AMD Athlon X4 860K Black Edition CPU Quad Core FM2+ 4000Mhz 95W 4MB AD860KXBJABOX

Bought this Processor for a Sub-500 Dollar Computer build for a friend. The maximum performance is obviously getting items that can really extend their potential with little work and low cost, or in this case overclocking. [Athlon X4 860k, Arctic 13 Cooler (Used), R7 360 MSI Armor OC, 8GB Viper III 1600mhz Ram, 1TB 7200 HDD, Corsair Carbide Case, Gigabyte FM2+ Standard Matx Mobo, 500w EVGA Bronze PSU] = $480As someone who grew up with AMD and has tons of good experiences (primarily using i7's now), I'm extremely impressed with the performance and the compatibility of the 860k and how it integrates into the build as a whole. I would definitely recommend overclocking the processor at a minimum 4.2ghz w/ Turbo Off, as once you hit the x42 Multiplier, you will notice a strong gain in real-life scenarios, as it seems to be hitting a certain minimum performance threshold on a x64 Win7 Ultimate w/ lots of software. This processor is the definition of hitting a very respectable level of power while only costing around 75~USD. However, make sure to invest in a very strong cooling system, also make sure the fan will fit too as the Cooler Master Hyper Evo is super popular/performs well but very tall. Paired with the R7 360 OC'ed, this combo makes for a decent gaming computer for popular online games and some bigger AAA titles @ 1080p, depending on how much you like to 'optimize' your graphic settings. Heat output is okay especially at OC levels but nothing that a well fitted fan and Silver-based thermal compound can't take care of. Pretty high power consumption, but that just comes with the territory of a processor like this. Overall great processor, has a pretty high potential ceiling, super strong performance once past 4.2ghz, and the price just makes this unit so hard to fault. Even at much higher standards, if you have low temps while pushing the processor higher, you can start rivaling other bigger Intel processor lines, at-least in benchmarks, not always in real-world. You'll start noticing dips when really pushing all 4 cores/threads, but within very reasonable limits, I haven't seen any issues or big complaints (Game + Firefox/Pandora + Peripherals) Lastly, don't look at the FX series and such, those are much harder to pair up or get up and running at their 100% efficiency due to certain mobos,etc. For a pretty efficient $500 build, this processor definitely can carry its weight and then some more. Awesome processor for sure.

Astounding performance from this solid processor! as the title states, this is an AWESOME budget processor. It does not have a GPU built into it so you will need a discreet GPU. However this processor is insanely fast and believe me I know fast(My personal desktop has an i7 3930k + gtx 980ti and my brother's PC has a FX6300 + gtx 770 4Gb Ed.). I initially bought this processor because of reading the reviews and many claimed it was a very fast, in fact, one of the fastest FM2+ processors. I got it for my media center build for TV/Entertainment room. I paired this CPU with my old GTX 680. As an avid gamer, i decided to test some light games on it such as dishonored, batman AA, skyrim, even crsysis2(which is actually not light ;p), and to my surprise the PC ran all without a sweat and on max! I then tried some other games such as Assassin's creed black flag (which is terribly optimized on the whole) and even that worked well with an average of 45-55fps @ 1080p. Even with newer games like COD advanced warfare, metro last light and far cry 4, I got near 60FPS on all, ON MAX (with one or 2 settings tweaked down)! Also i urge you to get a custom cooler. I will be getting one later on. It runs a little hot on the stock cooler, but nothing to worry about and all these tests were on the stock cooler(and note: my house did NOT burn down or melt as many reviewers think you to believe). I honestly didn't expect so much power out of a $75 CPU, but hey i guess its 2015. I'm not an AMD fan but i must give praise where it is due. I know that as of now(2015) there is not a good enough upgrade path when one chooses FM2+ , but i assure you, in getting this CPU, the need for upgrading will only arise probably in the next 4-5 years, probably longer. Well done AMD with the Athlon X4 860k, well done!

This is a decent Kaveri generation 4 core CPU. Stock clocks are 3.7GHz with a boost clock of 4.0 GHz. With the stock cooler that came with my processor, the CPU couldn't maintain full base clocks in a "torture test" environment with Prime95, even in a well air conditioned home with a well ventilated case. I discovered this when I started looking at doing a little overclocking. The culprit was twofold:1) My relatively nice ASUS A88XM-Plus/CSM motherboard was providing much higher voltage than the CPU needed at stock clocks, particularly at boost clocks where it wanted to provide something like 1.47 volts for 4.0GHz (compare with Prime95 stable values below), and2) The stock cooler just wasn't quite good enough even after lowering the voltages.I bought a better cooler, which unfortunately meant removing the motherboard to install a backing plate, but was then able to maintain boost clocks under Prime95 testing.I didn't win the silicon lottery and get a great overclocker, and in the end I left it in turbo mode using software to set the P-States. Below is my base and boost P-State configuration, for reference:P0 4.4GHz, 1.4625VP1 4.3GHz, 1.41875VP2 4.2GHz, 1.39375VP3 4.1GHz, 1.3875VP0-P2 are boost clocks, with P0 only available under specific conditions (one core has to be idle, I believe, for another core to get full boost).Motherboard: ASUS Micro ATX DDR3 2400 Motherboards A88XM-PLUS/CSMCooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2)Here and now, August 2016, I would take a serious look at a Kaveri Refresh (Godavari) CPU for an FM2+ motherboard, like the Athlon 4 880K: AMD Athlon X4 880K with 125W Thermal Solution 4.0 4 Socket FM2+ AD880KXBJCSBXOr, if I were looking for a more efficient/compact/silent system, with a little lower performance, I'd go with a Carrizo CPU like the Athlon 4 845K:AMD Athlon X4 845 and Near-Silent 95W AMD Thermal Solution AD845XACKASBX