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Assistance with upgrade.

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Hello again everyone.

It has been a long time since I posted so I feel that now is the time to do so again, since I am in a better situation to do the much needed upgrade I asked about in the past.

So following forum rules my current setup is as follows:

Asus M2N-Sli Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5200+ 2.7GHz
4 Gigs G.Skill Pc2-6400 Ram
HIS IceQ Radeon 4670 1gig HD
Running Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit
500Watt Antec Earthwatts PSU

Looking to do a decent upgrade(Aside from Graphics as money doesn't allow that upgrade yet), I am currently looking into these particular parts as they fit well into my budget. *Note, This will be an upgrade on 2 pc's with near identical spec's*
Also, it should be noted that I will be using this system for gaming and streaming.

Interested in these particular parts, and I guess the info I seek is compatibility with one another and with the GPU listed above, also will be reusing current HD's as a way to save a little cash.

Alright here is the complete part list I am looking into.

Motherboard... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Processor... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Ram... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Would love to jump into the 6000 series Amd cards, but will have to wait a little longer to do so.

Anyways, any information and tips would be appreciated.

Thanks :) 

More about : assistance upgrade

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Homebuilt system Master

I would pass on the Zambezi if I were you.

You might be better off switching to an Intel build with a 2120 processor instead of the ones you have chosen.

The Bulldozer processors (AMD FX-xxxx) are not tremendously good. They have low instructions per clock cycle compared to Intel. The 4 core 2500 is better than the 8 core FX-8150 and the 2 core 2120 probably beats the 4100 too.

If you want to stick with AMD you might go with a 955+ processor instead of the FX.

- Edit - You may want to drop back to Kingston or Crucial 1333 RAM instead of 1600 RAM since that motherboard doesn't natively support 1600. It may cause configuration issues.
Homebuilt system Master

RAM costs so little as it is. It is also the thing that causes the most trouble with new builds.

I can't find any good reason to go with brands other than the ones with the lowest failure rates (Crucial and possibly Kingston).
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r0aringdrag0n said:
Looks good, however, make sure the motherboard BIOS is updated to support the FX CPUs, most AM3+ motherboards require a BIOS flash to use, which requires another AMD AM3 socket CPU.

You can also go with a cheaper 8GB RAM bundle:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...



Well it seems like a couple of the reviews have stated that it booted without issues when the FX-4100 was loaded. So I am hoping I don't have that issue if I do choose this cpu, especially if I don't have a spare cpu kicking around that can be flashed with the mobo. How can I tell if it is the most current Bios to work with that particular Cpu?

Raiddinn said:
I would pass on the Zambezi if I were you.

You might be better off switching to an Intel build with a 2120 processor instead of the ones you have chosen.

The Bulldozer processors (AMD FX-xxxx) are not tremendously good. They have low instructions per clock cycle compared to Intel. The 4 core 2500 is better than the 8 core FX-8150 and the 2 core 2120 probably beats the 4100 too.

If you want to stick with AMD you might go with a 955+ processor instead of the FX.

- Edit - You may want to drop back to Kingston or Crucial 1333 RAM instead of 1600 RAM since that motherboard doesn't natively support 1600. It may cause configuration issues.


Believe me I have considered an Intel build, but it is slightly out of my price range. Wouldn't have minded a 2500k but boy they sure are pricey.

And to be quite honest I am a bit of an AMD fanboy, such stable quality over the past few years.
Homebuilt system Authority

oldgamer78 said:
Well it seems like a couple of the reviews have stated that it booted without issues when the FX-4100 was loaded. So I am hoping I don't have that issue if I do choose this cpu, especially if I don't have a spare cpu kicking around that can be flashed with the mobo. How can I tell if it is the most current Bios to work with that particular Cpu?

It looks like the ASRock board will support it...

@Raiddinn In the past, these are the brands that I trust:
Patriot, Crucial, PNY, G.Skill, Corsair, and Kingston
Homebuilt system Master

RoaringDragon - It has more to do with what has the highest failure rates for everybody rather than what did well in your particular case.

OP - I would still take a Phenom 2 x4 over the Zambezi.
Homebuilt system Authority

Raiddinn said:
RoaringDragon - It has more to do with what has the highest failure rates for everybody rather than what did well in your particular case.

OP - I would still take a Phenom 2 x4 over the Zambezi.

I agree with the Phenom II, it's a great CPU and imo, it's better than the FX line.

As for the RAM, I didn't say "This RAM didn't fail for me", in fact, I've only had PNY RAM and G.Skill RAM (I've never used the PNY RAM because it was in my dad's system). I gave those brands because they have the higher ratings on NewEgg, especially the G.Skill RAM
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