To upgrade or not, that is the question...

Forbidden Donut · Mar 10, 2008, 08:49 PM

I've currently got an Opteron 175 dual core, stock speed of 2.2ghz on a Lanparty board with 2gb of mushkin pc3200 and an 8800gtx 768mb vidcard.

Am I looking at any sort of bottleneck? Games run rather well (though I'm always keen to get the absolute best from them) but I was wondering if an upgrade to a 6400 x2 and some ddr2 would make much of a difference. I've heard it actually won't but would of course like a second opinion.

Thanx in advance for any advice I can get.

BlueMak · Mar 10, 2008, 09:01 PM

I don't think it would worth the money to go that way.

nheimler · Mar 10, 2008, 09:21 PM

I agree. If anything and if the MB supports it is to buy two identical drives and stripe them to reduce the bottleneck with write time on the drives. I myself am wondering to go down the upgrade path just from a 2.4Ghz Dual Core to a 2.4GHz Quad. I was kind of waiting to see what AMD was gunna do to combat Intel's Quad, but so far from the tests I read of the "test" chips it wasn't that great compared to Intel.

**Mousey** · Mar 10, 2008, 09:36 PM

What kind of budget do you have?
AMD is a bad choice at the minute, unless they can pull a solid gold CPU out of their arses and stun the entire market with it there's no safer option than going intel depending on your budget.
The GTX should munch through everything you throw at it, so the chances are it's definately the CPU bottlenecking.

**kris23** · Mar 10, 2008, 10:25 PM

get rid of AMD go intel.

get a cheap P35 board, e8500 and G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 1000 and watch it take off like a rocket.....

Forbidden Donut · Mar 10, 2008, 11:13 PM

Thanx for the quick replies. My budget is roughly $600. It's been a little while since I've done anything to this machine and have kinda been outta the loop for a bit. Not really familiar with too much that's on the market currently, from either Intel or AMD. I haven't used an Intel since my first cpu (Celeron 400mhz), as I've been a big fan of AMD for quite some time. I have no qualms about switching over though, if I'll see some big gains for my budget; otherwise, I'll save and wait a bit.

Thanx again all!

**kris23** · Mar 10, 2008, 11:17 PM

ur budget is perfect really, wait one second!

**kris23** · Mar 10, 2008, 11:27 PM

Newegg.com - CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
Newegg.com - ASUS P5K-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail

all u need is an OS and ur set, just download and joyride for a full 120 days before CD key is needed! thats what im doing, not sure if my hardware is final so im not installing the key yet.

Forbidden Donut · Mar 11, 2008, 12:42 PM

Definitely seems like some nice hardware...thanx for the recommendations.

A couple other things I'd like to know. Would my psu be sufficient for that? It's a Sparkle Power 550w and it seems to do the job just fine in what I have now. Also, how do you try out an OS like that? I assume you're referring to Vista.

Sorry for all the questions!

FD

**kris23** · Mar 11, 2008, 01:14 PM

your PSU should be fine, you're looking at 50w higher power consumption, max.
but i would recommend upgrading sometime in the future as you are pushing it..

to try out an OS, you just need to get a DVD-ROM or DVD-RW disk, and go to any of the torrent sites around here and download it. theres nothing wrong with it until you try to get a free license key.

you are looking for windows vista X64, one disk has all the versions. but seeing as you dont got a DVD burner, thats gonna be a problem.

Forbidden Donut · Mar 11, 2008, 02:31 PM

Haven't updated my sig lately; I actually do have a dvd burner. If I like what I see as far as Vista goes, how do I go about purchasing the license key?

Al_Vampyre · Mar 11, 2008, 03:38 PM

Opteron 175 at stock? Why? I have a 165 sitting at 2.48 on a cheap and cheerful Asrock 939, stock voltages.

I'm in roughly the same boat as you are, I've decided to skip this round and wait for the Nehalem Quads as my Opty isn't really an issue at the moment.

Forbidden Donut · Mar 11, 2008, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al_Vampyre

Opteron 175 at stock? Why? I have a 165 sitting at 2.48 on a cheap and cheerful Asrock 939, stock voltages.

I'm in roughly the same boat as you are, I've decided to skip this round and wait for the Nehalem Quads as my Opty isn't really an issue at the moment.

To be honest, I haven't had much luck at all OC'ing this chip. Which is kind of a drag since I had my previous 939 cpu, an x2 3200 (I think that's what it was) at a conservative 2.5ghz.

Al_Vampyre · Mar 12, 2008, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forbidden Donut

To be honest, I haven't had much luck at all OC'ing this chip. Which is kind of a drag since I had my previous 939 cpu, an x2 3200 (I think that's what it was) at a conservative 2.5ghz.

Ah, thats a shame, its so long since I've had a bad chip that I forget that it does happen. I actually hoped to get more out of mine but I think its the cheap mobo holding it back. Was stable at 2.52 in XP, only stable at 2.48 in Vista x64.

Anyway, back on topic, there really isn't much improvement to be had out of quad core as far as gaming is concerned, most games still don't even utilise more than 1 core. I plan on upgrading for video encoding purposes but have decided to leave it until Nehalem as I think the clocks that people get out of Penryn are going to be disappointing because they all have really low multipliers...

