Dual to Quad Core Upgrade, opinions please

crockman

Senior member
May 15, 2005
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My Present Dual-Core PC is listed in my Sig.

I've decided to upgrade it to a Quad Core.

My MB, a Biostar TF560 http://www.biostar-usa.com/app/en-us/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=287#cpu, will accept early model Phenom's. I plan to go with the Phenom (I) x4 9850 95Watt.

Question please: Will my Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185125 work on a Quad-Core ?

At the moment I have only 4GB of RAM, I will add 2x2GB DIMM's of DDR2-800 to raise it to a total of 8GB.

The most Taxing thing I do with my PC is play Online MMO's. Star Wars The Old Republic being the most taxing of the MMO's I play.

I'll also upgrade my Vid. Card from my Present HD4850. Not sure yet what Vid. Card to get, but plan to spend 200 $(US) or less on the new Card. Suggestions please for a new Vid. Card choice.

The Antec Case and Power Supply will be reused.

Thanks in advance
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
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why throw good money after bad. unless you can get the phenom I quad-core for like $5-10 US, it's not worth it. And I doubt it would help the framerates of your MMOs. Phenom I CPUs really sucked.
 

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
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The basic framework for determining CPU speed involves clockspeed(Hertz is 1/s), tasks done per clock, and core count. Clockspeed and core count are easily given. It is the third variable that is not cannot be determined by looking at a spec sheet. That is why benchmarking is used to help figure out a CPU's overall speed in specific tasks.

One caveat about games is that many of the old ones don't utilize more than 2 cores, so the solution to improving performance, if it is the CPU hindering the game, is to get a CPU which has faster individual cores than whatever is being replaced.

Also, I wouldn't have been able to figure this out of it weren't for Scali's blog and his expositions on the Bulldozer architecture.
 

monkeydelmagico

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2011
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Yes the Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler should work. If it was in use on the mobo already anything else that is mobo compatable should work. Overclocking planned?

Make sure you flash your bios to most recent before swapping our CPU's.
 

crockman

Senior member
May 15, 2005
379
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why throw good money after bad.
Answer. What I've noticed is my RAM amount, 4GB, is insufficient for Swtor, as well my 4850 Vid. Card is underpowered as well. So I figured I might as well drop in a $50ish Phenom I Quad Core as well.

Yes the Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler should work.
Thanks

Overclocking planned?
No, I never OC'd my 5000+ and probably wont the Phenom either.

Make sure you flash your bios to most recent before swapping our CPU's.
I have never Flashed a BIOS before so I'm reluctant to do so. Is that really needed ?, If so, any Tips on how to do it ?

Thanks
 

monkeydelmagico

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2011
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Biostar site indicates you should ensure most recent bios for the cpu you are planning to use (AM2+). Just follow their directions. Back up current bios with a utility like cpu-z. Not hard to do a bios flash but can sometimes go wrong.

Seems like it might be a bit of work and money for marginal gains but it sounds like you are set on doing it so good luck.
 

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
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Dec 11, 1999
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So, you plan to spend ~$50 on a new CPU, at least $55 on RAM, and $200 on a video card. Let's see what you can get for $300 separately:

Pentium G3220: $70 (Better than the G850 which is better than the Phenom in games.)
8GB RAM: $70
Cheap LGA1150 mobo: $45 AR
Which leaves you enough money for a 7770, or the new R7 260 coming in January.
 

crockman

Senior member
May 15, 2005
379
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If I Update the MB BIOS as needed, will it then support a 125Watt version of a 9850 or do I have to use a 95Watt version ?
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
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So, you plan to spend ~$50 on a new CPU, at least $55 on RAM, and $200 on a video card. Let's see what you can get for $300 separately:

Pentium G3220: $70 (Better than the G850 which is better than the Phenom in games.)
8GB RAM: $70
Cheap LGA1150 mobo: $45 AR
Which leaves you enough money for a 7770, or the new R7 260 coming in January.

Agree. Buying original Phenoms and DDR2 does not make sense when you can get up-to-date kit for such a low price.
 

crockman

Senior member
May 15, 2005
379
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Apparently my MB will only support the 95Watt version of the 9850, the 95W version has proven to be very difficult to find.

This morning I bought a 2x2GB pair of Super Talent DDR2-800 Memory off of Ebay for $40. Those paired with my 2x2GB Super Talent's already in my PC will give me 8GB RAM now. That should be a decent upgrade for now.

My Biostar MB has proven to be too outdated so I will buy nothing else for this PC.

In 2/3 months or so I'll build a new PC. Been planning on upgrading to an SSD for a Hard Drive anyway, so I'll wait a few months then build a completely new PC and use this one as a Back-up.

Thanks for all your Reply's and I'll be back in a few months for opinions on my new PC build.
 

sm625

Diamond Member
May 6, 2011
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The sad thing is that a celeron 1037U soldered onto one of those cheap motherboards would probably outperform a phenom I. I'm not recommending that, I'm just saying you're in quite a hole.

You should stick with 4GB to keep the costs down. You can force swapfile activity to occur during idle times. I used to simply open a web browser with a few tabs including at least one with adobe flash. That forces swapfile action. Then when you close the browser it frees up gobs of RAM. I used to to that right before a big battle. There are also apps with tray icons that do the same thing.
 

crockman

Senior member
May 15, 2005
379
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"My Biostar MB has proven to be too outdated so I will buy nothing else for this PC."

