Thinking of upgrading my processor - Should I?

[Truhan]

Got a bit of spare money this month and some more saved up. I'm currently using an FX-4100, but I've been having problems with my computer randomly shutting down here lately and I suspect it's because of the processor running hot. I've checked with speccy, and sure enough, it tends to hit 80 degrees centigrade (!!!). I've added some case fans in the meantime, but I don't have enough ports to plug them all in (got a splitter on the way though). The FX-8370 I'm looking at comes with an AMD Wraith heatsink. I have no intention of changing out the mobo because I don't want to have to fucking buy Windows. As of now, the only parts I have never replaced on a PC are processors and mobos (my current PC still uses the stock optical drive and RAM, but I've replaced them on other computers before), so it would also be a rite of passage for my computer building experience (just shy of building a computer completely from parts, which I hope to do someday). Some things I know:

My processor socket type is at end-of-life support. Because of that, this wouldn't so much be upgrading my PC as it is putting it on life support. Ryzen mobos and CPUs are just too costly for me right now and, again, I don't want to buy Windows until I'm ready to build a whole new PC. I'm hoping this processor will last me at least 2 (maybe even 3) more years when the current stuff is more affordable.

To properly ground myself before so much as looking at the processor, and I'll get a static wrist strap with it.

The wattage budget of my PSU. It should be fine.

That a GPU would help my performance. I already replaced the stock GPU, leave my GPU alone!

That Intel is better. I have literally never used an Intel/Nvidia PC in my life. AMD just tends to be cheaper.

That I am a friendless nerd that will die a virgin.

Update: Alright, it's been made very clear that I should NOT replace the processor. Instead, I'm looking at getting an aftermarket heatsink that I can presumably reuse when I end up building a computer in the future. The heatsinks I'm currently considering are the 212 EVO and the Corsair H60. Neither one really have cons so much as pros over each other:

212 Pros:

Cheaper
Equivalent cooling (= better price performance ratio)

H60 Pros:

Easier installation (preapplied thermal paste, no need for a back mount for my mobo)
Lower maintenance (my tower has poor airflow)
5 year warranty (if the cooler damages ANYTHING, Corsair replaces the parts as well as the cooler)
Is Ryzen compatible if I decide to upgrade to it (212 requires you to call Cooler Master and ask them to send AM4 brackets)
Takes up less room in the CPU area
Customer service is supposedly pretty good and can walk through installation (Cooler Master might do this too, but I've seen H60 reviews that specifically praised their CS)

Noise on any heatsink is going to be a nonissue. I live near railroad tracks that have freight trains running just about every 10 minutes. I use a pretty good quality headset to drown it out, and believe me, the trains are louder than just about any aftermarket heatsink (liquid or air) could ever be. Right now, I'd say I'm probably split about 65/35 on the 212 vs H60.

[Low Hanging Fruit]

The difference between the two isn't massive. But it does exsist.

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/AMD-FX-8370-vs-AMD-FX-4100

I guess it depends on what you are really looking for.

[Truhan]

The difference between the two isn't massive. But it does exsist.

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/AMD-FX-8370-vs-AMD-FX-4100

I guess it depends on what you are really looking for.

Yeah, I was using this link to compare them.

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare...100/2983vs2878

The REAL problem is the FX-1000 running so fucking hot. I'm not so much looking for drastically increased performance (it would be nice though, since some games I play tend to be CPU heavy) as I am looking to keep my PC running for a few more years.

[Low Hanging Fruit]

Well the deal is if you get a good overclocker and sink a few bucks on a good cooler you might get something that will get you where you are trying to go. Of course you could get a junk overclocker and if you don't sink money into a cooler than of course you are likely just where you are at or only very slightly better.

[Svisalith]

It's very easy to cool a stock fx-4100, you should be looking at buying a half decent cooler (even something entry level) rather than a new CPU to solve that issue.

The CPU that you're looking at generates a lot more heat and, like your current CPU, ships with a cooler that can barely handle it to save $$$. Aftermarket cooling is always where it's at if you want performance and/or noise that isn't terrible.

[Truhan]

It's very easy to cool a stock fx-4100, you should be looking at buying a half decent cooler (even something entry level) rather than a new CPU to solve that issue.

