Hi I had an older generation i5 750 processor and my motherboard was behaving flaky so I decided to scrap all of this and upgrade. I chose the AMD fx-6300 for three reasons: A) 129$ B) 129$ C)129$
My upgrade cost all in all 260$!
Asus micro mobo:87$ Big Ass Cooler Master CPU fan, 30$
I kept my DDR3 ram from my old setup because it fit in the new one.
What is beautiful about the AMD setup is that compatible motherboards chipset still support first generation PCI slots
This enabled me to keep my trusted EMU 1212m audio card. Sorry people, but the EMU cards (RIP) are the best ever audio interfaces i have ever found. Onboard Effects, Zero Latency monitoring with Reverb bussing when recording, super flexible I/O, patchmix application, pro tools HD grade converters, ADAT 8x8 light pipe I/O, spdif I/O for a total of 12 I/O! ... SUPER STABLE and LOW LATENCY (PCI slot) integration... ok enough about this
 
PLUS
 
AMD Fx series compatible motherboards hold full fledged built in display outputs because the FX series cpus have a dedicated graphics partition. This means you do not need to buy a graphics card and, being part of the motherboard, amd's solution is totally silent and fanless. I already had a graphics card. What I will try to find out is if I can use the onboard Motherboard graphics processor along with my video card for extra screens (3)..
The FX-6300 has 6 cores. I could have bought the FX-8350 which has 8 cores but it was 60$ more and I am cheap.
 
My impressions:
I do not want to tell anyone what to do and I do not want to start an argument about Intel being better then AMD because I already know this... BUT... I loaded 100 tracks, each of them with a breverb inserted in the path...  and it worked. This CPU is twice as powerfull as my former i5 and then some.  I can load MANY (more then enough) software synths and effects, and never do I come close to topping of the CPU max.. Sonar's multicore code seems to play nice with the AMD processor... Sonar's CPU performance monitor activity is really smooth and well spread out, no spikes... Sure maybe if I was creating a HUGE Hollywood film score i would be in trouble with the FX-6300. But for anything that is within the realm of pop/techno music, this thing will deliver. I consider that if I create a song and my computer chokes before I can add enough plugins to produce it adequately, there is something wrong with my song...
 
Bottom line;
Maybe my needs are lower then some others but really, for 260$ for complete upgrade, there is no way I could be more happier.
 
Thank you FX-6300
 
 
 

Hi. I have been using a AMD AM3+ fx-8320 for about a year, and have been very happy with it. I did also purchase from a wallet point of view Thinking about getting a better CPU cooler, than the one that came with it. Might help when I move to a bigger room..
All the best.

See my spec below.  My upgrade cost less than yours. It was CPU, MB, RAM for under $240.
 
FX-6300 is my favorite AMD processor because it runs on less watts.  The heatsinks that come with AMD are fine. I hate the Intel push pin.
 
I have never OC'd my 6300.  400mhz isn't a noticeable jump to OC.
 
The FX 8350 can be had for under $150.
 
 

kitekrazy1
 I hate the Intel push pin.

 
so do I. I used an AMD bulldozer for 2 years (my last rig) I love building AMD systems, they are so much fun and easy to build. I upgraded a few months ago to an I7 4790k 1150LGA and I absolutely love it. what a difference in load times. but I can not and will not ever dis on the AMD. the differences are not so far between intel and AMD that the wallet can tell.
in other words, for the money, AMD is a great value and a great CPU.

I would say the higher end AMDs are not a good value.  Check out those 9 series requiring over 200 watts.  For over a $100 more an Intel would be a better buy.