# cpu upgrade?



## krammuel (Sep 18, 2012)

I have the ASRock Extreme4 mb w/Phenom II X3 720BE.
I did unlock the 4th core with some success, but eventually caused system failures.
I liked the speed I got from the 4th core unlocked (even bumped the freq to 3010Mhz). So my question is the FX line better then the Phenom II or would I be better sticking with Phenom II but either X4 or X6? Keep in mind I usually don't have much $$ to spend, so around 100-150bucks is about what I can do for now.

Oh, as a side note: With only 3 cores I get lag on games and slower programs.

Thanks for any suggestions


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## xxdozer322 (Sep 18, 2012)

from what ive read the x4s give the bulldozer a run for the money. i believe the x4 965 is something like 90 bucks now over at microcenter. i bought mine brand new for 110 with my current build. no issues whats so ever, have it overclocked to 3.9 on a simple watercooling system that was handed down to me. look at my specs, i have everything on ultra for bf3 with absolutely no lag. 

edit: also if you go with the fx series youre gonna need a new mobo. as its am3+ and wont fit a am3 mobo.


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## [Ion] (Sep 18, 2012)

I'd say go for a FX.  For just over $150, you can get a FX-8120, which has 8 cores at 3.1GHz.  The FX CPUs overclock really well too, so ~4GHz is entirely doable.  Alternatively, Newegg frequently has the Phenom II X4 965BE for $90.


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## krammuel (Sep 18, 2012)

[Ion] said:


> I'd say go for a FX.  For just over $150, you can get a FX-8120, which has 8 cores at 3.1GHz.  The FX CPUs overclock really well too, so ~4GHz is entirely doable.  Alternatively, Newegg frequently has the Phenom II X4 965BE for $90.



I was looking at the FX 6100@3.3Ghz at Micro Center for $109, or would the FX 4100@3.6Ghz for $89 be a better buy?


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## xxdozer322 (Sep 18, 2012)

that fx4100 is still a quad core. for ten bucks less you can get the 965 and wont have to worry about buying a new mobo.


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## krammuel (Sep 18, 2012)

xxdozer322 said:


> from what ive read the x4s give the bulldozer a run for the money. i believe the x4 965 is something like 90 bucks now over at microcenter. i bought mine brand new for 110 with my current build. no issues whats so ever, have it overclocked to 3.9 on a simple watercooling system that was handed down to me. look at my specs, i have everything on ultra for bf3 with absolutely no lag.
> 
> edit: also if you go with the fx series youre gonna need a new mobo. as its am3+ and wont fit a am3 mobo.



It is an AM3+ MoBo. Go to the cpu support list: http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?cat=CPU&Model=970 Extreme4


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## krammuel (Sep 18, 2012)

xxdozer322 said:


> from what ive read the x4s give the bulldozer a run for the money. i believe the x4 965 is something like 90 bucks now over at microcenter. i bought mine brand new for 110 with my current build. no issues whats so ever, have it overclocked to 3.9 on a simple watercooling system that was handed down to me. look at my specs, i have everything on ultra for bf3 with absolutely no lag.
> 
> So back to your first answer
> 
> ...


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## xxdozer322 (Sep 18, 2012)

ahhhhh i didnt even bother looking into the mobo, thought you were running an am3 mobo. theres a lot of rumors saying that the phenoms still give the bulldozers a nice run. i wouldnt know, maybe those that have had both can atest to that. from what ive read bulldozers are nice overclockers. i really dont know how much of an upgrade it is, im happy with my current budget build.


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## Norton (Sep 18, 2012)

krammuel said:


> xxdozer322 said:
> 
> 
> > from what ive read the x4s give the bulldozer a run for the money. i believe the x4 965 is something like 90 bucks now over at microcenter. i bought mine brand new for 110 with my current build. no issues whats so ever, have it overclocked to 3.9 on a simple watercooling system that was handed down to me. look at my specs, i have everything on ultra for bf3 with absolutely no lag.
> ...