The CPU that you're looking at generates a lot more heat and, like your current CPU, ships with a cooler that can barely handle it to save $$$. Aftermarket cooling is always where it's at if you want performance and/or noise that isn't terrible.

Well, the stock heatsink on my 4100 is a Cooler Master, dunno if they're any good. What's a good budget heatsink I should get?

[Kagthul]

Honestly no matter which FX series chip you go to (or even if you just keep the FX-4100 by fixing the cooling issue), "several more years" out of an FX chip is quite a stretch.

We're already at a point where a 60$ Pentium G will soundly beat the snot out of it.

[Tiberria]

I don't think it's worth the money to buy a new FX series CPU. You're better off just saving the money to do a full upgrade at some point down the line, or just biting the bullet now and replacing your CPU/motherboard/RAM and moving to an i3/i5 or Ryzen 5 based system. The FX based processors in general are just pretty poor performers, and it's not an effective use of money throwing more money at that platform. Upgrading to something like the i3-7100 (or the i5 7600 or R5 1600 if you want to step up a bit higher) would be a far better idea for the long run.

[Kagthul]

Honestly, if you're going to go past the bottom end, until Coffee Lake ships, Ryzen 5 has made anything past the Pentium-G pretty much pointless, until you get to an i5 7600K or i7 7700K (and only on the i5 7600K if you really -only- game on the rig and getting the most possible FPS by a big overclock is what you're after).

Ill go with Tiberria here.

About the most i'd do is the cooler. Fix your heating issues, and save your pennies for a rebuild.

[Truhan]

Alright guys, I guess it's settled that getting a processor is NOT the way to go. But again, no way am I buying a mobo, processor, heatsink AND Windows. The cheapest Ryzen 5 combo I could find was $250 for a 3.2 GHz processor (add $100 for Windows 10). No way am I dropping over double what I was willing to spend MAX. In that case, what should I do about a heatsink? I'm likely to use a lot/all of the parts of my current PC when I DO decide to do a build, so I was thinking the Noctua NH-U12S would be good to replace my stock heatsink and reuse later. I've also considered a a Corsair H60 because it looks easier to install (it basically has thermal paste preapplied) and is a similar price. My case has pretty shitty airflow too.

And just to be doubly clear, I'm not buying a shitload of new big games. About the most demanding shit I play is Fallout 4 and MGSV. Guild Wars 2 and Wildstar I play daily, and they're notoriously poorly optimized for CPUs. But I'm not buying any Frostbite games, I'm not buying Mass Effect Adromeda, about the only big new release I'm remotely considering is Destiny 2 (and I probably won't bother since I never played the first one anyways) and Nier: Automata.

[Tiberria]

Alright guys, I guess it's settled that getting a processor is NOT the way to go. But again, no way am I buying a mobo, processor, heatsink AND Windows. The cheapest Ryzen 5 combo I could find was $250 for a 3.2 GHz processor (add $100 for Windows 10). No way am I dropping over double what I was willing to spend MAX. In that case, what should I do about a heatsink? I'm likely to use a lot/all of the parts of my current PC when I DO decide to do a build, so I was thinking the Noctua NH-U12S would be good to replace my stock heatsink and reuse later. I've also considered a a Corsair H60 because it looks easier to install (it basically has thermal paste preapplied) and is a similar price. My case has pretty shitty airflow too.

And just to be doubly clear, I'm not buying a shitload of new big games. About the most demanding shit I play is Fallout 4 and MGSV. Guild Wars 2 and Wildstar I play daily, and they're notoriously poorly optimized for CPUs. But I'm not buying any Frostbite games, I'm not buying Mass Effect Adromeda, about the only big new release I'm remotely considering is Destiny 2 (and I probably won't bother since I never played the first one anyways) and Nier: Automata.

You can get a Windows 10 license from Kinguin for ~$30. You don't have to spend $100+ for it. However, I assume your current system uses DDR3 RAM? If so, you're going to have to replace your RAM when you upgrade as well, because any new/non dead end processor lines use DDR4. Your best bet in general is to just bank the money and plan for a full CPU/motherboard/RAM/GPU/PSU upgrade when it makes sense for you to do it - whether it's 1 year, 2 years, whatever down the road. Throwing smaller amounts of cash at incremental upgrades is likely to end up costing more money in the long term, because the performance gains without moving to a new CPU platform (which then requires new mobo, ram, etc.) aren't going to be significant enough to hold off the upgrade need for long enough.

