Upgrade suggestions - Phenom II Platform

Auryx · Nov 14, 2012

Hello there,

I am currently looking to upgrade my PC, I have listed my configuration in my profile if you can't read it please let me know, I am new to this awesome forum but not a stranger to TPU.

So my budget is around 350 euro and I was looking at the following:

- Upgrade processor & mobo since it is getting a little old and recently I can't get it to 3.6Ghz anymore without instability or without modifying the voltage ( even though I had it this way for some time ). Ivy 3570k or wait for Haswell maybe?

- Upgrade graphics card but on my current monitor I believe the 6950 is still a high-end card.

- Bigger monitor? But then again i would start getting limited by the processor and graphics card because when I play a game I like to play it on max settings on max possible resolution.

I am a Computer Science student and I do play demanding games from time to time but mainly light gaming for example League of Legends.

Thank you all for your time and looking forward to your suggestions.

Melvis · Nov 14, 2012

Id just go with the 3570K with some nice mobo and possibly upgrade ya monitor (1920*1080), the rest is fine

Nice avatar by the way!

Auryx · Nov 14, 2012

Thank you for your suggestion and compliment!

If not too much can you guys also recommend me a good mobo that can help me push the 3570K into the 4-4.5+Ghz range if I decide to go with the CPU upgrade ?

Fourstaff · Nov 14, 2012

If you only do light gaming I don't see why there is a need to upgrade. Of course, its always upgrade time in TPU so 3570K+motherboard of your choice is a good starting point. No need to wait for Haswell.

Aquinus · Nov 14, 2012

How has your computer been performing for you? Knowing what you're happy with and what you're not happy with could help us point you in the direction for new hardware.

BarbaricSoul · Nov 14, 2012

agreed, 3570 and a decent board

Auryx · Nov 14, 2012

Aquinus said:
How has your computer been performing for you? Knowing what you're happy with and what you're not happy with could help us point you in the direction for new hardware.

Thank you all for your suggestions!

Well I'm getting a little worried that my current CPU fails to clock past 3.2 Ghz without causing instability, I am afraid that it will die soon that's why I am leaning more towards a CPU upgrade. I think an 3570k will help out with the little video processing I do and also with Visual Studio and other similar software and lastly better FPS in CPU-intensive games like Starcraft 2.

Should I go with the 3570K or wait for Haswell? Also can you guys recommend me a good motherboard that can help achieve 4.5Ghz overclock if I decide to go with 3570k?

Fourstaff · Nov 14, 2012

Auryx said:
Thank you all for your suggestions!

Well I'm getting a little worried that my current CPU fails to clock past 3.2 Ghz without causing instability, I am afraid that it will die soon that's why I am leaning more towards a CPU upgrade. I think an 3570k will help out with the little video processing I do and also with Visual Studio and other similar software and lastly better FPS in CPU-intensive games like Starcraft 2.

Should I go with the 3570K or wait for Haswell? Also can you guys recommend me a good motherboard that can help achieve 4.5Ghz overclock if I decide to go with 3570k?

Wait for it to die and then get something new.

No, no need to wait for Haswell. If you need to upgrade now, do it. If not, then ask the question again when you need to. Any old Z77 board will get you to 4.5Ghz, just up the multiplier to 45x. Overclocking is too easy with SB/IVB.

Auryx · Nov 14, 2012

Well it's not like it's urgent but I have the so called upgrade "itch" that won't go away unless I buy some new hardware :laugh:

Jack1n · Nov 14, 2012

I just upgraded from a phenom 2 940 to a 3570k and my mind is blown,i am an intel fan for life.

Aquinus · Nov 14, 2012

Jack1n said:
I just upgraded from a phenom 2 940 to a 3570k and my mind is blown,i am an intel fan for life.

I'm not going to disagree with you since I moved from a Phenom II 940 to an i7 3820 and it was quite the upgrade, but if the his PII is doing everything he needs it to, I would wait for something newer to come out. In the interim you can save money to get something nicer down the road. I'm definitely not disappointed going with SB-E instead of SB or IVB. I upgraded because I needed more memory than 8Gb and I was bottlenecking on memory more than anything else with my Phenom II. I also tend to use a lot of ram.

