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CPU Upgrade - 64 3000+ to dual core 939? Advice please.

peteruk

peteruk

peteruk

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27 Jan 2005
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Nr. Norwich, Norfolk
Hey all,

Two computers in this house have been using AMD 64 Winchester 3000+ socket 939 CPUs on Asus A8Vs with 1Gb Patriot PC3200 2-3-2-5 for about a year. I personally overclock mine mildly, to about 2.2Ghz, (also uses X800 XT PE AGP 256Mb for the record)

However, we've been considering upgrading the other for christmas (this one uses a 9600XT 256Mb also for the record). However, I haven't kept an eye on the CPU market for at least 6 months, so I'm not sure what's best to look at :confused: .

Basically, I've heard the X2 939s are getting harder to find, so are becoming poorer value. This could mean the single cores (like the Optys) are better performing at the same price?

Also, I don't know whether it is in fact that the mobo is a limiting factor, and that we should just hold out and upgrade both. Maybe even switch to Intel as I hear they're getting better these days?

It may well be that I will upgrade my own shortly after, so I'd be interested in the results of this thread for my own personal use. The most demanding tasks I'd currently like more performance for are program-multitasking, video encoding and high-def video watching. I don't know how much performance increase will be noticed on either PC.

As it stands, the X2 4200+ for around £115 sounds like a reasonable option, but I'm saying that with little certainty. :(

I'd love to know your opinions on the situation.

Thanks to all who post! :)
 
As of right now, Intel are dominating the CPU market. Their Core 2 DUO processors can outperform pretty much any AMD x2.

If you have the money, I would look into some of Intel's newer stuff.
 
H2F Scott said:
As of right now, Intel are dominating the CPU market. Their Core 2 DUO processors can outperform pretty much any AMD x2.

If you have the money, I would look into some of Intel's newer stuff.
Click to expand...

That's interesting.

I'll check out how much a new mobo and an Intel DUO would cost. Are there any price drops expected soon...? :p

Aside from that, I noticed the 4400+ (where it's available) has a L2 cache of 1Mb per core instead of 512kb per core that the 4200+ has (and seemingly the 4600+ too :confused: ). For just £20, isn't that much better value?
 
peteruk said:
That's interesting.

I'll check out how much a new mobo and an Intel DUO would cost. Are there any price drops expected soon...? :p

Aside from that, I noticed the 4400+ (where it's available) has a L2 cache of 1Mb per core instead of 512kb per core that the 4200+ has (and seemingly the 4600+ too :confused: ). For just £20, isn't that much better value?
Click to expand...

I'm really not sure mate. I have no idea about cache really. All I know is higher is better. :p

Anyway, if you want an idea of a good Intel setup right now, have a look at this OCUK bundle:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-036-OK

That spec overclocked would give you much greater performance than most AMD's. You could also upgrade to 1GB RAM (I would get the same GeIL stuff as in the bundle, it's getting very good reviews) for a another performance boost.

If you're planning on upgrading and you have a bit of money, go with Intel. If it's only a little upgrade you're after then I'd probably stay with AMD if I were you because they are stil great processors.
 
If you go Conroe, you're gonna need DDR2 RAM and a PCI-E graphics card.

Do it if you have the money spare, but otherwise there's nothing wrong with the X2, especially when overclocked. £115 for a 4200+ is a good price. Make sure it is 939 and not AM2!
 
Mattus said:
Make sure it is 939 and not AM2!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have seen a few I thought were good 939 deals, but turned out to be AM2. :(

Thanks for your suggestions everyone! :)

On a separate note, what about Dual Core Opterons?

I've seen a few going quite cheap on 'the auction site'. Do they compare similarly to the X2s?
 
peteruk said:
On a separate note, what about Dual Core Opterons?

I've seen a few going quite cheap on 'the auction site'. Do they compare similarly to the X2s?
Click to expand...

They're probably preferable to the X2s. They all have 1MB cache per core and they tend to overclock better.
 
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