New processor suggestions

Hi all, im currently wanting to upgrade my CPU from a AMD Phenom II x4 955 3.2Ghz to something better... i have a budget of around £150 for a cpu and to be honest... i have no idea what AMD have out now or what is the best to buy for that amount of money... ive been "advised" from different forums not to go with bulldozer due to large power consumptions.... Im mainly a gamer if that helps.. i don't use my computer to render things or anything like that, apart from playing games and browsing the web i use Photoshop a fair bit.

Any suggestions would be appriciated guys, im in the UK btw just so you know

 

What kinda Mother board do you have????

 

At the moment i have no idea lol believe its a AM2+ but i will be buying a new board too so thats not a problem, gonna get a new board tht supports ddr3 ram so i dont have to change my ram too.

 

Well here install this.

Speccy
http://majorgeeks.com/Speccy_d6358.html

Then let it load up takes one or two mins.

Then Go to the Programs File.

Then Save as Text file.

You can Edit the Text file if you wish.

Then load it up as a Attachments here.

I will see what kinda MOB you have.

And another thing is what size is your PSU.

 

Here ya go, specs uploaded in attachment...
PSU is 600w true power supply

 

I was looking on Newegg and it seems your MOB model can handle.

Phenom™ II/Athlon™ II/Sempron™ 100 Series Processors.

But no FX model CPU it seems that the x4 you have is as fast as you can get.

As far as i know.

Unless some body eles has a opinon


This is your MOB
http://uk.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3/M4A77T/#specifications

AM3 Socket

AMD FX is the best out there right now.AMD just came out with a new eight core.I would most likely upgrade your MOB and CPU if you want a faster CPU.I think x4 is as fast as your going to get with your MOB.

 

Oh and your Video card seems to be a bit warm bye the way.

AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series (ASUStek Computer Inc) 49 °C

49c is 120F

when was the last time you clean the fan.

 

Oh is it ? I always thought anything above 70c was bad. Prob cleaned everything a couple of months ago... Will give everything a clean when I change CPU. Would it be worth upgrading to a better motherboard am3+ ? And if so what could you recommend for that ?

 

I like MSI lots of good stuff.(OC) board

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130650

Some body eles can suggest if they like.

 

What about mb cache size ? What should I be looking at ? There are 2 at my local retailer, if you could give me your opinion on these I would be grateful
http://www.nemax.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=24_64&products_id=4316
http://www.nemax.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=24_64&products_id=4277

 

First off, you are correct about 70C being the limit for graphics cards. 49C is fine.

With regards to your new processor, you need to know the following things:

1. Your processor must be compatible with the socket on your motherboard.
2. Your power supply must be powerful enough to handle your components.

In your case I would be worried about your power supply.

A power supply is one of the most critical components in a computer. If your power supply fails, then it has the potential to damage components attached to it. Good quality power supplies are less likely to fail at all, and when they do fail they are less likely to damage components attached to them. Poor quality supplies might end up taking other hardware with them when they fail.

Good quality power supplies are also more efficient and cooler, making them quieter. Poor quality power supplies are also much more likely not to provide the rated wattage or amperage.

Please read here for more information and a list of good quality vendors:
http://www.techie7.com/help/general-hardware-issues/67809-power-supply-calculator.html

True Power is not on that list.

 

when i say true power i mean that what it says it kicks out (600w) is what it continually kicks out, i know what you mean with cheaper supplies that say 600w but the more u plug in the less it produces where as the one i have will keep producing 600w... at least thts how it was explained to me at my local retailer lol

Anyway back to what i was asking... the above 2 processors i'd love some opinions on them, is it worth paying more for a 6 core cpu running at 3.8Ghz or shall i pay slightly less for a 4 core cpu but running at 4.2Ghz... from a gamer pov i didnt think many games use more then 2 possibly 3 cores?

 

You said you're gonna change mobo as well... have you considered intel?
They have more efficient performance per mhz, and a quad-core 2500k or 3570k can easily go up to ~4.5 GHZ on a 30 quid custom cooler.
Also, that nemax website is expensive as hell m8:
2500k on nemax = 190
2500k on scan.co.uk = 167
3570k on novatech.co.uk = 180
and both websites give you next day delivery still below nemax's price on cpu alone.
As for games, only huge titles like BF3 use all 4 cores, while all the small-budget games like WoT or LoL barely use 1. So being a gamer as well, I think going for less but more powerful core setup is the way to go.
About the temps, modern products have limits (from my own setup - an i7 3rd gen and gtx 500 series) around 100 degrees now, but no game is capable of putting such a huge strain on a system, unless you over-overclock them, or don't put any cooling on
I know my proposition is a little over your 'around ~150 quid' area, but I think it's something to be considered. Since these are 'not-the-latest-generation' products, they are much cheaper than they used to be.

If however you want to stick with AMD, on both mentioned websites, you can get FX 8120 at the price of 6200 on nemax Click or Click

I hope I didn't confuse you too much

 

thanks =) just the advice i needed, i may not come across as it but i like to think i know a bit about computers, its just that ive not had to do anything with mine for a few years now and apart from graphic cards, ive pretty much lost touch with what is out now and whats best to go for

 

70c is 160F just keep an eye on it while gaming if 49c is while on just normal computing then fans could probably need a cleaning.

Trust me you do not want to melt a Expensive video card.

 

before i go off and purchase my new components... just one more daft question...

im thinking of this motherboard...
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/...mdam3plusallchipsetmotherboards/970a-g46.html
ive always had asus but i guess it would be nice to try something new...but what is OC Genie II? obviously a tool for over clocking, but how safe are they to use for someone who has never ever even thought of overclocking anything? is there some sort of "auto tune" option...

that was the temp it was at just as i had finished on BF3... usually dosnt go higher then around 55-60c depending on what the weather is like, at the moment were having a bit of a mini heat wave in the uk in some parts

 

I would assume that there is an "auto tune" option as the description in the link you provided alludes to it being suitable for first-time overclockers.

49C after gaming is quite low for a graphics card. You will be fine with temps like that.