AMD II X6 Compatability Check

YxMiCEO1

Distinguished
Oct 15, 2010
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18,510
First off,
Greetings to TH community! :)

Today I'll be drawing upon your knowledge of CPU installation. Specifically;
CPU-motherboard-PSU compatability. Having noticed the (falling?) prices
of AMD hexa-cores, I've decided to obtain a Black Edition. One way
or another
. So, that in mind, please have a look at my specs and share
your opinion! (All links lead to official sites [HP, AMD, SilverStone])

Current PC specs:
Athlon II X4 635 @ 3.05 (Propus)
Win 7 Home Premium
MSI GTX460 @ 920/1840/2107
4GB Corsair DDR3-1333
SilverStone 500W http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_spec.php?pno=ST50F-ES&area=usa
Mobo... :sweat: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c02560084&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=4299342#N529

There you have it. Tell me if I missed any important information! Now onto...
http://products.amd.com/en-us/DesktopCPUDetail.aspx?id=726&f1=AMD+Phenom%e2%84%a2+II+X6+Black+&f2=&f3=&f4=512&f5=AM3&f6=E0&f7=45nm+SOI&f8=125+W&f9=4000&f10=False&f11=True&f12=True

Considering I put this together for approximately $770, I believe I did alright. :sol:
So, what do you guys think? Anything I missed in my post celebratory state? Physical
restraints? Driver, BIOS issues? PSU adequacy? Leave me your thoughts!
 
Solution
Well, on the one hand you have the CPU qualified list of X6 10XX CPU's, but then it lists the TDP at 95W. There is supposed to be a 1055T rated at 95W, but I am not sure that's available in the retail channel. I know there are several AMD processors that are available to OEM's, this 95W part may be one of them. If you can find one, then GL.

The problem with buying a system such as this is that OEM PC manufacturers don't want you to upgrade your PC, they want you to buy a new one from them as soon as possible.

So here's a couple of options:

1) Try and drop a 1055T (or worse, a black edition) CPU rated at 125W and hope your OEM motherboard can somehow handle it. I've seen it happen, but that was with a better non-OEM motherboard. My...
Well, on the one hand you have the CPU qualified list of X6 10XX CPU's, but then it lists the TDP at 95W. There is supposed to be a 1055T rated at 95W, but I am not sure that's available in the retail channel. I know there are several AMD processors that are available to OEM's, this 95W part may be one of them. If you can find one, then GL.

The problem with buying a system such as this is that OEM PC manufacturers don't want you to upgrade your PC, they want you to buy a new one from them as soon as possible.

So here's a couple of options:

1) Try and drop a 1055T (or worse, a black edition) CPU rated at 125W and hope your OEM motherboard can somehow handle it. I've seen it happen, but that was with a better non-OEM motherboard. My wife's was rated for 95W TDP and I dropped a 125W CPU in there. It ran a bit hot and there was certainly not any overclocking available. So why buy a black edition if you can't overclock??

2) upgrade you mobo and CPU now. Considering you won't get much more from the X6 over your current CPU, I'd analyze the cost benefit first.

3) My recommendation- enjoy your current setup now, at least until AMD comes out with its new platform. Current platforms will be obsolete when bulldozer arrives in June. I'm holding onto my X4 for now for this very reason, this fall I will be doing a platform upgrade with an AM3+ X6 or 8 core.
 
Solution

YxMiCEO1

Distinguished
Oct 15, 2010
11
0
18,510
Mm, I was wondering about that. Noticed earlier I could buy a prebuilt
system with a much better mobo, GTX 460, 4GB ram, 1TBHDD and the
six core for $800-900USD.

To answer your question concerning why I would purchase the BE, I'd
do so because of the better stock clocks. That and I intended to purchase
a new mobo later, grab a second 460, new PSU and SLi. (Then OC)

You've reminded me about AMD's fusion, however, so now I'm unsure.
Looking at the cost to upgrade to an SLi setup (PSU, GPU, Mobo, Windows
and other stuff) and comparing that to waiting a year and a half to buy a
fusion platform... Makes me wonder of what use my 460 will be. Thank you
for your input. It was much appreciated.
 


If you choose to do sli, the best motherboard you'll be able to get with AMD is the 980a chipset from nVidia. It is not recommended however since it is an older chipset. If you want to stick with AMD processors, I suggest you consider moving to a crossfire setup. Otherwise you may as well choose an intel platform as they are still supporting SLI. Unfortunately nVidia is out of the chipset business so its unlikely that AMD will have any future SLI boards. Unless they cut a deal with nVidia, which is very unlikely considering AMD is their only video card competition.

I don't know about the waiting a year and a half though. Depending on your resolution, the current setup and the single GTX 460 will be fine for awhile. Your really not missing out on much. Everyone wants the fastest system of course, but unless your gaming above 1080p your current setup will be fine.

If you think you would benefit from beefier graphics, I suggest instead of trying to get a second GTX 460 and trying to SLI with AMD maybe you should look at a more powerful single card. Might want to look at a HD6950, HD 5870 or something along those lines for a current upgrade. Really, it doesn't seem like your system needs anything right now but I would need more details about your usage and/or resolution.