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## krammuel (Sep 18, 2012)

xxdozer322 said:


> ahhhhh i didnt even bother looking into the mobo, thought you were running an am3 mobo. theres a lot of rumors saying that the phenoms still give the bulldozers a nice run. i wouldnt know, maybe those that have had both can atest to that. from what ive read bulldozers are nice overclockers. i really dont know how much of an upgrade it is, im happy with my current budget build.



What I like about AMD  They are cheap to build. You play games on that system? Do you have ultra settings or atleast high? If yes. How does the system handle it?


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## krammuel (Sep 18, 2012)

Norton said:


> krammuel said:
> 
> 
> > Go with an FX-6100. It's the best balance of price, features and performance for your setup atm.
> ...


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## xxdozer322 (Sep 18, 2012)

yes my bf3 is on ultra everything at 1080p, it handles it like a champ. no compaints, no lag, and absolutely no choppiness.


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## Widjaja (Sep 18, 2012)

Despite the poor result of the FX vs it's predecessor and against Intel's offerings, they are still a good chip and nothing to be scoffed at.


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## krammuel (Sep 18, 2012)

Widjaja said:


> Despite the poor result of the FX vs it's predecessor and against Intel's offerings, they are still a good chip and nothing to be scoffed at.



Yea that is what scared me a bit and why I came here for some sort of advice on what is best to get atm.


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 18, 2012)

hey sorry you encountered instability, ya some chips have it others dont. Honestly Id look at pricing of Phenom IIs before biting the bullet on a FX.


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## krammuel (Sep 18, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> hey sorry you encountered instability, ya some chips have it others dont. Honestly Id look at pricing of Phenom IIs before biting the bullet on a FX.



Hi!

Yea thats what we were going over here, but the FX is about the same price as Phenom II (well maybe a bit more, but you get more too?).


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## Durvelle27 (Sep 18, 2012)

go for the FX 6100

Edit: what games do you play


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## krammuel (Sep 18, 2012)

Durvelle27 said:


> go for the FX 6100
> 
> Edit: what games do you play



Well was on WoW (but not happy with the new "arcade" like feel to it anymore).
I probably get Skyrim here shortly and want my system to handle it.


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## xxdozer322 (Sep 18, 2012)

looks like you already have a decent gpu, so at this point anything you get will be a worthy upgrade.


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 18, 2012)

Honestly youre not getting more from FX but if its in easier avail and cheaper go for it.


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## krammuel (Sep 18, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> Honestly youre not getting more from FX but if its in easier avail and cheaper go for it.



Not cheaper because they have the the 965 X4 for the same price as the FX 4100. And this is what I want to know? Which is better the Phenom II or the FX chips?


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## krammuel (Sep 18, 2012)

Looking on Micro Centers site they only show 8 AMD processors. But I know they have more in their store to choose from. I like going there cause they are close to me and I hate waiting for it to get to me. But also I can take it back and get another that day if something is wrong with it.


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 18, 2012)

http://www.techspot.com/review/452-amd-bulldozer-fx-cpus/page10.html

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1766/14/

read those for relative numbers. 980 BE (3.7GHz Stock) is like that of xxdozers 965 BE (3.4GHz Stock) at 3.9GHz (Maybe Slightly Faster than a 980BE)

Look at 1100T vs FX 6100 both at 3.3GHz


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## MT Alex (Sep 18, 2012)

krammuel said:


> Not cheaper because they have the the 965 X4 for the same price as the FX 4100. And this is what I want to know? Which is better the Phenom II or the FX chips?



I'd be skeptical of a 4100, since these benchmarks show a 965 and an 8150 are neck and neck in games.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/102?vs=434


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## Norton (Sep 18, 2012)

krammuel said:


> Not cheaper because they have the the 965 X4 for the same price as the FX 4100. And this is what I want to know? Which is better the Phenom II or the FX chips?



if it's 965BE vs an FX-Quad core.... go for the 965BE

Otherwise the FX-6100 is overall a better choice than the 965BE. Runs cooler too.

