4800 X2 coming in on Tuesday, is there anything special I need to do before install?

[kman79]

Hey guys, I'm a bit late getton gon the dual core bandwagon, and frankly, I don't mind. I just wanted to get in on the X2 before they're completely phased out at the end of the year. This will be my last CPU upgrade for the Socket 939 and I'll most likely be moving on the AM2 pending on how everything goes with AMD.

Anyways, my 4800 X2 is coming in soon and I was just wondering if there is anything special I need to do with Windows prior to install. My board already has the proper BIOS on it to support X2s so that's done. Besides the Hotfix and the Dual Core optimizer, is there anything else? Actually, whats more important is do I have to do a fresh install of windows? I hope not, I just reformated no more than two weeks ago and I would hate to have to install all those programs and games again.

One last question. About setting Affinity, does that have to be set everytime the computer is booted up or are the settings saved?

Any help on these guys is greatly appreciated.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Someone smarter than I should chime in on the reformat issue regarding dual core.

From what I've heard, it's a good idea to reformat before installing a dual core processor. Apparently, when you first format, Windows selects which NT Kernel it will use - single processor or multi processor. Some people say that even when it 'detects new hardware' it keeps the single processor kernel, meaning that threading (how the operating system splits up multiple tasks) is not as good as with the multi processor kernel.

Different people say different things on this subject. I've installed a dual core processor after formatting using a single core, and it seemed to work fine. However I'm on a fresh reformat now and it works excellently.

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Regarding the affinity issue - I haven't had to do it in like 6 months. It's possibly due to reformatting with the dual core processor in there, but I've had no problems with any games or anything requiring usage of changing the processor affinity. Not Warcraft 3, not FEAR, not Quake 4, not Far Cry..

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Install the hotfix and the dual core optimizer (the dual core CPU driver from AMD's site) and you should be fine.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024
Regarding the affinity issue - I haven't had to do it in like 6 months. It's possibly due to reformatting with the dual core processor in there, but I've had no problems with any games or anything requiring usage of changing the processor affinity. Not Warcraft 3, not FEAR, not Quake 4, not Far Cry..

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Install the hotfix and the dual core optimizer (the dual core CPU driver from AMD's site) and you should be fine.

Everything that jiffylube said is absolutely correct, including the part about not ever needing to set affinity, if you've reformatted and reinstalled with a dual-core. The only thing that he forgot to tell you is that it's almost impossible to get everything working correctly, unless you have SP2 installed.

I'd personally recommend reinstalling Windows, but as long as you don't mind setting affinity before you use quite a few older programs doesn't bother you, it isn't absolutely necessary. BTW, affinity has to be set every time you run that program. You also have to alt-tab out of it, then set the affinity, then go back to the program.

 

[fluffmonster]

i installed an x2 4400, installed the AMD dual core driver and the dual core optimizer, did not install MS hotfix; now, everything runs and never had to set affinity on anything.

 

[OcHungry]

Originally posted by: kman79
Hey guys, I'm a bit late getton gon the dual core bandwagon, and frankly, I don't mind. I just wanted to get in on the X2 before they're completely phased out at the end of the year. This will be my last CPU upgrade for the Socket 939 and I'll most likely be moving on the AM2 pending on how everything goes with AMD.

Anyways, my 4800 X2 is coming in soon and I was just wondering if there is anything special I need to do with Windows prior to install. My board already has the proper BIOS on it to support X2s so that's done. Besides the Hotfix and the Dual Core optimizer, is there anything else? Actually, whats more important is do I have to do a fresh install of windows? I hope not, I just reformated no more than two weeks ago and I would hate to have to install all those programs and games again.

One last question. About setting Affinity, does that have to be set everytime the computer is booted up or are the settings saved?

Any help on these guys is greatly appreciated.

Another good man w/ good AMD question.
Check This link will tell you all you need about fixes.
No need to reinstall winxp. BTW the winxp 64bit does not need the hotfix, only winxp.
The affinity is set automatically. Only when you need to run prime, spi, or any other stress test, you need to manual set it (if you run 2 instances of the same test)

 

[pkme2]

My X2 4800+ will be here next week. I waited till the prices got down to $265 shipped. Thank goodness for AM2.
I been toddling along with my 3500+ for the past 6 months. My 4400+ has been up and running for the past 3 months, so I can't wait for the 4800+ to arrive.
Check This link will tell you all you need about fixes. Supplied by OcHungry was very good.:thumbsup:

 

[kman79]

Thanks for the replies guys, and the links helped a lot.

I would really like to run the 64 Bit version of XP, but last i checked there wasn't any virus scan/security programs that were availale for it, there could be some now though.

CPU Arrives tomorrow, new cooler on Wednesday, it's almost as fun as when I first built tis computer.

 

[nuclearB]

I got x2 4800+ last month and I did not feel like reformat and re-install windows xp sp2 over again but it runs just fine. I installed Dual core optimizer and ms hotfix.