Option on my RIG setup at the moment and upgrades

TallGlass

Hi All,

Just a quick one, I currently have a rig at the moment with an FM2+ socket fitted with a AMD A6-6400K max speed 3.90Ghz, if memory serves me correct it's over two cores, fitted out with 8GB of ram. Currently it's feeding one screen and the TV, it's fine most of the time, just recently I am doing work from home and it's maxing out the CPU at 100%. (regardless I think it's time for an upgrade).

So I am looking to upgrade the CPU, just wondering whats the most powerful CPU I can get for this? I found this one here. I also have another 8GB of memory to add in to the current 8GB.

I am just wondering, what would be the best processor to get that I can for the FM2+ socket, or would it be a better idea to go with a new MB and processor, all suggestions welcome!

On a side note, I am assuming that statistically it was fine until I popped Windows 10 on it, but to be honest I like Windows 10 and if it wants to eat more pie then I will get it more pie. But, if I get a new CPU and the memory upgrade I may just do a fresh install to wipe the SDD down and go all out with getting it back on form again.

TerrorFirmer

FM2 is a pretty limited socket in that even the fastest processor is by modern standards pretty slow even when compared to something like an Intel i3. What sort of work are you doing, or what else is the PC used for?

TallGlass

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

FM2 is a pretty limited socket in that even the fastest processor is by modern standards pretty slow even when compared to something like an Intel i3. What sort of work are you doing, or what else is the PC used for?

Was thinking the same. Just web, streaming stuff to the TV and alot of VPN stuff via Citrix, I don't mind changing the MB and the putting in a more powerful CPU. What would be recommend? Have AMD got powerful CPUs or will I go down the intel route, and which processor there. Don't know much about intel other than i7 is the best, even that could be incorrect.

Venom

TallGlass wrote: »

Was thinking the same. Just web, streaming stuff to the TV and alot of VPN stuff via Citrix, I don't mind changing the MB and the putting in a more powerful CPU. What would be recommend? Have AMD got powerful CPUs or will I go down the intel route, and which processor there. Don't know much about intel other than i7 is the best, even that could be incorrect.

AMD have a new chipset due next year called Zen, which is ment to rival Intel's midrange line up for a lower price. I guess depending on how long your willing to wait that could be an option but you will need to replace your current motherboard and chip and probley memory.

K.O.Kiki

TallGlass wrote: »

Was thinking the same. Just web, streaming stuff to the TV and alot of VPN stuff via Citrix, I don't mind changing the MB and the putting in a more powerful CPU. What would be recommend? Have AMD got powerful CPUs or will I go down the intel route, and which processor there. Don't know much about intel other than i7 is the best, even that could be incorrect.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp%5B%5D=2617&cmp%5B%5D=2578&cmp%5B%5D=1960

Even an i3-6100 would more than double the CPU performance over your current machine.

However, the biggest speed increase you'll find is from an SSD.

This would be a starting point for upgrades:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor (€117.96 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€57.84 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (€38.93 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€75.72 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €290.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-30 12:45 CEST+0200

Cuddlesworth

TallGlass wrote: »

Was thinking the same. Just web, streaming stuff to the TV and alot of VPN stuff via Citrix,

A 7860k would be more then capable of handling that workload and would be a cheap and simple upgrade. I don't get forums obsession with I3's for low ends systems.

K.O.Kiki

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

A 7860k would be more then capable of handling that workload and would be a cheap and simple upgrade. I don't get forums obsession with I3's for low ends systems.

We're all paid Intel shills tbh

You're kind of right though.

@OP, can you please verify your exact motherboard model?

Your current CPU AMD A6-6400K is FM2, not FM2+.

The 7860k / X4 845 would not fit into an FM2 motherboard.

TallGlass

I'm in work ATM but nearly sure it's Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H, which looks to be FM2+. Ideally, I would like to just upgraded processor as I just got 8GB of ram so now up to 16GB ddr3 and have a 120GB SSD.

K.O.Kiki

TallGlass wrote: »

I'm in work ATM but nearly sure it's Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H, which looks to be FM2+. Ideally, I would like to just upgraded processor as I just got 8GB of ram so now up to 16GB ddr3 and have a 120GB SSD.

Ah grand.

In that case, ignore my earlier suggestion for an Intel system.

Buy an AMD Athlon X4 845 if you have a dedicated graphics card, or a 7860K.

TallGlass

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Ah grand.

In that case, ignore my earlier suggestion for an Intel system.

