Should I upgrade my AMD Athlon II 160u 1.8 GHz to Phenom II?

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firecat33

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Jan 5, 2011
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My CPU Specs...
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Windows 7 Home Premium
Processor - AMD Athlon(tm) II 160u Processor 1.80 GHz
Memory (RAM) - 2.00 GB
Graphics - NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
Gaming graphics - 895 MB
Primary hard disk 500GB
System type - 64-bit operating system
Number of processor cores - 1
Primary monitor resolution - 1600x900
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I want a way faster computer, I think 1.80 GHz is insanely tiny. Can I and will it help to upgrade to a AMD Phenom™ II Processor? Or is it more important for a graphics card? Thanks in advance! :hello:
 
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A new CPU will definitely help you there. Graphics are mostly for gaming, so if you're just trying to speed up the system overall that won't help.

Do you know what wattage your power supply is? If you want to upgrade to a more wattage hungry processor you need to make sure the PSU can handle it.

I would also wait for a little bit before buying anything, Sandy Bridge(Intel's new processors) are about to come out(Jan 9th is the release day), which could cause AMD's prices to get cut soon.
 
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I Would say upgrade your CPU first before you do anything, I made the mistake of thinking that for gaming all i needed was an awesome GPU. So I got an Asus top gts450, but i found out once i put it in my pc that my core 2 duo at 1.86ghz bottled necked the GPU so bad that i cant even play crysis on low :/
 
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CPU and motherboard both, because of the new technology.
 
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Yeah, I agree i doubt that your current mobo could take a new phenom II anyway, unless you can update the bios or something
 
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I make a blunt guess, that computer had a Athlon 160u because it's small form factor, it'd never house anything more than LP Athlon.

For most tasks this should be enough of an upgrade.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103896 $63
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394 $70
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129071 $79 after rebate + shipping
Everything else? Keep it. Other points you might wish to improve are RAM and Hard Drive.
 
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I really wouldn't bother with your motherboard since it's already an AM3 socket.

I would get 4GB of RAM (AT LEAST!) 8GB if you can (depends on motherboard capability/available slots).

I would suggest a high frequency (3.0GHz or Better) quad core Phenom II. That will give you some good speed!
Personally I use the 955 Black and it runs like a champ!

And if you want to add some REAL speed. Buy a solid state disk (SSD). Make sure it has the sandforce 1200 series (equivellent or better) controller chip though.
 
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I too have a strong feeling the motherboard was only designed to power CPUs with a maximum TDP of 25W, or perhaps 45W. That severely limits possible CPU upgrade options to "u" and possibly "e" models only. If you have your sights set on a Phenom II upgrade, I believe you'll have to start with a new motherboard and case.

You could attempt to get your board's make & model, then contact the manufacturer regarding the board's supported CPUs and it's TDP limit, but I wouldn't expect very good news.
 
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My motherboard is an Emachines et1352. I got it to cheaply turn it into a good computer. I primely want to use it for medium graphics gaming. I want recommendations on graphics cards that work to.
 
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