Would this be a worthwhile upgrade?

Mick_Berg

New member
Hi.
I saw a AMD X4 860K Quad Core CPU on Newegg for $49.00. (This CPU has very positive reviews.)

I currently have a AMD A6-6400K and wonder if this would be a worthwhile upgrade. I'm very limited by the FM2 motherboard but don't want to do a major upgrade right now. My present CPU is an obvious bottleneck in my TANE performance.

Opinions appreciated.
Thanks,
Mick
 
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On John Citron's tests the CPU temp went down whilst the GPU temp went up switching from TS12 to TANE.

Note also http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-hierarchy,4312.html Toms think you need to move three levels before seeing any noticeable improvement. Your current CPU is roughly a low end i5, and probably not what I'd choose for a new system but looking at it anything less than $150 for the CPU I don't think would be worth the upgrade.

What is your GPU?

Thanks John
 
On John Citron's tests the CPU temp went down whilst the GPU temp went up switching from TS12 to TANE.

Note also http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-hierarchy,4312.html Toms think you need to move three levels before seeing any noticeable improvement. Your current CPU is roughly a low end i5, and probably not what I'd choose for a new system but looking at it anything less than $150 for the CPU I don't think would be worth the upgrade.

What is your GPU?

Thanks John

Hi John.

Thanks for your input. My GPU is a AMD RX470 4gig. Not a bad unit. I can get 60fps but I get stuttering and I see the CPU is at 100%.

The X4 is a quad core, the A6 only dual core. The X4 doesn't have a GPU on board, which I don't need. Point is that it's only 49 bucks, and I wouldn't want to spend more on an old FM2 CPU.

Cheers,
Mick
 
Suggest use these links to make an informed decision.
You can also generate a side-by-side comparison from either page shown here:

http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Bulldozer/AMD-Athlon II X4 860K.html

http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Bulldozer/AMD-A6-Series A6-6400K.html

In general, 4 cores is better than two, assuming each of the cores is comparable.
No multi-threading on either.

Here's the chart showing chip/ socket compatibility for FM2:

http://www.cpu-world.com/Sockets/Socket_FM2.html

That last one is a great site, thanks.

The two CPU's are not interchangeable, one is FM2, other is FM2+, so end of discussion!

Thanks,
Mick
 
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Shouldn't, since you're not changing the socket or mobo.
T:ANE SP2 frequently uses more than 2 active cores and there are other benefits for driving your GPU with extra cores/ threads as well.
A $49 'risk' is not too big a price to pay potentially for a noticeable improvement in performance.
 
Shouldn't, since you're not changing the socket or mobo.
T:ANE SP2 frequently uses more than 2 active cores and there are other benefits for driving your GPU with extra cores/ threads as well.
A $49 'risk' is not too big a price to pay potentially for a noticeable improvement in performance.

Well I'm confused, I gathered from the various sites that the two CPU's are not interchangeable, since the A6 is socket FM2, the X4 is socket FM2+.
Maybe you can clarify on this.

Thanks,
Mick
 
Mick_Berg - You'll need to carefully read the fine print on those links I provided above to make a final decision.

I noticed that the 4 core/ 4 threads Athlon X4 760X is shown as supported on the FM2 list of compatible processors, but it seems that the 860X isn't present.
On an FM2+ socket, both of your proposed processors are listed as compatible, since FM2+ is backwards compatible with the earlier FM2 processors.

Here's an excerpt from the section on Socket FM2:

Currently the FM2 supports all dual-core and quad-core "Piledriver" processors with and without on-chip GPU, operating at frequencies up to 4100 MHz. It also supports dual-channel DDR3 memory with data rates up to 2133 MHz. In January 2014, AMD launched socket FM2+ platform, that featured new and more efficient Steamroller microarchitecture. The FM2+ socket was backwards compatible with the FM2, and supported older Trinity and Richland APUs. However, Steamroller-based Accelerated units were not compatible with socket FM2.

And here's some notes on upgrading considerations:

Upgrading socket FM2 motherboardsFinding out a list of compatible APUs and CPUs for your computer depends on whether you have a brand-name computer, or generic or custom built one:

  • For brand name computer PCs, like Dell and HP, you need to search for the make and model of your PC on manufacturer's website. Sometimes manufacturers provide a list of compatible processors in the supports section of their website, but even if they don't you may still find upgrade recommendations in customer support forums.
  • If you failed to find anything on the computer manufacturer website, or if you have a generic or custom built computer, then try to determine make and model of the installed motherboard. Once you locate the make and model, search for it on the motherboard manufacturer's website. For upgrade information for ASRock, ASUS, ECS, Gigabyte Technology, Jetway, MSI, and PC Chips motherboards please check CPU-Upgrade motherboard database.
  • If you can't find CPU support data for you computer and motherboard, then use CPU-Z or similar program to determine chipset type in your PC, and then look for CPU upgrade information for the chipset. CPU support data for AMD chipsets can be found in the AMD chipsets section on the CPU-Upgrade website. This method is less reliable than getting official support information for the computer and/or motherboard.
Once you located a list of supported microprocessors, it should be easy to choose the best one based on your needs. One thing you need to remember is that upgrading or downgrading your CPU will heavily affect your game/3D graphics performance:

