New CPU

MarcosFabian · 02 Apr 2011

Hey guys,
So I recently built my first PC.
Performance is awesome so far.

One of the main reasons I built myself a PC was because I wanted to get into gaming.

Everything is going pretty good.
But I think my current CPU is somewhat bottlenecking my graphics card.

I post the specs below..

CPU - Athlon X2 4450e 2.30GHz (No OC)
Graphics - XFX Radeon HD5670 1GB
Ram - Crucial 2x1GB 667
Mobo - AsRock N68C-S UCC
Windows 7.

My specs are very minimalistic since it's my first PC build..

As so for my mobo,
It supports AM2, AM2+, and AM3.
Also support DDR2, and DDR3 memory.

My only concern is my current CPU.
I noticed that the CPU tends to heat up and slow down when I multi task a bit.

My question is that which processor should I get?
I saw this reviews on this CPU.
AMD ADX250OCGMBOX Athlon II X2 250 Dual Core Processor - 3.00GHz, Socket AM3, 2MB Cache, 2000MHz (4000 MT/s), Retail at TigerDirect.com

I chose the Athlon II X2 250 because it's on my budget.
And it could support DDR3 memory, so I can finally upgrade to DDR3 in the future.

DocBrown · 02 Apr 2011

There is really not much difference in your current CPU & the new 1 you listed. A big difference would be a Phenom X4 or X6 CPU & upping your ram to 4gb

linnemeyerhere · 02 Apr 2011

MarcosFabian,
Before you go buying a larger CPU I would first read all about the UCC unlock core features in your mobo, I watched the video attached here and advise you to learn as much about your current system then move on. First thing you want to do though is go get a great air or sealed water cooling system and change out your stock system. Learn all the tricks to getting a good spread on the premium thermal compound and watch the temps fall. Explore your cases cooling options and make sure you have maximized the cooling through your case. After you understand and have looked into the core unlocking of the CPU then slowly play around with it and your new cooling system and see how that improved your gaming. Only after that and maybe a round of two of Over Clocking this base CPU then look into buying a bargain basement black edition quad core but read up and shop smart. You can also jump into six cores but I would review your ram and get faster ram in a complete set to best complement the new CPU and for sure look to upgrade to W7 64 bit and then max the ram in round two with at least 8gb total or more.
http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.as...l=n68c-s%20ucc

MarcosFabian · 02 Apr 2011

DocBrown said:

There is really not much difference in your current CPU & the new 1 you listed. A big difference would be a Phenom X4 or X6 CPU & upping your ram to 4gb

I thought about getting a triple core for less.
And unlocking the 4th extra core.
Saves me the money.

linnemeyerhere said:

MarcosFabian,
Before you go buying a larger CPU I would first read all about the UCC unlock core features in your mobo, I watched the video attached here and advise you to learn as much about your current system then move on. First thing you want to do though is go get a great air or sealed water cooling system and change out your stock system. Learn all the tricks to getting a good spread on the premium thermal compound and watch the temps fall. Explore your cases cooling options and make sure you have maximized the cooling through your case. After you understand and have looked into the core unlocking of the CPU then slowly play around with it and your new cooling system and see how that improved your gaming. Only after that and maybe a round of two of Over Clocking this base CPU then look into buying a bargain basement black edition quad core but read up and shop smart. You can also jump into six cores but I would review your ram and get faster ram in a complete set to best complement the new CPU and for sure look to upgrade to W7 64 bit and then max the ram in round two with at least 8gb total or more.
ASRock > Products > N68C-S UCC

Thank you for your reply.

Of course I know about the UCC feature on my mobo.
It will save me some extra bucks from having to spend money on a extra pre unlocked core.

I do have Window 7 64 Bit installed.
It was about time that I moved from 32 bit.

Okay,
About the new processor.

I would really like to buy the Athlon X2 250, since I already have the money for it.
Meaning that I don't have to wait anymore.

