scenario.

[tbone8ty]

Hmm, couple of good points there.
I would tend to rule out the APU chips on the grounds that I don't need it. I will be using a discrete card. The PC is used mostly for gaming.
I have a decent budget, and I haven't ruled out going Intel, as you can see from my sig I'm NOT a fanboi of either camp, I have both. I love my i7 laptop, but that's mostly used for gaming away from home. I actually find it quite amusing that my laptop has both Intel and AMD stickers on it! (Intel CPU and AMD GPU) But I digress...
My plan here is to have an eyefinity setup in the game room.
I would rather spend more on a top quality motherboard, I'm fussy that way, I like my desktop to have a good solid board with lots of features. And as I'm going 3 monitor, I might end up running dual GPU's. So a low end board is out.
Someone mentioned new CPU's being announced at E3? Is that likely? If it is, I highly doubt it will be steamroller. From what I'm reading that's 2014 at the earliest.

Higher clocked visheras might be released.

If your going with a dual gpu eyefinity setup than go intel/nvidia

End of thread.

[imamage]

I would suggest FX-6300 is better deal compare with A10-6800K as he got discrete graphic
there is no point getting APU

[Evantaur]

If your going with a dual gpu eyefinity setup than go intel/nvidia
.

you can't have eyefinity with nvidia :lol2:

:sofa:

[tbone8ty]

you can't have eyefinity with nvidia :lol2:

:sofa:

Lol :-)

What's a 3 monitor setup for nvidia called again?

[MadDias]

i?ve got the same asus m3a79-t, but that quirky thing didn?t want to take my 940be over 3,2ghz ;)
if u were on an am3 or am3+ board, i?d say go with a phneomII x6 or a fx8350. gaming performance should be euqal on both systems.
but as u have to buy everything new, i suggest u to really take a look in the blue camp.
90% of games don?t really use more than 4 threads, that?s why an intel i5 beats the fx8350 in almsot every game, when ur not gpu limited.
price/performance wise intel has the lead in gaming at the moment.
if ur nostalgic about amd and want something really special, wait for the 5ghz bulldozer, the only reason for me to still look after amd stuff. in a week we will know more about this monster chip.
so if ur main purpose is gaming and not rendering x264 videos, or unpacking archives with winrar all day, the fx8350 won?t be what ur looking for.

i would have upgraded to bulldozer myself, but seeing the performance was the same or even lower than my 4,1ghz phenomII x6, made me think about it.

[AbortRetryFail?]

Snag a PhII 965BE off Amazon UK for around ?70 while you are making up your mind ...

[MacClipper]

Finally officially announced, gimme 5GHz or gimme nothing!
AMD Unleashes First-Ever 5 GHz Processor (http://www.amd.com/us/press-releases/Pages/amd-unleashes-2013jun11.aspx)

[FlanK3r]

yes, seems now only OEM, but maybe in next months...who know :)

[Darxide]

Snag a PhII 965BE off Amazon UK for around ?70 while you are making up your mind ...

That's AM3 isn't it? I think the 940 I have is the best my mobo can take.
I need a full rebuild, so need to make a decision soon.
I've been AMD for years, but I'm honestly looking hard at going Intel.

[AlleyViper]

It would still run on you MB (cpu list (http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M3A79T_Deluxe/#support_CPU)). These AM3 cpus have two memory controllers (one for DDR2).

[m_jones_]

That's AM3 isn't it? I think the 940 I have is the best my mobo can take.
I need a full rebuild, so need to make a decision soon.
I've been AMD for years, but I'm honestly looking hard at going Intel.
Just go with Haswell and be happy. :)

[AbortRetryFail?]

That's AM3 isn't it? I think the 940 I have is the best my mobo can take.
I need a full rebuild, so need to make a decision soon.
I've been AMD for years, but I'm honestly looking hard at going Intel.

What the Viper said ...


It would still run on you MB (cpu list (http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M3A79T_Deluxe/#support_CPU)). These AM3 cpus have two memory controllers (one for DDR2).

Your 790FX has 42 lanes of PCIe Gen2 goodness. You have an SSD stripe RAID presumably for your OS/Apps.

You're doing fine.

A PhII 965BE will bump your clocks 10-15% at lower volts and move to a new AM3+ if desired. If you have a need for USB3, buy a controller card.

By the time Fall rolls around, the FX Piledrivers will be less expensive and we'll have a better idea what Steamroller and Broadwell will bring. Maybe we'll see the 95w FX-8300 at retail, or at the other end of the power spectrum -- the 5GHz Piledrivers.

And, by the final quarter of the year, the Radeon 8000-series is the answer to your question ...

"Would that be a major improvement from my current?"

:D "Yup."