Fourstaff · Nov 14, 2012

Jack1n said:
I just upgraded from a phenom 2 940 to a 3570k and my mind is blown,i am an intel fan for life.

Don't be so shallow, you have at least half a century of life in you. Half a century ago Intel is not even around.

Crap Daddy · Nov 14, 2012

Keep the CPU. Get a HD7950 with some nice bundled games. Save the rest of the money. The difference you'll see by upgrading your GPU vs. the CPU will be greater than the other way around as far as gaming is involved. You can also think of a new monitor.

Just a hint:

Also take into account the excellent overclockability of these cards.

Auryx · Nov 14, 2012

My next question is as follows, should I go for the FX 8320 , clock it to 4-4.4 Ghz and save 100 euros for a potential GPU upgrade? Or go with the 3570 and keep my current GPU ( 6950 )

Melvis · Nov 14, 2012

Auryx said:
My next question is as follows, should I go for the FX 8320 , clock it to 4-4.4 Ghz and save 100 euros for a potential GPU upgrade? Or go with the 3570 and keep my current GPU ( 6950 )

If your going to do that then either would be fine in my eyes.

The choice is yours!!

Jack1n · Nov 14, 2012

At the ress your using a 6950 will be able to max mostly anything so no point in upgrading that with your current monitor.

Crap Daddy · Nov 15, 2012

Auryx said:
My next question is as follows, should I go for the FX 8320 , clock it to 4-4.4 Ghz and save 100 euros for a potential GPU upgrade? Or go with the 3570 and keep my current GPU ( 6950 )

You should check this thread:

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2777072#post2777072

Pretty consistent 8320 improvement over PII.

Auryx · Nov 18, 2012

Thank you all for your suggestions ! I have decided on the 3570K but will not exclude the other options if I get a super offer on black friday. Will post back after i have bought something

Processor	Intel i7 6700k @ 4.0GHz
Motherboard	ASRock Z170M Extreme4
Cooling	Thermalright HR-02 Macho
Memory	Kingston HyperX 16GB DDR4 @ 2400 Mhz
Video Card(s)	MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G OCed
Storage	SSD Kingston 240GB + WD 500 HD Caviar Blue
Display(s)	BenQ 24" 1920x1080 @ 144Hz + BenQ 24" 1920x1080
Case	HAF 912
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Seasonic 620w
Software	Windows 10 x64

System Name	Night Rider \| Mini LAN PC \| Workhorse
Processor	AMD R7 5800X3D \| Ryzen 1600X \| i7 970
Motherboard	MSi AM4 Pro Carbon \| GA-AB350H-D3 \| Gigabyte EX58-UD5
Cooling	Noctua U9S Twin Fan\| Stock Cooler, Copper Core)\| Big shairkan B
Memory	2x16GB DDR4 G.Skill 3600MHz\| 4x8GB Corsair 3000 \| 6x2GB DDR3 1300 Corsair
Video Card(s)	MSI AMD 6750XT \| Solo RTX 4060\| MSI RX 580 8GB
Storage	1TB WD Black NVME / 250GB SSD /2TB WD Black \| 250GB SSD WD/2TB SSD, 2x1TB, 1x750 \| WD 500 SSD
Display(s)	Gigabyte 27" 1440P 180Hz / 22" DELL\| MSI 27" 1080P 100Hz / 17" DELL \| 22" DELL / 19"DELL
Case	LIAN LI PC-18 \| Mini ATX Case (custom) \| Fractal
Audio Device(s)	Onboard \| Onbaord \| Onboard
Power Supply	Silverstone 850 \| Silverstone Mini 450W \| Corsair CX-750
Mouse	Coolermaster Pro \| Rapoo V900 \| Gigabyte 6850X
Keyboard	Corsair K90\| Ducky One \| Some POS Logitech
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64 \| Windows 10 Pro 64 \| Windows 7 Pro 64

Processor	Intel i7 6700k @ 4.0GHz
Motherboard	ASRock Z170M Extreme4
Cooling	Thermalright HR-02 Macho
Memory	Kingston HyperX 16GB DDR4 @ 2400 Mhz
Video Card(s)	MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G OCed
Storage	SSD Kingston 240GB + WD 500 HD Caviar Blue
Display(s)	BenQ 24" 1920x1080 @ 144Hz + BenQ 24" 1920x1080
Case	HAF 912
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Seasonic 620w
Software	Windows 10 x64

