Replace 940BE with Zosma?

[Towermax]

I've got a 3.0MHz Phenom II 940 BE on an Asus M4A785-M AM2+/AM3 board. It has 4 X 2GB Corsair XMS 1066 DDR2 in it (running at 800, since the 940 memory controller won't reliably support 4 sticks of DDR2 1066--at least not on this board.)

Power supply is a Seasonic Gold 560 and video is a Radeon 4850 with AC passive cooling. This system, mildly overclocked to 3.2MHz, is more than sufficient for my use and I plan to keep it for another two or three years.

However, I've got a line on a dirt cheap 3.0 MHz Zosma quad-core (like $50), and wonder if there's any benefit to replacing my 940BE with it. The most obvious benefit is that it's a 95 watt part instead of the 940's 125 watt. This would probably enable the system to run a bit cooler and, perhaps provide more headroom for future overclocking on the 125 watt max Asus board.

Are there any other advantages to the Zosma's Thuban core that would make it worthwhile? For example, would the newer memory controller run the ram at 1066?

 

[Don Karnage]

940 is a C2 correct? I would do the swap

 

[Towermax]

940 is a C2 correct? I would do the swap

Yes, it's a C2. Why would you do the swap?

 

[KayVeeEmm]

If 960T unlocks to 5 or 6 cores, keep it. If it doesn't, return.

 

[richierich1212]

I'd do it. Your 940 can sell for as much or more.

 

[LoneNinja]

Performance wise they'll be almost identical (960T has turbo core). Does your current motherboard support core unlocking? If it does you can probably turn it into a 5 or 6 core and that would be worth while, other wise the saved electricity cost isn't worth $50.

If you intend to actually push it overclocking, it will almost for certain run at a higher clock speed as it is a newer stepping than the C2 used on the 940. Your memory limitation may be the motherboard itself, and not the processors memory controller.

Basically in my opinion it's not worth it unless you intend to try to unlock cores and overclock it.

 

[Towermax]

OK, thanks for the feedback, everyone.

The board does have core unlocking, but I'm not counting on using the Zosma (960T) as a six-core unit--I barely stress the current four cores. I just thought the Thuban core and lower TDP would offer better overclocking than the 940. (But six cores might be useful in the future. )

As far as the memory speed, AMD says that the 940's memory controller *cannot* handle 4 sticks of 1066. There are folks on the net who say this is an Asus problem, and some who say it isn't. Some say they are running 4 sticks of 1066 with no problem, and others have no luck at all.

When I've tried, the otherwise very stable system crashes quickly under OCCD and Prime95, even with higher voltage and very loose timings. So I thought I'd check here and see if anyone knows whether the Thuban's memory controller has improved its handling of DDR2.

Overall, I'm looking at the Zosma as a CPU that will essentially max out my current setup at a fairly low price, and buy more time till a total replacement is needed.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

For $50.- sure, why not? You can sell your current CPU for around the same $$$ as what you would be spending on the 960t. As a bonus the 960 will probably OC higher than the 940.

 

[jacktesterson]

I'd do it in a heart beat.

Better controller, More O/C potential, possible unlocking of 1-2 cores, Little cost if any.

 

[busydude]

I would do the swap and unlock IF your MB supports 125 watt CPUs.

Edit: Doh! did not realize 940 is a 125w cpu.

 

[Gikaseixas]

If your board cannot unlock the 960T you'll still have a newer chip with a newer step and improved thermals. For $50 i'd get it and sell the 940 for the same or a little more.
Win win situation imo

 

[Rvenger]

Not to mention the OC capabilities the Zosma has to offer. You can get 4ghz without too many issues.


I built a computer for a friend back in 2010 with a Phenom II 940 running 4 sticks of 1333mhz RAM. I have never heard of the memory controller issues?

Every once in a while my friend will get a BSOD and it says "Memory Management" is this the issue?

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Worth is subjective, but if you're already content I see no reason to "sidegrade" for extra cash.

However $50 for a decent quad core, might as well buy it and ebay it at the very least.

 

[sm625]

Why not also buy an AM3+ mobo and some DDR3 and just sell off your old cpu/mobo/RAM? That should only cost you about $30 max and you'd have about a $30 performance improvement. If you have a transferable windows license...

 

[chubbyfatazn]

If 960T unlocks to 5 or 6 cores, keep it. If it doesn't, return.

Not that it contributes much to this thread, but don't be an asshat and do this. It drives the prices up for everyone. Just look at it as an added bonus if yours unlocks to six cores.

I did the same thing, I bought one for use as a four- and six-core chip as needed. I don't even use four cores, but having six at my disposal keeps more options open. I'd say do the swap, even if you can't sell your 940.

 

[Vesku]

If you're interested in running 4 sticks of RAM I'd swap to the Thuban. Have mainly heard good things about Thuban and DDR3 memory, I run my 1090T with 4 sticks of 4GB DDR3 1600 with no problems.

 

[Towermax]

I built a computer for a friend back in 2010 with a Phenom II 940 running 4 sticks of 1333mhz RAM. I have never heard of the memory controller issues?

Every once in a while my friend will get a BSOD and it says "Memory Management" is this the issue?

Here's a quote from The Tech Report's discussion of the then new AM3 Phenom II (http://techreport.com/articles.x/16382):

"the Phenom II only supports 1333MHz DDR3—at least, officially—with a single DIMM in each memory channel. With four DDR3 DIMMs, 1066MHz is the standard. Such limitations are nothing new, of course. Previous Phenoms have long supported 1066MHz DDR2 memory, but only with a single DIMM per channel. "

You can find many similar discussions by googling "Phenom II 1066", "Deneb 1066", and so on.

When I run all four sticks at 1066, the system works fine for casual browsing, office work, etc. But it crashes quickly on OCCT, Prime 95, Linpack, etc. Switch the DDR to 800 and it's completely stable.

There are conflicting opinions as to how much of this is AMD's memory controller and how much is bios related. Some say it's an Asus and Gigabyte problem only, while others say it's a 780/790 chipset problem. It's also confused by the C2 vs C3 steppings and the Deneb vs Thuban cores and AMD's improvements in their internal memory controllers.

I don't know the answer--I just know what happens with the motherboard that I have. It's not that big a deal to me, give that I'm not a heavy gamer and don't run any demandings apps. 800 vs 1066 is just a few % performance issue that matters to folks looking for max performance. This used to matter to me, but not anymore--I haven't done any serious overclocking since the 939 days. These days, I'm more interested in stability and low noise.

 

[Towermax]

If you're interested in running 4 sticks of RAM I'd swap to the Thuban. Have mainly heard good things about Thuban and DDR3 memory, I run my 1090T with 4 sticks of 4GB DDR3 1600 with no problems.

It does seem that the Deneb C3 and Thuban cores had significant improvements in their IMCs. That, plus the lower power use, and the higher overclocking headroom are probably going to result in me buying the Zosma.

I wouldn't be even thinking about it if this deal on the Zosma hadn't come along. After all, the system is a Craigslist special that I got for next to nothing.

 

[LoneNinja]

Not to mention the OC capabilities the Zosma has to offer. You can get 4ghz without too many issues.


I built a computer for a friend back in 2010 with a Phenom II 940 running 4 sticks of 1333mhz RAM. I have never heard of the memory controller issues?

Every once in a while my friend will get a BSOD and it says "Memory Management" is this the issue?

The 940 is an AM2+ processor using DDR2 memory, you probably used the 945 as that is AM3.

It's been a couple years, but it was either my Phenom 9850 or Phenom II 940 that was stable with 1066 and became unstable after a motherboard swap. Wish I could remember which as neither have the same motherboard they originally had.