can i upgrade to an amd phenom ii x4 965 black edition with my mobo?

darkhelmet82 · Dec 20, 2013

Hello, I'm looking to upgrade my processor and I'm confused about whether or not I can use the 965 with my motherboard. First off, my pc:

Hp pavilion 6674y gray edition
motherboard: N-Alvorix-RS880-uATX (Alvorix)
cpu: phenom ii x4 820 2.8ghz
psu: dynex 400w
gpu: hd radeon 7770
6 gb of ram

Now, I am on a super tight budget and I know that this is a very weak rig for gaming. However, I am not a frame rate junkie and to be honest, until Battlefield 4, I could run pretty much any game, even arma 2 and 3, at 30 to 50 fps with most settings between high and ultra and using fxaa and anisotropic filtering usually on ultra. sometimes I go below 30 if there is a lot going on in the area of what ever map i am on. This is fine for me as I cannot afford to spend hundreds, and definitely not thousands on a gaming pc and I still get a much better gaming experience than playing on consoles. I know that i need a new cpu because with B4, it's not the gpu that's struggling. No matter what my graphics settings are, after about 2 minutes of multiplayer, the cpu usage goes to 100% and it becomes completely unplayable. I've also found all the optimization tricks for this game and applied them, which helped but still can't play the game. So, back to my main question. Can I run a 965 black edition cpu with this mobo? The reason I'm asking on here is because, naturally, i went to the hp site first and looked at all the cpu's that are compatible with this motherboard. It says above the list of compatible cpu's that the mobo supports "95w" cpu, but, every single cpu on the list that is above the one that i currently have is a 125w cpu. WTF? Can someone please clear the confusion for me? Can I use one of the supposed "compatible" cpu's on HP's list or not? Thanks in advance to anyone that feels like helping me out.

Beezy · Dec 20, 2013

That motherboard is am2 and the 965 uses am3 (motherboard socket type). It will only work if there's an update for your motherboard BIOS to support am3. Otherwise it won't work and even if it does you prob won't get 100% out of ur CPU with an older socket holding it back.

darkhelmet82 · Dec 20, 2013

Beezy :

darkhelmet82 · Dec 20, 2013

oh, well, then why is it listed as being a compatible upgrade for that motherboard?

legokill101 · Dec 20, 2013

no its am3 however it only suports up to 95w tdp cpu,s while a phantom x4 965be is a 125w cpu

rgd1101 · Dec 20, 2013

There the X4 850 3.3 GHz, but I don't think it worth it.

darkhelmet82 · Dec 20, 2013

legokill101 :

DeathAndPain-1360803 :

darkhelmet82 · Dec 20, 2013

I understand that this is not the best cpu to go for for gaming, but the increase will be good for me since i can get this cpu for 95 bucks on pc part picker which beats the hell out of having to buy some other cpu which then needs a new mobo. now i know that i can get that combo not too much more than i would spend on a $100 cpu, however that means that i also have to fork out another 100 bucks for a new windows 7, which then means that it'll be for ever before i can actually play battlefield 4. i could do 95 bucks next week and be done with it. like i said, ive come this far with my current rig and I've been pretty happy with the performance. it won't take much to please me in this category.

darkhelmet82 · Dec 20, 2013

DeathAndPain-1360803 :

Again, I am afraid you will be disappointed, because the performance increase will not be that much, and you may find BF4 not running well despite the upgrade. Rather invest $200 well later than wasting $100 now. Anyway, I do not understand why you would need another copy of Windows 7? Windows 7-licenses are typically not bound to the hardware. Exceptions are only possible if you have a pre-installed copy of Windows with a vendor-specific key that does not need to be activated (Microsoft gives these to big manufacturers like Dell so they do not have to activate millions of new PCs individually). Even then, if you have the sticker with the key, you should be able to activate via telephone after replacing the mainboard and reinstalling windows.

darkhelmet82 · Dec 20, 2013

i do in fact have a pre-installed windows. I have heard about the over the phone thing, but i read that it was hit or miss, as in sometimes micro soft just won't let you do it. if there is a way that i can find out for sure that i can transfer my license then i would buy an fx 4300 cpu and a compatible mobo, which i found for 55 bucks on newegg. so thats about 160 to 170 bucks which isn't bad at all. is there a way that i can confirm that i will be able to transfer the license for my oem windows to another pc?

darkhelmet82 · Dec 20, 2013

DeathAndPain-1360803 :

Typically, you cannot activate such a Windows over the internet, but usually you can by activating via telephone. The computer may ask you on how many machines you have your copy of Windows installed, and you are well-advised to answer "one".

If you want to be absolutely sure, call the Windows activation telephone number in advance. I remember that there was a path through the automated computer dialogue that ends with you being connected to a real human, who you can ask.