System Name	Orange! // ItchyHands
Processor	3570K // 10400F
Motherboard	ASRock z77 Extreme4 // TUF Gaming B460M-Plus
Cooling	Stock // Stock
Memory	2x4Gb 1600Mhz CL9 Corsair XMS3 // 2x8Gb 3200 Mhz XPG D41
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Nitro+ RX 570 // Asus TUF RTX 2070
Storage	Samsung 840 250Gb // SX8200 480GB
Display(s)	LG 22EA53VQ // Philips 275M QHD
Case	NZXT Phantom 410 Black/Orange // Tecware Forge M
Power Supply	Corsair CXM500w // CM MWE 600w

System Name	Apollo
Processor	Intel Core i9 9880H
Motherboard	Some proprietary Apple thing.
Memory	64GB DDR4-2667
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, 8GB HBM2
Storage	1TB Apple NVMe, 2TB external SSD, 4TB external HDD for backup.
Display(s)	32" Dell UHD, 27" LG UHD, 28" LG 5k
Case	MacBook Pro (16", 2019)
Audio Device(s)	AirPods Pro, Sennheiser HD 380s w/ FIIO Alpen 2, or Logitech 2.1 Speakers
Power Supply	Display or Thunderbolt 4 Hub
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Logitech G915, GL Clicky
Software	MacOS 15.3.1

Upgrade suggestions - Phenom II Platform

Auryx

Melvis

Auryx

Fourstaff

Moderator

Aquinus

Resident Wat-man

BarbaricSoul

Auryx

Fourstaff

Moderator

Auryx

Jack1n

Aquinus

Resident Wat-man

Fourstaff

Moderator

Crap Daddy

Auryx

Melvis

Jack1n

Crap Daddy

Auryx

System Name	Barb's Domain
Processor	i9 10850k 5.1GHz all cores
Motherboard	MSI MPG Z490 GAMING EDGE WIFI
Cooling	Deep Cool Assassin III
Memory	2*16gig Corsair LPX DDR4 3200
Video Card(s)	RTX 4080 FE
Storage	500gb Samsung 980 Pro M2 SSD, 500GB WD Blue SATA SSD, 2TB Seagate Hybrid SSHD
Display(s)	Dell - S3222DGM 32" 2k Curved/ASUS VP28UQG 28" 4K (ran at 2k), Sanyo 75" 4k TV
Case	SilverStone Fortress FT04
Audio Device(s)	Bose Companion II speakers, Corsair - HS70 PRO headphones
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x (2021)
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Logitech Orion Spectrum G910
VR HMD	Oculus Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 Pro 64 bit
Benchmark Scores	https://www.3dmark.com/spy/34962882

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
Motherboard	B550 Aorus PRO V2
Cooling	Corsair H115i RGB Platinum
Memory	Gskill Trident Z Neo 3600 2x16GB
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 3070 Trio X
Storage	WD Blue SN550 1TB NVME/Teranova 1TB Sata/WD Blue SN580 2TB NVME
Display(s)	Dell AW3423DWF
Case	Corsair 4000D Airflow
Audio Device(s)	Schiit Audio Modi+\Magni+
Power Supply	Corsair HX850i
Mouse	Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard	SteelSeries Apex Pro
Software	Windows 10 Pro

System Name	Old Fart / Young Dude
Processor	2500K / 6600K
Motherboard	ASRock P67Extreme4 / Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3
Cooling	CM Hyper TX3 / CM Hyper 212 EVO
Memory	16 GB Kingston HyperX / 16 GB G.Skill Ripjaws X
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte GTX 1050 Ti / INNO3D RTX 2060
Storage	SSD, some WD and lots of Samsungs
Display(s)	BenQ GW2470 / LG UHD 43" TV
Case	Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced / Thermaltake Core v31
Audio Device(s)	Asus Xonar D1/Denon PMA500AE/Wharfedale D 10.1/ FiiO D03K/ JBL LSR 305
Power Supply	Corsair TX650 / Corsair TX650M
Mouse	Steelseries Rival 100 / Rival 110
Keyboard	Sidewinder/ Steelseries Apex 150
Software	Windows 10 / Windows 10 Pro