I've been planning on upgrading my desktop's current AMD CPU, which works very well, to something quicker, but not too expensive, and I'm planning on spending under $100.

My motherboard is an ASUS M2NPV-VM with the AM2 CPU socket, and is only AMD compatible.

My current CPU is an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ at 2.0 GHz, which is dual-core.
I have my mind set on an AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ Brisbane, which runs at 2.8 GHz which is also a dual core, and is not very expensive.

According to newegg.com, it is a good upgrade from the 3800+, as many reviewers have done the same thing and have given it a good rating because of its performance. The only con that I've read, is that it does not have a very big L2 cache, but is still a great deal.

I'm also open to suggestions on what other processors (dual-core or more) could be better than my selection. I have seen more powerful processors in the CPU list on this page. If you have a suggestion, make sure it is 64-bit capable and is an AMD processor, as I have 64-bit Windows 7 installed and my motherboard is only AMD compatible.

Also, I haven't flashed my BIOS in a while, but I can do so at any time.

I have also made a search on newegg.com showing possible candidates.

The X2 7850 looks like a good buy plus its a BE.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16819103706

How about that? Quad core, and @ 45nm, you'll be running a lot cooler. The person in the comments said that cards above 5770 wouldn't bottleneck it. And from the older tech, it seems like it should do a better job. I'd say look for at least an Athlon II or such AM3 cards. You may not be able to use it to the fullest potential, but it enables chances like upgrading to an AM3 board, and increased performance resulting in better futureproofing.

Cheers!

Quote from GenesisX :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16819103706

How about that? Quad core, and @ 45nm, you'll be running a lot cooler. The person in the comments said that cards above 5770 wouldn't bottleneck it. And from the older tech, it seems like it should do a better job. I'd say look for at least an Athlon II or such AM3 cards. You may not be able to use it to the fullest potential, but it enables chances like upgrading to an AM3 board, and increased performance resulting in better futureproofing.

Cheers!

The problem is, that CPU isn't in the list of compatible CPUs, and I don't feel like buying a new board just to use a new CPU. I'm also looking for something that gives my computer a pick-up, not a complete overhaul.

ASUS has released a beta BIOS for AM3 support for my board a short while ago.

the only chips your board can support are socket AM2. this means that an AM2+ chip will not work. neither will an AM3 (AM3 chips are backwards compatible with socket AM2+ boards). the MK1 phenoms were AM2 iirc but they were power hogs.
EDIT: if i were you, i'd keep that $100 and save a bit longer. buy a socket AM2+ board (with a 780 chipset or better) and then buy a duel core socket AM3 phenom. this means you can still use your current parts and you will also have more upgrade options in the future.

Quote from Zipppy :

ASUS has released a beta BIOS for AM3 support for my board a short while ago.

are you sure it's for your board? socket AM2 are not compatible with AM3 chips. (socket AM2+ are compatible with AM3 chips)

i've just read the supported chip list. seems that it does indeed support AM3. Buy a duel core phenom and you'll have 3 times more onboard cache than the athlon chips.

go for this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... or-_-19-103-286-_-Productas i can't seem to find any am3. i don't use newegg

Quote from dadge :

the only chips your board can support are socket AM2. this means that an AM2+ chip will not work. neither will an AM3 (AM3 chips are backwards compatible with socket AM2+ boards). the MK1 phenoms were AM2 iirc but they were power hogs.
EDIT: if i were you, i'd keep that $100 and save a bit longer. buy a socket AM2+ board (with a 780 chipset or better) and then buy a duel core socket AM3 phenom. this means you can still use your current parts and you will also have more upgrade options in the future.

I hope you are able to quote or give some proof about what you just said.

AM3 CPUs will run on AM2(+) boards given that you have the BIOS to recognize the CPU. As with OP, a CPU is available to make this happen.