Buy an AMD Athlon X4 845 if you have a dedicated graphics card, or a 7860K.

Say I would be going with the 7860k, two questions is there much different between what I have now and that. Also would Amazon be the cheapest ?

TallGlass

Would I be better going with a dedicated card and the CPU that hasn't got the inbuilt GPU? Or maybe go for the CPU/GPU and a dedicated card to do the TV? Would it be worth putting another stick in there.

K.O.Kiki

TallGlass wrote: »

Would I be better going with a dedicated card and the CPU that hasn't got the inbuilt GPU? Or maybe go for the CPU/GPU and a dedicated card to do the TV? Would it be worth putting another stick in there.

The Athlon X4 845 & the A10-7850K are near-identical in CPU performance.
They would a bit over 2x faster than your current A6-6400k.

I would advise pairing the X4 845 with a dedicated GPU if you want to do any gaming at decent quality/frame rates - AMD RX 460 2Gb at entry level; Nvidia GTX 960 2Gb at medium.

Anything beyond that would be better off with a new system IMHO.

TallGlass

Hows this look;

AMD Athlon X4 845 Quad Core Processor(3.8GHz,2MB Cache, FM2+ Socket)- Silver
£55.18

Gigabyte NVIDIA GTX 750Ti 5400 MHz 4 GB 128 Bit Graphics Card
£124.67

Comes in at 215,90€ on Amazon

K.O.Kiki

TallGlass wrote: »

Hows this look;

AMD Athlon X4 845 Quad Core Processor(3.8GHz,2MB Cache, FM2+ Socket)- Silver
£55.18

Gigabyte NVIDIA GTX 750Ti 5400 MHz 4 GB 128 Bit Graphics Card
£124.67

Comes in at 215,90€ on Amazon

The AMD RX 460 is both cheaper & faster in games.

Sapphire dual-fan

XFX single-fan

TallGlass

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

The AMD RX 460 is both cheaper & faster in games.

Sapphire dual-fan

XFX single-fan

Ok so with the dual fan it is EUR 194,66 . So 20 quid less than the 4GB model, on this occasion is 2GB better than 4GB, also I would have liked the HDMI ports x2 rather than the 1.

K.O.Kiki

TallGlass wrote: »

Ok so with the dual fan it is EUR 194,66 . So 20 quid less than the 4GB model, on this occasion is 2GB better than 4GB, also I would have liked the HDMI ports x2 rather than the 1.

2Gb VRAM is plenty, these cards wouldn't be able to run games at the kind of settings that need more VRAM - a 750Ti with 4Gb is marketing BS.

You can get a HDMI to DisplayPort cable for cheap.

TerrorFirmer

If you're looking to game, be aware that the 845 is a very weak processor.

It's true to say that an 845 is perfect, even overkill for casual use, media, browsing, very light gaming.

But if you're playing 2015/2016 AAA titles, it's very sub-standard. I wouldn't bother upgrading from a 6400K to an X4 840, I'd just sell that FM2 board and 6400K.

It doesn't have to be a Skylake i3 with DDR4. A second hand haswell i3, H81m board and re-use your old ram won't cost more than about €120 and will be twice as fast as the 845 in most games.

The RX460 is better than the GTX750Ti and basic models start at €115 or so. 4GB isn't needed for these class of cards.

If the games you're playing are things like Overwatch, CS GO, Warcraft and the like - the 845 is fine. If you're looking to play GTA V, Black Ops 3, Fallout 4, Battlefield, etc, the 845 is just not a good choice.

Way better to spend a small bit extra on an i3 for double the performance and future proofing (the FM2 socket dies at the 845, with an i3 you can upgrade to i5 and i7 and have years of upgrade potential.)

Eoinmc97

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

If you're looking to game, be aware that the 845 is a very weak processor.

It's true to say that an 845 is perfect, even overkill for casual use, media, browsing, very light gaming.

But if you're playing 2015/2016 AAA titles, it's very sub-standard. I wouldn't bother upgrading from a 6400K to an X4 840, I'd just sell that FM2 board and 6400K.

It doesn't have to be a Skylake i3 with DDR4. A second hand haswell i3, H81m board and re-use your old ram won't cost more than about €120 and will be twice as fast as the 845 in most games.

The RX460 is better than the GTX750Ti and basic models start at €115 or so. 4GB isn't needed for these class of cards.

If the games you're playing are things like Overwatch, CS GO, Warcraft and the like - the 845 is fine. If you're looking to play GTA V, Black Ops 3, Fallout 4, Battlefield, etc, the 845 is just not a good choice.

