Doing a Major Upgrade - Athlon 64 to AM3 Based

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
R

rctelles

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2011
34
0
18,540
I've had Windows 7 32bit installed on my machine with Asus A8N-SLI Premium Motherboard and AMD Athlon 64 3200+ and 2 Gigabytes RAM (Unknown Type) and I like it because it works. But some games are kind of slow,with an HD Radeon 3650 512MB Graphics Card.

I bought the pc at a yard sale a couple years back for about $230 and it was really bad. The case needed replacing because the power button was broken. You basically had to hotwire the PC. :non: I took the chance anyway and bought an Antec 900 ATX Case and swapped everything into that. It worked good with Windows XP Pro for a long time but then started to slow down because of the IDE HDD and low RAM. Then the PSU became so loud it was unbearable so I replaced it with a Thermaltake W0388: TR2 600w PSU.

A few weeks later I upgraded the IDE HDD to a Seagate Barracuda SATA ST3500641AS-RK at 500GB 7200RPM. Installed Win7 32bit and the only thing I couldn't get to work is my TV Tuner, but I didn't expect it to be Win7 compatible.

So now for my questions. I want to upgrade to something more modern while keeping some of my recently purchased hardware such as the SATA drive and PSU. I would prefer Win7 64bit to be compatible with my hardware, but as long as everything is Win7 32bit compatible I am okay with that. I have my Motherboard picked out, but my PSU and SATA drive are not on the compatibility list. The HDD box says Win7 compatible but the PSU only says supports the latest AMD and Intel processors. Says Phenom but not Phenom II.

My second question is whether or not the CPU I have picked out will work well with the motherboard or rather to its potential. Here is my proposed setup.

My Antec 900 Case

My Thermaltake TR2 600w

Asus - ATX Motherboard 2600MHz (Socket AM3)
Model: M4A89GTD PRO/USB3
ASUS Website: http://bit.ly/gdR6xo
$155 @ BestBuy

AMD - Phenom™ II X6 Processor 1075T "Thuban"
Model: HDT75TFBGRB
$210 @ BestBuy

Corsair - 2-Pack 2GB PC3-10666 DDR3 DIMM Memory Kit
Model: Tw3x4g1333c9a
$110 x 8GB @ BestBuy

Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 500GB HDD previously mentioned.

My Acer AL2216W DVI-I Monitor.

DVD Blue Ray Burner to be added later from Newegg.
Internal All-in-one card reader to be added later.

Anything I am overlooking? If there are cheaper Newegg alternatives with around the same specs I'd be happy to consider. I have a BestBuy card so it would be convenient with no interest. But I am looking at $525 with tax and shipping on the above.

My alternative is a pre-built Gateway DX4850-27eu, but it has no USB 3.0 support or external SATA. It also has a slow 1.5 TB 5200RPM HD.

 
Sort by date Sort by votes
R

rctelles

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2011
34
0
18,540
not sure about the other parts but i would go with this ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231308

and this cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849

also what about the video card?
Click to expand...

I believe that motherboard had on board. Otherwise I will use the HD Radeon 3650 until I can get a newer one.

What about a compatible motherboard for those two you mentioned that has usb 3.0, esata, and basic on board graphics. Wifi and bluetooth a plus :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

rctelles

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2011
34
0
18,540
oh i just used your parts as a reference, im pretty sure there compatible since its the same family of processor, just with an unlocked multiplier for easier OCing

and the ram im pretty sure using the board you're going to get that it will accept pretty much any ram available

again i dont know for 100%, im pretty sure you can find a compatability chart somewhere and omg best buy is so over priced its not funny 4g for 110, i doubled it for 20 dollars less (not including rebate)

:D
Click to expand...


Also, the HDD says 3.0gb/s but the Motherboards im looking at all say 6.0gb/s. Will the 3.0gb/s work, albeit slower?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M

mdd1963

Titan
Jan 14, 2006
16,619
1,737
81,240
6 G/Sec SATA ports are backwards compatible with 3 GB/sec drives, yes....; as the drives are incapable of sustained throughput of anything remotely approaching that speed, there should be no noticeable performance difference.

However, if building a new system today, I'd be hard pressed to justify any AM3 based system over the slightly more expensive i3/i5 processors.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

rctelles

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2011
34
0
18,540


I want to do as much as possible. I am gamer but not the really hardcore stuff like Crysis or the other Fortress one. Mostly Sim games like sim city, the sims, and rp like WoW. I am also a web designer/domainer and sometimes need a program like photoshop open with at least 5 or more 5MB JPEG's. Sometimes need to convert a video file etc.

