Upgrade help and info

middeath · 12 Nov 2010 at 09:06

Hi all,

I am new here and looking for a bit of info.

I have AMD Tri Core PC and I am thinking about getting the new AMD 6 core chip. Just wondering if it is a worthwhile purchase? I do play games and do Computer Aided Design.

I am looking at building with,

AMD Phenom II X6 Six Core 1055T 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail
Asus M4A87TD Evo AMD 870 (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)

I have a good graphics card in a NVIDIA GTX 450 Series and a 650W power supply. Any compatibility problems or even advice is gratefully received.

95thrifles · 12 Nov 2010 at 10:18

Hi and welcome
Firstly, imo, you dont really need to upgrade your mobo/RAM, so you can save a bit of cash there, not unless you really NEED the extra features of the 8 series board over the 7, or youre porting your old stuff over to another build
Secondly if its just for gaming then 6 cores is excessive, you could try overclocking your tricore and maybe even unlocking the 4th core or just slip in a new Phenom x4 chip such as the 970 if in stock or 955, these will both be better than the x6 for gaming as they are clocked higher and the additional 2 cores would be unneccessary anyway (theres lots of threads about this in the CPU sub forum), should be quite a bit better than your current chip too which I assume is an athlon
Your gfx card and PSU will be compatible yes

middeath · 12 Nov 2010 at 11:20

Thanks for the reply,

I have to admit I am at a loss with overclocking I have never done it before but I was thinking of getting the x4 chip.
I have the athlon and found it to slow down a bit in Mafia 2 and Black Ops so decided to upgrade.
I do know my memory does not run at 1066 but at 800. Would the x4 chip utilize the 1066?

thanks

middeath · 12 Nov 2010 at 11:51

Oh just had a look at my MB specs and it does not support AM3 as it is a REV 1 board.
Well I may just go for the set up but with a Phenom x4 in place of the X6. As you have said the six cores don't seem to get used by many programs.
I have spare parts to make up two systems so I may dedicate one as a Media Center.