Does it make sense to upgrade?

[Dannyboyayyo]

apparently the x2 3800+ shows up as a bottleneck on games now :/ so i was wondering if it makes sense to upgrade to the X2 4400+ its around $150-$180. socket 939 and i'm going to stick with it until i get a new computer...in like 2 years from now. Should i wait longer until the prices drop down even more?

 

[BlueWeasel]

S939 prices may not drop again.

Overclock the 3800+ to 4400+ speeds (or beyond) and save the money.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: BlueWeasel
S939 prices may not drop again.

Overclock the 3800+ to 4400+ speeds (or beyond) and save the money.

:thumbsup:

 

[Dannyboyayyo]

is it possible to do it on air?

 

[BlueWeasel]

Originally posted by: Dannyboyayyo
is it possible to do it on air?

Sure. Most X2 3800+ hit 2.4Ghz with little or no bump in voltage. Mine overclocks to 2.6Ghz with only 1.45v.

 

[Dannyboyayyo]

hmm i have to learn how to overclock asap lol any suggestions on where to start?

 

[happy medium]

here

http://wiki.extremeoverclocking.com/wiki/Athlon_64_Overclocking_Guide

 

[gOJDO]

Not worth the money. You will get a 10%-15% performance boost, but you will have to waste $180.
Like other said, OC your X2 3800+ and save your money. In the middle of this year, the prices of the CPUs and RAM will drop a lot. You can sell your old stuff than and invest your $180 to get a something much faster(Core2 Duo is the best for your purposes).

 

[tallman45]

If you do anything get an Opteron 165, it will OC better and it starts of with 1mb L2 cache in each core which helps a little

Do not bother going the 4400+ route

 

[jakefalcons]

hey im gonna have to go with the overclocking suggestion i have a 3800 even though mines am2 i have it at 2.8@1.48v. when i first got it I ran it up to 2.5 with no adjustments whatsoever just upped the fsb. its not worth the extra money just for what you're almost garunteed to get through overclocking.

 

[Dannyboyayyo]

I will look into overclocking, I am a little hesitant since theres a risk of damage but seems like its worth it.

 

[Skott]

If you plan to OC you'll need to invest in a good HSF. Dont use the stock hsf whichever pcu you decide on.

 

[Dannyboyayyo]

My motherboard is a ASUS one that has AI N.O.S. and from what i understand it overclocks when the system is under heavy stress. Does anyone know good this is?

 

[Cheex]

Originally posted by: Dannyboyayyo

...i was wondering if it makes sense to upgrade to the X2 4400+...

No. Overclocking FTW!!

 

[DrMrLordX]

Originally posted by: Skott
If you plan to OC you'll need to invest in a good HSF. Dont use the stock hsf whichever pcu you decide on.

Why? All he's doing is overclocking to 2.2 ghz (or so). The stock HSF should be just fine.

 

[Skott]

I suscribe to the theory that its best to go with a hsf designed for OCing. Obviously you dont have to do it but is it worth the risk? I'd rather be safe than sorry but thats just me. Others may disagree. Besides, a good hsf isn't necessarily expensive in the grand scheme of things. At least in my mind they arent.

 

[DrMrLordX]

There is next to no risk unless he overvolts, which he won't need to do if he intends to OC his 3800+ to 4200+ speeds. Hell, I OCed my Sempron 2800+ from 1.6 ghz to 2.32 ghz at stock vcore with the stock HSF. Surely he can do 200 mhz on an X2.

 

[f4phantom2500]

Originally posted by: happy medium
here

http://wiki.extremeoverclocking.com/wiki/Athlon_64_Overclocking_Guide

no no no...
this is what you want to read if you're really serious about it.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Aw cmon, there's an OC guide stickied in this forum for Athlon 64s and X2s:

http://forums.anandtech.com/categories.aspx?catid=28

 

[RussianSensation]

A couple months ago, I built a budget rig for a friend of mine.

Upping the voltage to 1.40V and the front side bus aided a stable 2.50ghz overclock on X2 3800+. It was a breeze.

Also if you are concerned about gaming, what graphics card do you have?