Worth going back to Phenom II x6?

[mikeo01]

Hi, I have had the ASUS M5A97 PRO for a week now, and as many users on Overclock net as said, the AMD FX-6100 doesn't overclock very well on it.

The ASUS M5A97 PRO is a 6+2 phase design and on review sites it is apparently easy to get the Phenom up to 4Ghz.

I can only get my FX-6100 up to 4.2Ghz, which isn't impressive considering most users can get theirs at around 4.6Ghz with a low voltage of 1.35-1.3625.

So I am wondering, think its worth it to ditch the FX-6100 and buy a new Phenom II x6 1045T or a Phenom II x4 965 and overclock it to its max?

It looks like my board is the lower end around the Bulldozer, while this board acts as the higher end for the last generation? My FX-6100 was fun whilst it last but now because I know the board limitations, it may be best for me to overclock and get noticeable performance from the Phenom??

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You have got a 900MHZ overclock on a 3.3GHZ CPU - that is still not too bad at all.

I would stick with it TBH.

[mikeo01]

I suppose I am comparing results with other users. But for real time use it could be quicker.

The laptop in the house as an i3, and that's very smooth compared to this.

[Zak33]

I suppose I am comparing results with other users. But for real time use it could be quicker.

The laptop in the house as an i3, and that's very smooth compared to this.

smooth.. a laptop?

I think you have a different issue on your PC.. not your CPU.

Have you got loads of junk installed? Antivirus grinding away all the time? Old hard drive?

[kalniel]

I suppose I am comparing results with other users. But for real time use it could be quicker.

The laptop in the house as an i3, and that's very smooth compared to this.

As above, that's likely to be software in the most part - format and reinstall windows and it'll seem nice and smooth

Otherwise hard drive speed and ram can make a difference to how smooth windows feels - the i3 has a great memory controller and like for like might seem smoother.. but stick in an SSD and your desktop will seem like a mind reader compared. Seriously, an SSD will be better than any CPU upgrade.

[Domestic_Ginger]

Few things spring to mind.

Do you need that overclock, have you seen the power consumption on an overclocked PIIx6, is the outlay really worth it.

I have a PII x4, I can overclock to 3.6 without adding very much voltage at all. I think 3.45ish requires no added voltage. I've come to the conclusion I don't need an overclock and ended up underclcoking and then having even more fun undervolting.

I think you have the hardware bug; I'm always looking at new hardware and thinking I want one of those i5 setups; then after realising all the hassle is only going to net me a bit of perfromance which i don't really need.

[jim]

Unless you're doing heavy encoding work I doubt you'll notice any difference between Bulldozer and the Phenom chips, no reason to switch imo.

[mikeo01]

I suppose, thanks for everyone whos helped.

I will stick with the FX.

My computer isn't clogged with junk, I do regular maintenance on it, it's probably the HDD. The only issue I have is if I use a SSD there may not be much room on it.

I definitely have the hardware bug I agree well if Piledriver isn't too expensive I will move to that, but if not think its worth getting the FX-8120, it has £20 cashback from AMD, so technically it'll only cost me £105 (from Scan)??

Your right, not worth the hassle, considering I may move back and realise the FX was easier

Overclocking wise, I don't need to do it, its just addictive to think "I could do with a bit more umf". I will check out the SSDs on Scan

Thanks everyone for the help!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

TBH,I think with your HD6850 1GB,an overclocked FX6100 should be fine with it - its not like you have a GTX680 or HD7970.

The FX6200 running at 3.8GHZ with 4.1GHZ Turbo Core is not that bad:

http://www.pcgameshardware.de/aid,87.../FX-4100/Test/

The review was with a pre-overclocked GTX580. With an HD6850 1GB you should be fine IMHO.

[kalniel]

My computer isn't clogged with junk, I do regular maintenance on it, it's probably the HDD. The only issue I have is if I use a SSD there may not be much room on it.

You don't need much. Keep the OS and pagefile on it, plus frequently used small applications like your browser, Office etc. and it'll seem like a 10x faster computer as they just open *instantly*.

[mikeo01]

I am surprised on the performance of the FX-6200, guess I could just overclock it. Because the FX-8120 is similar I may get that and leave it at stock or overclock it for some extra performance.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Your overclocked FX6100 is probably faster than an FX6200 as it is running at a constant 4.2GHZ - is Turbo Core still active on your overclocked CPU??

[mikeo01]

Turbocore is turned off, on this board I can't get 4.4Ghz on the multiplier without a pretty big voltage boost. TurboCore would probably cause the computer to crash if it was on unfortunately.

[mikeo01]

If Piledriver is too expensive, would the FX-8120 be easier or harder to overclock? Because ran Prime and found out my 4.2Ghz overclock is not stable. It is very difficult to overclock on this board and I am not risking pushing the voltage too far to degrade the chip.

On that benchmark the FX-8120 is near the FX-6200, so would it be worth buying the FX-8120 and getting the cashback rather than risk overclocking this FX-6100?

My FX-6100 needs 1.476 (Vcore) for 4.4Ghz, and 1.3750 (Vcore 1.402) for 4.2Ghz, which is a bit much.

I think I may get the FX-8120 while its cheap? I can't see Piledriver being £120 or less.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would still stick with what you have TBH!! If you really want better CPU performance in games,disable one of the modules. The FX4100 series in most games is more or less the same as an FX8100 series anyway.

You could try ditching the FX6100 and then using the money to subsidise the FX8120. OTH,I suspect an FX8120 might need better cooling and will consume more power when overclocked. TBH,I would rather wait for Vishera.

[mikeo01]

If you disable modules does the chip still consume the same amount? Because even when I disable all cores except two, I still cannot overclock over 4.2Ghz.

Yeah I may wait till then, for the extra performance, heat and power requirements it'll be worth waiting till Vishera, isnt too far away I suppose