The BIOS version you need to run AM3 CPUs are 5005, and the page of reference is found below:

http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-ASUS/M2NPV-VM.html

The CPU that I listed isn't on there. But you may always elect to choose any sub $100 CPU on there that is newer than the AM2's 65nm K8s. The lower end AM3s seem like a very good balance between the financial and recreation. The newer tech, more instructions per clock, relativelty clocked CPUs will destroy you typical X2 3800, X2 6000, CPUs from 5 years ago.

Quote from GenesisX :

I hope you are able to quote or give some proof about what you just said.

AM3 CPUs will run on AM2(+) boards given that you have the BIOS to recognize the CPU. As with OP, a CPU is available to make this happen.

The BIOS version you need to run AM3 CPUs are 5005, and the page of reference is found below:

http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-ASUS/M2NPV-VM.html

The CPU that I listed isn't on there. But you may always elect to choose any sub $100 CPU on there that is newer than the AM2's 65nm K8s. The lower end AM3s seem like a very good balance between the financial and recreation. The newer tech, more instructions per clock, relativelty clocked CPUs will destroy you typical X2 3800, X2 6000, CPUs from 5 years ago.

press F5

@ Dadge I think I posted earlier than your edit. Mine was at 20:23, your edit was at 20:30.

Mwahahahahhahahha

all i added was: "as i can't seem to find any am3. i don't use newegg"
reverse Mwahahahahhahahha !

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... p;IsNodeId=1&name=AMD

Whole page of AMD CPUs, and it gives you Socket Type choices. I'd suggest as many cores as possible. Keeping it future proof. Why buy dual when you can buy quad for $20 more? Same, if not more cache. The only thing you get more of is... well... heat, and maybe less overclockability.

Quote from GenesisX :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... p;IsNodeId=1&name=AMD

Whole page of AMD CPUs, and it gives you Socket Type choices. I'd suggest as many cores as possible. Keeping it future proof. Why buy dual when you can buy quad for $20 more? Same, if not more cache. The only thing you get more of is... well... heat, and maybe less overclockability.

you do know you can unlock the cores on the duels and the triples don't you?

Quote from dadge :

you do know you can unlock the cores on the duels and the triples don't you?

http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?p=1475960#post1475960

if we're taking quotes from that thread just to try to support why you shouldn't unlock the cores on a duel and triple core cpu, then here's why you should:

Quote from sfkilla :

Finally don't under estimate the potential of unlocking your fourth core!
I own a 720BE myself and a similar gigabyte board, unlocking the fourth core gave me a 15-25% boost in many games, GTAIV, AVP, and many others, games get more and more multithreaded nowadays , so the more cores, the better

Sometimes they're faulty. And I guess if it isn't that much more, I'd just go and buy the full thing. The dual cores and triple cores are there for a reason, and in some cases, it is because they are binned for lower quality. Keep it simple for him, and just buy a quad core.

his budget is $100. surley it's better to try to get the most out of such a small budget? it's $80 for a triple core and all the quad cores are out of budget range. so for me, i'd still recommend getting a duel core and unlock both of the locked cores because it's the cheapest option for him to get a quad core.
AMD had to lock perfectly fine cores to meet the demand for their duelcore chips. so the chances of getting a faulty core is very low.

Chances are always present. And in various cases, binned for a reason. You may be able to unlock them, but you may have instability come your way. Next thing you know, you get the next P5 Floating Integer problem xD. It comes down to the batch you have.

I've checked online, and though I am new to the whole unlocking business, I trouble finding your chipset which is an AM2 board in the first place, to do unlocking. The chipset is nForce 430. It can be that no one has attempted and posted of unlocking on such an old board. All I can find are new chipsets such as the 790GX.

I did do some research, and they say that you need a chipset with options like ACC, Core Unlocker, Turbo Unlocker, and NVCC (which is on the newer boards). Given that you have an ancient AM2 board, I'd doubt they'd have those functions. But again, I am not certain. However, I'd be lucky that the board will be able to run an AM3 CPU, which given it is.

Quote :

All quad cores are out of his budget range

No, the last time I checked, there were some cheap ones.

