Worth upgrading from X2 4600+ to 5600+?

[daveybrat]

I've got the AMD X2 4600+ 2.4GHz now and i'm thinking of upgrading to the 5600+.....2.4GHz to 2.9GHz. I don't overclock and i can get almost $60 for my old cpu and can get the new 5600+ for only $115. So i'm only spending $55 for an additional 500MHz cpu speed. Is it worth it? I just want a little more speed and figured for the price it sounds right.

 

[bryanW1995]

I used to play that upgrade game. It's much more efficient to just get one cpu per socket and oc it as much as possible. Don't bother with a new cpu unless your mobo supports phenom. It's so incredibly cheap these days to do a complete system upgrade for you:

$30 for 4-4-4-12 ddr2 800
$90 for a nice p35 mobo
$133 for an e7200

you should be able to oc the e7200 to ~ 3.5 with the stock cooler. So, you sell your old mobo + ram for ~ $30 plus the $60 for the cpu... leaving you with a $166 charge to get a cpu that is significantly "faster" than anything on the market today for the vast majority of applications.

 

[Cookie Monster]

He said he doesn't overclock. ;

Its a bargain for those who dont overclock and want some extra speed (getting some DDR2-800 sticks would be a nice idea too), so go for it. But note that for the majority of us who do overclock, it doesn't make any sense in what your about to do and would rather go with what bryan just suggested above.

 

[Bateluer]

What do you do with your computer that you'd need the extra speed? The upgrade is cheap, cheaper than the E7200 rebuild, but would you make use of/notice the extra speed?

If your system currently offers acceptable performance for what you use it for, I'd pass and hold off for newer CPUs. On the other hand, AMD could certainly use your patronage.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: daveybrat
I've got the AMD X2 4600+ 2.4GHz now and i'm thinking of upgrading to the 5600+.....2.4GHz to 2.9GHz. I don't overclock and i can get almost $60 for my old cpu and can get the new 5600+ for only $115. So i'm only spending $55 for an additional 500MHz cpu speed. Is it worth it? I just want a little more speed and figured for the price it sounds right.

I say 'Go for it!'

However - if you game at higher resolutions - 1600x1200^^ - probably won't make that much difference. Overall you may see a 10-15% bump in 'snappiness' - up to 20%+ in certain cpu intensive tasks.

I don't think your DDR2-667 will be an issue. Because of AMD's funky ram divisors theoretical at 2.8GHz is 725MHz ram speed anyways (if I did the math right ) without overclocking ...

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
He said he doesn't overclock. ;

Its a bargain for those who dont overclock and want some extra speed (getting some DDR2-800 sticks would be a nice idea too), so go for it. But note that for the majority of us who do overclock, it doesn't make any sense in what your about to do and would rather go with what bryan just suggested above.

I know that he said he doesn't oc. I was just sharing my personal experience with him b/c I regret all the money I wasted buying athlon xp 3200+ bartons and fx-55's. I can't go back and stop myself from making those purchases, but maybe I can help the OP turn into an enthusiast oc'er and save him some money while we're at it

 

[SimMike2]

Don't do it. You won't notice hardly any difference.

 

[JWade]

i went from a 4000+ to a 5000+ and noticed a difference. why not try and get a 6000+ for a little more?

 

[daveybrat]

Originally posted by: JWade
i went from a 4000+ to a 5000+ and noticed a difference. why not try and get a 6000+ for a little more?

I was debating the merits of a 6000+, but couldn't swallow the 125Watt power consumption. The 5600+ is 2.9GHz at 65Watt.

Thanks everyone for the help. For $50 i'll probably just do it and then upgrade to Nehalem when it's out. This will tide me over till then

 

[Ratman6161]

Originally posted by: daveybrat

Originally posted by: JWade
i went from a 4000+ to a 5000+ and noticed a difference. why not try and get a 6000+ for a little more?

I was debating the merits of a 6000+, but couldn't swallow the 125Watt power consumption. The 5600+ is 2.9GHz at 65Watt.

Thanks everyone for the help. For $50 i'll probably just do it and then upgrade to Nehalem when it's out. This will tide me over till then

On my Socket 939 system I overclocked my 4400+ from 2.2 to 2.8 and to tell you the truth it didn't make all that much real world difference. Guess it all depends on what you hope to accomplish.