IDK that I'd go for something as expensive as the Noctua U12 for an older system. Something like the Hyper 212 Evo is less than half the price and would be more than fine and let you save $ to bank towards a future rebuild.

[Truhan]

You can get a Windows 10 license from Kinguin for ~$30. You don't have to spend $100+ for it. However, I assume your current system uses DDR3 RAM? If so, you're going to have to replace your RAM when you upgrade as well, because any new/non dead end processor lines use DDR4. Your best bet in general is to just bank the money and plan for a full CPU/motherboard/RAM/GPU/PSU upgrade when it makes sense for you to do it - whether it's 1 year, 2 years, whatever down the road. Throwing smaller amounts of cash at incremental upgrades is likely to end up costing more money in the long term, because the performance gains without moving to a new CPU platform (which then requires new mobo, ram, etc.) aren't going to be significant enough to hold off the upgrade need for long enough.

IDK that I'd go for something as expensive as the Noctua U12 for an older system. Something like the Hyper 212 Evo is less than half the price and would be more than fine and let you save $ to bank towards a future rebuild.

Yes, my system uses DDR3. The point of getting a decent heatsink would be that I would use it in the future when I build a PC. Getting a 212 would be an "incremental upgrade" since I'd end up having to get a better heatsink anyways. I'm leaning a bit towards the Corsair H60 because it has a five year warranty and they replace any parts that get damaged if it's faulty. In other words, I'm considering getting the heatsink to be a future investment (unlike when I was considering getting a processor) and hoping it keeps my system on life support for a bit longer while I save up cash.

Thanks for the responses guys, it's been a real help.

[Notdev]

The difference between the two isn't massive. But it does exsist.

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/AMD-FX-8370-vs-AMD-FX-4100

I guess it depends on what you are really looking for.

Please never use CPUboss/GPUboss as a source for anything.

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-FURY-X-vs-GeForce-210

Winner: GT 210

[Gorgodeus]

Please never use CPUboss/GPUboss as a source for anything.

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-FURY-X-vs-GeForce-210

Winner: GT 210

You should learn how to read. They were comparing the two cards to a GTX 1080. The 210 did win. The noise and power category. lmao

[Low Hanging Fruit]

Please never use CPUboss/GPUboss as a source for anything.

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-FURY-X-vs-GeForce-210

Winner: GT 210

Thank you for proving you never need to have a post read by me again. Bye bye /blocked

[Lathais]

I don't think it's worth the money to buy a new FX series CPU. You're better off just saving the money to do a full upgrade at some point down the line, or just biting the bullet now and replacing your CPU/motherboard/RAM and moving to an i3/i5 or Ryzen 5 based system. The FX based processors in general are just pretty poor performers, and it's not an effective use of money throwing more money at that platform. Upgrading to something like the i3-7100 (or the i5 7600 or R5 1600 if you want to step up a bit higher) would be a far better idea for the long run.

While I agre with most of this, i3's are not wirth it at all when for half the price you can get a pentium with near the same performance and if you're gonna get an i5, get the Ryzen for slightly less. You could buy this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial - 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($54.88 @ B&H)
Total: $186.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-17 13:17 EDT-0400

and get Windows from Kinguin for cheap. Won't cost much more than what you were planning on doing as the 8370 is about $130+ a CPU Cooler. Likely your best bet, unless you can save a bit more and move to Ryzen.

[Truhan]

and get Windows from Kinguin for cheap. Won't cost much more than what you were planning on doing as the 8370 is about $130+ a CPU Cooler. Likely your best bet, unless you can save a bit more and move to Ryzen.

A 50% increase in cost is more than what I'm able to spend.

[Notdev]

You should learn how to read. They were comparing the two cards to a GTX 1080. The 210 did win. The noise and power category. lmao

Scroll down.. It actually says "winner: GT 210" plus the arbitrary ratings mean nothing on cpu/gpuboss. An uninformed person would look at these ratings and think that the GT210 is only 1.5-2x faster. When in reality it is probably close to a hundred times more powerful. I mean, even disregarding the ridiculous conclusion at the end, what the heck is Gaming: R9 Fury X: 7.5 GT 210: 5.5 supposed to mean?

