Pals, please help me choosing an upgrade for my CPU

[saib1]

hey friends, i got an oct 2009 custom made PC & its configurations are-

1. AMD Phenom II x2 550 B.E 3.10 Ghz Processor
2. Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H Motherboard
3. 4 GB (2x2) Kingston DDR2 800Mhz RAM
4. 1 TB Western Digital Hard Drive
5. MSI Radeon HD4890 OC Edition 1GB Graphics Card @880/3996 mhz clock
6. CoolerMaster Exterme Power Plus 650W PSU
7. CoolerMaster Elite 334

i recently installed The Witcher 2, Saints ROW 3, Battlefield 3 & now NFS the Run, & except Saints Row 3, none of them is running smoothly on high, had to reduce the display settings to medium, resolution to 1600x900 to make them run smoother, the worst dissapointings are BF3 & NFS the Run which isnt going above 20 FPS even on lowest settings especially The Run @15-20FPS that really blowed my mind off & made me realised that now its time to spend for some new upgradation.. .. Basically i know that have to upgrade both Processor & Graphics card but right now i can only save for a new processor which will be AMD Phenom II x6 1100T 3.3Ghz. So will it be sufficient if i only upgrade my processor & not the graphics card at this time to make new & upcoming games to run on mid-high settings? please friend leave your valuable replies as soon as possible.
thanks in advance

 

[VirtualLarry]

Try to unlock that Phenon II X2 chip to a quad-core if you can. I'm pretty sure that mobo supports core unlocking, I've used it before.

 

[saib1]

Try to unlock that Phenon II X2 chip to a quad-core if you can. I'm pretty sure that mobo supports core unlocking, I've used it before.

nope bro.. i can't as i have SB700 powered mobo instead of SB710 so not possible for me & please bro help me deciding what to upgrade 1st on the basis of my problem above..!!

 

[sm625]

It's a bummer. A 4890 is right there at the edge of being a decent card at high setting, but only if you have a 4GHz sandy bridge lol. So you're right you would need both a new cpu and new video crd. But before you do that you may want to consider an i3-21x0 combo. There is at least a chance that you can use your 4890 and get pretty decent play out of it and end up spending less money overall than buying a new cpu and new video card. Not to mention you can sell your athlon parts as a combo or even sell the whole pc as is with out the video card since it surely has onboard video.

At your resolution I am quite confident that an i3 would be enough. Do you have a windows install that will allow you to change motherboard?

 

[IonusX]

It's a bummer. A 4890 is right there at the edge of being a decent card at high setting, but only if you have a 4GHz sandy bridge lol. So you're right you would need both a new cpu and new video crd. But before you do that you may want to consider an i3-21x0 combo. There is at least a chance that you can use your 4890 and get pretty decent play out of it and end up spending less money overall than buying a new cpu and new video card. Not to mention you can sell your athlon parts as a combo or even sell the whole pc as is with out the video card since it surely has onboard video.

At your resolution I am quite confident that an i3 would be enough. Do you have a windows install that will allow you to change motherboard?

me and my phenom II x4 955 BE and hd 5830 lolled reading that.. was most humerous. do you write this stuff yourself or you got a writer
ya know the 4890 was out long before neahelm or SB were even on the table right?noteable bottlenecks on a phenom II x2 are pretty few in number and basically just exclude the current gen flagships and the hd 7970. in fact im calling you out.. proof of a significant bottleneck, i demand proof or it didnt happen
anyway tc do what im doing.. get a 1090t or 1100t while you can. sit on thuban till somehting ncier comes along. phenom II x4 or 6 is MORE than enough for current gaming needs. anyone who says different is simply trying to trap you into spending more money needlessly. about the only reason to get a SB in your specific case was if you were planning on playing on 4 screens or something ridiculous like that..
in fact a thuban 1100t doesn't even catch an hd 7970 or 6990 or 590 all that much.. barely noticeable.
ive gamed on my 5830 which mroe or less is an unintended clone of the 4890 for well over a year now, no complaints i play BFBC2 on high with lots of fps on my 32". see no reason why you couldnt either
the problem is that every game u mentioned thus far on your list NEEDS a quad core or better cpu desperately. it would also help if you turned ubersampling off on the witcher 2.. its like the most useless setting the game has for graphics and it scarfs down your frames like the heavy does sandwich.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Be careful slapping a hot hungry Thuban on those legacy boards. I just got done trying to replace my phenom ii x4 830 with a 1090t. It ran my sig board northbridge (same as yours, a 780g) hot and noisy under load. Took it out and tried it on an MSI NF750-G55 board in a case with better airflow and it was still a bit on the warm side. Nothing alarming like on my board but it didn't really give any gaming improvment over the 955be that was in there already. So I ebayed it for more than I paid for it. :ninja:

If you are set on upgrading you current board I'd try a 960t instead. Lower wattage. I hear they OC well (4Ghz) and at $109.- shipped from amazon it would keep you current for a couple more years.

