Upgrade from X2 6000+

[octopus41092]

So, I'm looking for an upgrade in the next month or so and I'm thinking the CPU would be the best part to upgrade.

Current system.
1 x ASUS M2N-E SLI
2 x 2GB DDR2 800 G.Skill Pi Black RAM
1 x Antec NeoPower 550W Modular PSU
1 x Razer Barracuda AC-1 Sound Card
1 x ASUS HD4850 512MB
2 x 750GB Seagate ST3750330AAS

What would be the most cost effective upgrade for this CPU. Would prefer not changing motherboard so I don't have to reformat. Would also like to keep it under $200.

I'm currently looking at an Phenom II X4 955. Would there be any drawbacks using a older motherboard such as mine?

 

[Jesusthewererabbit]

I think you are pretty much topped out with that board. It's an AM2 socket, and the Phenom and Athlon II chips require AM2+ or AM3. You can get a cheap AM2+ board and a Athlon II 620 for less that 200, but depending on your usage, it may not be that big of an upgrade. I made that exact upgrade, and have been happy because I do a lot of encoding, but my gaming experience hasn't been that much better than my 6000+.

 

[theevilsharpie]

The CPU may not necessarily be the most cost-effective upgrade. What do you use your computer for?

 

[octopus41092]

I think you are pretty much topped out with that board. It's an AM2 socket, and the Phenom and Athlon II chips require AM2+ or AM3. You can get a cheap AM2+ board and a Athlon II 620 for less that 200, but depending on your usage, it may not be that big of an upgrade. I made that exact upgrade, and have been happy because I do a lot of encoding, but my gaming experience hasn't been that much better than my 6000+.

Oh... Alright, then how about a Phenom II X4 940. It's an AM2+ chip and that should be back compatible in an AM2 right?

The CPU may not necessarily be the most cost-effective upgrade. What do you use your computer for?

Primarily used for gaming. Sometimes I do audio/video editing and encoding. Every once in a while I also use it for 3D modeling but nothing extreme.

 

[hans007]

I think you are pretty much topped out with that board. It's an AM2 socket, and the Phenom and Athlon II chips require AM2+ or AM3. You can get a cheap AM2+ board and a Athlon II 620 for less that 200, but depending on your usage, it may not be that big of an upgrade. I made that exact upgrade, and have been happy because I do a lot of encoding, but my gaming experience hasn't been that much better than my 6000+.

you do not need an am2+ board for a 620.

there are a lotof am2 boards that can run it. unfortunately asus has decided not to add bios support for the m2n-e.

some other manufacturers did (asrock was really good about it as well as gigabyte)... so you are stuck buying a new board anyway.

 

[myocardia]

Primarily used for gaming. Sometimes I do audio/video editing and encoding. Every once in a while I also use it for 3D modeling but nothing extreme.

Then you should what everyone else with a 3 Ghz dual-core and only ~$200 to upgrade their gaming system with does, and get yourself a $200 video card. You can buy a 1GB 4890 these days for less than $200, including shipping @ the egg.

 

[octopus41092]

Then you should what everyone else with a 3 Ghz dual-core and only ~$200 to upgrade their gaming system with does, and get yourself a $200 video card. You can buy a 1GB 4890 these days for less than $200, including shipping @ the egg.

I think my HD4850 is more than plenty. I'm running it on a 22" monitor and recently while playing Borderlands my GPU never went above 75% load whereas my CPU was hitting 100% pretty often. Plus I got an Accelero S1 on it along with 2 x 120mm fans. I can overclock it to 700MHz easily with no problems at all.

 

[theevilsharpie]

Given your budget, a new video card is probably the best upgrade you can do under $200, unless you need more disk space or something.

I'd save up money to buy a new mobo, processor, and RAM rather than trying to improve the system you have now.

 

[themisfit610]

Yeah... save up.

If you do any video encoding, a quad core is an absolute must-buy, in which case a new mobo and CPU are in order - maybe RAM as well if you go DDR3.

Phenom II or Lynnfield Core i7 would be my suggestions in these cases!

~MiSit

 

[tcsenter]

no support for Phenom or Phenom II

http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=M2N-E SLI&product=1

 

[cusideabelincoln]

If you think a CPU upgrade is needed, then grab the Phenom II 720 (or 710) and a motherboard that will fit under your budget (so, about a $70-85 board). You can reuse everything else. Then start saving up for a GPU upgrade.

But I am operating under the assumption your current system is, for the most part, satisfying your needs (in gaming). Is this true? What games are you playing?