[Chickenfeed]

Given you are looking at a full rebuild of a gaming system, with your budget I don't see any benefit of going AMD. If you wanted a low power system with strong integrated performance then obviously an APU would be great. Otherwise for the cost of the FX8xxx, you can get an i5. Given motherboards are similar in cost and features across both platforms and DDR3 is DDR3 either way... I'm sure you can see where this is going.

If you do any rendering, encoding/trans-coding and archival work, then the AMD system would be better all around but from a pure gaming standpoint... You get the picture.

Other than that assuming your running 1920x1200 or less, I'd grab an aftermarket 7950 and the game bundle and go to town with that. If you are at all interested in multi gpu though I wouldn't touch crossfire until their frame pacing drivers are released and proven.

[AbortRetryFail?]

Unlocked Radeon HD6950 to an HD7950?

:eek:

Skip the 7000-series ....
http://www.maximumpc.com/files/u69/amd_slide.jpg

AMD Radeon 8000 specs and GCN 2.0 release Q3 2013 (http://www.guru3d.com/news_story/amd_radeon_8000_specs_and_gcn_2_release_q3_2013.ht ml)
(latest rumors!)

[AzureSky]

My suggestion, having build over a dozen fx line systems.

8320 or 8350
asrock 990fx extreme4(great board for the price, make sure to install the fet fan, it really helps when clocking)
if you need a cooler 3 options.

1. cheap coolermaster hyper 212

2. Xigmatek Aegir with a pair of good fans(i like panaflo 4 pin pwm fans off ebay)

3. NZXT Kraken X60

one big advantage of the amd build, you should be able to do a bios update and plunk a steamroller in once they hit the market, to me this is a great advantage and worth considering.

as others have said, a 6300 would also be a good option, or if you could find one an 8300(hard to find from my exp).

I would avoid haswell and ivybridge on principle, I dont like how intels moved to using cheap TIM under the IHS rather then fluxless solder, i feel thats a like them spitting in the face of enthusists(taking about anybody buying a k series)

I did help a friend delid his ivy, got a huge drop in temps but, voided his warranty as well....kinda a crap tradeoff....

[Evantaur]

I did help a friend delid his ivy, got a huge drop in temps but, voided his warranty as well....kinda a crap tradeoff....

Overclocking your CPU already voids warranty :P

[AzureSky]

ah but they sell a warranty that covers overclocking your cpu, or didnt you know that?
afik it dosnt cover prying the cap off your chip to get decent temps.
http://click.intel.com/tuningplan/

[Darxide]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I think I've decided. Gonna stay red team on the desktop.
Going for the Asus Crosshair V 990FX, and FX8350 with 8Gb of Patriot 2400 DDR3.
As for GPU, I'm taking your advice there too. I'll hang on to my 6950 until 8xxx comes along.

And thanks for the heads up on the AM2/AM3 backwards thing, I didn't know AM3 chips could run on AM2. That's good to know as I'm giving my old board/CPU/RAM to a friend, he's still in college so this will be his first gaming desktop. Good to know he can drop an 1100T in there if he wants. He'll get my 6950 too eventually, for now I'll throw him my old 5770. Should give him the basis for a decent first gaming rig.

[Darxide]

OK so I'm about to pull the trigger on that Asus Crosshair V, and I'm having trouble doing it lol. I like the idea that I could drop a steamroller in there when it finally arrives, but now I'm reading that it might not arrive at all, and even if it does, it might not be AM3+.
I mean I'm pretty sure that the FX-8350 will be more than good enough for my needs, but I do like the idea of having an upgrade path available without replacing the mobo again.
Anyone have any thoughts on that? What are the chances of steamroller appearing in AM3+ form?

[AbortRetryFail?]

My understanding:

The Steamroller misinformation was started by 'Chuckles' over at S|A --- AMD denied the rumors before the ink was dry on his propaganda.


Steamroller on the enterprise side is anticipated for delivery before the end of 2013. A variant of the Steamroller 'cores' has already arrived with the Kabini/Temash APUs.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww165/Back_at_the_Ranch/AMD%20Overlords/Spec/AMD_BulldozerVsSteamroller.jpg

The instruction cache has been redesigned in Steamroller along with a 'pre-fetch' micro-op queue.

AMD has stated that their 'roadmap is on schedule' and that the Vishera Piledrivers will not be the last to use AM3+. You make the call.

Finally, it looks as if AMD is skipping the 8000-series naming scheme with new cards scheduled to arrive sometime in October.

You will be tested later :p:

[MadDias]

AMD has stated that their 'roadmap is on schedule' and that the Vishera Piledrivers will not be the last to use AM3+

there are server roadmaps showing, that single cpu steamroller systems will have 2modules and an igpu. multi cpu systems will not get a steamroller upgrade at all in 2014.
with that in mind, i highly doubt that a steamroller apu will fit in an am3+ board.

