Dual core upgrade

[nategarst]

I am finally going to upgrade into a socket 939 dual core processor. I am looking for one last "cheap" bang for buck upgrade. I know for a better price to performance ratio, Intel's Core 2 Duos are the way to go. Sadly can't afford a new system from the ground up right now. My question is, when I ugrade from 3500+ to a x2 4800, is there any issues I should be aware of for compatiability with software/hardware. I have MSI nForce 4 Platinum MB, newest bios installed support dual core. Any other issues I need to take care of before I swap CPU's? Thanks in advance.

 

[choirbass]

the only possible concern might be that an OS reinstall 'might' be necessary (you might not have to though even then)... beyond that though, there shouldnt be any issues to speak of

also, be sure to get the the dual core drivers and optimizations from AMDs site

 

[nategarst]

OK thanks. Just wanted some input in case I have a WTF moment, when something decides to act funny.

 

[SidVicious]

You might as well get an X2 3800+ or 4200+, the 4800+ isn't a great buy as far as performance/price is concerned.

On the OS side, switching to the MultiProcessor HAL can be done without an OS reinstall.

 

[nategarst]

Sid, only reason I went with the 4800+ is I had a $100 Gift certificate. My cost 190.00 plus shipping and handling.

 

[choirbass]

well... if the $100 gift certificate applies to all X2 cpus, i agree it would probably be a better idea to get the X2 3800+, cuz you could then get it for only ~$50 (before shipping and tax), and possibly invest in a much more effective (and quieter) cooling solution... X2 3800+'s typically OC to at least on par with the X2 4800+ anyhow as far as performance goes (on stock cooling even, and usually between 2.6-2.8 on 3rd party air cooling)... since the extra 2x512KB of cache doesnt help performance by much in all honesty in most situations anyhow (and even only a slim boost when it does help)

if youre not into OCing though, then the X2 4800+ would be more okay

 

[NaDa]

I switched from 3500+ to X2 3800 and I had and still have some problems.

First I had to reinstall windows. So be prepared for this, it may or may not be neccessary but be prepared.

Second, I have seen some programs and some games have problems with dual core processors. But these things can be resolved.
Some old games dont like the idea of two cores and work best with just one (mostly older games) so get yourself WinLauncherXP to run this games with only one core.
There is the fix for windows and the AMD driver but strangly I had problem with the driver it would cause blue screens.

I am not completly sure about these things I have read about other people had these problems but I think that my Ati tray tools is acting weird with games (maybe cos of dual core cpu) and ever since I have uninstalled it I have had no issues.

I can tell you for sure that some software isnt gonna play right with 2 cores. But then again this can be fixed with setting the affinity to only one core or running the program with WinLauncherXP - that sets the software to use only one core.

I would suggest you get the X2 3800 that can be easily overclocked to 2.4 or 2.5 maybe even beyond. I have my runnning at 2.45 (only small voltage increase, really small).
According to benchamrks ir runs even a bit faster than the 4800, probably cos my ram is running at DDR500 speed.

 

[choirbass]

well... i dont consider my setup really that much of an exception in all honesty, but, the X2 3800+ im using OCs up to 2.73 just fine (on stock even), wont boot at 2.74 though nomatter what though... but, with stock cooling, things heated up quickly to >65C, not to mention stock cooling was just plain loud to begin with when things got that hot... beyond that though, cpu HS+F cooling, ventilation, memory and motherboard quality, all make a difference

 

[NaDa]

Arctis Freezer 64 is really good and cheap alternative to stock HSF.

 

[choirbass]

yep, got myself a 120mm blue orb after all that heat and noise, its certainly quieter than stock, 1600-1700rpm for it compared to 5000-6000rpm+ for stock, it cools fairly well too... but i was just happy that i could no longer hear all that noise anymore

 

[NaDa]

What are your temps now with that blue orb?

Can you tell me the revision you got on that X2 and the mobo??

I have a BH-E4 revision X2 3800 and it clocks to 2.48 with 1.4V and to about 2.6 with 1.55 and probably more voltage. I didnt really try to push it that far its way to much voltage for about 100MHz more.

I have a gigabyte NF3 board. This is my second one as I have damaged the memory slots on the previos one. It just wouldnt run prime stable at anything beyond 370 MHz memory. Who knows, maybe a bad capacitor ?? It ran for 1.5 years then all of a sudden it wouldnt run prime stable.

I have the TT BigTyphon and the temp for both cores at full load are 42-45C, depending on ambient.