You should, however, make sure you have a real Windows 7 installation CD and not only a recovery CD that installs a pre-installed Windows 7 onto your hard disk that contains all the drivers for your old mainboard. That would be a mess you do not want to have. You can, however, legally borrow such a CD from a friend, seeing that the license key is only related to Windows 7 and not to the particular CD, and it is legal to install from the borrowed CD because you do own a valid Win7 license. You just need to make sure to delete your previous installation, which you obviously do when you install anew to the same hard disk.

darkhelmet82 · Dec 20, 2013

i see, well, hopefully i can find someone that has an actual cd for win7. everyone i know either has win8 or an oem version like me. also, how do i find the number to call to see if my license can be transferred?

darkhelmet82 · Dec 21, 2013

DeathAndPain-1360803 :

darkhelmet82 · Dec 21, 2013

DeathAndPain-1360803 :

darkhelmet82 · Dec 21, 2013

holy crap, my bad, i've been doing it wrong. i apologize, i didn't realize i was doing that lol. hopefully im doing it right now. Anyway, i'll check out the number if i can find it. also, back to my original question. even though the 965 is listed as a 125w cpu but is also listed as compatible with my motherboard on the hp site, while at the same time saying that it only supports 95w cpu's right in the same paragraph, then can i use it or not? I realize that it wont be a big performance increase, but when i play battlefield 4, for the first 2 minutes or so of gameplay the performance is as good as any other game i play. but then the cpu starts running at 100% and the game glitches like crazy. this only happens with this game so i know my cpu is ok. wouldn't the 965 at least stop that problem from happening considering that the specs are better than what the minimum requirements are for the game? as of now, i am below the minimum requirements so it makes since that it won't play. i just really want to find a processor that at least has enough extra juice to get me over this one hurdle(which will keep me busy for a long time) without having to change mobo's and windows and all that. just a quick and easy upgrade.

beyondlogic · Dec 21, 2013

darkhelmet82 :

ok did some research and this is actually false theres plenty of cpus thats support your board there all 95w some 125w were released with 95w counter parts
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c02560084#N125

if looking for a jump in performance

go with the 6 cores finding them can be a bit of a pain though and depends on your spending limit

Phenom II X6 1045T
max i would suggest to run on it

http://www.amazon.com/Phenom-1045T-2-70-GHz-Processor/dp/B006G76LZY/ref=sr_1_9?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1387644189&sr=1-9&keywords=phenom+ii
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0080ATR2Y/?tag=pcpapi-20

with 6 cores should handle games fine

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/217/AMD_Phenom_II_X4_820_vs_AMD_Phenom_II_X6_1045T.html

this is really maxing it out

since bf4 takes advantage of more cores.

plus 7770 is a low end card

600w psu

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028

7850
http://us.ncix.com/products/?usaffiliateid=1000031504&sku=77602&vpn=FX-785A-CNL4&manufacture=XFX&promoid=1223

advantages double frame jump from old card

id do the upgrades in this order

x 6 phenom
cooler
600w psu
graphics card

this will keep you happy for a good while you probly wont get the max settings but medium and high would be what i consider youd reach for the next couple of years

darkhelmet82 · Dec 23, 2013

ok, first off, let me say, again, that I'm sorry for the way I'm posting. I can't figure out why every time i try to respond to someone it pops up twice. Not sure what i'm doing wrong. I even chose the last guy's post as the best answer, while it was very informative, it was an accident because i clearly don't know what I'm doing lol. However, based off of what he said, i looked some more and found a phenom II x4 945 deneb, which is the 95w version of this particular cpu. Anyone know if this one is any good? I was able to find a comparison between this and the one i currently have and this one is definitely better, matter of fact, it did better against my current cpu than the one beyondlogic recommended, which was the 6 core. While this test wasn't done with any games, the 945 seems to be a pretty decent upgrade for only just under $100. My plans for a gpu were to in the near future pick up a gtx 660. If i can get this cpu, then I can get to that card a lot sooner. Plus, shouldn't this and the 660 do much better than what i'm getting at this point? Again, my main objective is to just be able to play battlefield 4 as this is the only game I own that I cannot play. If i can make that game run better, then that'll be that much better all my other games will run, i would think.

beyondlogic · Dec 23, 2013

darkhelmet82 :

660 nvidia and 7850 are about the same performance depending on the game but the 7850 is better in most tests

a 7870 is even better then the both of them

820 vs 945
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/AMD-Phenom-II-X4-945-95W-vs-AMD-Phenom-II-X4-820

820 vs 1045
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/AMD-Phenom-II-X6-1045T-vs-AMD-Phenom-II-X4-820

820 score gaming
http://community.futuremark.com/hardware/cpu/AMD+Phenom+II+X4+820/review

945 gaming
http://community.futuremark.com/hardware/cpu/AMD+Phenom+II+X4+Processor+945/review

1045 gaming
http://community.futuremark.com/hardware/cpu/AMD_Phenom_II_X6_1045T_/review

clear winner 1045

darkhelmet82 · Dec 23, 2013

hey thanks man, that definitely clears some stuff up for me. pretty straight forward. guess maybe i will keep my eyes open for the 1045t if i see a good deal. but, honest opinion, would this paired with something of the 7850/660 nature be better or worse than if i were to get something like the fx 4300 with compatible mobo(and new windows) and one of the mentioned gpu's? or maybe around the same?

