Upgrading the CPU in an ASUS CM1730/1830

[Henry Meadors]

A few years ago, I bought the ASUS Essentio CM1730/1830 from Best Buy - I needed a better PC than my ancient laptop, but I was on a serious budget and it was on clearance for under $300. I used the savings to buy some meager upgrades (DX 520WPS PSU, Radeon R7240 2GB GPU, 16GB of DDR3 2GHZ RAM [can't remember what brand without pulling it out of the case]) and I added one extra SATA HDD that I'd pulled out of an older laptop for some extra storage.

I am aware that the 16GB of RAM is overkill, considering most socket AM3 processors won't use more than 8GB at a time - I got it as a whole package for cheaper than the 8GB package (go figure that one out) and figured "why not?"

I am also aware that the R7240 GPU is pretty low-end performance-wise, but I was on a budget and it had decent reviews (including from Tom's Hardware). I don't mind playing my games in a lowered resolution and with lower graphical settings - I do a little streaming to Twitch every now and again, so I'm limited to 30 FPS anyway.

The current problem with my system, I believe, is the CPU. At present, I am still using the stock AMD Athlon II X2 220 (2-core, 2.8 GHZ) that came in the tower when I bought it. It was fine when I first got the machine - it was a huge upgrade from my laptop, and I hadn't yet started using the machine for too many games. But now, I play far more games on my PC than I do on my consoles these days, and (especially when I try to play and stream to Twitch at the same time) I experience a fair amount of slow-down and framerate loss on certain games. I am not necessarily concerned with being able to play the games at 1080 resolutions at ultra graphics settings, but I would like to be able to get a steady 30 FPS out of the game at around 1280x720 if I bump the settings down.

Reviews tell me that the R7-240 ought to be able to handle that for the most part, but I frequently find myself falling to 20 FPS or lower, depending on the game. I have a feeling the CPU is my biggest bottleneck right now.

Based on another thread on these forums about the exact same system I'm leaning toward upgrading to the AMD Phenom II X6, but I wanted to get some opinions and advice from people who know more about the nuances of this sort of thing than I do.

Would my current power supply be able to handle it? Would it give me an appreciable improvement in games? Would its advertised multi-tasking capabilities help me with the slow-down and framerate loss I currently experience when I try to stream the game I'm playing?

Please keep in mind, I'm still very much on a budget (being a full-time student working only part-time at the moment), so "junk it and build a real gaming machine" answers aren't going to be helpful to me I'd appreciate advice and opinions about how I can get the most out of my current machine without dropping a small fortune, and I don't expect to be able to play games at high settings and resolutions.


EDIT: I've been told by another source that the motherboard in this machine is limited to 95W processors, so the 125W Phenom X6 will not work in my machine. If this is true, then the biggest upgrade I can expect to see is probably going to be the Phenom X4 3 GHZ Quad-core. This still seems, to me, to be a pretty substantial upgrade over my current dual-core processor, but I'd still like some opinions and advice on the matter. If I can't expect to see an appreciable difference in the slowdown/framerate loss I currently get when multitasking (gaming+streaming), then I may not bother, and I'll just continue to limp along until I can afford to build a proper gaming PC in the distant future.

 

[logainofhades]

That PSU is junk, I would get a better one before you do anything else.

 

[Henry Meadors]

That's rather an unspecific piece of advice. "Get a better one" as in more wattage because my current one won't handle the load of a new processor? "Get a better one" because you dislike the brand for whatever reason?

I'm not arguing with your apparent knowledge and I appreciate your attempt to help, but I'm the kind of guy who likes to understand why I'm replacing a 520W power supply that's performed adequately for the last few years before I go ahead and do it. And since I'm on a budget, "I think it's junk" isn't a good enough reason for me 😉

 

[logainofhades]

Sorry, was in a bit of a hurry, and meant to come back. There is no think it is junk. I know it is junk. It is not a quality unit. You need a quality unit. Antec, Seasonic, XFX, bronze rated or better. Even the budget unit, Evga 500b would be far superior in quality. To be perfectly honest, you are risking your whole system using that thing.

 

[Henry Meadors]

I don't mean to sound ungrateful - I do appreciate the advice, and I will look into replacing my power supply with one of better quality when I'm able, but that doesn't answer any of the questions that I asked.

What I really want to know is:

1) What are my top CPU options for the motherboard I currently have (I've been told by another source that the motherboard in this particular machine is limited to 95W AM3 processors instead of the standard 125W otherwise supported by the exact same motherboard, possibly because of this machine being built specifically for a Best Buy special or something)?

2) Whether upgrading my Athlon II X2 220 Dual-Core 2.8GHZ processor with something like a Phenom II X4 Quad-Core (I'm told the 95W version of the X6 either won't work at all, or will have two unused cores, I don't know how accurate that is) will give me any appreciable difference in slow-downs, stutters, framerate loss, etc when multi-tasking (playing a game+running Open Broadcasting Software, for example).

