What options to upgrade a Socket 939 CPU?

[daweinah]

I have an old computer that I cant afford to fully replace.
I've upgraded what I can over the years (512mb 8800GT, 4gb DDR2 ram, X-Fi Music, case) but the CPU is now most definitely the bottleneck. It's an Opteron 148 OC'd to 2.5GHz.

What options do I have to upgrade it? They don't even have Socket 939 on Newegg or TigerDirect anymore.

 

[Helloworld_98]

none really, unless you get an Opteron 165 off of ebay and overclock it to 3GHz+

 

[gamerk316]

Well...you could get a new motherboard/CPU combo...but really, 939 is old. Heck, its successor is technically obsolete as well...

 

[daweinah]

I know its all very old but hey when it came out the Opty 148 was cutting edge (high binned server cpu for desktop. omg!) and dual core was still a fad that was only for heavy multitaskers! And even so, better CPUs for 939 were released and they'd still be an upgrade for me.

The trouble is that every component in my comp is at least two generations old so everything has been upgraded as much as possible (well I could get a better vid card but it wouldn't do much) and to upgrade anything else would require a complete rebuild of the system, except perhaps the hard drive and sound card.

 

[sdf]

Heck if you are really set on staying with s939 I'll sell you my FX-60 with aftermarket cooler when I upgrade to i5/i7 in a few weeks if you're willing to wait. Really the only option is to do a search on ebay.

 

[malickie]

Truthfully if you are still running Windows XP you already are running into issues there because Windows XP Cannot Handle anymore than 3.5gigs of Ram. The only way to take advantage of the other 500 mbs you have installed would be to install Windows Vista or another operating system such as linux to be able to handle this amount of RAM. Which truthfully might help your bottle necking issue. The only true way to really get an efficient fix at this point would be to buy a new motherboard and cpu though. If you need help picking out parts you could always give us a call or visit our website.

Steve J
TCS PC Repair
512-771-1165
http://www.tcs-pc-repair.com

 

[jitpublisher]

Let look at this realistically, heck at one time a 486DX 33mhz was cutting edge!
If a 2.5 ghz Opty is not doing it for you, about the only thing I can say is look for a dual core processor, (if your board will support it) that is 2.5ghz or higher.
Another Opteron off of ebay, or a something like a 4800+X2, if you can find one.
Outside of that, you aren't really going to be happy with anything other than a new board/cpu/memory.

 

[megamanx00]

The time to upgrade your socket 939 CPU was when AM2 started to gain traction and the 939 4800+ had a falling price rather than a rising one. If you had gotten one of those funky ASRock boards you could have upgraded to an AM2 CPU with a special daughter card.

Option one: Get a CPU on eBay. If you can get like a 4200 X2 on eBay for cheap and overclock it 0that wouldn't be a bad option. The thing is, dual core CPUs for socket 939 usually run pretty steep, even on eBay. Sometimes though, you will find one in a lot or something paired with a cheap motherboard and some other parts letting you pick up the whole thing for less than just getting the boxed CPU.

Option two: Get a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM. An AM2 board with a dual core Athlon X2 and 4GB for $150 or less would be a sizable upgrade to what you have.

 

[daweinah]

Truthfully if you are still running Windows XP you already are running into issues there because Windows XP Cannot Handle anymore than 3.5gigs of Ram. The only way to take advantage of the other 500 mbs you have installed would be to install Windows Vista or another operating system such as linux to be able to handle this amount of RAM. Which truthfully might help your bottle necking issue. The only true way to really get an efficient fix at this point would be to buy a new motherboard and cpu though. If you need help picking out parts you could always give us a call or visit our website.

Steve J
TCS PC Repair
512-771-1165
http://www.tcs-pc-repair.com

That's a 32-bit OS issue, not Windows XP. I'm running 32-bit Windows 7 RC and it says I have 3.25 of 4.00 GB RAM available.

Option two: Get a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM. An AM2 board with a dual core Athlon X2 and 4GB for $150 or less would be a sizable upgrade to what you have.

That's not a bad idea, and I already have the ram. A Core 2 Duo mobo/cpu combo would work as well, wouldn't it? With like an E8400 or Q6600

 

[loneninja]

ebay is about the only option as socket 939 hasn't been produced in a few years. In most cases you can get a new cpu/motherboard combo from newegg.com that will perform much better for the price of the socket 939 cpu you find on ebay.

 

[xtc28]

Hey there is a place here in Louisiana that still sells S939 4200+ x2. $150.00 Americlass PC repair in Bossier City.