darkhelmet82 · Dec 23, 2013

i mean, i would think that the 965 would do better than the 820 which i have now, but obviously its out of the question since it's 125w. but as far as the 1045t goes, i can get one of those for 130 bucks used, and i read where someone said they use it to play battlefield 4 on ultra with no problems.. they also failed to mention at what fps though. I think i might just get one of these now. but my new question now is, would it be better to upgrade to the 1045t for $130 with my current mobo, or get a new motherboard, new cpu (fx4300 or something else in it's price range), and new windows for around $250? is one of these combos significantly better than the other?

beyondlogic · Dec 23, 2013

darkhelmet82 :

It be realitively worse

fx 4300 is better in games then 965 phenom you wanna go fx 6300 to get your moneys worth futuremark gets the benches a bit wrong sometimes because it says fx 6300 is weaker lol.

so heres another bench

highest phenom vs fx 6300

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/203?vs=699

however it isnt all bad everything you have is practically compatible

only thing youd need to change

os ( do to married to your old board)
( processor)
(motherboard)

ram
dvd
harddrive
gpu
psu
should be all compatible for the moment so if you wanna jump your processor performance first

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2oQeC
id recomend this cheap solution

you could do the upgrades in this order

motherboard /operating system
( use old processor till you have fx 6300 flash bios to latest version to ensure compatibility)
psu upgrade then
followed by graphics card also forgot to mention mantle will enhance the graphics card later.

note harddrive files you wanna keep put on a thumb drive etc

darkhelmet82-1394177 · Dec 24, 2013

ok, how bout this. So, i figure i'll probably go with the fx 6300, new mobo and windows. but, I pulled apart a pc my buddy gave me for parts and found that it has a phenom II x4 940 in it. what i was thinking was, for the time being, buy a motherboard compatible with the fx 6300, just get the mobo and windows for now but, get a mobo that is compatible with both the 6300 and the 940. the 940 is an AM2+ cpu and from what i can tell, there is only one board that supports am3+ and am2+: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157469. is this motherboard ok? also, would i have to update the bios on this board for the fx 6300 as that would be my main goal to just upgrade to that cpu in the very near future. But from what i can see online the 940 is definitely slightly better than what i currently have. am i limiting myself by getting this board? I also really need to keep whatever board i get under 75 bucks if possible. thanks

beyondlogic · Dec 24, 2013

darkhelmet82-1394177 :

the cons of that particular board are easy 1 theres no way youll occ on that board its to small for occing micro atx will not give you a good benefit in occing that chip plus 2 sockets are for ddr2 memory and you can only use ddr3 or ddr2 not both at same time which leaves you with 2 slots you cant do jack with and you be limiting yourself to 95w dtp which means fx 6300 would be your max

now you have a 840 phenom which is compatible with this board would work and you could continue using the 840 and flash the bios when your ready for fx 6300.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130637&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2pjyR

youd have to get a new case as well to support the atx board but it will allow you to occ your fx 6300 better this is so you can get as much out of the fx 6300 for longer

darkhelmet82 · Dec 26, 2013

I see, well, considering that the micro board is only $54, i could get it for the time being and put that phenom 940 in it, which should be a bit better than the 820 that i have now. The ram slots are kind of a bummer. I was just planning on getting 2 4g sticks eventually and use the 6 gigs of ram i have now for the time being, which is 3 sticks of ddr3 and obviously won't work with all 6 gigs in this board. Just how much would my performance suffer if i temporarily went with 4 gigs of ram? I'm just thinking that when i'm ready to get the 6300, i could get the motherboard you mentioned at the same time. and then put my other 2 gigs of ram in so I'm back to 6g until i can upgrade to 8. I know that seems silly to do all of that and plan on just upgrading 2 more gigs later, but my goal is to eventually get 2 pc's out of this. starting with a frankenstein build and then swapping parts around as i upgrade until i can rebuild my current pc again just for a media/facebook pc for the wife. anyway, how bout the micro atx board with 4gigs of ram(temporarily), and the phenom x4 940 until i can get the regular atx board and the 6300. is that ram downgrade going to kill it or would it still be(slightly) better than the current pc that i'm using? Also, i already have a gaming tower that will take micro atx and atx boards and should be just big enough to fit that gtx 660 later on down the road(or something else thats in the same price range by then)

beyondlogic · Dec 26, 2013

darkhelmet82 :

the problem with that idea is it will cost you more everytime you switch boards your going to have to buy a new os unless you buy retail windows 8 which is alot more for price as the builders packs only allow for 1 time install the key only works once.

then why not get the t970 now and stick it in your atx case and just use the 820 and ram the point im making the board you have currently wont occ processors but you will get more performance out the 820 if you occ it slightly just use the cooler you have and buy some mx4 paste to bump it up slightly

also dropping down to the to am2 plus is pointless when the newer am3 can do better instructions per cycle if occed a bit

can i upgrade to an amd phenom ii x4 965 black edition with my mobo?

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