Here's what's in my shopping cart/printed list right now.

XION XON-160PCB Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with 500 Watt Power Supply, USB K/B, Optical Mouse, Multimedia Speaker
Item #: N82E16811208041
$15.00 Mail-in Rebate
$64.99

Seagate Barracuda ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822148701
$39.99

ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813131631
$149.99

Rosewill RNX-N150PC PCI 2.2 Wireless Adapter
Item #: N82E16833166011
-$5.00 Instant
$14.99 After Rebate

XFX HD-485X-ZNFC Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814150482
$30.00 Mail-in Rebate
$119.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model F3-8500CL7D-8GBRL
$79.99

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX
Item #: N82E16819103849
$199.99

TRENDnet TBW-107UB Micro Bluetooth USB Adapter
Item #: N82E16812146022
$19.99

LG Black 10X Blu-ray Burner - Bulk SATA WH10LS30 LightScribe Support - OEM
Item #: N82E16827136181
$79.99

Im looking at $700 including tax and shipping from newegg.com. This is for the whole PC, but I can offset this if I sold parts from my old setup/sold the setup whole. I can possibly do without the dedicated video card for a few months to bring the cost down a little more. I've priced the components of my old pc and can probably get around $200-$300 conservatively (Including an old Toshiba Satellite).

If I use my old case, 3.0gb/sec 7200RPM Seagate, and 600w Thermaltake PSU, and I also take out the graphic controller for now, I'm looking at around $555.



I was wanting an Intel system, but I've read that Intel locks them and wants to sell you the codes to basically overclock them. I'm not planning on overclocking anything, but I might be open to the idea when the machine gets older. Right now I am going with AMD because of experience. My Athlon 64 3200+ has been pretty good to me. I'd love to hear opinions though.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

rctelles

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2011
34
0
18,540



Oooh. I like that $105 one. I could always get an eSATA card later on. I can bring the total price down to $615 if I take out the graphic card and use the GIGABYTE. I'm just hoping the onboard will be enough to hold me over for a month or two. I could always use the HD 3650 for awhile.

Any suggestions for a comparable Intel motherboard and CPU for around the same price?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

dan4patriots

Distinguished
Jan 11, 2010
264
0
18,790
if you want an intel build here is one, just add the wireless adapters you originally looked at and with this build you can use the onboard graphics until you save enough for a discrete card

Antec 300- $59.95 ($15 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

Seagate 7200.12 500GB- $44.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

XFX P1-650X-CAH9 650W- $88.99 ($30 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207007

LG Black 10X Blu-ray Burner- $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136181

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB- $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231308

ASRock H61M/U3S3 Mobo- $72.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157236

Intel Core i5 2500K- $224.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Total- $651.89 (Before $45 rebates)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
dalauder

dalauder

Splendid
Aug 30, 2010
4,379
191
23,490
Most of these suggestions are pretty bad. Some are terrible, such as the recommendation for an i5-2500K (K is for unlocked overclocking) CPU with an H61 motherboard (incapable of overclocking). Above someone suggested a 1090T, that's a terrible suggestion because that CPU costs a bunch and doesn't do much that's useful (even compared to AMD quad cores). And one person suggested you use the integrated graphics despite you stating that you play WOW. You want a discrete card.

You want a new CPU/mobo/RAM/graphics. I would also buy the PSU dan4patriots recommended, but that's only necessary if you want to protect or computer with stable reliable power.

To figure out what to buy, you should probably fill this out: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

Whether or not you overclock determines if you should go for an i3-2100/H61 mobo or i5-2500K/P67 mobo. That's $189 or $320 on Newegg combos, respectively. I say cheapest or all out awesome--mostly because those price points are best. FYI: an i3-2100 beats ALL AMD Phenom II's (okay, so the 970 and better are a tight battle).

You don't need a crazy great graphics card. The best for your buck is probably a Radeon 5850 @ $140 (no rebate) right now. It blows a 5770 out of the water. Now a Radeon 5670 will do everything you need, but is not quite a gaming card (it CAN game...but only on low-medium settings for new games). It depends on your budget and current deals. This is again an example of great or good enough.

Ram--4GB DDR3 1600MHz Cas Latency 9 is the best for your money. You should be able to find it for $44 or $30 after rebate. If you have plenty of money and just care about buying good deals, you'll want to look for 8GB (2x4GB) 1600CL9 DDR3 for $75.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

dan4patriots

Distinguished
Jan 11, 2010
264
0
18,790
i suggested it with an H61 because he said he might try to use just integrated for a while and the 2500K has HD3000 which are better than the normal 2000 graphics built into sandy bridge

But he is right, just change the cpu to an i5 2300 to save more bucks
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
G

Guest

Guest
If you play WoW, you'll want a Intel processor and a Nvidia GPU. With the release of cataclysm it seems blizzard did some pretty heavy optimization for those 2 brands particularly. AMD will work, but just not as well.

