Upgrading CPU from AMD 9950BE ?

[Orlean]

Since AMD isn't going to be shipping Phenom II's anymore I was thinking about picking one up before they go out of stock to get another 1-2 years out of this system. Have my 9950BE overclocked from 2.6 to 3.0 on a M3A32 AM2+ MVP MB. Was looking at picking up a Phenom II 970 from newegg for $140 would it be a significant performance boost for the money spent over what I have now ? I know that the first gen Phenoms were not the best.


System:
4870 512mb
4gigs of Ram
PCP&C 750w PSU

Thanks for any input

 

[Vesku]

Does your motherboard support Thubans? An x6 should OC to 3.6GHz+ and it is the top tier of AM2+/AM3. From my experience it has a better IMC and seems to have higher stable NB frequencies.

 

[skipsneeky2]

I would go with a x6 myself perhaps a 1090t.

Was skeptical about purchasing one but its my favorite part in my pc even over my gtx570.

Whole new build def gonna go intel .

 

[nenforcer]

His ASUS M3A32 MVP-Deluxe AMD 790FX motherboard does support the .45nm Hex Core Phenom ][ X6.

That would be the most future proof upgrade to get another 1-2 years out of it.

 

[RavenSEAL]

1090t FTW!

 

[Orlean]

Yes my motherboard does support the X6 Thuban chips. Also I'm still using DDR2 memory clocked @ 800mhz (rated to run at 1066 but I cant get it to run at that speed stable) would that effect anything running a X6 chip ? Although I see newegg is out of stock with 1090t's, tigerdirect still has them in stock.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Yes my motherboard does support the X6 Thuban chips. Also I'm still using DDR2 memory clocked @ 800mhz (rated to run at 1066 but I cant get it to run at that speed stable) would that effect anything running a X6 chip ? Although I see newegg is out of stock with 1090t's, tigerdirect still has them in stock.

Rumor has it the phenom 2 will stop being shipped,if true who knows.

I would jump on it pretty fast i had to go with a 1100t cause where i went shopping all of the 1090ts got sold out i was lucky with this 1100t cause it was the last in stock

 

[LoneNinja]

IPC on Phenom II is only about 5% or so better than Phenom I, it's still a good upgrade if you clock it up to 3.8Ghz+. Main advantage of Phenom II is lower power draw, cooler running, and higher clocks. I would also advise you try to get an X6, the extra 2 cores will really make a difference depending how you use your computer.

 

[Rezist]

You will need to buy DDR3 ram I'm pretty sure since they dropped support for it on all the AM3 chips I do believe.

 

[Orlean]

@LoneNinja- only 5% ? are you sure from the bechmarks I've see its a 15-25% increase in performance( depending on what your using it for of course)

@Rezist - That makes no sense, why would the CPU have support for my motherboard but not memory because they dropped support for it ?

 

[richierich1212]

You will need to buy DDR3 ram I'm pretty sure since they dropped support for it on all the AM3 chips I do believe.

AM3 Processors have DDR2/DDR3 membory controllers.

 

[fourdegrees11]

Hop on that 1090 while you still can! You should be able to run it at 3.8ghz minimum with no issues.

 

[coolpurplefan]

AM3 Processors have DDR2/DDR3 membory controllers.

Do the Phenom II go up to DDR3 1333MHz?

 

[jmarti445]

1090t ftw!!

 

[Orlean]

Well I guess that's what I'll go with get one before they become unavailable to buy.

 

[LoneNinja]

@LoneNinja- only 5% ? are you sure from the bechmarks I've see its a 15-25% increase in performance( depending on what your using it for of course)

@Rezist - That makes no sense, why would the CPU have support for my motherboard but not memory because they dropped support for it ?

The AM3 processors still feature a DDR2 memory controller, don't worry about that.

Here is a 2.6 Phenom vs 2.6 Phenom II.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/85?vs=21

Few applications show a decent performance gain, but a small amount of that gain will be due to DDR3 memory vs DDR2. They are very close in performance at the same clock speed. Most of the performance gain is actually the larger L3 cache.

Not that it matters for your comparison but here is Athlon II vs Phenom.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/106?vs=21

Phenom II isn't some major revision to K10 that many people have spread online. Many call Phenom garbage in comparison to Athlon II/Phenom II, in reality it is AMDs 65nm was garbage, ran hot, power hungry, and clocked poorly compared to 45nm.

Phenom II is still a good upgrade, your looking at 25% higher clock speeds or more, and if you go X6 you get 50% more cores too.

 

[thilanliyan]

I went from a 9850BE to a 1055T with my AM2+ m/b last year and am very happy with the upgrade.

 

[JimmiG]

I went from a Phenom I 9650 @ 2.6 GHz to a Phenom II 955 in late 2009. The difference was quite significant. The Phenom I was struggling already in 2009, while my Phenom II still feels fast enough today.

The Phenom II originally launched with DDR2 memory and was already much faster than the Phenom I per clock:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2702/9

DDR3 RAM makes a small difference but not enough to stop a Phenom II from being a worthwhile upgrade for AM2+ owners:
http://www.techspot.com/review/162-amd-phenom2-x4-955/page3.html

Maybe it makes a bigger difference with a 6-core CPU, though... More cores to feed=more memory bandwidth required.. That's maybe something to consider if you're choosing between the X4 and the X6.

The Phenom II does not run cooler however. At least not the early Ph-II's like mine. My Phenom I was 95W, the Phenom II is 125W. It also runs about 5C hotter with the same CPU cooler and seems to use more power (the PSU fan spins faster with the Ph-II under load than it did with the Ph-1). The temperature is what's stopping me from overclocking, as it hits 58C when running OCCT at 3.4 GHz. At 3.6 it quickly hit 61C which is the absolute maximum allowed.

 

[Arkaign]

Good answers already in this thread, but I'll recap what I think :

(1)- You have a great platform to upgrade, the new CPU will improve things substantially.

(2)- The PhII X4 are great. I don't recommend going as high as the 970 or 980 though, the C3 955 and 965 will hit the exact same clocks for less $.

(3)- The 1090T/1100T are even better, and would provide slightly better longevity, so if possible go that route instead unless you find an X4BE for much much less.

(4)- DDR2 vs. DDR3 is almost marginal in most cases. In addition, you can often get better than stock performance after adjusting bus and HT speeds in addition to the CPU clock speed adjustments.

(5)- I didn't notice if you already had a great air cooler, but I would definitely recommend a big old 212+ or something, you want a big heatpipe tower cooler with at least 1 120mm fan. It won't be expensive, and it will help keep your temps and the noise down to a minimum.