Look at my sig- I run them all except the FX-8120 (which I will add to the list next month) 

*Note- The 1045T is also a good chip but I would still buy a 6100 within that price range


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 18, 2012)

AMD FX-4170 vs AMD FX-4100 vs AMD Phenom II X4 955...

FX is equivalent of a P4 Requires ridiculous clocks just to perform fast.


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## krammuel (Sep 18, 2012)

Norton said:


> if it's 965BE vs an FX-Quad core.... go for the 965BE
> 
> Otherwise the FX-6100 is overall a better choice than the 965BE. Runs cooler too.
> 
> ...



Yea, from reading the test and because the 6100 is only $109. I think I will have to go with that one.


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 18, 2012)

krammuel said:


> Yea, from reading the test and because the 6100 is only $109. I think I will have to go with that one.



http://www.google.com/products/cata...XUOrwN4jA2gWzn4H4CA&ved=0CFwQ8wIwAQ#scoring=p

https://www.google.com/products/cat...CuJXUMHxC6nq2AXq5oDABA&ved=0CC8QrQQ#scoring=p

Those are the cheapest I can find for 1090T and 1100T

otherwise FX6200 Id look at honestly over 6100

read this bench http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Proces...er-Refresh/Overclocking-and-Power-Consumption


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## krammuel (Sep 18, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> AMD FX-4170 vs AMD FX-4100 vs AMD Phenom II X4 955...
> 
> FX is equivalent of a P4 Requires ridiculous clocks just to perform fast.



Sorry I started to post when I saw your post and was watching the videos.
Well I am still undecided then.
After watching a lot of vids now, I am less then impressed with FX series processors.


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## xxdozer322 (Sep 18, 2012)

stick with something thats know to perform good. i say go with the 965, its never let me down


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 18, 2012)

krammuel said:


> Sorry I started to post when I saw your post and was watching the videos.
> Well I am still undecided then.
> After watching a lot of vids now, I am less then impressed with FX series processors.



Id still recommend the FX 6100 or 6200 Since its hard to find a 1090T or 1100T for that matter in price+ shipping charge, If You really want a hex core.

Heres the deal if youre going to overclock you might aswell spend cash on a CPU cooler.

If Not use the stock cooler

My bros machine here uses a Phenom II X2 555 BE that has been successfully unlocked to a X4 BE 955/B55 CPU (All those run at 3.2GHz)

The quads are still good actually if you can find them- 955, 960T, 965, 970, 975, 980 all would work in that board. Honestly I hear from here that Piledriver Parts are in tow.


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## krammuel (Sep 18, 2012)

Well thanks everyone for your input
My brain is fried for now, but if anyone would like to add something to this, Please do. I will keep reading up everyday until I make the leap and buy whatever I decide at the time is the best route.

Thanks again


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## krammuel (Sep 18, 2012)

Well I am back to another problem!?!   edairaman1 kinda knows the problems I have been having lol
Just when I thought things were fine for now the stupid thing crashed again
This time (has the last few times) when it is about to show the boot screen it instead says the "BootMng" fine is missing. So as I did for last few times I restart and go into bios. What I thought was when that happened it was resetting the bios to Defualt on me. It is and that is annoying as hell to start. So would go through and reset everything the way I had it (not touching the OC settings) starting with the storage format "AHCI". which is what I had it on when I installed windows but appearently not. Because it will start up fine if set for IDE mode only.

Isn't IDE mode going to be slower? or does it make a difference?
I have always set to AHCI mode because it was always recommended for windows per the board manufacture. 

Thanks for any help again


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## Widjaja (Sep 19, 2012)

IDE mode vs AHCI is only a difference when using an SSD.
It mainly introduces some enhancements which an SSD makes use of.
Windows 7 will automatically install AHCI drivers while Windows XP will not.


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 19, 2012)

Hey Krammuel, Restore the clock speed of that CPU and Lock the 4th core back down, you had a bad core from looks of it (common on 720s)


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## krammuel (Sep 19, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> Hey Krammuel, Restore the clock speed of that CPU and Lock the 4th core back down, you had a bad core from looks of it (common on 720s)



It already did when it crashed and I haven't unlocked it since. This actually happened when I just tried to OC the cpu a little (took it to 3Ghz, without the 4th core) just to see if I could. I figured if I burned the 720 up I was replacing anyways.


