Upgrading from an AMD Phenom II x4

[bobochez]

By the title you can tell, I am upgrading my processor form an AMD Phenom II x4 processor and I'm willing to spend up to $200 for it. I will mainly be using the computer for gaming. I would like to stick with AMD, but outside of that I have no preferences. I will be buying this processor in a week. Thanks in advance!
What I'm on right now: http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Phenom-Processor-Black-Socket/dp/B0056D5AMY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1329092360&sr=1-1

 

[abekl]

Your current CPU has a TPD of 95W. Is your MB limited to that TPD, or can it take a 125W CPU? If it can take a 125W CPU, then the obvious upgrade choice is this:
AMD Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition Deneb 3.6GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDZ975FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103923

 

[computernewb]

AMD phenom ii x4 980 BE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103935

gets good benchmark scores compared to other AMD cpus even the new FX chips
http://www.techspot.com/review/452-amd-bulldozer-fx-cpus/page10.html

but if youre going to spend $200 on a cpu, might as well get the i5-2500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073


oh yea i have the phenom ii x4 980 BE and its very fast

 

[henydiah]

Nice upgrading to Phenom II 980BE 😀

 

[bobochez]

AMD phenom ii x4 980 BE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103935

gets good benchmark scores compared to other AMD cpus even the new FX chips
http://www.techspot.com/review/452-amd-bulldozer-fx-cpus/page10.html

but if youre going to spend $200 on a cpu, might as well get the i5-2500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073


oh yea i have the phenom ii x4 980 BE and its very fast

UNDER $200 😛 So between the 980 and the 975 what is the difference besides the .1 ghz? they cost the exact same...

 

[bobochez]

Your current CPU has a TPD of 95W. Is your MB limited to that TPD, or can it take a 125W CPU? If it can take a 125W CPU, then the obvious upgrade choice is this:
AMD Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition Deneb 3.6GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDZ975FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103923

This is my mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157280 And I don't know if it can handle a 125w cpu

 

[abekl]

Yep. That MB will handle 125W CPUs no problem

 

[bobochez]

Yep. That MB will handle 125W CPUs no problem

cool! so should I get the 980 or the 975? Is there actually any performance difference? thanks for the feedback!

 

[henydiah]

agree with abekl, don't worry about asrock 970 and should choose newest / highest version of CPU

 

[bobochez]

I assume the 980 is the newer version...?

 

[computernewb]

UNDER $200 😛 So between the 980 and the 975 what is the difference besides the .1 ghz? they cost the exact same...

i think the .1 ghz is the only difference. but im not sure, so you should ask around.

actually the reason why the 975 and 980 are the same price on newegg is that the 980 does not come with a heatsink/fan. So if you dont have one yet, you have to get one if you buy the 980

also, nice mobo. i have the same one :lol:

 

[bobochez]

i think the .1 ghz is the only difference. but im not sure, so you should ask around.

actually the reason why the 975 and 980 are the same price on newegg is that the 980 does not come with a heatsink/fan. So if you dont have one yet, you have to get one if you buy the 980

also, nice mobo. i have the same one :lol:

nice 😀 Will the heatsink from any amd cpu that fits onto my mobo work on the 980?

 

[computernewb]

nice 😀 Will the heatsink from any amd cpu that fits onto my mobo work on the 980?

if its the heatsink from your Phenom II X4 960T, then its the same socket type (am3) as the 975 or 980 so i THINK it should fit.

however im not 100% sure so you should ask around first.

 

[bobochez]

if its the heatsink from your Phenom II X4 960T, then its the same socket type (am3) as the 975 or 980 so i THINK it should fit.

however im not 100% sure so you should ask around first.

ok 😛 The heatsink on the 960t does a nice job and its quiet so I might just stick with it when I upgrade. I am leaning in the direction of getting the 975 just cause 😛

 

[shafe88]

Why not look at a Phenom II X6 1045T, you get 6 cores instead of 4. Tigerdirect has them for $150.00

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1724262&CatId=4432

 

[abekl]

Too much loss of speed with the 1045T compared to the quad cores mentioned.

 

[ShadyHamster]

you have a 960t, why bother upgrading at all? buy a aftermarket cooler and just overclock, you should easily get 4ghz with minimal increase to the vcore

 

[shafe88]

Yea the quad cores would be better for gaming since they have a higher clock speed.

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=6fd603d6eca6ea958f217d4aca5abdac&prevstart=0

 

[bobochez]

I haven't done any overclocking or unlocking of cores yet so I will have to put some research into it before I try on my own. The reason I want to upgrade is because in the 3Dmark11 test I ran, the CPU intensive portions of the test were lagging while the graphic parts were smooth. I considered overclocking before, but I don't know which cooler to go with. I have a cooler master HAF 912 if it matters. thanks!

 

[esrever]

don't judge things based on synthetic benchmarks.

 

[bobochez]

don't judge things based on synthetic benchmarks.

I am mainly worried about my processor bottlenecking my graphics card and In the tests, it seemed like the slowest part was the processor.

 

[esrever]

you won't really see much improvement getting a better processor. The test also doesn't really show what real gaming performance will be. The 960t should be sufficient and not really worth an upgrade to a faster phenom 2 since you'd get minimal improvement. Just OC your cpu and see if you have problems playing your games.

 

[bobochez]

you won't really see much improvement getting a better processor. The test also doesn't really show what real gaming performance will be. The 960t should be sufficient and not really worth an upgrade to a faster phenom 2 since you'd get minimal improvement. Just OC your cpu and see if you have problems playing your games.

Ok. Now I just need to learn how to OC =.=

 

[bobochez]

OC question: will an OEM version of win7 prevent me from OC'ing?

 

[noob2222]

nope. just prevents you from changing motherboards.

looks like with that motherboard you should be able to see if you can unlock that x4 into an x6 cpu, i am not familiar with as rock bois.