[demonkevy666]

My understanding:

The Steamroller misinformation was started by 'Chuckles' over at S|A --- AMD denied the rumors before the ink was dry on his propaganda.


Steamroller on the enterprise side is anticipated for delivery before the end of 2013. A variant of the Steamroller 'cores' has already arrived with the Kabini/Temash APUs.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww165/Back_at_the_Ranch/AMD%20Overlords/Spec/AMD_BulldozerVsSteamroller.jpg

The instruction cache has been redesigned in Steamroller along with a 'pre-fetch' micro-op queue.

AMD has stated that their 'roadmap is on schedule' and that the Vishera Piledrivers will not be the last to use AM3+. You make the call.

Finally, it looks as if AMD is skipping the 8000-series naming scheme with new cards scheduled to arrive sometime in October.

You will be tested later :p:

Kabini and Tamesh aren't steamroller cores.

There are Jaguar.

[AbortRetryFail?]

I'm not the resident chip design guru and won't pretend to be :)

My understanding is that the 28nm Jaguar cores are 'dumbed-down' Steamroller cores, simply devoid of expanded logic, instructions and physical architecture seen in the desktop or enterprise platforms. It's built and operates in this way to advance not only AMD efforts toward a basic energy-efficient SoC, but to provide a foundation for a 'heterogeneous fusion' of technology. Here's an early example of the 28nm core function and design ...

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww165/Back_at_the_Ranch/AMD%20Overlords/Detail/Jaguar-Steamroller_Cores_01.jpg

The 'module' design is actually quite simple (easy for me to say!) in its concept. Bolt-on (or fuse) cache-coherent modules across an 'uncore' (or, what AMD calls the UNB).

The Jaguar consoles are likely an early example of a PCM (Parallel Compute Module) or 'SIMD Engine Array' of GCN cores fused to the UNB. In the last few months a slide from AMD has leaked showing 'SPMs' (Serial Processing Modules) and PCMs fused to the UNB along with --- which I highly suspect are a preview for 20nm Excavator (maybe late 2014 or 2015?) with DDR4, not Steamroller, simply because of the bandwidth requirements of such a monster across the UNB.

Rumors on the Internets being what they are, folks have taken this to mean AMD is abandoning 28nm Steamroller on AM3+ ... which clearly ignores AMD statements that their roadmap has not changed, and Vishera Piledriver will not be the last CPU on AM3+.

[AlleyViper]

On a side note, those cheap 965BEs are quite fun, even if obsolete performance-wise. I've grabbed a 1308PGS #0027 from Amazon.uk (I thought AMD only made Denebs up to 12') that does 3.7 1.325V and 4.0 1.40V 12h prime stable on my 4YO DFI. Beats the crap out of the 955 C2 it replaced.

[Geonerd]

On a side note, those cheap 965BEs are quite fun, even if obsolete performance-wise. I've grabbed a 1308PGS #0027 from Amazon.uk (I thought AMD only made Denebs up to 12') that does 3.7 1.325V and 4.0 1.40V 12h prime stable on my 4YO DFI. Beats the crap out of the 955 C2 it replaced.

Or grab a Thuban for some cheap thrills while you wait... :cool:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/guidedSearch.asp?CatId=22&sel=Detail%3B112_479_61426_61426

OC to 6x 3.8 ~ 4.0 GHz with only a slight voltage tweak is pretty much a given. Not equal to an OC 8350, but not too shabby either.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?250607-AMD-quot-Thuban-quot-Core-%28Phenom-II-X6%29-XS-Overclocking-Charts

[Darxide]

Well thanks for all the replies guys, It's done now.......need to update my sig :)
I went with the Vishera, and so far I couldn't be happier.
Spent the weekend putting it all together and I'm really happy with it.

This is what I got:
Aerocool XPredator full tower 'devil red'
Xilence XQ 850W PSU
Asus Crosshair V Formula Z
AMD FX8350
Patriot Venom Red PC3-19200C10 8Gb (2x4Gb)
Samsung 840pro 256Gb
WD Caviar Black 2Tb (steam+disc game installs)
WD Caviar Green 2Tb (Storage)

For graphics, I decided to wait and see the HD9000 as I believe that's coming soon,
So I just bought a cheapo VTX Radeon 7750 to tide me over until then

Cooling:
XSPC X20 750 dual bay res/pump
XSPC Raystorm CPU block
Hardware Labs black ice GT extreme 120 rad + Corsair SP120 fan
Mayhems X1 red coolant

As you can see I went with the whole red theme there lol.