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[rfxcasey]

Hello, I currently have an AMD Kuma 7750 overclocked to 3.2Ghz. I am using 4 gigs of DDR2 memory capable of running at 1066 however I am running it at 800Mhz 5-5-5-15 timing as the general consensus seems to be there is no noticeable speed difference at 1066 with looser timing. I would like to upgrade my machine in anticipation of IL-2 Cliffs of Dover. I was considering upgrading my processor to a Phenom II 840 for around a $100 which has 2 more cores then the Kuma however lacks the L3 cache and I think may require the memory to run at 1066Mhz though I don't see why you couldn't run it at 800Mhz. Since both processors would be running at the same frequency I was wondering if this upgrade would be worth it. My current AM2+ motherboard will support AM3 processors but only up to 95W and I believe the 840 is the highest end quad core I can get with 95W.

The Kuma has 2 cores, 2 megs of 32way L3 while the 840 have 4 cores and no L3. Now I am fairly sure that the 840 will smoke the Kuma in multithreaded applications but I am wondering if I should expect any slowdown on older games like Unreal 3 or Dirt 2 for example. I am also concerned about single threaded applications like the original IL-2 Sturmovik. Keeping in mind both processors will be running the same frequency. I am also considering getting the fastest 95W AM2 quad I can get but don't really know what that would be and if they are even available anymore. I would prefer at this point to probably not get a whole new MB, Mem and processor. Thanks for any advice you can give. I will also be upgrading my video card to probably a GTX 560 ti in the next few weeks from my old 4830 card.

 

[Wisecracker]

The PhII 840 (which I believe is really a propus quad 'marketed-up') should be a nice upgrade -- should see a nice boost in your gaming.

I can see 15x240MHz with your RAMs at 333 (returning you to your desired 800MHz) with lower volts and heat than your Kuma -- with little to no bump in your PhII 840 volts. 15.5x240MHz - 3.75GHz - could easily be in your ballpark. Not sure why you choose to up-clock the Kuma but not the Propus' PhII, and why you drop your RAMs from 1066 to 800. Do you have some other issues?

250MHz should 'essentially' be your sweet spot depending upon your mobo -- 15x250MHz look good to you ?? With your RAMs set at 400 they would be 'under-clocked' to 1000MHz.

And yah might want to give a look at the HD 6950 2GB ...

 

[iceclock]

a 6950 would bottlekneck ur current cpu, but the 840 could do well with it,

for the money u should get a geforce ti 560 instead or a radeon 6870 2 gig instead

 

[rfxcasey]

The PhII 840 (which I believe is really a propus quad 'marketed-up') should be a nice upgrade -- should see a nice boost in your gaming.

I can see 15x240MHz with your RAMs at 333 (returning you to your desired 800MHz) with lower volts and heat than your Kuma -- with little to no bump in your PhII 840 volts. 15.5x240MHz - 3.75GHz - could easily be in your ballpark. Not sure why you choose to up-clock the Kuma but not the Propus' PhII, and why you drop your RAMs from 1066 to 800. Do you have some other issues?

250MHz should 'essentially' be your sweet spot depending upon your mobo -- 15x250MHz look good to you ?? With your RAMs set at 400 they would be 'under-clocked' to 1000MHz.

And yah might want to give a look at the HD 6950 2GB ...
http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww165/Back_at_the_Ranch/AMD Overlords/hd6950-powerup.jpg

My Kuma is a Black Edition an the cpu multiplier is unlocked so there is no need to mess with the reference frequency and hence no memory over/under clocking. I know I could bump the MB and mem a little but I have gotten a very nice performance boost with just the CPU clock increase and maintained rock solid stability. I don't run my mem at 1066 because I see no need to and when I have I noticed no gain in performance but can only assume more heat generated. I don't think my MB handles reference clock increases that well as when I bump it even 10Mhz it often fails to post though the last time I messed with it I may have forgotten to detune my memory properly. If it comes to it I will try to overclock the 840 via the reference clock but I've had no need up to this point.

I don't really understand why you would suggest a 6850 over a GTX 560 ti as the 6950 is only about on par with a 5870 and the ti actually beats it if I remember all the benchmarks I've been researching correctly and consumes the same amount of power and runs cooler? Not to mention Nvidia drivers are apparently better then ATI and the card supports Physx and ambient occulation.

I do appreciate your insight however.

 

[Wisecracker]

My Kuma is a Black Edition an the cpu multiplier is unlocked so there is no need to mess with the reference frequency and hence no memory over/under clocking. I know I could bump the MB and mem a little but I have gotten a very nice performance boost with just the CPU clock increase and maintained rock solid stability. I don't run my mem at 1066 because I see no need to and when I have I noticed no gain in performance but can only assume more heat generated. I don't think my MB handles reference clock increases that well as when I bump it even 10Mhz it often fails to post though the last time I messed with it I may have forgotten to detune my memory properly. If it comes to it I will try to overclock the 840 via the reference clock but I've had no need up to this point.

I don't really understand why you would suggest a 6850 over a GTX 560 ti as the 6950 is only about on par with a 5870 and the ti actually beats it if I remember all the benchmarks I've been researching correctly and consumes the same amount of power and runs cooler? Not to mention Nvidia drivers are apparently better then ATI and the card supports Physx and ambient occulation.

I do appreciate your insight however.

No worries. Drop by the THG AMD thread for any tips on tweaking. Drop the HT to x4, move the memory ratio back a notch, and that should readily increase your chances for success (also knowing your mobo will help!).

The HD69502GB and GTX 560ti trade blows quite equally with the usual 'suspect' winners in games. But with the dual-BIOS, AMD is effectively saying: Unlock your HD6950 into an HD6970.

 

[iceclock]

i was speaking out of price to performance ratio but if u want to spend the extra buck and get the 6950 and flash mod it to a 6970 ur welcome to , but be warned if u do it incorrectly u might damage ur videocard, and void ur warranty.

also the ti 560 is a great choice,

 

[rfxcasey]

I went with the GTX 560 ti and all I can say is WOW! This thing is a beast. The Phenom II 840 seems to be working great too but I really can't tell cause this graphic card is just a monster.

 

[rfxcasey]

I went with the GTX 560 ti and all I can say is WOW! This thing is a beast. The Phenom II 840 seems to be working great too but I really can't tell cause this graphic card is just a monster.

 

[rfxcasey]

I went with the GTX 560 ti and all I can say is WOW! This thing is a beast. The Phenom II 840 seems to be working great too but I really can't tell cause this graphic card is just a monster.

 

[iceclock]

hopeu enjoy that bad boy