To upgrade or not to upgrade...

[ginnai]

My mobo is an AM2+/AM3, but only supports DDR2 RAM... is it worth it to upgrade my CPU from a dual core? I don't know the practical difference between 1066 and 1600. Anyone have any experience?

I am OC'ed to 3.4 Gigs, but I am just curious. Thanks all.

 

[vilenjan]

My mobo is an AM2+/AM3, but only supports DDR2 RAM... is it worth it to upgrade my CPU from a dual core? I don't know the practical difference between 1066 and 1600. Anyone have any experience?

I am OC'ed to 3.4 Gigs, but I am just curious. Thanks all.

Its not all about memory speed, timing matter too.

I used G.skill DDR2 1066 memory, but its cloaked down to 880 and timings set to 4-4-4-12.

I think this is better than DDR3-1333 9-9-9-32, absolutely butchers DDR3 1066 9-9-9-32 and is about on par with DDR3-1333 8-8-8-24 or DDR3 1600 9-9-9-32. IT will get beat by DDR3 1600 8-8-8-24.

With DDR3 you are are getting a two fold decrease in latency for a two fold increase in ram speed/bandwidth. In some cases the extra speed will come a little ahead, in others it will be neck in neck.

DDR2 has still plenty of life left in it Go for quad core!

 

[sportsfanboy]

Full system specs please. And what do you use your computer for?

 

[moody89]

Assuming your gaming...

I just finished reading the following article on Tom's homepage and then saw your post in the forums. If I point you to the conclusion then this may help answer your question a little:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/game-performance-bottleneck,review-32018-16.html

A high-clocked dual-core CPU will probably perform fine in most games - performance is determined more by your GPU for gaming. Also, you'd probably not see a major increase in real-world performance in fast DDR2 compared to slower DDR3. Granted, DDR3 will be the future but there's no real need to rush into an upgrade right now if you're happy with your performance. It may be wiser to hang fire and see what 2011, Bulldozer and Sandy Bridge bring to the table. Then when you do upgrade you can grab memory, a new motherboard and a new CPU at the same time.

As sportsfanboy said though, a list of your full specs and what you mainly use your system for would help us offer more specific advice.

 

[ginnai]

Oh sorry, I didn't realize my specs weren't in my profile anymore.

AMD 7750 BE OC'ed to 3.3 gig
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P
DDR2 4 Gig 1066
XFX GTS 250

I play a few games, but the most taxing is Starcraft 2. Its mostly internet/writing papers/etc... I just wasn't sure how much an upgrade would offer in real world performance. Apologies for not including my specs.

 

[ginnai]

I had to take it down from 3.4 gig to 3.3 after it froze up during prime95... hence the different value from the original post.

 

[dEAne]

Yes StarCraft 2 is quiet a heavy game.

 

[ginnai]

SC2 has been running decently, but I just don't know how much more I can crank out of this system.

 

[vilenjan]

You can always pop in a X3 or a X4 athlon II, OC it, and be set till Buldozer is out and about, that my plan from my X2

 

[andrern2000]

I don't know if AMD system can be upgraded to Intel processor or not. But if yes, Sandy Bridge is coming on 1st quarter 2011. And it has big advancements than i5 and nearing i7 with price as low as i5.

 

[damasvara]

I don't know if AMD system can be upgraded to Intel processor or not. But if yes, Sandy Bridge is coming on 1st quarter 2011. And it has big advancements than i5 and nearing i7 with price as low as i5.

Of course it can, with a new Intel motherboard that is.

 

[ginnai]

Best answer selected by ginnai.