So I had a couple questions about an upgrade.
Current tower/specs.
Tower
8 GB Ram
Gtx 550 Ti 1GB DDR5
AMD A6-3620 2.20GHZ
I am wanting to upgrade just my processor atm but am under the understanding that in order to make a noticeable difference I will need to get a new motherboard to accompany the processor.
For this, I have two questions.
A: Are motherboards universal to towers, is it a one size fits all?
B: If so, which of these two should I get?
Link 1
Link 2
Link 1 is an i5, which is not the newest but is certainly an upgrade, but why is it more than a 4.0GHZ processor by almost $100?
Does this mean that its so much more superior? Thanks!
So I had a couple questions about an upgrade.
Current tower/specs.
[url=http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/648146/HP-Pavilion-p7-1400-p7-1430/?Channel=Google&mr:trackingCode=7367F087-F933-E211-8AE9-001517B1882A&mr:referralID=NA&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=34063587596&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=24366950234&cm_mmc=Mercent-_-Googlepla-_-Technology+Computers_Tablets-_-648146]Tower[/URL]
8 GB Ram
Gtx 550 Ti 1GB DDR5
AMD A6-3620 2.20GHZ
I am wanting to upgrade just my processor atm but am under the understanding that in order to make a noticeable difference I will need to get a new motherboard to accompany the processor.
For this, I have two questions.
A: Are motherboards universal to towers, is it a one size fits all?
B: If so, which of these two should I get?
[URL=http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8520567&CatId=14]Link 1[/URL]
[URL=http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1440374]Link 2[/URL]
Link 1 is an i5, which is not the newest but is certainly an upgrade, but why is it more than a 4.0GHZ processor by almost $100?
Does this mean that its so much more superior? Thanks!
A: You will mostly see mATX and ATX sized motherboards, if your current motherboard is ATX, any ATX form factor board will fit in your current case.
B: Can you handle the wattage increase? Don't quote me on this but as far as I know, the i5-4570 outperforms the fx-8350 on stock settings but you would probably get similar performance if you overclock the fx-8350. The i5-4570 has locked multipliers so you would have to go through a much bigger hassle to squeeze more juice out of it. Much less of a performance increase than if you were to overclock an unlocked one. (Yes you can overclock non-k but afaik it is largely dependent on how good your motherboard is. Even then you'd get only a couple % performance increase, barely noticeable.)
Also if your psu isn't up to par, the intel might be a better choice. IIRC it takes 85w to power compared to the 125w of the fx-8350.
A: You will mostly see mATX and ATX sized motherboards, if your current motherboard is ATX, any ATX form factor board will fit in your current case.
B: Can you handle the wattage increase? Don't quote me on this but as far as I know, the i5-4570 outperforms the fx-8350 on stock settings but you would probably get similar performance if you overclock the fx-8350. The i5-4570 has locked multipliers so you would have to go through a much bigger hassle to squeeze more juice out of it. Much less of a performance increase than if you were to overclock an unlocked one. (Yes you can overclock non-k but afaik it is largely dependent on how good your motherboard is. Even then you'd get only a couple % performance increase, barely noticeable.)
Also if your psu isn't up to par, the intel might be a better choice. IIRC it takes 85w to power compared to the 125w of the fx-8350.
It's not all about the clock speed. The 8350 doesn't have the architecture that the newest Intel CPU's have. The space between each transistor on the Intel chips is quite a bit smaller than the AMD chips, which means overall the CPU can do more in less time. Also, Intel's latest chips are hyper-threaded, meaning each core can handle two threads, whereas AMD's CPUs can only handle one. Then there are cache sizes, which allow the CPU to store memory on the chip itself for quick access.
Intel's chips are overall better. I would only get an AMD if you are on a strict and relatively low budget. If you want other sources, I recommend you look at CPU benchmarks to get a general idea of how CPUs compare to each other. It can be hard to look at just specs and say which is best, so benchmarks are the way to go.
Also, the 3570k benchmarks at about the same as the 4570k. If you can find a good deal for the 3570k, you might save some money that you can put somewhere else.
It's not all about the clock speed. The 8350 doesn't have the architecture that the newest Intel CPU's have. The space between each transistor on the Intel chips is quite a bit smaller than the AMD chips, which means overall the CPU can do more in less time. Also, Intel's latest chips are hyper-threaded, meaning each core can handle two threads, whereas AMD's CPUs can only handle one. Then there are cache sizes, which allow the CPU to store memory on the chip itself for quick access.
Intel's chips are overall better. I would only get an AMD if you are on a strict and relatively low budget. If you want other sources, I recommend you look at CPU benchmarks to get a general idea of how CPUs compare to each other. It can be hard to look at just specs and say which is best, so benchmarks are the way to go.
Also, the 3570k benchmarks at about the same as the 4570k. If you can find a good deal for the 3570k, you might save some money that you can put somewhere else.
Alright, but according to PassMark the AMD ranks at 52 and the i5 ranks at 113, so doesn't that mean the AMD is better?
Alright, but according to PassMark the AMD ranks at 52 and the i5 ranks at 113, so doesn't that mean the AMD is better?
Can you link that benchmark? I'm looking at this one right now:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/701?vs=697
3570k beats it in every game by almost 20 FPS, and just about every program as well. Right now the i5 is 20 dollars more than the 8350 on Newegg, so that's a judgement call. If you feel the improvement is worth the 20 dollars, then go for the i5. If not, then the FX 8350 is still a good CPU.
Can you link that benchmark? I'm looking at this one right now:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/701?vs=697
3570k beats it in every game by almost 20 FPS, and just about every program as well. Right now the i5 is 20 dollars more than the 8350 on Newegg, so that's a judgement call. If you feel the improvement is worth the 20 dollars, then go for the i5. If not, then the FX 8350 is still a good CPU.
you misread his links, hes looking at the i5 4570 and the fx-8350. AFAIK, none of the i5s listed in this thread have hyperthreading. The FX-8350 has 4 physical cores and achieves 8core through AMDs equivalent to hyperthreading, SMT.
If you're going to play games most of the time, stick with intel. The majority of the games out there don't take advantage of hyper-threading. The AMD processors are good budget processors if you're looking to do something that has hyperthreading support though.
Also IIRC, the passmark benchmarks are based on multithreaded tests. Hence the the 8core AMD'S score being so high.
you misread his links, hes looking at the i5 4570 and the fx-8350. AFAIK, none of the i5s listed in this thread have hyperthreading. The FX-8350 has 4 physical cores and achieves 8core through AMDs equivalent to hyperthreading, SMT.
If you're going to play games most of the time, stick with intel. The majority of the games out there don't take advantage of hyper-threading. The AMD processors are good budget processors if you're looking to do something that has hyperthreading support though.
Also IIRC, the passmark benchmarks are based on multithreaded tests. Hence the the 8core AMD'S score being so high.