TL;DR Links to current build and potential upgrades below. Will the board work with the processor w/o a BIOS update? Do you have any suggestions that would be better for streaming/Photoshop within the price range of 400-700CAD
So basically I just have a few questions concerning some AMD stuff which haven't been answered online in specific yet as well as just wanting some ideas or suggestions on this.
The only reason for changing coolers is because some of the screwports on my H60 got stripped somehow.
I use my machine to Livestream some games and some "creative", where I usually work on Photoshop stuff. Right now I can barely work on a 24x18in 200ppi poster... Actually my computer straight up crashed while I was working on one, and I often get notices from Windows saying PS is eating up too much RAM, even when not streaming, and working on even 1920x1080px wallpapers often makes my PC stutter and lag.
My logic was that the 8350 is pretty affordable and has 8 cores which should be better for streaming and Photoshop and potentially Illustrator in the future while keeping costs low. Also... I have an mATX case... Boards are really limited. Also My main question about the upgrades I linked is: Would I need a BIOS update for that board to work with the processor?
Anyways, any suggestions are welcome. Just keep in mind I live in Canada so the prices are quite different from the states.. like.. RIP - Canadian Dollar.
I was thinking of that as well but a 2600k is still like 300CAD on eBay. People are selling 3570ks for over that amount. If I do go Intel I'm probably gonna look into a 4690(k) or 6600(k) Also I wouldn't 100% for sure get the benefit of warranty/returns
The M5A99x Evo R2.0 is only a bit more. Also, the 8320 is on markdown for like $99.00 USD right now, and can be overclocked to up to 5 Ghz, granted, to do it you need pretty good cooling, however, 4.5 is VERY doable.
If you could afford to upgrade to intel, then it would be a good choice. Since you allready have 8GB of DDR3 ram you could upgrade to something like a Xeon E3-1231-V3 + H97 mobo. That would be a nice step up.
If you could swing an extra $50 to $100 compared to the 8350 setup you linked you could get a Xeon E3 1231 V3 or whatever the Skylake equivalent is. You still get the eight threads, but you also have a lower TDP so you shouldn't need aftermarket cooling, and you get more performance overall. The downside is that it is more expensive and you can't overclock if you wanted to.
Others will correct me on this if I'm wrong I'm sure, but I also vaguely recall someone saying that mATX AM3+ motherboards aren't all that great? Something about the power delivery? I don't remember so I won't say too much on it.
like @anon59440203 above allready explained, the Xeon E3 is basicly a locked Haswell i7 4 cores 8 threads without an i gpu. It runs at a 3.4GHz base clock with a turbo clock of 3.8Ghz. Since the chip itself is not overclockable, you could basicly pair it with a cheaper H97 motherboard to save some money. You allready have 2x4GB DDR3 1600mhz ram, you can re-use that on the with the H97 platform.
Also if you still decide to go with a FX8350, which is not a bad choice. But then you realy going to need a better motherboard. THe only problem is that you have a micro ATX case, and there are basicly no decent micro atx AM3+ boards which i would recommend to run a FX8 core on. So you will need a new case aswell then.
list of decen AM3+ board to run a FX8 core on.
Asus crosshair V Formula Z 8+2 powerphase digi vrm
Asrock 990FX EXtreme 9 12+2 powerphase digi vrm
Asus 990FX Sabertooth R2.0 8+2 powerphase digi vrm
Asus M5A99FX pro R2.0 6+2 powerphase digi vrm
Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 6+2 powerphase digi vrm, only 20 pci-e 2.0 lanes.
Oh, thanks! Never even thought of going with a Xeon This is what I came up with http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/6nNWK8 I need more RAM because I get a ton of popup notices from Windows saying that Photoshop is using too much RAM. H97 because overclocking isn't possible and I want to save where I can.
looks basicly okay. i would personaly grab the Asrock H97 Mpro4, that i had selected. Because that board atleast has some vrm cooling on it.
The Memory, since the Xeon´s are not overclockable, you dont realy need 1866mhz memory. so if you can find a 1600mhz kit for cheaper, then go with that.