Upgrade to Phenom 9500 or keep Athlon x2 5000+

[arranmc182]

A friend of mine is looking to upgrade his CPU to a newer Phenom II so he said I could buy his Phenom 9500 but I have a Athlon x2 5000+ that have got from the stock 2.6Ghz up to 3.1Ghz and seeing as how the Phenom 9500 is clocked at 2.2Ghz stock I was thinking there is no way I could hit near the 3Ghz mark. The cooler I use is a Xigmatek HDT-S963. So if i could get the 9500 cheap do you think its worth it?

 

[maverick knight]

No, even though its cheap you still pretty much downgrading and paying for it.

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

its not worth the upgrade.

 

[arranmc182]

Thanks guys I think I will wait till I have the money to get a Athlon II or Phenom II

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

Thanks guys I think I will wait till I have the money to get a Athlon II or Phenom II

alright.Have a nice day!

 

[arranmc182]

My board only supports 95watt Thermal Design Power for the CPU so was looking at getting a Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition or Phenom II X4 840 there both 3.2Ghz stock but the x2 has L3 where as the x4 don't so will L3 help a lot?

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

what is your mobo?

 

[arranmc182]

My motherboard is an Asrock N68C-S UCC its a good board for the price my old one died and I needed something to get my system back up and this is better than my old board.

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

http://www.asrock.com/mb/cpu.asp?Model=N68C-S%20UCC

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

all phenoms have L3 cache

 

[arranmc182]

well not the Phenom II X4 840 its just a Athlon II x4 at 3.2ghz rebranded to a Phenom II x4 but its cheaper than the Athlon II x4 at 3.1Ghz

 

[arranmc182]

This is the specs of the 840 http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K10/AMD-Phenom%20II%20X4%20840%20-%20HDX840WFK42GM.html

 

[simon12]

The 4 core is the better option L3 cache will at best give you 10-14% boost while most CPU intensive tasks can use more than 2 cores here is a comparison to the Athlon 645 http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/188?vs=120&i=2.3.4.5.6.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.35.36.37.38.39.40.41.42.43.45.46.53.54.55.56.57.58.60.61.62.63.64

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

yes.Sorry i thought all phenoms had L3 cache.

 

[arranmc182]

Wll seeing as how the Phenom II x4 840 is cheaper than top end Atlon II x4's i might go with it get more speed stock and save a few £'s. look at the price difference http://www.ebuyer.com/product/257236 vs http://www.ebuyer.com/product/238327

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

well
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/athlon-l3-cache,2416.html

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

it depends on how you make of l3 cache after Toms review.

 

[arranmc182]

I just don't think at this moment in time L3 is that impotent yeah its nice to have and will give a little boost but the fact I could get a 3.2Ghz quad CPU for under £80 I think is a steal I don't mind its lack of L3.

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

I just don't think at this moment in time L3 is that impotent yeah its nice to have and will give a little boost but the fact I could get a 3.2Ghz quad CPU for under £80 I think is a steal I don't mind its lack of L3.

alright.then i think everything is set for a new upgrade yes?

 

[Wisecracker]

Wll seeing as how the Phenom II x4 840 is cheaper than top end Atlon II x4's i might go with it get more speed stock and save a few £'s. look at the price difference http://www.ebuyer.com/product/257236 vs http://www.ebuyer.com/product/238327

I think the x4 840 will be just dandy. The stock clock has nice speed, and without L3 it should OC on your MB a touch higher with less volts/higher temps.

And over-clocking the IMC/NB on the x4 840 should more than overcome the lack of L3 from a performance standpoint.

 

[arranmc182]

I think when I have picked up a new PSU then I will pick up the x4 840