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Replacement AMD Athlon x2

SkidMarkKing

SkidMarkKing

SkidMarkKing

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Joined
25 Jul 2009
Posts
1,599
Location
England
Hello.

Im looking for a replacement for a AMD Athlon 64 x2. Either this one exactly or may be a small upgrade due to prices dropping. Im not sure on which ones I could get to replace this though as it a fairly old CPU now. Pretty sure its the 6400.

Thanks
 
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Depending on your motherboard socket you might be able to use a phenom 1 x2 3 or 4, but I wouldn't recommend any of them tbh. Prehaps a second hand upgrade to an Athlon II x4 is on order...
 
find out your motherboard model and search for it on the manufacturers website (asus, gigabyte etc.). From there you should find a list of supported cpus and corresponding bios update. Avoid original phenoms as they are useless (they use 4 digit model numbers ie, Phenom 9850). If they're supported look for an Athlon II or Phenom II (they use 3 digit model numbers ie, Phenom II 955). These should give you a nice boost over the older 6400 and they generally overclock quite well. Also try looking for c3 steppings over c2 as they generally clock better
 
SkidMarkKing said:
The CPU is only for my mums desktop so no overclocking will be going down. lol

Thanks, will check the mobo.
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In that case, if the board supports it, go for an athlon II x2 of some description. It will still be a good deal faster and only has a 65w tdp (compared to the 125w of the older 6400). Also they should be cheap as chips 2nd hand
 
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Be careful as a lot of first gen athlon x2 motherboards don't support anything newer. It could well be that the 6400 is the best cpu the motherboard supports.
 
Phatzy said:
What is your mum going to use with this computer?

Athlon64 x2 6400 is fine for years to come for general use.
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The desktop is a fair few years old now but did cost £800. She will be using it for internet use and she does a lot of crafts so programs which are loaded with images. She won't be using photoshop or problems of this size.
 
sadly that board doesnt officially support athlon/phenom IIs. Either stick with a 5600/6400 or consider a cheap upgrade

A quick look on the bay shows the 6400 going for £45. However £85 would net you a cheap AM3+ Board and 4GB RAM from OCUK and a second hand athlon II X2 off the bay. This gives performance increases all round then (assuming you were using 2gb and the IGP beforehand) Worth the extra £40 imo. Only thing to mention is that that cheapest AM3+ board on ouck only supports 95w tdp. Fine for any of the athlon IIs but should you want to upgrade to something more beefier later on it could be a problem.

Another alternative is going down the trinity/FM2 route. CPU/Board/RAM for £110. This is a further CPU/GPU improvement over the athlon II and 760G IGP but its probably going a bit too far moneywise for a quick cheap upgrade. Depends on what you're looking for really.

Edit: Had a quick look on the MM and theres an Athlon 7750 going stupidly cheap (i wont say price or post link becuase im unsure of the rules, but its not too hard to find the thread). Your current board will support it on the newest F10A bios and it seems to perform more-or-less the same as a 6400 (source
 
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£100 wow!! I was hoping for a cheap £20 replacement job as its for my mums PC which she will only be using the internet and small graphic packages for her crafts
 
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