Type of processor for my MB?

[Ruckas]

Hello everyone,

I've been out of the gaming world for quite some time. I was emersed in my school work and I also work full time. I just recently graduated and I want to get back into gaming. I built my current computer for work. Also when I built this I was much better informed about hardware and prices. There are so many CPU's and Chipsets now I have no clue what's what. So I'm just going to maximize what I have until I can get a grasp on what's out there.

I have a GA-K8U-939 mother board with a AMD Athlon 64 3500 CPU. I still have the box for the board and it says right on the cover that it's "Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Ready!" When I go to new egg and look at processors I see that they are all "socket AM2." My question for you all 'will my board work with a socket AM2 processor?'

Specs:

Mother Board: GA-K8U-939
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3500 (2.2ghz)
HDD: Raptor SATA 74GB (10000 RPM)
I also have a shitty 250GB for storage
RAM: 1gb Dual Chan OCZ 2.5-3-3-8
VIDEO: Radeon X800XL
Sound: SB Audigy 2 ZS

So as you can see it's a pretty decent machine as it is. But I plan to throw another gig of ram in, and get the nicest processor I can for my mother board. That should let me at least play the newer games. Then perhaps next year I'll build another one with all the candy.

 

[MarcVenice]

I wouldn't, that's an AM2 cpu, and won't work in your mobo. S939 is dead, and cpu's for it have become rare. Best bet is to get a x2 3800+ toledo, and overclock it as high as possible, 2.6ghz is pretty much gauranteed. But even then, I wouldn't do it. DDR ram is also a bit pricey, and your x800xl is the suck, because it only has shadermodel 2.0, and not 3.0, which is pretty much required for nowadays games.

Better of to get educated real fast and build a new rig altogether. I mean, abit ip35-e/gigabyte ds3l, for 90$, e2180 for 80$, 2gb of ddr2 800mhz for 35$ and a 8800gt for 200$, PSU for 55$, and you've got a new rig. Overlock it, and you're good to go, and your old rig will feel like complete junk.

 

[Aluvus]

You can only use Socket 939 processors; Socket AM2 parts are not compatible. Athlon 64 X2 parts exist in both forms, although Socket 939 has now been retired so long that the hardware is scarce.

You are on the right track avoiding putting a lot of upgrades into your existing machine. The combination of DDR, Socket 939, and AGP puts it in a bad position for upgrades.

 

[heyheybooboo]

You missed by 6-8 months on getting any good s939 upgrades. What new 939 stuff out there is limited and 2-3 times the cost from what prices they bottomed. It's not worth it the way the prices have gone ...

That cpu/mobo might get you to 2.4-2.5GHz stable. You might consider a HDTV pci tuner card that you can move to a new rig in the future if you are into the TV thing. That's too nice a mobo to sit around and collect dust ...

 

[mruffin75]

S939 chips are hard to find these days...I picked up 2 939 4400 X2 Toledo's from TigerDirect for about $80 each about 3-4 months ago, but a couple of days after I ordered they weren't listed anymore...guess I got some of the last few..

 

[Denithor]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Better of to get educated real fast and build a new rig altogether. I mean, abit ip35-e/gigabyte ds3l, for 90$, e2180 for 80$, 2gb of ddr2 800mhz for 35$ and a 8800gt for 200$, PSU for 55$, and you've got a new rig. Overlock it, and you're good to go, and your old rig will feel like complete junk.

+1

Best advice hands down. S939 chips are hard to find, expensive as crap if you manage to find one, and don't perform well by today's standards. DDR memory is also expensive (you will easily get 2GB of faster DDR2 memory for less money than you would pay for an additional 1GB of DDR today) and there aren't any AGP video cards suitable for gaming available any longer.

I would say sell your old rig off to someone who doesn't know any better as a gaming system and put together a new one from scratch.

 

[sutahz]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Better of to get educated real fast and build a new rig altogether. I mean, abit ip35-e/gigabyte ds3l, for 90$, e2180 for 80$, 2gb of ddr2 800mhz for 35$ and a 8800gt for 200$, PSU for 55$, and you've got a new rig. Overlock it, and you're good to go, and your old rig will feel like complete junk.

Thats fine for a budget build but maybe he wants more (or games at a higher resolution so will require more). Can replace the E2180 w/ a E4xxx or E8400, 4GB for sure and a 512MB video card for whatever price/brand you're most comfortable with.

 

[Ruckas]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I figured it would be to easy to upgrade like that. I think I'll take your combined advice. I'm just going to put another gig of ram in, then start saving for a whole new rig. I really appreciate it!