Upgrade Path (from 3500+)

[grey matters]

So the time has come to upgrade. Games that I can't really play well (Crysis) are out and surely there'll be more to come. Current specs are:

AMD Athlon64 3500+
MSI K9ngm (I think, can verify if needed)
x1950pro (passively cooled)
2Gig RAM
19inch 12x10 screen

This processor has done very well for me over a good amount of time (it was coupled with a x800GTO^2 previously) but I think there's not much point trying Crysis on it. What I'm thinking of...

1: Drop a new processor into this mobo and get a bit more out of the x1950pro (I'm assuming this card is 'stronger' than the cpu that its coupled with). There are no overclocking features on the motherboard and it can only deliver a max of 89W so I think an X2 5600+ or 5800+ is close to the max I can get.

2: In about 6 months add an ATI 48xx on nVidia GT200 whichever is the best bang for buck.

3. In 9-12 months take this card and add it to a whole new system

The reasons I chose this "tick-tock" path is that spare money wil only arrive in dribs and drabs so I'd like to get as much as I can get out of minimal investment. The spare parts will eventually be used in a side project (HTPC) so there will be very little waste (or indeed money regained from sale of parts).

Is this reasonable?
Am I missing something? There could be a higher clocking 89W X3 due in the next releases maybe? I'd go Core2 now but like I said current funds are low and anyway I think there could be a bit of life to be squeezed out of this (admittedly poor) motherboard yet.

Any help/input greatly apperciated

 

[v8envy]

At 12x10 resolution a cpu upgrade is definitely the first order of business. A dual core will definitely breathe some life back into your system for the short term.

Another possibility is seeing if you can sell the whole system, and use the proceeds to build a new one. If you live near a Fry's you should be able to put together a pretty reasonable gaming machine for around $300 (E4500 combo with a 3ghz OC, 2G ram, 9600GT, case+psu) which may not be that much more than just a CPU upgrade after previous system sale if you get ~$200 for your old box. That would last you until GT200 or HD48XX become cheap (being the first performance upgrade in over 1.5 years I expect they'll be gouged to hell and back for months after release), and would probably turn out to be a big $ savings overall.

 

[bryanW1995]

upgrading in stages isn't necessarily a bad idea, but you will probably get more benefit from switching to a core2 system now. sell your cpu and mobo, then get a cheap p35 mobo plus e2160 or e2180. it shouldn't cost you more than 150 for cpu and mobo, but they will oc 50% or more very easily.

 

[grey matters]

Thanks for the reply, v8envy.

I'm not in the US and cheap hardware is a little more difficult to source here in Ireland. I'm still thinking that your idea is a good one. Delivery from the UK (where things are a bit less expensive) is obviously cheaper if I buy it all at once rather than piecemeal so that may be the other way to go.

Anyone hear of reasonably high clocked X3 or X4 parts (at only 89W) that are due in the future I could drop in to this mobo?

It may be a bad idea anyway but it would add to whatever info I have.

 

[grey matters]

@bryanW1995

Yeah, I just built a q6600 system for my brother and overclocked it to 3GHz very easily. Very impressed!

 

[bryanW1995]

sorry did not know that you are overseas. fyi, skt 939 doesn't support phenom x3 or x4. go to msi's web site to check on your EXACT mobo. then check out the supported cpu list. most likely the best cpu you can get is an opteron 180 or x2 4800. both of those are 2.4ghz with 2x1mb cache. one of those would be around 120 new if you can find them. I would recommend getting a cheaper x2 or opteron depending upon availability.

btw, my asst mgr's girlfriend just moved here from n ireland.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

His board is an AM2, not s939

 

[v8envy]

Not all boards AM2 boards support Phenom CPUs either -- the Phenom AM2 compatibility is fairly sketchy. High clocked Phenom parts aren't very power efficient -- at load a Q9850 sucks about 50 watts more than a Q6600. You'd be limited to a non-overclocked 2.2 ghz or slower x3 or x4, and even then you could be playing with fire. Doubt that'll handle future games any better than a x2 5600+. Hate to say it, but if you want Phenom you're probably looking at a mainboard and PSU upgrade as well.

If computer parts are expensive and scarce your old rig may bring in enough cash to cover the higher price of new parts. I think it may be a wash. In that case, definitely consider a higher end E8400 or Q6600 with a temporary 9600GT or 3870. Until you upgrade your monitor this rig will serve you well. You may even be able to skip the R700/GT200 generation completely.

 

[bryanW1995]

gotcha. msi lists a couple of k9ngm variants:

http://www.msicomputer.com/pro...?class=mb&cpu=1#AMDAM2

specifically, the k9n6sgm-v and the k9ngm4-f v2.0

the k9n6sgm-v is just regular old am2 and probably won't support phenom. the k9ngm4-f v2.0 is am2+ ready and should be gtg on any of the phenoms out there (might require a bios update however).

ok from the cpu support list here:

http://global.msi.com.tw/index...d_no=1086&maincat_no=1

the k9n6sgm-v doesn't support anything over 89w officially and definitely no phenoms. If this is your board, I'd probably lean towards the x2 5000+ black edition. It has an unlocked multi so it's basically going to clock as high as you can get it stable anyway, plus you don't have to worry about ht adjustments and such.

the k9ngm4-f v2.0 is a different story. they also have a v1.0, let's see... they show the same support list. they don't officially support anything with over a 95w tdp, but most of the phenoms are 95w or lower. the 9750 has a 125w and a 95w version so you'll be gtg with that 95w version. realistically you'll "probably" be ok with any of the phenoms in that case, but it's been my experience that it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[grey matters]

Thanks all!

Yeah I'd go for a black edition but the motherboard has no overclocking feature in the bios. My one also is the one with a max of 89W (sorry probably should've been clearer there) so it looks like phenoms are out for the moment. I think I'll just drop in an X2 5600+ and probably go Nehalem after the first wave of releases have dropped in price a bit. Tried overclocking the x1950pro last night and got both core and memory up a bit so if that's stable in games that'll be my cheapskate route til after May/June anyway. Probably only cost about $60 and everything should feel a bit faster.

Thanks for all the input.