FX 4100 system to have its guts replaced, looking to finally take the upgrade plunge

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My trusty old FX 4100 system that has been running at 4.4 GHz ever since I built it 11 years ago, is showing its rather ancient age, and I'd like to retire it sooner, rather than later.

This isn't my main PC, since that one should be fine for a while (Ryzen 5 2600X, RX 580).

The current specs are:

AMD FX-4100 running at 4.4 GHz
16 GB DDR3 1600 RAM (AMD brand)
GeForce GTX 960


I'm not looking for a high power system, but wouldn't mind using it for some moderate gaming here and there. Basically, everything would still be done in 1920 x 1080, with most detail turned up a bit.

To be honest, I really wouldn't have minded looking at a very early Ryzen system, but I would rather it be seamlessly compatible with Windows 11 (yes, I know about the trick for unsupported CPU's, but would rather avoid doing this).

I was looking at a Ryzen 3 3100 + B450 motherboard + 16 GB DDR4 3200 combo, and was wondering how much of a difference it would make if I keep my current video card.

I know there are better bang / buck margins out there, but the fact remains that CPU's are still in short supply.
 
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i went from a 8350/16gb/580 to 2600x/16gb/580 and it was quite an improvement in %lows and a decent bump in max fps, overall system response was a yuge improvement. you should see a decent bump too.
 
The 960 will perform just like it always has. Detail settings are typically GPU dependent, not CPU dependent, so I don't know if you'll be able to turn up detail settings in any game where you are already GPU limited. I expect that most of the time, your current setup is CPU limited and the upgrade should give a nice boost, allowing you to go basically as fast as the GTX 960 will let you go.

The 3100 is a good choice if you can actually get one at a good price. You might want to consider an A520 mobo instead of a B450, simply for the newer chipset; it's unlikely to perform any differently than a B450 would.
 
I don't own a 3100 or a 4100, but if you're going to bite the upgrade bullet at least get a 4c8t part. You might not see any improvement at all. I know I saw no improvement between an fx6300 @ 4.2 and ryzen 1600@stock(didn't really like being overclocked) with an Rx 580. The 4100 was a screamer in games that didn't use more than 4 cores.
 
I would look at a 5600g as it would be close to on par with the 960 from just the apu, and get a 6 core cpu, or look at a 12600 or 12400 6 core alder lake with a b660 chipset board with your 960.
 
I had a 3100 on a b550 which does unlock PCI Express 4 as to be new enough and you're going need it with a RX5500 8Gb as had that also,

Now, just use a 3700x on x470 @3600Mhz memory speed a with RTX 3070

Also, you may find that used somewhere cheaper and it's 8/16 as I left 6 cores long ago. I have a 5600x and the 3700x plays just as smooth.
 
I would go with a used Ryzen 3600 over the 3100 and get a PCIe 4.0 motherboard to give the system more longevity and recent features. I would also look into the 5600x or a 5800x on a good sale. Newegg has the 5800x for about $355 today. Some have even mentioned about Micro Center having them on sale for about $300 at times. Some of the Alder Lake non-k i3's and i5's with a DDR4 motherboard may also prove a good route. I would not go with a 5600g or 5700g instead of the GTX 960 as those APU's run slower than it. Though, they will have driver support years after nvidia stops supporting the 900 series.
 
Thanks for all of the advice, y'all.

I'm going to wait for a wee bit longer, unless the machine dies. The Ryzen 3 3100 looks good, but I think I can get something better just by being a bit more patient. I don't mind spending another 100 bucks or so, and waiting for a 3600 seems to be logical.

I'm also not opposed to looking at the 10th and 11th generation Intel i3 / i5's.
 
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Thanks for all of the advice, y'all.

I'm going to wait for a wee bit longer, unless the machine dies. The Ryzen 3 3100 looks good, but I think I can get something better just by being a bit more patient. I don't mind spending another 100 bucks or so, and waiting for a 3600 seems to be logical.

I'm also not opposed to looking at the 10th and 11th generation Intel i3 / i5's.

