The place of grandpa FX8350 in a 2018 Universe.

[ASOT]

Iphone 8/9/10/11/12 and so ))))))

 

[Fif23]

Hmmm I see the logic, I just have a hard time to believe a business recognizes demand and DOES NOT make adjustments to make more of that product.....
Anyway, what are we looking at here, a year or two for the factories to boost production and half the prices ?

 

[natr0n]

Keep using what you're using. Once you notice things are feeling slow then upgrade stuff.

 

[AlienIsGOD]

My kids PC has a 8350 paired with a r9 390x and it plays all thier games just fine. Performance is subjective to what you intend to use the cpu for imho

 

[Flyordie]

Phones happened

Oh so damn true. I have skipped upgrading my phone the past 3 years and plan to hopefully make it 4 and if possible just replace the battery and screen on my Note 5 and use it for another 2. lol.

@OP- The FX series isn't a dead horse yet. I'd wait for DDR4 prices to trickle down later this year (4Q 18) if its holding up for you still. My FX system is doing fine for me so far. Although it really does love dual channel RAM with tight timings. (Im running it at 8-9-8 with a command rate of 1T, 1866Mhz)

Even bumped my GPU to an RX Vega64 and the FX feeds it just fine.

 

[Fif23]

What a beautiful machine ! What case is that ?

 

[GLD]

Keep your spares for future reto build(s). You will get older and wish you had it.

 

[Flyordie]

What a beautiful machine ! What case is that ?

Thank you.
Corsair 570X. Its like $180 but SOMETIMES they go on sale for $149.99. They have a smaller model too the 460X for $120-150 depending on if you need/want RGB fans lol.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Wow, i just cheked newegg, what the hell happened to DDR prices ?! I used to buy 32 gigs of DDR3 for like 100 bucks. What happened ??

Phones happened

Factories switching production to phone memory is a big part of it. But also DDR4 is surpassing DDR3 as the standard today in PCs and notebooks. So just as DDR2 prices increased after DDR3 took over, the same is happening with DDR3 now that DDR4 is taking over.

New factories cost too much when eventually (hopefully later this year) production will catch up with demands and prices will [hopefully] start to come back down.

Considering the price for 1GB of RAM cost over $1,100 in 2000, we are still much better off today with that DDR4 I linked to above costing just $10.87 per GB.

 

[newtekie1]

I personally would not limit myself to old hardware just because I don't want to pay for DDR4 and want to keep the DDR3 I already had. It just doesn't make any sense. First, memory is the easiest thing to upgrade, so even if you just get 8GB to get started, do it. Just get on the modern platform and you can upgrade the memory later. Second, sell the old DDR3 RAM. It is going for a decent amount on the used market thanks to the high prices of new ram.

Hmmm I see the logic, I just have a hard time to believe a business recognizes demand and DOES NOT make adjustments to make more of that product.....
Anyway, what are we looking at here, a year or two for the factories to boost production and half the prices ?

Back when you could buy 32GB for $100, there was a surplus. They were producing too much and selling it at just enough to break even, and at a loss in some cases. Then the surplus dried up, and now prices have gone up.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Excuse the edits - but they go to my point.

I personally would not limit myself to old hardware just because I don't want to pay for new memory and want to keep the old memory

I bet if a poll is taken of all the regular contributors on this site, virtually every one has or had an old cigar box or anti-static bag full of obsolete memory sticks that were not compatible with their new computer/motherboard. Its just a fact of life in the world of high-tech stuff that components get retired before they die due to obsolescence or upgrades. It happens all the time when users decide they want something newer, bigger, smaller, faster, better with things like TVs, monitors, cell phones, and more. So why not RAM too? How many of us had record players, reel-to-reel tape decks, 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, etc. we no longer use because newer, better technologies came along?

Nobody likes to toss out perfectly good stuff, or take pennies on the dollar we paid top dollar for. But again, that's just a fact of life.

If you are keeping your current motherboard, then clearly, keep your DDR3. But if buying a new motherboard, don't bottleneck it or your new CPU with legacy RAM. I agree with newtekie - just go for it. You can then sell your old platform (board, RAM and CPU). Or take it to an electronics recycling center and perhaps get paid a few $$$ for the precious metals (that's what I did!).

 

[newtekie1]

Nobody likes to toss out perfectly good stuff, or take pennies on the dollar we paid top dollar for. But again, that's just a fact of life.

