From S939 3700+ to AM2+ 4600 X2?

[boonality]

I recently bought a Q6600 8800GTS system so this question isn't about building up to gaming standards but never the less I have the "upgrade bug" for my older computer.

I have a socket 939 3700+ with 2GB of DDR 400 and an ATI X800XL that I just handed down to the wife now that I'm on the above mentioned system which replaced a P4 she was using while I was on the 939. Anywho I have been looking at prices for upgrading and have come up with this.

GIGABYTE GA-MA770-S3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail ($85)

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ 2.4GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO4600DOBOX - Retail ($66)

Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2K2/2GR - Retail ($42)

Total comes to $193 and I'm getting a hand me down ATI 2600 to stick in it. And will be using an already purchased corsair power supply, existing case, hard drive, dvd drives.. etc.

My question is whether or not the 4600 X2 is a decent improvement over the 3700+?

Keeping in mind that the AM2+ motherboard has quad support to upgrade in the future without having replace the motherboard which is what I am faced with at the moment.

The wife doesn't do any heavy gaming or anything but messes around from time to time and doesn't even know the difference between low and high graphics settings. She's running through Dreamfall right now and enjoys the older RPG games, she enjoys CS:S when we are coop against bots and she also plays NR2003 with me sometimes (I'm kinda lucky now that I think about it).

Anyway is nearly $200 worth it i guess is what I'm asking? I'd like to hear from people that upgraded from a similar A64 to a similar A64 X2 to share their personal experience about the difference in performance.

 

[snajper69]

I believe you will see a quite a bit of improvement. I definitely think it is a good choice and the upgrade price sounds reasonable as well. You are leaving some breathing room for future upgrades, which is always smart. There is one thing that I would change: stretch for 5000BE is just 30 more but in a year if you/your wife will need extra horse power you will just have to over clock the BE which is cheaper than upgrading CPU, and perhaps replace a graphic card. SO I say go for it. I changed from P4 to Amd 6400BE and I am quite please and sure I will be set for a while. The only mistake I made I went with AMD board so Phenom’s are out of reach for me unless I change the MOBO as well. Smart upgrades.

 

[rallyimprezive]

You can get a better deal on the DDR2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...E&N=2010170147 1052308477&bop=And&Order=PRICE, but aside from that. I think your wife will enjoy it!

Its funny, I do the same thing you do. My poor wife gets all my hand me downs. But we havent gamed together in a while. =(

 

[Onus]

You'll see a big difference going to two cores if only because you'll be offloading background crap to another core. My last similar upgrade was a 3200+ to an X2 3800+, and it was a huge improvement.
My wife played a little Guild Wars with me (why she has my old 7900GS), but she otherwise only plays casual games too. She runs lots of tasks at once though, so I built her a dual-core; I think it was a 925. I'm going to give her at least a 4500 soon though.

 

[boonality]

Thanks for the input everyone. I had originally planned on the 5000 X2 black, but i saw that the price jumped about $12 on it. I wonder why? Anyway I am not completely sold on that configuration yet. I need to review motherboards when it comes closer to buying time next week. Also... if only I could find a used 939 X2 processor!!

 

[joewho]

I understand the BUG. But if all your wife is doing is surfing, your wasting YOUR money. But if the BUG got you. I would go with a Intel setup. If you live near a Fry's they have MoBo/CPU setups all the time for around $150. Just my two cents.

 

[ahslan]

...ya...i really wish I had bought a cheap 939 X2 when I had the chance...they are impossible to find now and/or are ridiculously overpirced

 

[evongugg]

You should try Ebay for used stuff.
Check the CPU charts for the difference between processors:

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/processors/xvid-1-1-2,403.html

 

[boonality]

But if all your wife is doing is surfing, your wasting YOUR money.

Sadly this is a good point. I should probably wait till she wines about wanting to play something new instead of upgrading hoping she'll get into something.

 

[snajper69]

Waiting is always a smart wayt o go especially if the current config is good enough for her.

 

[snajper69]

And I do not agree with JoWho if amd dose the trick for you than there is no reason to go with Intel, most people do it just because Intel is now on top. For me I pick always underdog if he meets my requirments over the big blue. Why? Its just being smart every time underdog gets something right look at what happens with the prices even Intel adjust its prices to compete. So if there is no people to suport the underdogs than in a long run we will add the cost to our future builds. So as long AMD will keep on meeting my needs I will always buy its products in hope that they will be able, even if not now, than at least in the future put a presure on the big blue to lower its prices. Competition is always good and it always benefits us the end users.

 

[boonality]

Ya I see no reason to go intel with a build around this performance range. I'll pay $40 more for the same performance.

On another note, have ya'll noticed that AMD motherboards get really crappy reviews (generally) on the egg? It really makes finding that "sweet spot" motherboard hard to find. I've even been giving biostar a second look because I can't find that perfectly reliable board.

 

[boonality]

Well most likely I'll end up buying the misses a new bathing suit or some flowers or something instead. That will have much better um... eh side effects.

 

[B-Unit]

Make sure to get one with the 700 series southbridge if you have any designs on using Vista.

 

[snajper69]

I notice the issue with a MOBO I am at a point of concidering a new one but lests face it there is no decent one in the sweet spot price range. You can either go really cheap or expensive. And even the expensive don't really justify the expense. Asus is coming out with whole fleet of m3 boards but by the time they will get them right they will be an old news. I think this is in large due to Phenom not really beeing what everyone hoped for. Lets hope the new processor they working on will have somethng better to offer. As well I wish the Phenom would get bit faster and stop haveing all those issues.