AM3 socket upgrade

[NoNameNoNumber]

SO my current PC is 3 years old now, the spec looks something like this....
Phenom XII 555 BE @3.9GHz
Gigabyte MA770t UD3P MoBo
4gb Corsair DDr3 1600
Corsair 550 PSU
1 tb Spinpoint F3

I'm thinking of going stepping up to a 965BE, 8gb Corsair (2x4gb)

What do you think to that? worth doing?
Will the MoBo support the new setup?

Thoughts much appreciated


Oh yeah... just check out my CPU-Z sig!

 

[stulid]

What revision is your board?

http://uk.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3534#ov

Once you know, click on the relavent revision in the link above and then select CPU support list.

But saying that, even the 1.0 version has support for a 965BE.

 

[PapaLazaru]

Looks fine, though I would go for a 960T instead.

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Could you link me to a 960t
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=1967&subid=1943

 

[stulid]

Their not in stock here.

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Hmmm the 965 'looks' better to the untrained eye, I'm looking for 4GHz+ here on air.
which is the one for me...

 

[stulid]

I haven't looked into AMD Phenom chips for ages.

I would expect you would need a good heatsink to keep the temps nice and low at that speed though.

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Thanks Stu, maybe I should just give in and go for an i5 3570k!

 

[stulid]

Does your board unlock cores?

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

It unlocked all four on a x2550 I tried for a friend but wont unlock any on this x2 555 and wouldn't run stable on all 4 with my old x2 550.

 

[stulid]

At least you tried

 

[PapaLazaru]

Hmmm the 965 'looks' better to the untrained eye, I'm looking for 4GHz+ here on air.
which is the one for me...

I have a 965BE @ 3.975 on air. Even though the 960T looks slower as it comes at stock 3Ghz, it is a faster chip. Not much, but it is better all round.

 

[Martini1991]

I have a 965BE @ 3.975 on air. Even though the 960T looks slower as it comes at stock 3Ghz, it is a faster chip. Not much, but it is better all round.

Both at the same clock they're going to be neck and neck, the 960T might reach higher clocks though.

But as it stands, the 960T is slower at stock than the 965BE.

 

[Supraphil]

I've got a 955BE C3 running at 4.25ghz stable. Does all I need it to. You can still get them too.

 

[thingemajib]

whilst it doesn't look like you've had much success in the past with core unlocking, it is worth pointing out that the 960t is a hex core die with two cores disabled, so you could have a cheap hex core on your hands...

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

hmmmm, I've not been on here for ages... it's suddenly become apparent that the little amount of OC'ing knowledge I had has deminished!

Lets try from a different angle then....

what's a good all round AM3 socket PC look like?
Should I stay ATX or go MATX?
There's nothing wrong with the Antec 300
8gb DDR3 seems the norm
My PSU is fine at 550w

Where would you guys go with this?

 

[Martini1991]

Your boards looks fine, it can take native hexcores, or try unlocking a 960T.

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Is it the lack of cores on this X2 that is ruining the computer?
I often get than freeze and noise when itunes is doing something in the background, I guess thats taxing my cpu along with all of the other background stuff...

 

[Zuban]

not sure how cheap you can get a 960t for but the price you can pick up a brand new 965be if you shop about, they are really very good value and seem to overclock well, had no problem getting mine to 4.2ghz with a big cheap air cooler.

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

struggling to find a 960t... I think I'll go 965BE with 8gb corsair + maybe up the GPU, I've only got a 4350, might as well chuck a 5770 in there they must be sub £80 odd now surely...