This is of particular importance today. Because if he bought the DDR3 long enough ago, when the prices were rock bottom around when the FX platform was popular, then chances are he can actually sell his current RAM for very close to what he paid for it, or more even.

I am definitely one of those guilty of having a cigar box, in my case an small drawer, full of old RAM. But it is all RAM pulled from dead systems that isn't anything special, and just a few sticks of different sizes of DDR3. But when I upgraded my main rig, I didn't hesitate to sell off the 32GB of DDR3 that was in it to help pay for the 32GB of DDR4 for the new system. And I'll do the same when I finally get around to upgrading my FX system.

 

[Recon-UK]

I for one will never jump anything when prices are sky high, that's just piss poor money management.

On the downside, FX is poop, it's slow and power hungry.

Upside, it will be okish for now, stamina and longevity of something is down to the user not always the system.

 

[Casecutter]

I would agree holding to DDR3 is a bad move. First how is that configured single/dual because that an odd pairing. Next what speed is it at? And then how much money did you wrap up in that back in the day. Last can you use say more than 8Gb for the tasks and loads the machine is intended to do going forward.

Sure memory is expensive right today, but you hardly need 16Gb today to start, heck I would look at a quality set of 2X4Gb sticks of DDR4 3200, and IDK if you absolutely got to have Samsung B Dies nowadays. I think if getting in now wait for a 470 mobo as memory support is improved from the first Ryzen mobo's. I got Corsair Dominator DDR4 3200 2X4Gb sticks before Christmas for like $112 and don't regret getting in then, and even now it like 25% more would say that what it is.

Forget the "value" in the DDR3 there isn't any moving forward. If you absolutely are feeling the current machine is not up to the tasks you do, then you need to decide. Think that DDR4 pricing might relinquish in 4-6mo's (I don't) and wait, just start "anew" with a memory spec that is now more than 10 years dated, or bit the bullet and get in now.

 

[Johan45]

If everything is working fine I'm with others who suggested to just hold on to what you have for now. FX may not be the fastest car in the garage but it'll still get lots of work done.
Tha 970 Aura was just launched a couple years ago and does have a PCIe 2 x4 M.2 connection and USB 3.1 so it's not completely outdated
There's still a good couple of years left in that system IMO

 

[Bill_Bright]

This is of particular importance today. Because if he bought the DDR3 long enough ago, when the prices were rock bottom around when the FX platform was popular, then chances are he can actually sell his current RAM for very close to what he paid for it, or more even.

And as time passes and especially when all production of DDR3 passes, prices will continue to go up as it get more rare - at least for a couple years.

I for one will never jump anything when prices are sky high, that's just piss poor money management.

Except they are not "sky high". They are up but hardly prohibitive, except for those on a very tight budget. And if that is the case, those buyers should not be buying anything if their current system is still doing its job!

IMO, piss poor money management is "tactical" spending rather than "strategic" spending. Again, IF the budget allows, it almost always make more sense to spend a little more today if means saving more money over time.

Hmmm I see the logic, I just have a hard time to believe a business recognizes demand and DOES NOT make adjustments to make more of that product.....
Anyway, what are we looking at here, a year or two for the factories to boost production and half the prices ?

Businesses do recognize demand and did adjust - but in the favor of faster selling smart phone rather than computers. That's why there is a shortage of computer RAM. But a limited supply does not mean anybody is out of stock. Computer production is NOT slowing down because RAM is hard to find. If that were happening, no doubts Dell, HP, Acer, Lenovo would be pressuring Micron and Samsung to ramp up production of DDR4.

"Half" the prices? I don't know about that, but they should come down. But again, you really have to put it all into prospective. You might be talking $100 more for 16GB of DDR4 compared to 18 months ago. With good research and careful shopping probably less than $100. Is an extra $100, on top of the cost you will be spending for a new CPU and new motherboard really a deal breaker when that extra $100 will buy you better performance AND lower energy consumption costs for the next 72 - 84 months! Do the math!

Now again, you need to decide if you will be upgrading your motherboard. And you need to decide on a budget. But if you are going to get a new motherboard, you should budget for DDR4. It just does not make good sense to buy a current generation motherboard and current generation CPU then bottleneck them with slower, power hungry, 10-year-old technology RAM.

 

[Flyordie]

So yea, from what I have read- If you are ok with spending the money, upgrade. lol.