I ask these questions because I don't really completely understand all the nuances of how processors work. To me, on paper, a 3GHZ processor doesn't really sound like a huge upgrade from my current 2.8GHZ processor, but four (or six) cores is obviously more than two. So I guess the theory is that having multiple cores to split up the tasks that you're doing on your computer helps alleviate slow-down and stuttering and whatnot when you're multi-tasking, which is exactly what I want. But I'd like to know for sure whether it's going to help before I drop $100 on something that may not do me any good at all.

 

[logainofhades]

Honestly, I would not waste money upgrading the CPU, in that motherboard. Yes, a Phenom II X4 9xx or X6 1xxx is vastly superior to your Athlon II. Thing is, they are still old an outdated. I would save until you can afford a real upgrade.

 

[Henry Meadors]

Okay, I appreciate that you think you're giving good advice, but you're still telling me what I asked not to be told, which is "save your money and build a better machine" and not really answering the questions that I asked with useful information.

I am well aware that my machine is old, and that it will not support many upgrades. I am also well aware that the upgrades it will support are already old and outdated by most standards. I'm not interested in replacing my motherboard yet; I want to get the most out of this machine without spending more money than is necessary. I am looking to extend the life and capabilities of my current machine, not build a new one.

I will look into getting a better-quality PSU, but besides the fact that a "real upgrade" of my other components will cost me far more money than I am interested in spending, it simply doesn't seem necessary. Playing games in lowered resolutions with lowered graphics settings really doesn't bother me. My only issue multitasking.

I asked very specifically to be given a rundown of which processors might be the best upgrade options supported by my current motherboard (my asking about the Phenoms was just an example - for all I know, there are better options for me), whether or not said processor will improve my performance by any noticeable measure, and whether it will give me better multitasking capabilities. I wanted to get expert opinions about the conflicting information I'm finding on the internet about my board's CPU wattage, about whether I can run a six-core CPU properly, and to help narrow down my best possible upgrade options.

I went out of my way to provide as much information as I could about my machine, how I use it, and what kind of performance I expect out of it, because I have been on the receiving end of hapless users who want me to help them solve computer problems but don't know how to properly articulate what's wrong. I was hoping to get more than a three-sentence reply telling me that my machine is old and I need an upgrade.

 

[logainofhades]

I see no value in upgrading outdated components. You already know that you are limited to 95w chips. You know what socket you have. I have told you PhII X4 9xx or X6 1xxx would both be superior to what you have. I am sorry if I assumed you could google the rest on your own. I typically am on here at work, and have very limited time. Doing research, that frankly you can now do yourself, I did not have the time for, sorry. Here is a link for you to weed out which chips are 95w versions. http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K10/index.html

 

[Henry Meadors]

I don't know that I'm limited to 95W, I'm assuming that because one comment in an Amazon customer review suggested that that might be A Thing. Amazon customer reviews also suggest that my current power supply isn't so bad, but you clearly wouldn't agree with that. So since I'm not in the habit of just taking customer reviews on Amazon at their word and blindly buying something that may or may not be the best thing for me (or even work, for that matter) I thought I'd get some opinions from people who know more about the subject than myself. Tom's Hardware is a well-known site for experts on computer components, and gives very detailed run-downs about how things stack up. I was hoping to get a little bit of that knowledge thrown my way.

I know that I'm limited to AM3 processors, but I don't know what the best one is for what I'm trying to accomplish because I am not a "CPUs Master". Yes, I am capable of sussing out on my own that a Phenom processor is better than an Athlon processor. But is Phenom the best choice for what I'm trying to do? I don't know, because I know next to nothing about processors. Some are better at raw gaming and allowing you to tune your games to the highest resolutions and graphics settings, and some are better multitasking. Telling me the Phenom is better than the Athlon is like telling me that a Ferrari is better than a Honda Civic. Okay, sure, but depending on what your goal is, so is a Ford F-150.

I'm not inept or braindead. Of course I used google before I came here - conflicting and confusing information from my google searches is why I came here seeking advice and opinions from people who know more about this subject than I do. I wanted to get clear answers about exactly what my board can handle and what my various options were, and what would be best for what I'm trying to accomplish. If users with hardware questions were just going to rely on google, why does this forum even exist? I wasn't looking for an echo chamber to tell me "yeah just go with the Phenom because the specs are clearly higher on paper," I was looking for someone to tell me "well here's how the Phenom performs and what it can and can't do for you, and here's some other processors that may give you different options."

But clearly I've come to the wrong place for actual information and explanations. Thanks for the education.

 

[logainofhades]

Give this a read, it will probably better explain what the performance difference are Athlon II vs Phenom II.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/piledriver-k10-cpu-overclocking,3584.html

Here is more info for you, power supply wise.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html