Avoid the 11th gen, it's a dumpster fire. You have fewer cores due to Intel backporting a smaller architecture node to a larger node, you also have higher power consumption and less performance.

If you do go with Intel, stick to the 10th or 12th gen, unless you find a deal on some used gear in the 8th or 9th gen era. Also beware that liquid cooling is REQUIRED if you go with a 10600k/12600k or higher due to the crazy TDP. I wouldn't recommend anything less than a 240mm rad. The 12th gen series is a headache right now due to the hybrid architecture, Windows 10's thread scheduler doesn't know how to deal with it and will cause performance issues.

I'd personally recommend staying with AMD. I have a 10900k because I couldn't get a 5800X when I was trying to upgrade, and while it is a good CPU, the power consumption and heat are a pain to deal with. At full load, my 240mm AIO can barely keep up with it.
 
Wise choice. 4100 vs 3100 would likely dissapoint, especially if you don't upgrade GPU along with. Anything with less than 8 threads at this point would be foolish.
 
i went 4120 to 8350 to 2600x and noticed a difference with each, lows improve and high improved and system response was better with each.
 
When you go from an FX rig to Ryzen, you eliminate the throttling that occurs and will notice overall smoother and consistent framerates.
I had FX-8350 prior to my move to Ryzen, and the dips were huge...
While gaming was no issue, it was just not as smooth as the beast Ryzen is 😅👍🤟
 
When you go from an FX rig to Ryzen, you eliminate the throttling that occurs and will notice overall smoother and consistent framerates.
I had FX-8350 prior to my move to Ryzen, and the dips were huge...
While gaming was no issue, it was just not as smooth as the beast Ryzen is 😅👍🤟
This only applies to people who ran their FX chips with inadequate cooling. Motherboards and power delivery were a problem too. I had an ASROCK board with great VRMS and Heat sinks on them. It would overclock and run fast as hell all the way until the chip almost melted down. I also (still have) a Biostar board, that couldnt handle high clocks. Clocks wouldnt drop, but the heat from the CPU was considerably less, and performance would suffer as you increased the clock speed. It worked best with an 8350e, and just let the turbo boost do its thing. Still does in fact. Keeps right up to the Ryzen 1600. Still a toaster though, and needs a massive cooler.
 
I bought a 3600 at the end of 2020 because it beat the Intel rival 10400.

However, the 11400 and 12400 are faster than the 3600. The 12400 is as fast as a 5600x and way cheaper.

I know Intel boards cost more, but to me the 3600 is not the budget king like it used to be.
 
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I bought a 3600 at the end of 2020 because it beat the Intel rival 10400.

However, the 11400 and 12400 are faster than the 3600. The 12400 is as fast as a 5600x and way cheaper.

I know Intel boards cost more, but to me the 3600 is not the budget king like it used to be.
Oh for sure. The 3600 only comes up because the op was thinking 3100, which I think would be a mistake. 8 threads or bust!
 
The thing folks forget in these types of situations is..."I'm driving a Ford Model T, the finest car of it's age...whilst there are a massive range of modern performance cars out there...will a 2021 Ford Focus give me a noticably more dynamic and faster driving experience?"

I got asked if the 3600 with 16/32GB of DDR4 3600 and a PCI4 NVMe would be enough as there were several faster chips. "Chap...you currently have a Phenom II 965 x4 from 2009!"
 
The thing folks forget in these types of situations is..."I'm driving a Ford Model T, the finest car of it's age...whilst there are a massive range of modern performance cars out there...will a 2021 Ford Focus give me a noticably more dynamic and faster driving experience?"

I got asked if the 3600 with 16/32GB of DDR4 3600 and a PCI4 NVMe would be enough as there were several faster chips. "Chap...you currently have a Phenom II 965 x4 from 2009!"
The intent of that question is; My CPU from 2009 has lasted me this long, will this new chip be just as freaking awesome? Or should I get something better?
 
The intent of that question is; My CPU from 2009 has lasted me this long, will this new chip be just as freaking awesome? Or should I get something better?

Depends on how many more severe CPU vulnerabilities are found that require performance crippling patches. It could be fine, or it could fall off a cliff, only time will tell.
 
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