  • A10-Series chips have the best overall CPU and GPU performance. They are also the most expensive from socket FM2 processors.
  • A8-Series microprocessors have somewhat lower CPU, game and 3D graphics GPU performance than the A10-Series, but they are 20% - 30% less expensive.
  • A6-Series processors are good for basic office-type applications, e-mail, browsing, and occasional games. Their main advantage is a very low price. Their disadvantages are small size of L2 cache and fewer number of Radeon cores. The former reduces CPU efficiency of A6-Series APUs, and the latter reduces their performance in games and 3D graphics applications.
  • Athlon X4 chips do not have integrated graphics unit, therefore they are recommended only if you plan to use an external (discrete) graphics card. They do offer very good multi-threading CPU performance at much lower price level than A8- and A10-Series APUs.
  • Business-class processors, identified by suffix "B" in the model number, were only shipped in OEM desktop systems and were not available as retail (boxed) products. For that reason they are almost impossible to find in stores. If necessary, "B"-class processors can be easily replaced by similar consumer models, that usually have identical specs. For instance, the A10-5800B is identical to the A10-5800K, except that the "K" part also has unlocked clock multiplier.

HTH
 
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One other thing to consider is that windows will happily accept a new GPU but I suspect changing the CPU may require a new copy of Windows.

Cheerio John
 
Never had any problem upgrading CPU's here, just starts as normal no nagging or validating just some updating of drivers etc. Even got away with a replacement motherboard and CPU on Win7! Was the same manufacturer but a newer board and CPU, AMD Athlon II to AMD PhenomII. And I'd bought a flipping retail disk as well, still I built up a new PC to use it!

Looks like Microsoft with Win10 has thrown out the rule book or messed up, as according to Ten Forums it doesn't seem to be too bothered what you do! or if it's OEM or Retail Windows.
 
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Looks like Microsoft with Win10 has thrown out the rule book or messed up, as according to Ten Forums it doesn't seem to be too bothered what you do! or if it's OEM or Retail Windows.
Well that's good news! I always thought that policy was totally unreasonable.

Thanks everyone for your help.
Mick
 
Well I ordered it at $49.99. Found out that mobo had FM2+ socket although A6 CPU was FM2. (Backwards compatible.)
Watch this space!!:D

EDIT: It works well, considerable improvement in performance. CPU never gets above 75%, used to often get to 100% which would cause stuttering. But it runs very hot, in Ffestiniog sessions with loads of SpeedTrees. Thermal margin gets as low as six deg.:eek: (I was warned about this in many reviews). I have ordered a Cooler Master Hyper-2 Direct Contact cooler (only 9 bucks with rebate) so let's hope that fixes the cooling problem.

BTW no complaints from Windows. Had to upgrade the BIOS which was ancient.

Mick
 
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Well I ordered it at $49.99. Found out that mobo had FM2+ socket although A6 CPU was FM2. (Backwards compatible.)
Watch this space!!:D

EDIT: It works well, considerable improvement in performance. CPU never gets above 75%, used to often get to 100% which would cause stuttering. But it runs very hot, in Ffestiniog sessions with loads of SpeedTrees. Thermal margin gets as low as six deg.:eek: (I was warned about this in many reviews). I have ordered a Cooler Master Hyper-2 Direct Contact cooler (only 9 bucks with rebate) so let's hope that fixes the cooling problem.

BTW no complaints from Windows. Had to upgrade the BIOS which was ancient.

Mick

Update: Installed Hyper-2 cooler with dramatic results; Thermal Margin never went under 35 deg. C. This is a massive 30-degree C. improvement in cooling. I would definitely recommend this cooler for anyone with a hot CPU. It was only $16.00 with a 7 dollar rebate from Newegg = 9 bucks! Easy to install on a AMD CPU.

Trainz-wise, Ffestiniog, which I use as my benchmark, performs very well, FPS around 55 ( I limit it to 60fps) most of the time. No stuttering.

This will keep me happy for a while.:)

Mick
 
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Mick_Berg - Good one! Thanks for keeping us up to date with your upgrade path and experiences. Appreciated.
Looks like your very cost-effective component swap-out has paid off handsomely.
 
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