Upgrading my CPU

[sikros]

So I'm thinking about upgrading my CPU, but i have no idea what i should buy. It has to be an AM3 socket.
My specs are:

AMD Athlon II x2 240, 2.8GHz
8gb Ram
Radeon HD 6770

My budget is ~125$. What would be a good upgrade?

Thanks in advance!

 

[simon12]

Let us know what motherboard you have so we can check supported CPUs

 

[sikros]

Sure

Model: Acer RS780HVF
Chipset: AMD 780G
Southbridge: AMD SB700

Feel free to ask if you need any more information.

 

[Mathos]

Sure

Model: Acer RS780HVF
Chipset: AMD 780G
Southbridge: AMD SB700

Feel free to ask if you need any more information.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103995

If you're lucky it'll be able to support that Phenom II X4 960T that I linked. Looks to be pretty good bang for the buck for 125$, plus since it's based of the thuban x6 it will have 2 disabled cores, plus the ability to do turbo core.

 

[sikros]

I'll take a look at that, thanks alot!

 

[geekapproved]

If your lucky? lol

I doubt your board supports that processor. You need to contact Acer to find out.

I know for a fact it doesn't support an 1100T. It may have a 95w limitation.

Either way your going to need a bios update from Acer using your old cpu, before it will work and I seriously doubt it will so don't waste your money.

 

[AM2A]

Seems like this one works in almost every AM2+/AM3 socket motherboard:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6167248&CatId=4433
Still, you should check with Acer.

 

[loneninja]

To the OP, What model computer is that? I can't find information on Acers website without knowing what computer it comes from.

 

[loneninja]

http://support.acer.com/us/en/acerpanam/desktop/2010/acer/Aspire/AspireM3201/AspireM3201nv.shtml

Is that your computer? It doesn't even list support for your Athlon II X2, just lists Phenom and Athlon support, not Phenom II/Athlon II.

 

[Mathos]

Going by the specs I've seen it says it can support up to 140w Processors, which is likely since the older Phenom first gens had higher TDP. Which means if you can get an up to date bios it should support that 960T since it's a 95w chip. And, the board is an am2+ board. Just make sure to get ahold of acer first, like others have said to be sure.

If you want a true cpu support list, we'd need an actual product model number in order to look up the proper system specs on Acers site.

Some people think you need an AM3 board to run a 1xxxT proc, but, my old msi k9a2 plat v1 Ran my 1090t just fine with up to date bios before I upgraded to an 890fx board.

 

[sikros]

http://support.acer.com/us/en/acerpanam/desktop/2010/acer/Aspire/AspireM3201/AspireM3201nv.shtml

Is that your computer? It doesn't even list support for your Athlon II X2, just lists Phenom and Athlon support, not Phenom II/Athlon II.

It's an Acer Aspire M3203

 

[Mathos]

ok, thats different then, the 3203 does list support for the phenom II x4's

Processor1 AMD LIVE!™:

AMD Phenom™ II X4 quad-core processor
AMD Phenom™ II X3 triple-core processor
AMD Phenom™ X4 quad-core processor (95 W)
AMD Phenom™ X3 triple-core processor
AMD Athlon™ X2 dual-core processor

AMD Athlon™ processor
AMD Sempron™ processor
Chipset AMD 780G Chipset
Memory1 Up to 8 GB DDR2 667/800 MHz SDRAM (dual-channel support on four DIMMs)

But you may need to check whether your PSU can handle a heavier load or not, having a discrete vid card you're already likely pushing that oem psu, adding a more power hungry processor will likely push it over the edge. And again call acer support and make sure it will support any new CPU you get on the board. 960T is fairly recent public release so it's iffy.

 

[sikros]

ok, thats different then, the 3203 does list support for the phenom II x4's

Processor1 AMD LIVE!™:

AMD Phenom™ II X4 quad-core processor
AMD Phenom™ II X3 triple-core processor
AMD Phenom™ X4 quad-core processor (95 W)
AMD Phenom™ X3 triple-core processor
AMD Athlon™ X2 dual-core processor

AMD Athlon™ processor
AMD Sempron™ processor
Chipset AMD 780G Chipset
Memory1 Up to 8 GB DDR2 667/800 MHz SDRAM (dual-channel support on four DIMMs)

But you may need to check whether your PSU can handle a heavier load or not, having a discrete vid card you're already likely pushing that oem psu, adding a more power hungry processor will likely push it over the edge. And again call acer support and make sure it will support any new CPU you get on the board. 960T is fairly recent public release so it's iffy.

Sounds great. I got a 600W PSU so that shouldn't be a problem . I will contact Acer and hear what they have to say about it.
Thanks to everyone, you have been very helpful!