Quote :

AMD had to lock perfectly fine cores to meet the demand for their duelcore chips. so the chances of getting a faulty core is very low.

Ref? Okay... but I'd still think of it as they binned the lower quality ones to become dual and triple cores, and kept the higher ones that passed tests to run at
- higher speeds
- ran stable with lower voltages
- no faulty cores
- etc
to become quad cores.

So you'll end up with a higher quality CPU, which isn't expensive in the first place. I mean, if this was a $500 and $300 difference, sure, take the chance. Ti4200 : Ti 4600 difference was core clock speed. Overclock it, and you have saved maybe 70%. 6800 Ultra and 6800GT was unlocked cores and clock speed, but the price difference was immense. 8800GTX : 8800 Ultra? 10% increase for hundreds more? Core 2 Duo and their Extreme counterparts?

But the thing is, it is not the case here. Gallop the $30 difference of which you might have dropped on the gas price going back and forth to your favourite computer store to RMA the CPU and just get the higher priced quad. Saves you time, money, thought, and a peace of mind.

And apparently, you need CPUs from some dual core CPU from certain batches:
For :

Quote :

Athlon II (with a cacad stepping code)

Ref: Unlock Guide from Overclock.net

If you do in fact buy a dual core, and have the intentions of unlocking, make sure you have a BIOS and chipset capable of doing so. RESEARCH is key. But everything that I've said or anyone else has said is only 'advice'. They are there to guide you, and whatever you do, make sure you know why you did, and attempt at your own discretion.

Cheers!

yeah, i talked about what chipset he would need i my 5th post in this thread. i also said that it would be better for him to save more money so he can bring his old board up-to-date.

Quote from GenesisX :

No, the last time I checked, there were some cheap ones.

at newegg? could you link me to them? all i saw (for under $100) was a triple core.

Quote from GenesisX :

Okay... but they binned the lower quality ones to become dual and triple cores, and kept the higher ones that passed tests to run at
- higher speeds
- ran stable with lower voltages
- no faulty cores
- etc
to become quad cores. So you'll end up with a higher quality CPU, which isn't expensive in the first place.

i'm not 100% sure i understand that part. are you saying that the working quads were sold as heigher quallity duels because they had no faulty cores?
because that's incorrect. the AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition and the AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 555 3.20GHz Black Edition are the exact same chip. only the 555 has 2 cores disabled. yes there is a chance he might not get to fully unlock both cores. but there is a bigger chance he will be able to unlock them with no problems (once he gets a few $ more for a better board)
the reason AMD do this is because it's cheaper/easier to disable 2 (perfeclty fine) cores and sell the chip as a duel. rather than have to make a duel core from scratch. they only came about this idea because they had quite a lot of failed quad core chips. now they have to disable perfectly working cores to meet the demand for their very sucessful duel core phenom range.
so for me, i would buy the duel core, save the bit extra for a board that has a chipset better than the MA770 and then unlock the cores. the MA790 boards already have the unlocking support on their bios'.

EDIT: even if he bought the 555 and kept it as a duel core. it's a kick ass chip and will still blow his old one clean out of the water. and the bonus is, he can attempt to unlock later if he wanted to. and, the 555 is well within his budget of $100.

but i agree, it's only advice, whether he takes it or not, it's still just advice.

Quote from dadge :

yeah, i talked about what chipset he would need i my 5th post in this thread. i also said that it would be better for him to save more money so he can bring his old board up-to-date.
at newegg? could you link me to them? all i saw (for under $100) was a triple core.
i'm not 100% sure i understand that part. are you saying that the working quads were sold as heigher quallity duels because they had no faulty cores?
because that's incorrect. the AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition and the AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 555 3.20GHz Black Edition are the exact same chip. only the 555 has 2 cores disabled. yes there is a chance he might not get to fully unlock both cores. but there is a bigger chance he will be able to unlock them with no problems (on he gets a few $ more for a better board)
the reason AMD do this is because it's cheaper/easier to disable 2 (perfeclty fine) cores and sell the chip as a duel. rather than have to make a duel core from scratch. they only came about this idea because they had quite a lot of failed quad core chips. now they have to disable perfectly working cores to meet the demand for their very sucessful duel core phenom range.
so for me, i would buy the duel core, save the bit extra for a board that has a chipset better than the MA770 and then unlock the cores. the MA790 boards already have the unlocking support on their bios'.