Gigabyte boards are always good, but make sure you get something that has everything you need (not everything you want.)

With the price of the Sandy Bridge motherboards dropping so fast (locally you can get one for about $105, though it IS an MSI...) I am sure on newegg you can find something in that range.

Also I would suggest a i5 setup. Nice and midrange. And these new ones perform something like 30% better than the older 1156 chips.

Vidoe card I would suggest something like a GTX 460 if your not a hardcore gamer. Also those CUDA cores will help you in video production and I think photoshop has a plug in that will use the cores on the GPU to accelerate rendering. Don't quote me on that though.

AMD is fine, I have an AMD system and it's been good for a year now, but the price/performance is honestly better spent on Intel at this point. Even a i3 (with hyper threading) will do fine for a normal user such as yourself.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
P

pelov

Distinguished
Jan 6, 2011
423
0
18,810
the intel i3 sandy bridge CPUs are great, but have only 2 real cores and considering your use i'd suggest a quad core. Phenom II AMD's are still more than enough for most people, and considering you've been using an old amd64 3200+ build (the first age of amd 64's were the best CPUs ever made, imo. My old amd64 3000+ is still kicking!) for years now, it'd be quite fair to say for you as well. But Intel's new Sandy bridge CPUs surpass the AMD options at that price range, and nearly every price range currently, so i'd suggest building an i5 sandy bridge with a mid-range graphics card.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/15 some benchmarks

cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157241

video card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102932

PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035

case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129074

hard drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

win 7 64-bit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

comes to $550 without taxes/shipping.

The video card is an absolute steal at $140 and free shipping. The CPU is plenty of horsepower for whatever you'll need to run and really no need to overclock and thus splurge another $100+ on a better motherboard, CPU cooler and a i5-2500k. The PSU is of good quality and provides enough power. The hard drive is fantastic and since samsung sold their HD business to seagate we'll probably be seeing cheaper quality hard drives from seagate/samsung, so if you need more storage space I'd suggest buying another couple of those hard drives before they're out of stock and gone forever :( Don't buy ram with heat spreaders as you won't be (or need to) overclock, and if you did overclock you'd be overclocking with an unlocked multiplier, so heat spreaders on ram are really uncalled for. The 9 cas timings may seem high, but in reality they're not and plenty fast. Having 8GB is more important than a 2x2gb kit with 7 timings for what you'll be needing.

You can choose whatever case you'd like, so long as it's microATX compatible and can fit the motherboard and PSU. Order the stuff from newegg, as best buy overcharges like hell. If you live near a microcenter ( http://www.microcenter.com/ ) then I'd suggest driving there and seeing the deals they have, as their prices are sometimes cheaper than newegg on motherboard/CPU combos.

Hope I helped.

EDIT: you really don't need 6g/b sata unless you're using an SSD, and since i'm assuming the budget to be ~$500, you really won't (and shouldn't) be buying an SSD. Regular ol' plated hard drives won't even max out the 3g/b sata connection or get anywhere near that, so buying a better beefier motherboard for 6g/b sata would be unnecessary.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
dalauder

dalauder

Splendid
Aug 30, 2010
4,379
191
23,490
Integrated is a bad choice because he already owns a Radeon 3650. That's almost just as good.

From what I've heard, CUDA only helps in Adobe Premiere. NVidia is definitely better in WOW. But you're using a 3650, so anything is a HUGE upgrade.

AMD doesn't have competitive price/performance builds for CPUs over the $90 price point.

I still think an i5-2300 is a poor use of money. The i3-2100 is so much cheaper and the i5-2500K is so much better.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
P

pelov

Distinguished
Jan 6, 2011
423
0
18,810
the i5-2300 is great, but the 2400 is too close to pass up. The 2500k, though, is comparatively much more when trying to stay within that price range. He's been using an amd64 3200+, do you really think he needs to be fiddling with a p67 chipset, cpu cooler and an unlocked CPU? And if you're going to buy a 2500k you're going to have to spend more not just on the CPU, but the aftermarket cooler, grease, and motherboard. It's a great CPU, but it's just not worth it in the ~$500 range. The i5-2400 is an insanely fast CPU already, there's no need to spend more money on an unlocked multiplier and skimping on the other parts -- namely a cheaper graphics card.

