Should I upgrade a socket 939 processor?

Quick question; running on an ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe motherboard with a Socket 939 Athlon 64 3700+ 2.2 GHz processor. Given that the 939 is completely outdated, would it still be worth it to upgrade the processor to the Athlon 64 FX-60, which is dual core and runs at 2.6 GHz, or should I just focus on building a newer system? Unfortunately, all the FX-60's I can find right now are running near $300, but I may jump on one if I can find it under $200.

 

I suppose the important questions are:

What do you want to do with the current system? (e.g. Gaming or just home surfing?)

How long would you like the system to last?

Going by this article the FX 60 was released in early 2006 and imho spending anywhere near $300 on a CPU that is ~3years old is a waste of money and I would be considering a new system.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2668

So the next generation of AMD Processors was the AM2? Which I can find at my local PC shop stating from $82 AUD and we normally pay at least 5-10% more than US prices:

http://www.umart.com.au/newindex2.phtml?bid=5

If newer generation CPU's are retailing for cheaper I would not be pouring money into dated technology.

 

Oh, for my next build I'm thinking about the ASUS Rampage II with an Intel Core i7. But the thing is that I could upgrade this setup to it's maximum (the FX-60 was the last processor released for 939's) for relatively less than it'll cost to build that new system. I'm just trying to decide if there's enough gain between the 3700+ and the FX-60 to warrant the expense.

In terms of use, I use this setup for both gaming and Corel Paint Shop X, as well as video processing using Adobe Premier Pro. My graphics card is a GeForce 9800; so I have pretty good graphics processing power, and 2 GB of DDR 3200 mem (Max for the mobo is 4, but I'm running 32 bit Windows XP so for stability's sake I'm waiting for Windows 7 to upgrade.)

 

I went from a Venice 3000+ to an Athlon X2 3800+ and the difference was astounding especially when converting video, my A8N-E went from useless until conversion was done to where I couldn't tell that conversion was going on in the background. I think the FX, while an excellent CPU, just costs too much whereas you can pick up an X2 for some $70.

 

That still leaves the question of whether the difference between a single and dual core processor would be great enough for the change; the 3800 is pretty much the low end of the few 939 dual core processors, and at 2.0 GHz and a 512x2 L2 cache I'd almost feel like I was downgrading the system from the single core 2.2 GHz, 1024 cache. ( I say this, having not had a whole lot of experience with multi-core processors, so I could just be talking out my backside ) I could go with the 4400, which is dual 2.2 with a 1024 L2 cache, but the cheapest I can find is still more than $250, and pretty much comparable in price to the FX-60.

 

All I can say is that the change was like night and day and yes, the 4400 would be faster again than what I have. It was the dual core that did it for me. Oh, I believe the 4400 is the fastest you can go before you get into the AM+ mobos. I was totally satisfied for what I what I was doing but may not be for you. Wait for some more experienced user's comments.

 

Go for a Socket AM2+ Mobo & CPU, socket 939 old these days.

Dacads

 

Yeah, I think I've pretty much decided to just wait until I have the money to build the new system. The 939's simply won't come down in price, and considering I can get an i7 quad core for about $50 less than the old FX-60...

 

I have an Asus AN8 SLI Premium with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200 939 socket and find it quite swift but I'm no gamer. Why not try a Second Hand dual core there cheap enough and try if not to your requirements sell mobo/cpu bundle.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AMD-4200-DUAL...trkparms=65:12|66:2|39:1|72:1690|293:1|294:50

 

Specs of my rig for your perusal
Processor # 1
-------------
Model : AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+
Codename : Manchester
Technology : 90 nm
Package : Socket 939
Version : Model 11, Stepping 1
Revision : BH-E4 - 11009
Instructions : MMX, ExtendedMMX, 3DNow, Extended3DNow, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, EM64T
Core : 2
Thread : 2
L1 Code Cache : 2 x 64.00 KB
L1 Data Cache : 2 x 64.00 KB
L2 Cache : 2 x 512.00 KB
L3 Cache : -
Maximum Speed : 2,200.00 MHz
Current Speed : 2,212.00 MHz
Speed (O/C) Rate: 0.55 % (+)
CPU Usage : 7.66 %
Multiplier : 11.0 x
Bus Speed : 201.00 MHz
FSB : 1,005.39 MHz
Voltage : 1.33 V
Fan Speed : -
Temperature : -

Processor # 1 / Core # 0
------------------------
Speed : 2,211.85 MHz
Usage : 3.97 %
Temperature : 40 °C
Thread : 1

Processor # 1 / Core # 1
------------------------
Speed : 2,211.85 MHz
Usage : 4.71 %
Temperature : 38 °C
Thread : 1