CPU/GPUboss is a terrible website that should never ever be linked to.

- - - Updated - - -

Thank you for proving you never need to have a post read by me again. Bye bye /blocked

I don't understand this reasoning. Just sticking your head into the sand so you can continue using a terrible website? CPU/GPUboss is really, really bad and should never be cited in any scenario.. The only reason it shows up early on search results is because people like you keep using it as a source.. It uses terrible metrics and broken algorithms.. Not to mention still doesn't seem to have most of Intel's 7th gen processors and all the Ryzen processors on their site. Those processors have been out for months. Most good benchmark sites have them out before they are released, and don't wait until several months after.

Userbenchmark is not perfect but it is a thousand times better than GPU/CPUboss.

[Tiberria]

Yes, my system uses DDR3. The point of getting a decent heatsink would be that I would use it in the future when I build a PC. Getting a 212 would be an "incremental upgrade" since I'd end up having to get a better heatsink anyways. I'm leaning a bit towards the Corsair H60 because it has a five year warranty and they replace any parts that get damaged if it's faulty. In other words, I'm considering getting the heatsink to be a future investment (unlike when I was considering getting a processor) and hoping it keeps my system on life support for a bit longer while I save up cash.

Thanks for the responses guys, it's been a real help.

Unless you're overclocking heavily or have like 0 case airflow or something, a 212 Evo is more than good enough for any current high end CPU. In fact, the current top end CPUs are actually easier to cool than the AMD FX series. For example, the 95W TDP of your 4100 is about the same TDP of top gaming CPUs like the i7-7700k, R7-1800x, etc. It would be totally fine for either, and is far better than the stock coolers that both AMD and Intel include with retail CPUs.

I don't think water cooling is a particularly good investment for a low end build/upgrade path. The price/performance ratio that you get from an AIO water cooler - both in terms of thermal performance and noise - is pretty terrible relative to air coolers. Water coolers are kind of a luxury item that are good if you either want to use a small case that lacks clearance for decent air coolers or just hate the aesthetics of large tower coolers. I don't think they're a good option in terms of price/performance if you're going to have to skimp on upgrades to CPU/mobo/GPU or how soon you are able to move up from a build like you currently have to get them. Save the money and put it towards doing a full rebuild as soon as feasible IMO.

[Truhan]

Unless you're overclocking heavily or have like 0 case airflow or something, a 212 Evo is more than good enough for any current high end CPU. In fact, the current top end CPUs are actually easier to cool than the AMD FX series. For example, the 95W TDP of your 4100 is about the same TDP of top gaming CPUs like the i7-7700k, R7-1800x, etc. It would be totally fine for either, and is far better than the stock coolers that both AMD and Intel include with retail CPUs.

I don't think water cooling is a particularly good investment for a low end build/upgrade path. The price/performance ratio that you get from an AIO water cooler - both in terms of thermal performance and noise - is pretty terrible relative to air coolers. Water coolers are kind of a luxury item that are good if you either want to use a small case that lacks clearance for decent air coolers or just hate the aesthetics of large tower coolers. I don't think they're a good option in terms of price/performance if you're going to have to skimp on upgrades to CPU/mobo/GPU or how soon you are able to move up from a build like you currently have to get them. Save the money and put it towards doing a full rebuild as soon as feasible IMO.

Noise on a water cooler will absolutely not bother me. It might be a sin to say, but a quiet computer is about the last thing I'm worried about. I live on a fairly trafficked road and there are trains running just about every ten goddamn minutes. I have to use noise cancelling ear muffs just to get some sleep and have a pretty good mid-range noise-cancelling headset. Thermal performance is definitely what I need, but the lower maintenance and easier clearance is what makes me consider the H60. Airflow on my case is pretty shit. It only has one front intake fan that's 80 mm and is directly in front of the drive cage (so, pretty much no air whatsoever gets through anyways). The stock fan was horrendous and would make these awful grinding sounds at all times before it died. I'm hoping my new case fans will help a bit with airflow, but I think the two on top might cause clearance issues for an air cooler. That said, I'd say I'm pretty likely to go with the 212 based on your recommendation.