Suggest me a CPU upgrade

[Anzu]

Well, as some might have noticed i've talked a bit about it in shoutbox. Heres the full story to it:

I play a lot of TF2, and well, i barely get over 50 fps with everything on low. So i decided to use a fps script, got up over 200 but yet i still drop to ~45 during big areas/fights. I dont like that. I asked on the steam forums and stuff, they suggested CPU upgrade as mine is a bit old now. I got a AMD Athlon II x4 640. Its not certain if im going to upgrade it now or not, im trying some other stuff right now which might help (trying gamebooster right now with diffrent settings, going to try some Windows tweaks and lastly, format HDD).

I use AMD, so no Intel stuffs. Also not too expensive, budget semi-limited..

or, if you know how to fix fps drops, i'll <3 you forever

[smt]

A fair amount of money: http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-Black-Edition-Processor-Phenom/dp/B0042LBBQ0

A bit less money: http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-Phenom-Cache-Quad-core-Processor/dp/B002KV6MLS

You can find them in great denmark land or whatever you live yes

[Anzu]

A fair amount of money: http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-Black-Edition-Processor-Phenom/dp/B0042LBBQ0

A bit less money: http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-Phenom-Cache-Quad-core-Processor/dp/B002KV6MLS

You can find them in great denmark land or whatever you live yes

Is it really that good? The one i have now is quad 3.0ghz and that is quad 3.5..

i doubt that will make that much of a diffrence? :|

[smt]

You cant compare core speed at face value, if the architecture (for example, a command being sent from part A of the CPU to part B of the CPU) is better (shorter) then it will be be faster-  these cpus are modern and so are a lot better in that sense, core speed isn't too important as long as it's decent speed (which is anything modern)

[Anzu]

How about this then? http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=650172#extra

I know it has 8 cores and i shouldnt be going for more coresb ecaues useless but looking at the specs of it its a bit better than the PhenomII and even a tiny bit cheaper ( + denmark store )



edit: i found out i have a swtich on my MB that increases cpu/gpu/ram power, i should try that

[smt]

Bulldozers are fairly bad considering what they promised, you'd honestly be better getting a Phenom

[Psycho29388]

Bulldozers are fairly bad considering what they promised, you'd honestly be better getting a Phenom

Phenom II isn't exactly an upgrade to what he has now, more like a side step.

If he wants an upgrade, it's either a Bulldozer CPU when piledriver and windows 8 is out or getting intel.

Those are the best choices for the OP.

[Technical Abbreviations]

AMD hit a wall with bulldozer and last I heard, they arnt sticking around too much for the PC CPU business, so you wont get too much better than what SMT said. If you want something better you should move onto intel, but youll have to purchase a new mobo to match which may/may not be in your current budget.
Dont get bulldozer. Its terrible.
Also, all youll need for modern gaming is a dual core minimum, quad core if future proofing/highest end games and settings, 8 core is being foolish.

edit: i found out i have a swtich on my MB that increases cpu/gpu/ram power, i should try that

Automatic OC button? Ew...

[Psycho29388]

Dont get bulldozer. Its terrible.

So because it's not as good in benchmarks as the 2500k/2600k it's terrible?
There are tons of reviews on BD that claim there is a pretty good performance boost over Phenom IIs, and given the price of BD, isn't that what you pay for anyways?
Reviews tend to lie less than benchmarks.

Also, all youll need for modern gaming is a dual core minimum, quad core if future proofing/highest end games and settings, 8 core is being foolish.

Really though, the OP needs a quad core with more power if he wants to upgrade, something like the 2500k, however Idk if that's in his budget. 8 cores isn't foolish though, as that helps for video rendering and picture editing, plus in Games like BF3 it will benefit.

Automatic OC button? Ew...

Agreed lol

[Technical Abbreviations]

Dont get bulldozer. Its terrible.

So because it's not as good in benchmarks as the 2500k/2600k it's terrible?
There are tons of reviews on BD that claim there is a pretty good performance boost over Phenom IIs, and given the price of BD, isn't that what you pay for anyways?
Reviews tend to lie less than benchmarks.

Last I checked bulldozers were much worse than sandy's in terms of performance/price, but Im too lazy to recheck that. Bulldozer just wasnt AMDs best product.

Also, all youll need for modern gaming is a dual core minimum, quad core if future proofing/highest end games and settings, 8 core is being foolish.

Really though, the OP needs a quad core with more power if he wants to upgrade, something like the 2500k, however Idk if that's in his budget. 8 cores isn't foolish though, as that helps for video rendering and picture editing, plus in Games like BF3 it will benefit.

need for modern gaming

He said he needs something for gaming, I recommended for gaming. And 8 core isnt worth it unless you do some *serious* video rendering, as in during a major part of the day, youre rendering out videos. That or other very CPU intensive things that effectively use multiple cores, such as a server box for multiple servers/VMs). Games will not benefit from 8 cores. Not BF3, and not any I can name.

[Anzu]

I used mainboard OC swtich and well

later that day got a BSoD telling me my hardware was broken


Just disabled it and now nothing so uh, probably not going to OC

[Technical Abbreviations]

I used mainboard OC swtich and well

later that day got a BSoD telling me my hardware was broken


Just disabled it and now nothing so uh, probably not going to OC

Manual OC is easy, and safe if youre not stupid, and works properly.
Auto OC is easier and safer if youre not stupid. As in dont use it ._.