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## krammuel (Sep 19, 2012)

Widjaja said:


> IDE mode vs AHCI is only a difference when using an SSD.
> It mainly introduces some enhancements which an SSD makes use of.
> Windows 7 will automatically install AHCI drivers while Windows XP will not.



Apparently not since it is running on a SSD drive in IDE mode


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## krammuel (Sep 22, 2012)

xxdozer322 said:


> stick with something thats know to perform good. i say go with the 965, its never let me down



I agree with you. But the $115 price isn't that bad for the better Phenom II. I will probably opt for that then. or maybe 965BE without a fan (since I can use the 1 that came with my 720BE), it;s only $79


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 22, 2012)

krammuel said:


> I agree with you. But the $115 price isn't that bad for the better Phenom II. I will probably opt for that then. or maybe 965BE without a fan (since I can use the 1 that came with my 720BE), it;s only $79



check opn/sku first on amds site before buying a cpu. to ensure youre getting a be model


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## krammuel (Sep 23, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> check opn/sku first on amds site before buying a cpu. to ensure youre getting a be model



Here is the boxed BE: HDZ965FBGMBOX

And here is the Proc only ($79): HDZ965FBK4DGM
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2372719&csid=_61
These are the only numbers I see to compare. Different retail store so they don't give same info.

edit:


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## Super XP (Sep 23, 2012)

Wait for Piledriver to get released in October 2012, then you will have a better choice.


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## krammuel (Sep 23, 2012)

Update:

4th core still unlocked and still running fine.
Only kinda weird thing is when it is running for some time (3+hours) the core temp drops to 0c. OK! I think but can't run prime95 to long cause I have no idea what the core temp is. I mean right now it is reading 29c (but haven't been running it hard to check things on weather it is going to be fine or find any issues with running various programs.


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## krammuel (Sep 23, 2012)

Super XP said:


> Wait for Piledriver to get released in October 2012, then you will have a better choice.



Will piledriver be compatible on my MoBo? I hope to think ASRock will update bios to make it compatible but being this is really made for AM3 more so (does support the bulldozer procs tho).
Or do you mean the prices will go down for FX and such?


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## mastrdrver (Sep 23, 2012)

Piledriver will be better then Bulldozer and will be able to work on your board. Rumors are saying sometime early in October (1st week) is when the release is.


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## OneMoar (Sep 23, 2012)

krammuel said:


> Update:
> 
> 4th core still unlocked and still running fine.
> Only kinda weird thing is when it is running for some time (3+hours) the core temp drops to 0c. OK! I think but can't run prime95 to long cause I have no idea what the core temp is. I mean right now it is reading 29c (but haven't been running it hard to check things on weather it is going to be fine or find any issues with running various programs.



unlocking messes with the core-sensors ignore any core readings as they wont be correct
unlocking a chip usually makes the sensors read 0 or negative values I am surprised it gives any reading at all
if you are running a aftermarket cooler I would not even bother with the temps but the stock phenom II cooler is junk so ...


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## Widjaja (Sep 23, 2012)

krammuel said:


> Apparently not since it is running on a SSD drive in IDE mode



Did you install windows 7 while IDE mode was enabled?
Windows 7 will BSOD if I switch to IDE mode.


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## xBruce88x (Sep 23, 2012)

http://www.halowayexpress.com/produ...n-(HDT90ZFBGRBOX)-%2d%2d-2Y9O003SIV2XD99.html

there's a 1090T for around $120, and there are 14 in stock. though I don't know much about the seller.


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## krammuel (Sep 23, 2012)

Widjaja said:


> Did you install windows 7 while IDE mode was enabled?
> Windows 7 will BSOD if I switch to IDE mode.



No. Thats what I was saying I always set to AHCI because it is always recommended for windows.

So I don't understand how it is set for IDE?!?


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