AMD dual core - upgrade to quad core or even hex core ; expert advice needed!

[hgee]

Hi

I bought a desktop PC from OCUK in 2007.

The hardware spec is as follows , taken from SiSoft;

CPU - Athlon II X2 245 2.9GHz
MB - Gigabyte M61PME-S2P Rev 1.0 BIOS ver F5
RAM- Corsair 4GB 2 x CM2X2048-6400C5 DDR2 PC2-6400U DDR2 -800
GPU- MSI Radeon HD6850 Cyclone Power Edition ( installed this year )
HDD- Seagate ST3500418AS 500GB 16MB cache 7200rpm
PSU - Corsair HX450W

CPU-ID states for the socket ; Socket AM3 (938) Family/model F/6

One of the main reasons for wanting to upgrade the CPU is MS Flight Sim X
It has never run smoothly on high settings and that is why I changed the GPU but this has not made a big difference and stutters at high settings.
A friend said the CPU may be bottlenecking the GPU but I dont know if this is true.
So, I went to the Gigabyte website and looked at the MB page;
http://uk.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3009#ov
and looked at the CPU support list.

I found my present CPU under the AM3 list and it looks like I might be able to fit a Phenom II X4 945 3GB 95W
and then looking further, maybe even a Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GB 95W!

I need some expert opinions about my options as it has been a long time since I upgraded a CPU.

I am wondering about several things;

1/ The X4 945 3GHz seems to use the same BIOS version I already have but needs more power - I notice the stepping is different from my present CPU; what does this mean and does it matter?
2/ The X6 1055T 2.8GHz seems to need BIOS ver F7B ; I notice this is a Beta BIOS.
Is it risky to use this BIOS version or will I be able to install this BIOS easily without knackering my PC?

3/Is my PSU up to the job or do I need a more powerful PSU?
4/Will the X4 be enought to boost my performance or would the X6 be worth the extra cost and BIOS change?
5/ Are the CPUs auto detected on installation or will I have to change any BIOS settings?

6/is there a bottleneck in my spec that I dont realise?

Sorry for lots of questions.

I will be grateful for help from you guys

thanks

 

[tonys]

Hi welcome to the forum. I've jus t upgraded from a AM2 cpu to a
n AM3 960T on a MSI K9A2CF board so can offer some limited advice.
1) I think the stepping code is to show what model of cpu it is.
2) Bios are always used at your own risk but you could google to see if anyone has had any problems.
3) Not an expert on this but if you are not OC it may be alright.
4) It should be unless you have or will have any programs that will benefit from the extra cores.
5) They should be if you have the correct bio
6) Not an expert but you would probably have to upgrade the motherboard and memory to see any big gains.

 

[Trunks9486]

Try to search on whether MS Flight sim uses the extra cores. If not upgrading wouldn't necessarily increase your performance.

Things that use the extra cores will however see massive increases. No need to upgrade anything else as your motherboard seems to be compatible. Be careful to look for the 95W hex core, though this might be hard to find. Otherwise a quad Phenom will still be good and should be found easily.