AMD 4800X2 S939 Upgrade

[Gliding_Nut]

Hi all,

Sorry for resurrecting this old one but I've had a trawl through and I cant find the original posts!

I'm finally about to upgrade my old 3500 Winchester for an AMD 4800X2 that I purchased earlier this year just before AMD retired S939.

I know that an Intel Dual Core set up is the way to go, but with the new Penryn CPUs due next year (delayed if the rumours are true) I'm holding off on this for a while so this is a last ditch attempt to squeeze a few more fps out of my pc and to maximise the benefit of my 8800 GTS.

Anyway, getting to the point - I have a Gigabyte K8NXP mobo and I recall that it was necessary to do a BIOS upgrade and to download some sort of dual core optimising software off the AMD website but equally I remember people saying avoid this bit of s/w etc! Anyone able to tell me what it is I need to do please?

Thanks....

 

[Cob]

You can get the AMD Dual-Core Optimizer from here.

AMD recommend that you install it.

And Gigabyte say you need to be on atleast the F9 BIOS to run the X2 4800.

 

[Tetras]

Make sure you have the right BIOS to run the chip but installing any software for it (in Windows) is optional. Some find it helps, some say no difference, only way is to try it (and don't try it) and see

 

[the_worrier]

I moved up from a 3800+ Venice a couple of weeks back. TBH, its quite difficult to tell the difference most of the time!
My skt 939 A8NE board had to be flashed (ISO...so dead easy). Was 'tinkin 'bout OC'in it to see if that improves things, but dont wanna do the cooler. I tried it out before and after the Dual-core optimiser....no difference here!

 

[TheMorningStar]

Ironicly if you sold that new and unused 4800+ (retail?) you could probably buy a Q6600 and 4gb of quality ram. Sell your existing mobo, cpu and ram and you also have a pretty nice mobo to put them on...

 

[Gliding_Nut]

That is tempting and why I've been holdig off to be honest, but is it worth buying a 6600 with the new Intel CPUs just around the corner?

Decisions, decisions - sell my new unboxed S939 4800X2 and build a whole new Intel set up or persevere for a few more months and then do the Intel thing...

 

[TheMorningStar]

well i cant really see the price of your 4800 changing much. oem wont pull the same as retail mind. you should be garentied £150 for it though