Way better to spend a small bit extra on an i3 for double the performance and future proofing (the FM2 socket dies at the 845, with an i3 you can upgrade to i5 and i7 and have years of upgrade potential.)

You'd need to find someone though who'd want a 6400K FM2+ system second hand with Zen coming soon. Other than that, this is a sound plan. You might not get x2 performance per se, (realistically very few games will offer such scaling, but some will offer large boosts) but if you chuck in an SSD then daily use will see massive speed boosts, as TF said earlier.

One could also argue that a Pentium would suit your needs of light gaming and web use, which would be cheaper than the i3. Although the x845 does not require a new mobo.

Cuddlesworth

Eoinmc97 wrote: »

You'd need to find someone though who'd want a 6400K FM2+ system second hand with Zen coming soon. Other than that, this is a sound plan. You might not get x2 performance per se, (realistically very few games will offer such scaling, but some will offer large boosts) but if you chuck in an SSD then daily use will see massive speed boosts, as TF said earlier.

One could also argue that a Pentium would suit your needs of light gaming and web use, which would be cheaper than the i3. Although the x845 does not require a new mobo.

Zen is set to compete with Intels X99 based systems initially. Bristol Ridge will be competing in the low end of the market and looks likely to be very competitive with I3 in terms of single core performance(20% IPC improvement on Godvari) coupled with more cores.

TallGlass

Guys, back to this old chestnut again. Few things came up the time, so back around to this.

So I am looking for something a little different this time.

I am going to add a second screen onto the set up.

So it will be two screens and a TV connected, TV not connected all the time.

I may look at trying my hand at some gaming.

I am thinking of just going i7, I have always been an AMD man, but to be quite honest, I am literally just confused.

Now if I can get away with my own rig at the moment with just throwing in a new CPU and then going all out on a GPU, I don't mind that.

I would say my budget for this, I will put up around 500/600 at the higher end if worth it.

PSU is at 650W.

TallGlass

Right so I went all out on this computer as the way I look at it I don't want to upgrade again for around 4/5 years.

Intel Core i7 - 7700k
MSI B250 PC MATE
Kingstone X Hyper Fury DDR4 - 16GB - PI-19200 - DIMM
Gigabyte Nvidia GTX 1050Ti WF2 OC 4GB GDDR5 PCI-E

Total - €742.99

Inviere

TallGlass wrote: »

Right so I went all out on this computer as the way I look at it I don't want to upgrade again for around 4/5 years.

Intel Core i7 - 7700k
MSI B250 PC MATE
Kingstone X Hyper Fury DDR4 - 16GB - PI-19200 - DIMM
Gigabyte Nvidia GTX 1050Ti WF2 OC 4GB GDDR5 PCI-E

Total - €742.99

You've hit an impasse with the cpu/mobo combo though, the B250 isn't going to let you unleash the potential of the K series i7 you have. You'd have been better off buying a Z270 mobo that'd allow you to crank up the 7700K, or else have stuck to a 7700 non K, and put the savings into a better GPU (1060/480)

TallGlass

Inviere wrote: »

You've hit an impasse with the cpu/mobo combo though, the B250 isn't going to let you unleash the potential of the K series i7 you have. You'd have been better off buying a Z270 mobo that'd allow you to crank up the 7700K, or else have stuck to a 7700 non K, and put the savings into a better GPU (1060/480)

True on the MOBO it's basically just to tie me over for the moment. It was 32/34€ I think. GPU wise for the moment, I just want it to run a two screen set up. It's my first GPU card ever! So I don't know what to expect or look for just yet, it ticked the boxes for the moment. The main thing I wanted for now was a solid CPU that can do the basics with the room there if I wanted to try something else with it.

I was questioning like you about the k or non k route, I went with the +k again just for future use with a good mobo.

Inviere

TallGlass wrote: »

True on the MOBO it's basically just to tie me over for the moment. It was 32/34€ I think. GPU wise for the moment, I just want it to run a two screen set up. It's my first GPU card ever! So I don't know what to expect or look for just yet, it ticked the boxes for the moment. The main thing I wanted for now was a solid CPU that can do the basics with the room there if I wanted to try something else with it.

I was questioning like you about the k or non k route, I went with the +k again just for future use with a good mobo.

