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CPU Recomendations

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Hi All,
I want to (For Now) just upgrade my CPU and my MoBo and keep the rest of my system components....I am working on a bit of a budget and want to get the best bang for my buck, just in case it is not in my sig here is my current systems specs;
Home Built (WhiteBox)

Processor = AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6000+ @ 3.09 ghz with Thermaltake Bigwater 780i Cooling, MB = ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe, Memory = 4GB OCZ Gold DDR2 800mhz, GPU's = Dual 8800 GTS 320mb, HDD = 500GB 7500 RPM SATA, 750 Watt PSU, Op Sys = Win 7 pro 64 bit, Custom Full ATX Case.

The reasons I am upgrading are two fold, I want to use my old MB for a HTPC setup, and I want to move up to a Quad Core setup in my Gaming PC! That being said, there is one more criteria for the new CPU....I would like it to be a cooler running CPU then this HOT azz AMD I have now! I can fry eggs on this thing and had to put a water cooler on it to cool it down some, and then it just seriously heats up my gaming room...THIS THING RUNS HOT!!!

I am not looking for the latest and greatest CPU as my budget wont allow for that, maybe a step or two back, Quad core that would give me a performance boost over what I have now, and maybe something with good overclocking potential, I am not stuck on AMD, actually I only went AMD this last time because it was what was supposed to be "HOT" at the time, I did not know they meant Literally HOT... :fou:  .

I could also use recommendations on a good Motherboard/Chipset to go with the CPU.

Thanks in advance,
Mike

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CPUs Master

Currently any upgrades to the motherboard and CPU will require you to buy DDR3 RAM as well.. You did good on mentioning your current rig and upgrade criteria but forgot to mention the most important aspect.. Your budget.. If you need to keep your current RAM then the best option will be to go the intel LGA 775 route which is literally dead by the way.. But first things first.. Please mention your budget..

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CPUs Master

Ok well heres the deal if you want to use your DDR2 RAM you got you will have to go with AMD to get a decent quad core without killing your budget the problem is finding an AMD motherboard that has SLI support and uses DDR2 RAM is hard to find these days.

I would normally recommend an AMD Phenom II 955 BE or an Athlon II x4 620 in this situation but since you are using nvidia GPUs that makes it really hard to find a board to support both so that leaves you with Intel.

Now you could probably find a deal maybe on Ebay on an older used board but I wouldnt recommend that so that leaves you with an Intel now again you could find a socket 775 board and a quad core 2 for an ok price to use your DDR2 but it really is not a good choice at all since the cost of it will be about the same as a faster Phenom II x4.

So that leaves you with really 1 option it might be a little more than you want to spend but if you are stuck with using SLI you are very limited when finding an AMD boards that supports DDR2 and SLI.

My suggestion would be to go with an Intel 1156 system If you live near a MicroCenter you can get an I5 750 for $189.99 and a decent SLI motherboard for around $140 but you will have to move onto DDR3 RAM now you have two options either upgrade your GPU and go with a Phenom II or Athlon II quad core so you can reuse the DDR2 Ram or go with an Intel I5 system and upgrade to DDR3 RAM either option you are looking at around $300+.

So you tell us what would you rather do replace your GPU or upgrade to a DDR3 system and use your 8800's.

I would say your best bet would be to upgrade your GPU to something like an HD5770 and get an Phenom II 955BE and a decent motherboard but again you are looking at $300+

Thanks for the replies....LOL....Oops I did forget the budget...$300 would be about my high end, that being said, My whole Idea here is to maybe get a Good MB that will be able to accept some future upgrades to the CPU, so if the DDR2 Ram is going to limit my future upgrades I would rather get some DDR3 and stay with my 8800, see my Idea is to start with the MB and CPU and as I get a couple extra bucks here and there then I will slowly upgrade everything else!
Also I am building two systems here, so what I take out of the old system is going to go into the HTPC I am building...so my old DDR2 will be put to good use! So even if I have to throw 2 gigs of DDR3 in for now to get me going I can always add more later!
I am also willing to loose the SLI setup for now if that makes a difference, I'd rather take a small step back and get better equipment for my money, so that I have a good base to build from...if that make any sence?
Thanks again for the help
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CPUs Expert

0Gravity said:
Hi All,
I want to (For Now) just upgrade my CPU and my MoBo and keep the rest of my system components....I am working on a bit of a budget and want to get the best bang for my buck, just in case it is not in my sig here is my current systems specs;
Home Built (WhiteBox)

Processor = AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6000+ @ 3.09 ghz with Thermaltake Bigwater 780i Cooling, MB = ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe, Memory = 4GB OCZ Gold DDR2 800mhz, GPU's = Dual 8800 GTS 320mb, HDD = 500GB 7500 RPM SATA, 750 Watt PSU, Op Sys = Win 7 pro 64 bit, Custom Full ATX Case.

The reasons I am upgrading are two fold, I want to use my old MB for a HTPC setup, and I want to move up to a Quad Core setup in my Gaming PC! That being said, there is one more criteria for the new CPU....I would like it to be a cooler running CPU then this HOT azz AMD I have now! I can fry eggs on this thing and had to put a water cooler on it to cool it down some, and then it just seriously heats up my gaming room...THIS THING RUNS HOT!!!

I am not looking for the latest and greatest CPU as my budget wont allow for that, maybe a step or two back, Quad core that would give me a performance boost over what I have now, and maybe something with good overclocking potential, I am not stuck on AMD, actually I only went AMD this last time because it was what was supposed to be "HOT" at the time, I did not know they meant Literally HOT... :fou:  .

I could also use recommendations on a good Motherboard/Chipset to go with the CPU.

Thanks in advance,
Mike


Well I would just like to add that I personally would recommend a Gigabyte motherboard. They overclock very well and you get good value for money. And the BIOS is excellent.

Hi All,
Thanks again for the replies....but after taking all your suggestions into consideration, I decided that I am probably, for now, just going to buy a MB and CPU for the HTPC I am building, and then just do full upgrade on my Gaming PC at a later date when I can spend a bit more....With the HTPC I can get away with much lower system specs thus staying well within my budget at this time!

Thanks,
Mike
CPUs Authority

You do not have to ditch your current ram if you upgrade with AMD. All of AMD's current chips will work with DDR2. The motherboard is what determines what type of ram you will use. The AMD chips have both a DD2 and DDR3 memory controller.

Actually go to asus's website and look up your current board. See if it supports any of the new Phenom IIs before you even buy a new board.
CPUs Master

someguy7 said:
You do not have to ditch your current ram if you upgrade with AMD. All of AMD's current chips will work with DDR2. The motherboard is what determines what type of ram you will use. The AMD chips have both a DD2 and DDR3 memory controller.

Actually go to asus's website and look up your current board. See if it supports any of the new Phenom IIs before you even buy a new board.

You must not have read his whole post he is running 8800's in SLI and finding a DDR2 motherboard that supports SLI is like searching for a needle in a hey stack these days. The few I could fine were garbage and wouldn't recommend them. I think you are choosing the right path at the moment by going with a cheap HTPC build you can definitely do something pretty decent for an HTPC setup for around $300 since an HTPC setup doesn't require too much power under the hood to do its job.

Good Luck on your setup
CPUs Authority

I did read through it. His first post he did not mention that he wanted to keep his SLI.

In the ops second post he said "I am also willing to loose the SLI setup for now if that makes a difference, I'd rather take a small step back and get better equipment for my money, so that I have a good base to build from"

So SLI is not a deal breaker in this case.
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