 

[nyker96]

hey I got the same exact board, I love this board! This board can pretty much take anything up to a x6, so I recommend getting a x6 as your next upgrade. It's about 150 or under depending on model. You can find some close to 100 bucks used on ebay as well. That should give ya a real boost on everything! Long live socket am3s!

 

[fffblackmage]

As awesome as the 4890 was (I had one, but now a 5870), it's probably the first thing I would upgrade. I'm only familiar with BF3 and The Witcher 2, but those two games are super tough for the GPU and not so much for the CPU.

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Granted that the tests were done with an i5-2500K, they still show little benefit going with more cores, and the hex-core Thuban doesn't provide you with much faster cores compared to the PhII X2 555 either.

 

[Vesku]

I'll vouch for mATX NorthBridges running hot, my 760g Gigabyte mATX hits 70C or so with a x4 in it. Not hot enough to hurt the chip but it's obvious the cooling solutions for cheap motherboards are tightly engineered. The CPU support list for your motherboard lists the 1100T and also some 140W models, so an x6 is a possibility.

If you are luckier than me you live near a Microcenter and can take advantage of their CPU deals, otherwise I'll second the 960T suggestion. Deals on the x6 line are harder and harder to find now that 45nm production is finished.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Whatever the 95W TDP X6 is called, 1045T?

 

[watek]

Fyi, saint row 3 will run shitty with any AMD cpu unless it's clocked at 4.5-5ghz lol.

My i3 2100 rapes my phenom at 4.0. But if you do upgrade to quad something the other games should run fine though.

 

[IonusX]

Whatever the 95W TDP X6 is called, 1045T?

1035t, 1055t, 1075t

 

[RavenSEAL]

Fyi, saint row 3 will run shitty with any AMD cpu unless it's clocked at 4.5-5ghz lol.

My i3 2100 rapes my phenom at 4.0. But if you do upgrade to quad something the other games should run fine though.

So because 1 crappy game runs slower, it justifies spending $300+ to build a new computer?

 

[douglasb]

So because 1 crappy game runs slower, it justifies spending $300+ to build a new computer?

If you have the $300 and play that game, yes. Or if you have the $300 for a 2500K setup and play one of the games that it runs better, which is basically every single one except possibly BF3 with 64 players.

 

[watek]

So because 1 crappy game runs slower, it justifies spending $300+ to build a new computer?

oh no, not trying tell him get a whole new system but just warning him for that game he won't see any improvement but of course in multi threaded games if OP plans to get a X4 then it's a good upgrade for those games.

 

[saib1]

all of yours points are also valid regarding changing either upgrading to phenom II x4(ill prefer 965 or higher) or why not to change whole platform to Intel Core i5 2500(not k)+DDR3 1333Mhz RAMs+new MOBO(i have Intel DH67VR Motherboard in mind) & leaving AMD bundle behind..? well here in india AMD Phenom II x6 1100t is cheaper than Intel Core i5 2500 plus new motherboard+new ddr2 ram will goin to bump my budget up..but ill try to do that rather than sticking to AMD because i have just check & i am surprised to that CPU passmarks of i5 2500 is more than 300 higher than x6 1100t even after being a quad-core.. & thats definitely making me desperate to change my platform to Intel, let see whats ahead but many thanx for your kind advices.. & correct me if i am wrong with this planning of mine...?

 

[saib1]

As awesome as the 4890 was (I had one, but now a 5870), it's probably the first thing I would upgrade. I'm only familiar with BF3 and The Witcher 2, but those two games are super tough for the GPU and not so much for the CPU.

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Granted that the tests were done with an i5-2500K, they still show little benefit going with more cores, and the hex-core Thuban doesn't provide you with much faster cores compared to the PhII X2 555 either.

i admit that BF3 requires more GPU but Witcher 2 required an HD4850 in this "Recommended Requirements" & i will change my GPU also after few months as i m upgrading my whole in parts, till then ill change my CPU 1st as my dual-core processor is feeling much older than my GPU.. & i core i5 2500 & PhII X6 1100t have only around Rs.400/- price difference plus i will get a good exchange value of my existing CPU, Motherboards & RAMs..which will give my pocket to relax a bit, lets c what happens & thanx for ur valuable suggestion....!

