Alienware Aurora Processor Upgrade Intel to AMD

Hi, 

This processor is not a certified upgrade for any of the Alienware computers. We haven't tested it so we can't guarantee it will be compatible with this system.

The question itself borders on the preposterous; the 3970x is $650 used, the 4130 is lucky to still be like a hundred new. AMD has nothing, zilch in its arsenal to compare here. Passmark.com has your Intel benchmarking at a whopping 12,000+ ... the 4130 is a lack-luster 4,100. I own a pair of Fx-8320's, & my benchmarks were 8,500-ish. You'd need an FX-9590 Eight-Core ($300+ new) to broach the 10,300 mark ... but my 4770k trumped that with an 11,000. AMD is so far behind the performance game, they have nada new to offer in all of 2014, it's been a year since the 9350 was launched. 2015 til the new Steamroller platform hits the streets. Being the proud owner of five AMD cpu's (Fx & PhenomII), even I'm embarrassed at what is going on lately, & no wonder A-ware remains Intel only.

1st, you'd need to do a motherboard swap w/an AMD-based board to run an Fx, & 2nd, the 4130 is the BullDozer/Zambezi core ... a dismall series flop that was replaced by the PileDriver/Vishera core which nets a 10%--15% performance gain over it. Vishera is what Zambezi should have been, & SteamRoller is no where in sight til a be-lated 2015.

PassMark.com is a general narrow window into what's hot & what's not. Intel hot. AMD not.

• http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

Wikipedia Fx page:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_FX#.22Vishera.22_.2832_nm_SOI.29

If you want a decent AMD cpu, forget the gen 1 Bulldozer & go for gen 2 PileDrivers: try the 8320/8350, or 9370/9590, but the 9-series is a shameful 220w tdp cpu ...  do yourself a favor & keep your A-ware case together, & if you wanna do an AMD build, build it from scratch in a separate case. AMD makes nothing & will make nothing that would warrant its presence in something that Intel has already taken well care of. Everything they offer would be a (large) step backwards from your i7.

Alright thanks, I'll just stick with my motherboard and get another processor. I just hate this i7 cause its always maxing out since its only got 2.67 GHz. Thanks for helping me decide. Also another weird thing is my PC shows there's 8 of them on my device list?

you said you have an i7-3970x, which is rated @3.5ghz (base)  ... perhaps you've some other i7? Uh, Intel makes cores w/hyper-threading. so a quad core can handle 8 "threads" ... you're watching your software track the intel in its pursuit to grapple 8-threads.

On a side note, you called the 4130 a quad-core, but, most people agree two amd "cores" ("dual-integer cores") are only equal to one Intel core. So, the 4130 is equivalent to a dual-core Intel, where my 8-"core" 8320 is equivalent to a quad core Intel. AMD cpu's do their best when pitted against the i3 & i5 but wither in the face of top i7's.

Its actually an i7-920. Don't know why I put the other processor down. The thing won't even run half graphics on European Truck Simulator.

ok, you have a gen1 i7, code name Bloomfield, socket 1366. Drag down to see the BloomField & GulfTown skt 1366 cpu's available, new/used on eBay I'd say:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i7_microprocessors#.22Bloomfield.22_.2845_nm.29

my i7960 would be called anything but slow; it is a good cpu, but there are better, like the 975x, 980/80x 990x etc. All of those are over-clockable too.

If you have an Area-51, you're stuck w/socket 1366 'less you plop a new aftrmrkt mthrbrd in your case:

• http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19538850.aspx
• true, amd cpu's & mthrbrd's can be less expensive, but Intel rules the roost on performance

If you have an Aurora, you have an R1 (skt 1366)... you could probably buy an R2 R3 or R4 mthrbrd on eBay & update to a newer gen2 gen3 i7 (r2 r3 r4 have different intel socket mthrbrd's). Aurora can accept a mthrbrd swap to Asus, gigabyte. asrock etc, perhaps if you wanted a gen4/gen5 i7.

You'd be happy I think with a 975x, it is a true quad-core, socket 1366 direct replacement. .

If you do a separate amd build, MicroCenter has new 8350's down to $170. 8320/8350 are about the only thing you'd feel in a performance upd8 over your 920. 4&6 series Fx cpu's just don't seem to pop.

Uh, the 4&6 series Fx cpu's, they're 8-series w/cores "disabled" - unused real estate, a "waste".