CPU Upgrade Options

[Sudy]

The AMD Phenom II X3 Black Edition 720 is one of the best computing investments I've ever made, but it finally seems to be growing long in the tooth and impacting my gaming ability.

Question 1: How far can I get with my current motherboard? Asus M4A785TD-M EVO. It's AM3 socket, right? So per Tom's I could pop in an FX-4350, but not an FX-6300 (AM3+), right? Would an FX-6300 even be a considerable upgrade, outside of doubling my cores to 6?

Question 2: If the answer is no, is there anything worth upgrading to less expensive than the Intel Core i5-6500? Considering that the processor is not only significantly more expensive, but would require a new mobo?

Question 3: Is my DDR3 RAM compatible with the DDR4 and DDR3L-supporting i5-6500? Even if it is, am I gimping myself by not upgrading to DDR4? If so, I might as well consider building a whole new box....

Question 4: Is there anything revolutionary on the near horizon worth waiting for?

As always, I am in your debt.

[hitbyambulance]

It's AM3 socket, right? So per Tom's I could pop in an FX-4350, but not an FX-6300 (AM3+), right? Would an FX-6300 even be a considerable upgrade, outside of doubling my cores to 6?

you can put AM3 CPUs in an AM3+ socket, but not the other way around. the FX-4350 is a few ticks better than my current i7 920 (a second-gen i7), and i'm finding this processor is still totally workable for current games. you may want something more future proof, however...

could you find one for a cheap second-hand price, maybe? that would be the way to go. if not, considering the RAM situation, power your way through to a totally new DDR4-based machine.

Question 2: If the answer is no, is there anything worth upgrading to less expensive than the Intel Core i5-6500? Considering that the processor is not only significantly more expensive, but would require a new mobo?

as i read on tomshardware, even Haswell is a really good CPU. "Anything in the i5-4400 to 4690 (non S/T) wattage quad core series will be more than sufficient for anything you'll need to do for a long time. Pair it with a good motherboard and some decent RAM and you'll be set."

[Sudy]

Thanks for your comments HBA! I'm looking into higher end AM3 CPUs in the used market as well. Otherwise, saving up for a Skylake build seems the way to go. More and more I'm thinking my CPU isn't that bad, it just hates The Division. I don't want to repeat past trends of updgrading for just one game.