 

[Dadofamunky]

So because 1 crappy game runs slower, it justifies spending $300+ to build a new computer?

One *never* needs a justification to upgrade one's computer. C'mon, man!

 

[sm625]

So because 1 crappy game runs slower, it justifies spending $300+ to build a new computer?

It wouldnt cost $300. You can get an i3-21x0 combo with 4GB ram for about $200. Once the old hardware is sold you only end up paying in the neighborhood of $120, $150 max. This is not much more than the cost of a thuban, which is a dead end upgrade. An i3 upgrade allows a future upgrade to an ib quad. Spend a few bucks more and get Z68 so that the future ib quad can be overclocked to 4.4GHz on stock cooling.

 

[IonusX]

One *never* needs a justification to upgrade one's computer. C'mon, man!

well on anandtech anyhting is possible what with the intel favouritist zealots on here..

 

[IonusX]

It wouldnt cost $300. You can get an i3-21x0 combo with 4GB ram for about $200. Once the old hardware is sold you only end up paying in the neighborhood of $120, $150 max. This is not much more than the cost of a thuban, which is a dead end upgrade. An i3 upgrade allows a future upgrade to an ib quad. Spend a few bucks more and get Z68 so that the future ib quad can be overclocked to 4.4GHz on stock cooling.

would still struggle in BF3 and a number of other games.. no quad core
quad core favored game and aint no denying it sucka. all you would be doing is plugging a hole in a damn with a cork.. you dont make it go away, the hole is still there.

phenom II x4/x6 will in the long run waste sb dual-cores as we start transitioning out of dual-core optimized games. the world will evolve out of them sooner than you think. ive been answering the CYRI(can you run it) question longer than youve been alive.. dual core is on its way out to door and with phenom II's for dirt cheap there ISNT AN EXCUSE not to have a quad core anymore. so yeah dropping 300+ is actually a very real reality. and if you live in canada add another 40 bucks or so for taxes so about 350.. ish for a 2400(s) + board+ ram

so cmon man.. grow up n face facts i3 2100 is a last ditch option. if there arent any quad's available over where your at in the world get the SB 2100 if you cant afford the 2300 or 2400(s). thats where the worlds headed and thats just the harsh reality of it..
anyway sm im sure we will have a nice fun time on anand, im certain of it. hope you do too

 

[IonusX]

If you have the $300 and play that game, yes. Or if you have the $300 for a 2500K setup and play one of the games that it runs better, which is basically every single one except possibly BF3 with 64 players.

yes well not everyone can turn on a dime from mid 100 dollar budget to a 300 dollar tag.. unlike say urself

 

[douglasb]

yes well not everyone can turn on a dime from mid 100 dollar budget to a 300 dollar tag.. unlike say urself

Some of that cost can be recouped by selling the current CPU/board, though. So realistically it is more like a $200 budget. If $50 was all that was separating me from having a 2500K rather than a Phenom II, I would go for it. If cost is really THAT much of a concern, it might be wiser to hold off upgrading until you can get something with a little more bang for the buck.

 

[Vesku]

I get a chuckle out of these oddball recommendations to get a locked dual core because the Phenom x4 and x6 in the high 3GHz will 'bottleneck your GPU'. Just as in this original posters case they are much better off getting a good x4 or x6 and then spending the saved money on a better GPU. A complete rebuild with a i3-2100 and a $100 video card will not give a better gaming experience than going from a x2 to a x4 or x6 and then being able to spend $200 on the video card.

And for those people on a 1156 Intel board with a dual i3, if you are on a fixed budget it's perfectly fine to look for a good deal on a 1156 quad i5 and then spend more on a new video card rather than go to a 2500K platform but with your old or a barely adequate new video card.

 

[Arkaign]

Interesting thread. I moved from a PhII 955BE to a 2500k @ 4.5, but I think it's a bit of overkill, I just did it for the lulz (and the fact that I was irritated with the SATA and USB performance of AMD chipsets).

I think a 955/965/Zosma/1055/1090/1100 would be the ticket for the OP.

Some other tidbits, the 2100 does very well at BF3 for whatever reason, but I don't think it justifies moving from a working board that will take a quad/hex already. Skyrim seems to hate AMD, but that's another story, and probably not relevant to someone with a 4890 and 1080p.

IOW, I recommend upgrading the CPU in the existing board, see if that boosts things up considerably, and from there maybe upgrading GPU if needed.