But having a Quad or a Six core CPU would be really kick ass!
But that would also mean that I would have to wait and scramble more money...

This is the part where I start to get confused because there are some CPU's that can save me money, and getting the most performance out of it...

linnemeyerhere · 02 Apr 2011

Couldn't tell about your upgrade to 64 bit as your spec's still say 32. I would get a smoking deal on a black edition quad core then match you ram with the exact same set for a 4gb total. Then later you can save again for much faster ram in 2g or 4gb modules but that's costly.

profdlp · 02 Apr 2011

DocBrown said:

...A big difference would be a Phenom X4 or X6 CPU & upping your ram to 4gb

Yep.

With RAM so cheap right now, that part is almost a no-brainer. Get it soon, though. Because of the tsunami in Japan, there are many experts who expect the prices to go back up.

For the CPU, waiting about six weeks after the release of a new chip usually brings a nice drop in the price of the rest of the CPUs that company makes.

MarcosFabian · 02 Apr 2011

linnemeyerhere said:

Couldn't tell about your upgrade to 64 bit as your spec's still say 32. I would get a smoking deal on a black edition quad core then match you ram with the exact same set for a 4gb total. Then later you can save again for much faster ram in 2g or 4gb modules but that's costly.

Yeah, I forgot to update my specs.
I haven't been on the site for quite some time..

Could you show me that quad core your talking about?

profdlp said:

DocBrown said:

...A big difference would be a Phenom X4 or X6 CPU & upping your ram to 4gb

Yep.

With RAM so cheap right now, that part is almost a no-brainer. Get it soon, though. Because of the tsunami in Japan, there are many experts who expect the prices to go back up.

For the CPU, waiting about six weeks after the release of a new chip usually brings a nice drop in the price of the rest of the CPUs that company makes.

Man, RAM is so much cheaper now,
Cheaper than DDR2 that is.

Well, I still haven't decided which CPU so stick with.
So I'll still keep a look out.

Stormkitty · 02 Apr 2011

That video card is almost as much of a bottleneck as the CPU is. a 5670 reference card only has 512mb of Video Memory, which is well... quite poor. If you can afford it, get a video card upgrade as well in the near future. I recommend the 6870 or the 6950, budget depending.

linnemeyerhere · 02 Apr 2011

This is what I have and all I can say is wow! I noticed that CPU's have jumped up in prices as I bought mine for 155.00 and free delivery no tax. So shop well and have fun. This is running 4.0 cool and stable in my system and with 16gb of fast ram and a SSD drive I'm flat out floored by it's performance and the addition of a wicked Radeon 5770 R Hawk tops it off. Have fun and keep the system cool and stable !
http://www.jr.com/amd/pe/AMD_HDZ965FBGMB/

MarcosFabian · 02 Apr 2011

Stormkitty said:

That video card is almost as much of a bottleneck as the CPU is. a 5670 reference card only has 512mb of Video Memory, which is well... quite poor. If you can afford it, get a video card upgrade as well in the near future. I recommend the 6870 or the 6950, budget depending.

No can do,
I'm pretty broke at the moment.
Plus,
I don't like the HD6000 series.
I'd rather stick with a 5770.

And I really can't afford to spend that much money on my PC.

My 5670 has 1GB btw..

linnemeyerhere said:

This is what I have and all I can say is wow! I noticed that CPU's have jumped up in prices as I bought mine for 155.00 and free delivery no tax. So shop well and have fun. This is running 4.0 cool and stable in my system and with 16gb of fast ram and a SSD drive I'm flat out floored by it's performance and the addition of a wicked Radeon 5770 R Hawk tops it off. Have fun and keep the system cool and stable !
AMD HDZ965FBGMBOX Phenom II X4 965 3.40GHz AM3 Desktop Processor in CPUs at JR.com

Man, this sucks.
Well I guess am sticking with the Athlon II X2 250 then..