[MitchRapp]

hey guys
I just created a "NEED NEW ATI CARD" threat, but might as well as this one in the right forum

I'm looking to upgrade my CPU (currently AMD X2 3.0ghz 6000+)

Pretty sure my motherboard supports quad-cores, so I'm wondering what would be the best bang-for-my-canadian-buck

AMD Quad Core 2.8 or above preferably. Any specific model, black edition, this and that city-name processor edition?

Budget is, again, 150$ Canadian

thanks


EDIT --> what do u guys think of this CPU http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...0&promoid=1051 ?

will it 1) show a significant increase in speed in games/apps over my current one? 2) use up more power than my current one?

I run an Antec Earthwatts 500W 80% PSU ... it's been great for my current rig. Would this un-great it?

[IvanV]

Here's a review of that processor: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews.php?reviewid=851

My opinion is that it's a very good choice for the money. The performance difference you'll see will depend on the application, a simpler application that depends on clock speed the most and isn't optimized for more than two cores won't see a major improvement, but in general it's a whole lot more processing power. And it won't un-great your PSU, even combined with the graphics card you intend to get. There is a problem with the plan, though. I took a look at the CPU support list for your motherboard on ASUS's web site, and it doesn't show that processor, or any other Phenom II based model. That's potentially an additional expense, the new motherboard.

[OldBuzzard]

Yeah, the A IIs are looking very good in price/performance.

Unfortunately, according to the specs page at Asus, it doesn't appear that your MB supports it.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

It appears that the fastest CPU that it supports is the Phenom X4 9950.

To stay within your budget, it looks like the Phenom X4 9850 would be the one to get. Newegg.ca has it at $139.99. However that's an OEM with no HSF, so you would need to get a GOOD HSF for it as well, since from what I see in reviews, that processor does run pretty hot.
Newegg.ca - AMD Phenom 9850 2.5GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

[IvanV]

I'd rather go with the Athlon II x4 620 and a new motherboard. Depending on the situation, it should be about as fast or faster than the old x4 9850 as well as a lot cooler and less power hungry. On top of that, considering that he'd have to buy a decent cooler for the 9850, the motherboard + Athlon II x4 combination wouldn't come much more expensive as there are very nice AMD boards at reasonable prices. Of course, in that case, an OS reinstall would be in order.

[MitchRapp]

dang ... new board too...
well I could wait. I think I'll just upgrade my video card for now ! thanks guys.

[OldBuzzard]

Originally Posted by IvanV

I'd rather go with the Athlon II x4 620 and a new motherboard. Depending on the situation, it should be about as fast or faster than the old x4 9850 as well as a lot cooler and less power hungry. On top of that, considering that he'd have to buy a decent cooler for the 9850, the motherboard + Athlon II x4 combination wouldn't come much more expensive as there are very nice AMD boards at reasonable prices. Of course, in that case, an OS reinstall would be in order.

I took a look at a decent A II/MB combo on Newegg.CA, and he would be looking at $214.98 CDN.
Newegg.ca - ASRock A790GMH/128M AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
Newegg.ca - AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

That would be WAY past his budget. It would allow for future upgrades though.

[MitchRapp]

I think for now I will just settle on a better video card and POSSIBLY a cheap phenom, although I wouldn't want to DOWNGRADE from 3.0ghz to 2.4 ... 2.8ghz would be my min.

I upgrade every 3 years, so next November is my time (MOBO-CPU-RAM-PSU-CASE-VID)




EDIT --> What do you guys personally think though? If I were to change my X2 6000+ 3.0ghz for, say, an X4 2.4ghz 9750 (95W version)
Would i see any difference at all? Better/Worst/Wtf?

[procupine14]

Well.....I would say that you might as well just wait. I personally don't know how much that would help you out. It would most likely be a decent upgrade if you were using a lot of applications where you will use four cores. It may be slightly slower at running single core apps but other than that if its a fairly cheap processor then I suppose it wouldn't hurt.