But I've changed my mind.

I just bought a 95Watt Version of a 9850 off of Ebay for 63$(US).
http://www.ebay.com/itm/350959830376

The 2x2GB RAM I bought last week is now installed and running fine. (Now I have 8GB Total RAM)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/231116444182?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Now to finish this Quad-Core Upgrade can I please get opinions on a New Video Card, preferably 125$ (US) or less.

Thanks
 

ShreddedWheat

Senior member
Apr 3, 2006
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I would get a 7850 on sale at some point. Though it will be bottlenecked the reason I say this is get the best you can within reason. When you eventually upgrade your cpu/mobo your not going to be as rushed to upgrade that vid card.
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
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"My Biostar MB has proven to be too outdated so I will buy nothing else for this PC."

But I've changed my mind.

I just bought a 95Watt Version of a 9850 off of Ebay for 63$(US).
http://www.ebay.com/itm/350959830376

The 2x2GB RAM I bought last week is now installed and running fine. (Now I have 8GB Total RAM)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/231116444182?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Talk about throwing good money after bad. What you're doing right now is accepting much much lower overall performance to avoid spending $45 on a motherboard.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
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Talk about throwing good money after bad. What you're doing right now is accepting much much lower overall performance to avoid spending $45 on a motherboard.

I would be curious how a Haswell G3220 stacks up for gaming against a Phenom I 9850. I'm guessing it would be faster for the vast majority of games? Heck, the Phenom I is slower than an Athlon II X4, right?
 

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
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I would be curious how a Haswell G3220 stacks up for gaming against a Phenom I 9850. I'm guessing it would be faster for the vast majority of games? Heck, the Phenom I is slower than an Athlon II X4, right?

http://anandtech.com/bench/product/29?vs=404
It's a Sandy Bridge at 2.9 GHz. Haswell has a 2 gen gap and should be approximate 1.21 times faster at the same clockspeeds, assuming a 10% increase in IPC per gen. But the Star Wars game he plays does take advantage of four cores. Those games that don't utilize over two cores though, would do better with the Pentium G3220.
 

crockman

Senior member
May 15, 2005
379
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mfenn "Talk about throwing good money after bad. What you're doing right now is accepting much much lower overall performance to avoid spending $45 on a motherboard."

There are a few reasons i decided to upgrade this PC anyway. 1 reason, I normally have a back-up PC available just in-case. My back-up pc was given to a close friend a few months ago, IE this PC becomes my Back-up when I build a new pc from scratch this spring.

Also I wanted this upgrade as simple as possible. A new CPU, new Vid, Card and added Memory wont require a new Windows Install, plus i didnt want to part with this Biostar MB just yet for its been Rock-Solid for 3+ years.

The 4GB Memory I added a couple days ago has already given a noticeable performance increase in Star Wars The Old Republic. Tack on that Underpowered 9850 Phenom (still better then my 5000+ x2) and a new Vid. Card, probably a 7850 like Shreddedwheat suggested, should give me a very decent upgrade for under 300 dollars.

Im upgrading the CPU, Memory and Vid. Card in this PC, everything else stays as is.

Come sometime next spring ill do a complete PC build to more top-of-the-line parts like an SSD (In my opinion I think an SSD would help tremendously in Swtor), DDR3, PCIe 3.0 Motherboard, etc.. I may at that time as well jump off of the AMD Bandwagon for the Better Gamer-Performing Intel. Ive been building AMD based PC's for 10+ years now so Ive been reluctant to switch to Intel.

In-short, yes I know that Phenom I isnt the greatest Cpu around, but by buying that Phenom I dont have to change my MB as well I can reuse my Freezer64 Pro Cpu cooler.

In Star Wars Old Republic the Video Card seems to be the most Important, the CPU of lesser importance. Heres a Link to a Toms Hardware Benchmark of Swtor:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/star-wars-gaming-tests-review,3087.html

Thanks for all the Reply's and feel free to post more reply's
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
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http://anandtech.com/bench/product/29?vs=404
It's a Sandy Bridge at 2.9 GHz. Haswell has a 2 gen gap and should be approximate 1.21 times faster at the same clockspeeds, assuming a 10% increase in IPC per gen. But the Star Wars game he plays does take advantage of four cores. Those games that don't utilize over two cores though, would do better with the Pentium G3220.

The Phenom (in blue) is slower than the G840 in red by a significant margin in all the games. So yes, I would expect the G3220 to be that much faster.
 

crockman

Senior member
May 15, 2005
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"I would get a 7850 on sale at some point" ShreddedWheat.

I just bought an HD 7850, the 2GB RAM version at Newegg for 120$ after Rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131547

It will be bottle-necked with my present setup, but still should be a nice present upgrade to my aging 4850

In a couple months I'll build a new up-to-date PC, then use the 7850 in my new setup.
 

ZGR

Platinum Member
Oct 26, 2012
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Since you already upgraded the CPU and the RAM, you could probably sell the build with your old 4850 when you build a new PC. If its a fully complete build, it should sell at a decent price as I'm sure it is still a perfectly adequate office machine.

The 7850 should last awhile for mid-range gaming.
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
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Very nice deal on the 7850! Yes, it will definitely be bottlenecked by your original Phenom in most all games, but it should do better than a 4850. Your next plan of action should be to upgrade the CPU/mobo/RAM to a modern platform.