 

[choirbass]

well, im actually only running around stock speed right now... since average room temperature is almost always above 90-100F+ right now, so ambient case temperature is fairly warm also... not good for OCing, lol

but, in the mornings, cpu temperatures are as low as high 20Cs-low 30C on average (such as this morning for example)

but, as far as the revision of the cpu and motherboard, the cpu is a BH-E4, and the motherboard is an ECS nFORCE4-A939 v1.0 rev A3, they came as motherboard and cpu bundle, the memory i believe is just patriot signature series PSD-1G400... so, its nothing oriented to OCing in particular so much, just really what i could afford

edit: actually, ill get back to you in a bit to see what i can boost the OC up to in regards to temperatures (even at 100F room temperature)... since i just lastnight installed case fan in the back right next to the cpu where i should have had one all along, ive always had issues with poor ventilation before now, so, ill see what i can manage now as far as speed/temperatures under full load...

well... running at 2.6 under full load on both cores, at 100F room temperature... inside of 5 minutes, it reached 69-70C, at that point i just stopped prime95 from running, lol... so, i will say the blue orb is certainly quiet, near inaudible actually (unless you try to listen for it with your head next to the case)... but, there are other lower temperature air cooling solutions available too

 

[nategarst]

Well I have a MSI nForce 4 platinum MB, 2 gigs of OCZ 3200 RAM, Thermalright XP-120 HS, BFG 7900 GT, and plenty of SATA II storage, the only thing I fugured to upgrade on was my CPU. Granted I could always upgrade on GPU and such but they suit my needs fine. A bit of gaming, picture editting, general internet usage, I just decided to go with the x2 4800+.

As for temps, the 3500+ with a mild OC at 2.53 Ghz runs real cool 31 C at idle to 37-39 C max, I figure my temps are good as is. Plan on reusing the aftermarket heatsink on new CPU.

 

[choirbass]

yeah, if youve got all the other components youd want, it seems a good idea then maybe... but, the X2 3800+ was just a recommendation to save money is all, that you could spend elsewhere possibly...

...if you can stay at all close to your current single core temperatures with a dual core, id say youre definetly doing good then

 

[nategarst]

No problem Choir, that is good sound advice. Do apperciate any and all advice given. We all know there are some ppl in this forum you just can't reason with.

 

[Hawkeye22]

I have the same mobo as you and have no problems running a dual core. As others have stated, you'll need to update the windows HAL. That shouldn't be a problem. Worst case you'll need to reinstall windows. The board is a fairly decent OC'er. I've currently got my cpu running at 2.42ghz. I've gone higher, but I'm using the stock hsf and don't really use any apps/games that need more than 2.4ghz so I dropped it back down.

 

[Datablitz]

I recently upgraded from a 3200+ Venice to the 4800+ X2 within 15 minutes. In and out went the CPU and then installed the AMD dual-core optimizer and the windows hotfix for dual-core. No problems whatsoever. BTW, the stock HSF is amazing, relatively speaking. It's a 4 heat pipe copper core design. Idles at 34C and have never seen above 46C after millenia on BF2. Solid upgrade for the 939 mobo owner that doesn't want to dis it yet.

 

[nategarst]

OK I researched info on AMD optimizer and windows hot-fix. Still abit uncertain about the windows HAL. How do I go about updating that?

 

[SidVicious]

If you don't plan to reinstall your OS, follow those simple steps :

(Assuming Windows XP as the OS)

You'll need to switch to the ACPI Multiprocessor HAL, in order to use both cores, Here's how

You will also need to apply some patches and hotfixes, Here's how

Taking those two steps will ensure that the OS will use both cores properly.

This should allow your new CPU to work flawlessly but some older games and apps may require that you manually assign affinity to a single core, this is done through the Task Manager ( Alt-Crtl-Del ).

 

[nategarst]

If you don't plan to reinstall your OS, follow those simple steps :

(Assuming Windows XP as the OS)

You'll need to switch to the ACPI Multiprocessor HAL, in order to use both cores, Here's how

You will also need to apply some patches and hotfixes, Here's how

Taking those two steps will ensure that the OS will use both cores properly.

This should allow your new CPU to work flawlessly but some older games and apps may require that you manually assign affinity to a single core, this is done through the Task Manager ( Alt-Crtl-Del ).

Thanks Sid. That simplified it alot for me.

 

[seanie]

I was thinking of upgrading my cpu and getting another gig of ram the setup i have now is amd 3700 gigabyte GA-k8n ultra nforce4 mobo OCZ platinum pc3200 2-2-2-5 and xfx 7800GT 256, I'm upgrading in prepration for vista and directX10 crysis look really goodl, so i was thinking of getting x2 4600 and another gig of ram and then upgrading the graphics card when vista comes out, i'm wondering will this rig be still be a viable gaming rig when vista comes out or should i save my money until vista comes out and build a new system, keeping in mind that the ram and proc upgrade will cost around 400 euro and when vista comes out graphics card another 400 to 500 euro

 

[nategarst]

Just an update. Got new CPU up and running. Had no problems what so ever. Thanks for the help.

 

[angry_ducky]

Sid, only reason I went with the 4800+ is I had a $100 Gift certificate. My cost 190.00 plus shipping and handling.

8O Damn; what a great price