AMD X2 How Much Better?

[greenjizz]

My dad has a AMD Athlon 64 3000 939 Pin and I was thiking of upgrading his CPU to a AMD ATHLON 64 X2 4200+. Can you guys tell me if this is a worth while upgrade or will he not even notice the difference?

If it matters his mother board is a ASUS A8N-SLI Premium

Thanks!

 

[Grimmy]

THG CPU Guide

Try using that chart to help you decide.

 

[sailer]

No doubt about it. The X2 4200+ would be well worth it. If you can swing the extra dollars for a X2 4400+, there will be even more gain.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Well, he'll probably notice the +22% bump in clock speed alright.

As for dual-core, it actually depends on how much he uses multithreaded applications or on how much he multitasks.

In any case, it's a very worthy upgrade, that's for sure. I think the only scenario in which this isn't a good idea is for "trivial" users, those that only access their e-mails and edit light word documents. Add anything else and it's pretty justified. A64 X2 are very good processors.

 

[chenBrazil]

If you need extra core for multitask get the X2 ... but if you only wish to increase speed , maybe you should try to OC your current A64 3200 to 2.4 ... (of course if your cooler allow that) and you can fell at least how fast X2 will be...(2nd core will only affect multitask situations). If your dad did not convert MP3 , edit videos... probably he will say..ok ...new upgrade..nothing changes except for some seconds gain in windows boot... but if you are heavy user of this PC..get the upgrade for you....not for your dad...

 

[greenjizz]

Very helpful info and thank you. My dad does in fact do a bit of DVD editing/ripping along with some mp3 converting/encoding. He also uses a program called SAS which I know nothing about and he said it's a pig.

I think based on the info you've given me I will upgrade him to the X2 4200+ as this will help him keep his PC for a few more years (I hope).

 

[niz]

My dad has a AMD Athlon 64 3000 939 Pin and I was thiking of upgrading his CPU to a AMD ATHLON 64 X2 4200+. Can you guys tell me if this is a worth while upgrade or will he not even notice the difference?

If it matters his mother board is a ASUS A8N-SLI Premium

Thanks!

Dude you need to move to Intel Core 2. Its where the real performance is at these days.

 

[zenmaster]

How Much Memory?
If he has less than 1gb, a memory upgrade could be very useful as well.

He is likely using gobs of memory with SAS.

 

[Colonel_Curly]

BIG cost issue moving to intel though
You'll need a new mobo, processor and probably new RAM.

The 4200X2 is cheap, fast and effective for your most tasking aplications. You could probably also overclock to 2.5 easily with the Asus AI booster software you should have on your mobo disk, got my 4200 to run at 2.6 with few hiccups

BTW if you're mp3 encoding and video editing more RAM would help quicken things, 1-2GB is what you should be aiming for

 

[bliq]

My dad has a AMD Athlon 64 3000 939 Pin and I was thiking of upgrading his CPU to a AMD ATHLON 64 X2 4200+. Can you guys tell me if this is a worth while upgrade or will he not even notice the difference?

If it matters his mother board is a ASUS A8N-SLI Premium

Thanks!

Dude you need to move to Intel Core 2. Its where the real performance is at these days.

Dude, and maybe you can pay for the new mobo, chip, and RAM...

SAS is a statistical analysis program. My wife uses it in her energy consulting job.

It does require a fair bit of horsepower but the X2 4200+ is enough for the task. I think big RAM is what really helps SAS get faster- invest in 1 or 2 more gigs of RAM.

It's not a bad upgrade for less than $200.

 

[tamalsmith]

also dont forget to upgrade or update your ripping software,
lately most rippping, decoding ( like Divx 6.2 ) have moved to dual core capable.

that should give you up to 100% boost ( 2 x performance )
on decoding

I used to get 40 fps compressing with DIVX 6.0 with my X2 3800, now I Get over 120 FPS with the dual core version ( DIVX 6.24 )

 

[1Tanker]

My dad has a AMD Athlon 64 3000 939 Pin and I was thiking of upgrading his CPU to a AMD ATHLON 64 X2 4200+. Can you guys tell me if this is a worth while upgrade or will he not even notice the difference?

If it matters his mother board is a ASUS A8N-SLI Premium

Thanks!

Dude you need to move to Intel Core 2. Its where the real performance is at these days.He's trying to give his dad a CPU upgrade, i don't think a complete upgrade is necessary, or wanted. The X2 4200 will liven things up nicely. If you decide to go with the CPU and new RAM, then C2D might be an option worth considering....maybe. GL

 

[grant_77]

Yes, Yes and Yes.

If he has the dough go for the 4600+. Hell really notice a difference with 2 x 2.4 ghz...

I had a 3800 it was alot faster than a 2500+ especially at multitasking, plus 1 gb of ram minimum is recommended.

If the motherboard allows an overclock you could probably up it to 2.6-2.7 ghz on stock cooler. That should last him a few years.

 

[greenjizz]

Wow i kind of forgot about this thread as I don't usually get these many helpful responses. First I want to say thanks to everyone for the help.
I think my dad has 1GB RAM so maybe I'll toss another 1GB stick in and his PC should be good to go for a while.

Conclussion buy X2 4200+ and 1GB RAM

Thanks again!