Looking for the FX 8170

Ben Williams

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Mar 22, 2012, 8:26:21 PM3/22/12

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Folks, I know that this post is probably asking for the trolls to pop up,
but I figure I'll post it anyways. I am running on a Phenom II X4 955. I
want to upgrade, but I am waiting for the FX 8170 to appear before I make
any firm decision. Bear in mind that I am a gamer and I will not settle for
lame crap. Does anyone here know if we're still on course for a Q1 2012
release date from AMD for the FX 8170? I am looking for any sign of when
this CPU is to be released. One would hope that AMD has learned something
from its disappointing launch with the other CPUs released last year. I for
one hope that the FX 8170 will put the fear of God into Intel. Some day, I
suspect AMD will come forward with something that will do it, the only
question to be resolved is when they will finally do it.

Yousuf Khan

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Mar 23, 2012, 1:35:28 AM3/23/12

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What speed do you expect an FX-8170 to run at? Why is an 8150 (base
speed 3600MHz) not sufficient compared to a PhII 955 (which runs at
3200MHz)?

Yousuf Khan

Yousuf Khan

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Mar 23, 2012, 1:36:46 AM3/23/12

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On 22/03/2012 8:26 PM, Ben Williams wrote:

Here's some speculated information about it:

http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Bulldozer/AMD-FX-Series%20FX-8170.html

Yousuf Khan

rms

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Apr 2, 2012, 10:15:52 AM4/2/12

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Folks, I know that this post is probably asking for the trolls to pop up,
but I figure I'll post it anyways. I am running on a Phenom II X4 955. I

want to upgrade, but I am waiting for the FX 8170 to appear...

Firstly, do you have an AM3+ mobo? Secondly, I've had both the x4 & now
the x6, both oc'd to 4ghz, and am sure the gaming bottleneck in my system is
not the cpu, but the videocard (a gtx 470). So, my advice is, get one of
the large but cheaper cpu heatsinks, overclock as much as possible, consider
upgrading the videocard instead of the cpu (I'd suggest a Radeon 7950/GTX
570/GTX 670(not released yet)), consider a SSD purchase, and wait for the
nextgen AMD cpus to arrive, not Bulldozer refreshes.

rms

Yousuf Khan

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Apr 2, 2012, 4:25:50 PM4/2/12

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I've done quite a few little upgrades over the past year, first it was
the CPU, where I went from an Phenom II X3 to an X6. Then I upgraded my
old 8600GT to an HD 6870. And most recently I upgraded to an SSD. The
SSD seems to be the one that's most perceivable performance improvement
overall. My Windows 7 Experience number is now sitting at 7.5 out of
7.9, and it was previously sitting at 5.9, mainly due to the hard drive.

I'm not sure what games you're playing, and what kind of a monitor
layout you have (do you have multi-monitors?), but it seems a GTX 470
should be still quite outstanding for most games.

Yousuf Khan

Ben Williams

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Apr 3, 2012, 2:58:40 PM4/3/12

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Yes, I have an AM3+ motherboard, and my graphics card is an XFX Radeon HD
5770. Any ideas as to how limited this would make my gaming experience? To
put it frankly, if I cannot justify the $400+ cost of a new GPU, I won't do
it. At the end of the day, I want something that will make me competitive,
but not make my wallet cry for mercy.

"rms" wrote in message news:jlccaq$e8a$1...@dont-email.me...

Yousuf Khan

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Apr 3, 2012, 4:21:39 PM4/3/12

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On 03/04/2012 2:58 PM, Ben Williams wrote:
> Yes, I have an AM3+ motherboard, and my graphics card is an XFX Radeon
> HD 5770. Any ideas as to how limited this would make my gaming
> experience? To put it frankly, if I cannot justify the $400+ cost of a
> new GPU, I won't do it. At the end of the day, I want something that
> will make me competitive, but not make my wallet cry for mercy.

You could possibly upgrade to a 6800-series for less than $200, and to a
7800-series for a little over $200. They should both be slight upgrades
to your 5700-series. But are you looking for a huge upgrade over what
you have now?

Yousuf Khan

rms

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Apr 4, 2012, 10:42:06 AM4/4/12

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Yes, I have an AM3+ motherboard, and my graphics card is an XFX Radeon HD
5770. Any ideas as to how limited this would make my gaming experience?

All I'm saying is look beyond the cpu to improve your gaming experience.
For me, buying a big cheap 28" 1900x1200 lcd monitor for $220 a couple years
ago gave more enjoyment than any other upgrade I've ever installed, but
running games at native resolution meant a new videocard, in my case a gtx
465 bios-modded to a 470. Great card, but showing it's age for the newest
games like BF3/Skyrim/Metro2033, which would have to be run at lower
resolutions, etc.

There's no requirement to even buy new! Newegg.com has a refurbished
GTX 560 with 1yr warranty for $160, or a GTX 560Ti for $220, & both Newegg &
Tigerdirect have 27-28" monitors in the $250 range. A 560Ti is roughly
equal to 2 radeon 5770 in crossfire. So $500 would give you a dramatic,
immediately obvious improvement in your gaming experience.

rms

rms

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Apr 4, 2012, 11:29:33 AM4/4/12

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Under $150 for a gtx 560 now, though I'd probably hold out for a 560Ti or
wait for the mid-range 600 series:

http://slickdeals.net/f/4161974-EVGA-01G-P3-1460-KR-GeForce-GTX-560-Fermi-1GB-GDDR5-HDCP-Ready-SLI-Support-VC-144-99AR-XFX-Double-D-Radeon-HD-6950-2GB-GDDR5-HDCP-Ready-CrossFireX-Support-Video-Card-234-99AR?p=48973886&utm_source=dealalerts&utm_medium=em-d&utm_term=1&utm_content=u960102&utm_campaign=tu6

rms