Mar 10, 2008, 08:49 PM	#1
Forbidden Donut HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 86 Rep Power: 0	To upgrade or not, that is the question... I've currently got an Opteron 175 dual core, stock speed of 2.2ghz on a Lanparty board with 2gb of mushkin pc3200 and an 8800gtx 768mb vidcard. Am I looking at any sort of bottleneck? Games run rather well (though I'm always keen to get the absolute best from them) but I was wondering if an upgrade to a 6400 x2 and some ddr2 would make much of a difference. I've heard it actually won't but would of course like a second opinion. Thanx in advance for any advice I can get. __________________ AMD Phenom II x4 955 3.2ghz DFI LP DK 790FX mobo 4GB (2x 2GB) Mushkin DDR2 800 Nvidia GTX 465 1 TB sata hdd - Win7/Games/all other software 250 GB sata hdd - storage 250 GB sata hdd - Win8 Sata dvdrw Mushkin 650w PSU

Mar 10, 2008, 09:01 PM	#2
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,465 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	I don't think it would worth the money to go that way. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Mar 10, 2008, 09:36 PM	#4
Mousey Synth's Long Lost Bro Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Web Design Hell Posts: 7,189 Rep Power: 245 System Specs	What kind of budget do you have? AMD is a bad choice at the minute, unless they can pull a solid gold CPU out of their arses and stun the entire market with it there's no safer option than going intel depending on your budget. The GTX should munch through everything you throw at it, so the chances are it's definately the CPU bottlenecking. __________________

Mar 10, 2008, 10:25 PM	#5
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,018 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	get rid of AMD go intel. get a cheap P35 board, e8500 and G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 1000 and watch it take off like a rocket..... __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Mar 10, 2008, 11:13 PM	Thread Starter #6
Forbidden Donut HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 86 Rep Power: 0	Thanx for the quick replies. My budget is roughly $600. It's been a little while since I've done anything to this machine and have kinda been outta the loop for a bit. Not really familiar with too much that's on the market currently, from either Intel or AMD. I haven't used an Intel since my first cpu (Celeron 400mhz), as I've been a big fan of AMD for quite some time. I have no qualms about switching over though, if I'll see some big gains for my budget; otherwise, I'll save and wait a bit. Thanx again all! __________________ AMD Phenom II x4 955 3.2ghz DFI LP DK 790FX mobo 4GB (2x 2GB) Mushkin DDR2 800 Nvidia GTX 465 1 TB sata hdd - Win7/Games/all other software 250 GB sata hdd - storage 250 GB sata hdd - Win8 Sata dvdrw Mushkin 650w PSU

Mar 10, 2008, 09:21 PM	#3
nheimler DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 201 Rep Power: 0	I agree. If anything and if the MB supports it is to buy two identical drives and stripe them to reduce the bottleneck with write time on the drives. I myself am wondering to go down the upgrade path just from a 2.4Ghz Dual Core to a 2.4GHz Quad. I was kind of waiting to see what AMD was gunna do to combat Intel's Quad, but so far from the tests I read of the "test" chips it wasn't that great compared to Intel.

Mar 10, 2008, 11:17 PM	#7
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,018 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	ur budget is perfect really, wait one second! __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Mar 10, 2008, 11:27 PM	#8
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,018 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Newegg.com - CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail Newegg.com - ASUS P5K-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail all u need is an OS and ur set, just download and joyride for a full 120 days before CD key is needed! thats what im doing, not sure if my hardware is final so im not installing the key yet. __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Mar 11, 2008, 12:42 PM	Thread Starter #9
Forbidden Donut HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 86 Rep Power: 0	Definitely seems like some nice hardware...thanx for the recommendations. A couple other things I'd like to know. Would my psu be sufficient for that? It's a Sparkle Power 550w and it seems to do the job just fine in what I have now. Also, how do you try out an OS like that? I assume you're referring to Vista. Sorry for all the questions! FD __________________ AMD Phenom II x4 955 3.2ghz DFI LP DK 790FX mobo 4GB (2x 2GB) Mushkin DDR2 800 Nvidia GTX 465 1 TB sata hdd - Win7/Games/all other software 250 GB sata hdd - storage 250 GB sata hdd - Win8 Sata dvdrw Mushkin 650w PSU

Mar 11, 2008, 01:14 PM	#10
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,018 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	your PSU should be fine, you're looking at 50w higher power consumption, max. but i would recommend upgrading sometime in the future as you are pushing it.. to try out an OS, you just need to get a DVD-ROM or DVD-RW disk, and go to any of the torrent sites around here and download it. theres nothing wrong with it until you try to get a free license key. you are looking for windows vista X64, one disk has all the versions. but seeing as you dont got a DVD burner, thats gonna be a problem. __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Mar 11, 2008, 02:31 PM	Thread Starter #11
Forbidden Donut HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 86 Rep Power: 0	Haven't updated my sig lately; I actually do have a dvd burner. If I like what I see as far as Vista goes, how do I go about purchasing the license key? __________________ AMD Phenom II x4 955 3.2ghz DFI LP DK 790FX mobo 4GB (2x 2GB) Mushkin DDR2 800 Nvidia GTX 465 1 TB sata hdd - Win7/Games/all other software 250 GB sata hdd - storage 250 GB sata hdd - Win8 Sata dvdrw Mushkin 650w PSU

Mar 11, 2008, 03:38 PM	#12
Al_Vampyre HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Scotland Posts: 1,532 Rep Power: 72 System Specs	Opteron 175 at stock? Why? I have a 165 sitting at 2.48 on a cheap and cheerful Asrock 939, stock voltages. I'm in roughly the same boat as you are, I've decided to skip this round and wait for the Nehalem Quads as my Opty isn't really an issue at the moment. __________________ "Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Brian O'Driscoll - Ireland Rugby Team 2009 Grand Slam winning Captain.