Yea, with the code it's better, you're right. Didn't notice it :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

chriskrum

Distinguished
Aug 11, 2009
198
0
18,690
General two cents:

First, don't buy from Best Buy. You'll be burning money on their ridiculous mark-up and the customer service is not only unhelpful but frankly misinformed most of the time.

If you have to build a computer right now go Intel Sandy Bridge--especially if you're spending more than 100 dollars on the CPU. AMD just isn't competitive at the moment. Go for an i5. You really don't need one with the K designation (hyper-threading is nice but with 4 real cores not necessary). You don't need to worry about overclocking, either. With turbo-boost overclock just isn't necessary for almost all users.

The info of dalauder is pretty good as are his build lists. Though I'd disagree about the choice of cpu and say definitely go quad core i5. Yes the i3 is much faster than what you've got now but moving from a dual core to a dual core right now isn't really an upgrade--it's more of a lateral move. The AMD 6 core cpus aren't worth it in a new build (good upgrade if you've already got an AM3 system with an older phenom). The 4 core i5s are almost always faster at everything and much faster at any single threaded application.

You case and PSU should be fine.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
dalauder

dalauder

Splendid
Aug 30, 2010
4,379
191
23,490
Grease? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the stock cooler with an i5-2400 needs thermal paste too.

And I was recommending the $125 i3-2100 over the $190 i5-2400. The only inherent increase in cost with the i5-2500K is the P67 vs H61 price ($20) and the $40 CPU cost. All I'm saying is that an i3-2100 is a huge upgrade for him. If he's gonna go halfway to awesomeness with the i5-2400, it's more worth it to go all the way to awesomeness for a little more.

He should upgrade graphics long before upgrading from an i3-2100 to an i5-2400. Although I suppose an i5 has 4 true cores, which helps in Photoshop.

We don't know if the OP OC's, so he really should fill this out: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

OP, you should buy on Newegg, not Best Buy.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
P

pelov

Distinguished
Jan 6, 2011
423
0
18,810


Yea, i think opting to go with the actual 4 cores and the 2400 is worth it. I think all stock intel coolers have thermal grease already pre-applied.

I'd be hesitant to suggest a 2500k with a ~$5-600 budget, even if you do OC. Unless you're playing with a low resolution monitor, you're better off buying something that can support 1080p rather than spending more $$ on a CPU that will only negligibly increase performance. Like i said, fantastic CPU, and if it were $500 without an OS then I'd certainly suggest it, but at ~$500 you get a better overall rig going with a 2400 rather than a 2500k (and all it implies).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
dalauder

dalauder

Splendid
Aug 30, 2010
4,379
191
23,490
@chriskrum--"...but moving from a dual core to a dual core right now isn't really an upgrade--it's more of a lateral move." That is an outright fabrication. The new i3's outperform ALL AMD quad cores (except 970 or higher). Back up your statement with benchmarks--although you won't be able to do that becuase your statement is false.

That's like saying a four cylinder Lancer EVO couldn't be faster than a 1982 Datsun because they're both 4 cylinder. Lancer EVO engines can put out 340HP because of better design and do more with the same number of pistons. Of course, a Lancer EVO can hang with plenty of V6's and some V8's.

The 6 core Phenoms aren't much of an upgrade from most Phenom II's. They're only really worth much for heavy math work that Hyperthreading in i7's doesn't worth well for.

i5-2500K's a MUCH better than i5-2400's IF you overclock. If you don't overclock...well, I still say save your money and get an i3-2100, but an i5-2400 would be fine I guess.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

chriskrum

Distinguished
Aug 11, 2009
198
0
18,690


You need to take a pill, calm down, and read...

I said the i3 would be faster than what he's got now. However, it is a lateral move in that he'd still have only 2 cores in a day and age when more and more programs can make great use of additional cores--especially if you multitask. There's no way I'd recommend that someone investing in a new motherboard, new ram, new video card settle for a dual core CPU. If your budget is so tight that you need to wait and save for another week or two and save some more scratch then do that, because, I can almost guarantee that in five or six months the OP would be wondering why he didn't stretch a little and buy a quad core.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
dalauder

dalauder

Splendid
Aug 30, 2010
4,379
191
23,490
True, the 1090T is a much better choice than a $210 1075. But I feel we should tell the OP the best choice out there, not just an improvement on his suggestion.

I also want to clear up me insinuating that a Phenom II x6 was better than an i7. I meant the Nehalem i7-9XX series quad cores w/ HT didn't handily beat the Phenom II x6 in parallel processes. However, the Sandy Bridge i5's & I7's match or beat them in every way due to the newer & better architecture.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom