Upgrading from AMD Athlon ii x4 640 3.0GHz

extreametech · Sep 4, 2014

Hey Everyone ,

Ok so here it is ! I want upgrade my processor because I tend to game a bit and render a lot but I don't have much money that's why at the time I brought the Athlon 640 because of the fact its a quad core... I have been looking at the Athlon ii x4 750k-3.4Ghz or 760k-3.8Ghz ?

Any ideas on what i could buy? Iv been told its not recommended to overclock an Athlon X4 640 - 3.0Ghz

Thanks

kawininjazx · Sep 4, 2014

Get an i5.

DHFF · Sep 4, 2014

are you looking to just replace the CPU and keep the existing motherboard and other hardware? if so what socket is your current motherboard?

boosted1g · Sep 4, 2014

The new X4 CPUs use the FM2+ socket motherboard so they are not compatible with whatever your current board is.

Once you add in the cost to get a different motherboard they wont offer you enough performance gain to justify the price, and there is plenty of better options for near the same price.

pierrerock · Sep 4, 2014

What is your budget for your upgrade ?

X4 640 is an AM3 CPU which mean you can only use this kind of CPU with your actual motherboard.

DHFF · Sep 4, 2014

your best option for an AM3 motherboard is a Phenom II Chip and they are fairly expensive. would be cheaper to replace the MB and CPU to something new.

boosted1g · Sep 4, 2014

If you have an AM3 motherboard you can only upgrade to the older phenom cpus,

If you have an AM3+ motherboard you can use any new fx serries cpu.

AM3+ used larger pins then am3, thus you can fit an am3 cpu into an am3+ board but an am3+ cpu wont fit into an am3 board.

mlga91 · Sep 4, 2014

You can get a good deal for a phenom ii chip at ebay, but obviously, they're used, and you dont know how they have used it. Its always better to get new hardware. For around $160-170 you can get a new motherboard and a fx6300 cpu.

mapesdhs · Sep 4, 2014

In many cases the performance boost of a Ph2 over the 640 will not be that much.

To the OP, what is your budget for this? If you're ok buying used, it's hard to beat
a decent low-cost Z68 board and an i7 2700K (ASUS M4E/Z + 2700K = 5GHz no problem).

mlga91, not it's not always better to buy new, not buy a long way. I've saved thousands
by buying used hw, or sometimes new items which have been sold via normal auction. See
my gaming PC spec for a typical example:

http://www.overclock.net/lists/display/view/id/2415471

The caveat though as you say is warranty issues, so yes that's a risk. If the OP's budget for
an upgrade is too low though, then there many be no other way to obtain the kind of speed
increase I'm assuming s/he wants. It depends on the extent to which the games played are
CPU-limited and/or cache-limited. An oc'd 640 isn't that bad most of the time, but it's lower
IPC (an issue shared by the Ph2 and even more so with newer AMDs) means any SB or
newer platform will have an inherant advantage, getting more out of the same gfx (hence
why AMD developed Mantle, a way of making up for its lower general CPU strength), though
it's less of a problem as the GPU dependency increases. Many factors are involved; which
games one plays, resolution, detail level, one or multi screen, etc.

Ian.

PS. Forgot to mention, to the OP, whoever told you not to oc the 640 is talking utter nonsense.
It should oc quite well, but don't expect huge gains; the missing L3 might always be an issue
given the above factors. As an architectural example, I was able to run an Athlon II X2 250
(same core tech) at 4.1GHz quite easily: http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/misc/tests-jj.txt

Alas, not had time to add 640, 965 or 1090T info yet.

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Upgrading from AMD Athlon ii x4 640 3.0GHz

extreametech

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mapesdhs

kawininjazx

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DHFF

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boosted1g

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pierrerock

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DHFF

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boosted1g

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mlga91

Admirable

mapesdhs

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