Its basically useless to invest in a dead platform. (hence why I haven't moved up to 16GB of RAM on mine.. I just got it going as fast as I could with the tightest possible timings at 1866Mhz)

Your biggest bump imho that could carry over is the GPU but even those are overpriced. It really is just a bad time to build a new PC. :-(

I got my current system (Mobo/CPU/RAM) for $207 shipped in 2014. RAM was $28 of that. Same kit today- $93.

 

[eidairaman1]

Idk about you but my rig will be maxed to 64GB when it finally needs it.

 

[Vayra86]

Reading OP's current usage of the system does not really lead me to believe an upgrade is needed in all fairness all I see is 'light usage' that a simple laptop could do.

But if an upgrade is 'wanted'... then yes, go Ryzen 2xxx or Intel CFL its really quite simple. Don't invest in a DDR3-based upgrade.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Reading OP's current usage of the system does not really lead me to believe an upgrade is needed

Nobody, included the OP said anything about any upgrade being "needed". Truth be told, very few upgrades are really truly "needed". In reality, with only very few exceptions, the only time an upgrade is truly needed is when we have a new requirement (not a desire or want) that our legacy software or hardware does not support. So for "compatibility" reasons, we need to upgrade.

Nobody "needs" a gaming rig! But that does not mean we don't want one.

And we are all human and humans like shiny new things. And the smarter ones like to be proactive. When we see things getting long in the tooth, we like to replace/upgrade them before they break - perhaps even in time to capture a little resale value in them. Nobody needs a brand new car, but just about everybody wants one and those who can afford one, typically buy one - even though we all know buying a 2 - 3 year old used car makes the most financial sense.

I think it safe to say we all would rather our computers be waiting on us rather than we waiting on our computers. Most computers slow down over time and I am NOT talking about because they get full of clutter (that's actually due to poor preventative maintenance - a user task!). Computers typically slow down over time because we demand more of them. Bad guys forcing our security apps to do more to protect us is a big reason for system slowdowns. But many of our favorite apps (especially games) are more demanding on system resources too.

We don't know when Fif23's bought his components but we do know that motherboard and CPU came out 6+ years ago. Most users, on average, replace (or perform major upgrades) every 4 - 5 years. So "Grandpa" is actually a bit behind the times!

Note, as a brand new "great" grandpa myself, I feel his pain - every time I have to pick up a tower to lug outside for cleaning.

 

[Johan45]

Repeat that motherboard is a recent release with some upgrades at most it's only 2 years old

We don't know when Fif23's bought his components but we do know that motherboard and CPU came out 6+ years ago. Most users, on average, replace (or perform major upgrades) every 4 - 5 years. So "Grandpa" is actually a bit behind the times!

 

[Bill_Bright]

Hmmm, my mistake. Sorry about that. I note the OP never said it "Pro" but I cannot find a non-Pro version by ASUS, so I have no clue what I was talking about!

 

[AppleTree]

Nope. I still use my FX8350 system on a daily basis for the tasks you mention, and I can't tell the difference between it and my 8700K system in those tasks. I can when I'm encoding video for sure, but not in normal every day tasks like internet browsing and office work.

In games, at the same resolution, how do you find the 8700K vs. the FX8350?

I'm another FX8350 user here. I wouldn't be looking at upgrading except I need more memory (only have 8 Gb). I figure I might as well get the "latest and greatest" while I'm at it, though I've yet to actually do something this machine can't handle.

EDIT: Just read the rest of the thread. Totally agree! Modern systems are adequate, even if they aren't at the cutting edge anymore. Definitely a "want" and not a "need". I actually feel quite sad at the idea of not using it anymore - it has been far better than I ever imagined.

 

[eidairaman1]

In games, at the same resolution, how do you find the 8700K vs. the FX8350?

I'm another FX8350 user here. I wouldn't be looking at upgrading except I need more memory (only have 8 Gb). I figure I might as well get the "latest and greatest" while I'm at it, though I've yet to actually do something this machine can't handle.

EDIT: Just read the rest of the thread. Totally agree! Modern systems are adequate, even if they aren't at the cutting edge anymore. Definitely a "want" and not a "need". I actually feel quite sad at the idea of not using it anymore - it has been far better than I ever imagined.

DDR4 prices are ridiculous at the moment,

What motherboard are you running

 

[AppleTree]

Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0