EDIT: even if he bought the 555 and kept it as a duel core. it's a kick ass chip and will still blow his old one clean out of the water. and the bonus is, he can attempt to unlock later if he wanted to. and, the 555 is well within his budget of $100.

but i agree, it's only advice, whether he takes it or not, it's still just advice.

Agreed. Whether it is dual, tri, or quad, these new CPUs would still destroy his old X2 3800+, no doubts about that...

I am saying that the quads are higher quality chips because they had to pass tests to become the quads. The duals became duals not necessarily because they had faulty cores; they might have, but mostly because you would need extra V to push the extra cores. To keep the VCore in margin of .9V - 1.4V you need good quality chips. That is why the quad cores are, in theory, higher quality. Even in guides, the solution sometimes to non booting unlocked quads was to attempt bumping the vCore up a bit, because the chips aren't "certified" or "designed" to run at the stock voltage.

Quote :

yeah, i talked about what chipset he would need i my 5th post in this thread. i also said that it would be better for him to save more money so he can bring his old board up-to-date.

Oh, you didn't say anything about not being able to unlock because of the old chipset, but you said that AM2 boards weren't able to run AM2+ and AM3 chips, which is incorrect. Why save for a board later when you can get the performance now for such a low price? To be able to unlock? If he is going to get a CPU upgrade now, make it the best buck it can be because it doesn't seem like he will be upgrading soon.

Save the $20 for a chipset later? Is that going to make much of a difference? You want to keep it under a margin, but to be honest, I bet that that money will seep away somewhere. Unless you are going to put that $20 in a savings account, it's gone xD. And the $20 for a better chipset later won't make as much of a difference, where a quad core will. You don't have the equipment to make a quad core out of the dual core because of chipset, and we aren't even sure that it will unlock once you get the new chipset.

Hehehe, Dadge, we should keep score xD. This debate is becoming very interesting; in my perspective anyways.

Zipppy is probably like, okay, I'll get a Tri-Core. Just SHUT THE FU(K UP!!!

this board is less than $50 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16813135233 the $20 he has plus another $30 and he could have the phenom 555 + that board. the down side is that it's micro atx.
this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16813138140 is $80 so although $20 is nothing, it's $20 saved for the motherboard. so if he had $160 rather than $100 then imo, he would be getting the very most out of his money.

Alright

He just wants "a pickup [in performance] for [his] computer". His board should last him if he does elect to. I think he'll go for an overhaul, and once that happens, he will go for some high quality board.

AM3s run DDR3, right?

no. he can run DDR2 on any of those boards and still use AM3 chips. DDR3 is not needed at this stage. maybe in a few more years if he wants to upgrade again, he would buy a socket AM3 board and then use DDR3. but until then, the combo i selected is more than enough to keep him happy for a few years (judging by the age of his current motherboard).

AM3 motherboards run DDR3. AM3 chips can be run with AM2+ boards which are DDR2.

No... Let me rephrase; AM3s + AM3 boards CAN run DDR3...

Quote from GenesisX :

No... Let me rephrase; AM3s + AM3 boards ONLY run DDR3...

fixed
but what is the point your trying to make?
the guy has $100 for a cpu upgrade. my recommendation is that he saves until he has $160 and gets a phenom 555 plus a socket am2+ board with a 790 chipset using his current DDR2 ram.

My point? It was a question, and had nothing to do with anything. I mean, I wasn't going to say anything, but the motherboards that you posted were running DDR2 because of their AM2+ nature.