You certainly have a good CPU there, that's for sure. You can always drop in a Z270 mobo down the road, and overclock to gain some added performance. I'm not certain, but I don't think the 1050 is reviewing that well, but if it's all you need it for then it matters not

TallGlass

Inviere wrote: »

You certainly have a good CPU there, that's for sure. You can always drop in a Z270 mobo down the road, and overclock to gain some added performance. I'm not certain, but I don't think the 1050 is reviewing that well, but if it's all you need it for then it matters not

Yeah, at some stage I will update the MOBO, what exactly is holding back the one I bought at the moment? I know it was quite cheap, only thing I noticed was the max memory supported was 2400mhz, which I think the max is 3800mhz.

The reviews on the GPU are a bit hit and miss, some people are saying it's good, some saying its bad. I think as a starter card it's not so bad for myself just so I will get a feel for what to look for in another card down the line.

TerrorFirmer

The GTX1050Ti is a disappointing card, it's almost the same price as the RX470 (more expensive depending on which models are involved) and it's way slower. OCUK actually have RX480's for about €185 delivered at the moment including free copy of Doom, destroys the 1050Ti in games.

7700K is clocked faster than the 7700 so even on a non OC board, it has benefits.

TallGlass

Maybe I made a rookie mistake, but I ordered from Komplett and apparently my order hasn't even been shipped. It was marked as dispatched on Monday after I ordered, now they've contacted me two days later to say the MOBO is out of stock.

Really not off to a good start here. Am I better off just cancelling the order with them?

Inviere

TallGlass wrote: »

Maybe I made a rookie mistake, but I ordered from Komplett and apparently my order hasn't even been shipped. It was marked as dispatched on Monday after I ordered, now they've contacted me two days later to say the MOBO is out of stock.

Really not off to a good start here. Am I better off just cancelling the order with them?

Haven't used them (Komplett) in YEARS, but I'd imagine you'd buy the bits cheaper from the likes of Amazon, Overclockers, etc

TallGlass

Inviere wrote: »

Haven't used them (Komplett) in YEARS, but I'd imagine you'd buy the bits cheaper from the likes of Amazon, Overclockers, etc

First and last time I will use them. Price was little lower than Amazon. Looking back on it now, should have just used Amazon for the entire build. Will be next week at the latest before I have the products from them.

I really can't understand how it took them two days to email me and tell me an item was out of stock!

Half tempted to cancel the order with them and go with Amazon, but they have taken funds already.

BloodBath

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

2Gb VRAM is plenty, these cards wouldn't be able to run games at the kind of settings that need more VRAM - a 750Ti with 4Gb is marketing BS.

You can get a HDMI to DisplayPort cable for cheap.

Not entirely true. Texture settings and some others like static lights, shadows, reflections etc are almost entirely gpu memory dependent with virtually no performance difference between low and high as long as your have the GPU memory and bandwidth to support it.

K.O.Kiki

TallGlass wrote: »

First and last time I will use them. Price was little lower than Amazon. Looking back on it now, should have just used Amazon for the entire build. Will be next week at the latest before I have the products from them.

I really can't understand how it took them two days to email me and tell me an item was out of stock!

Half tempted to cancel the order with them and go with Amazon, but they have taken funds already.

I would cancel the order if possible & go with Elara.ie or Amazon, alright.

Venom

Inviere wrote: »

Haven't used them (Komplett) in YEARS, but I'd imagine you'd buy the bits cheaper from the likes of Amazon, Overclockers, etc

Komplett used to be awesome but I think they got took over years back and the service quality went down the drain.

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

I would cancel the order if possible & go with Elara.ie or Amazon, alright.

Are Elara not stupidly expensive? Anytime I checked them out for parts over the last decade or so, their prices were crazy compared to elsewhere on the net.

TallGlass

Just had a look it's 5 days for a refund. Which is around the time it would take if I just leave it as is.

I'm going to leave it as is for now, although I want to cancel it as stand to say it's not acceptable. Doing so would just be causing me a delay, so I will just never order from them again.

I wouldn't mind an email saying we having got it in stock within 24 hours. Instead they marked as despatched and then contact me two days later via email to ask what I want to do, not even a phone call to let me know my order would be delayed.

There's bad customer service and then there is this, I don't even know how to describe it. Keep away would be my advise.

God help me if I have to return something.

Lu Tze

Venom wrote: »

Komplett used to be awesome but I think they got took over years back and the service quality went down the drain.

They were bought by paradigit years back, unfortunately I was in the middle of an RMA at the time on a power supply, took about 4 months to get a refund! They were excellent, had a pickup point to save on the delivery charges as well.

I think they are fine now as well since the takeover went through but no connection to Ireland, I think it all ships from the Netherlands.