Upgrading AMD 939 Computer - Upgraded to 780G Mobo and AMD Phenom 8450

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I have a AMD 3700+ Socket 939 Computer with 1GB of RAM and a 6600 Nvidia GPU.

I have roughly $200 to spend to upgrade this computer. I am upgrading the RAM to 3GB for $70. That leaves me with $130 to spend on a CPU or a GPU. For about $130 I can get a 9600GT/AT 3870 or I can get the 4000/4200/4400 x2 939 CPU.

The question is would switching to a dual core CPU make that much of a difference running Windows XP Media Center? Does spending $130 on a used CPU that is almost 3 if not 4 years old make any sense?

As for the video card, if I can play NWN2 with medium setting with my current GPU than there would be no need to upgrade; however, NWN2 does recommend a 6800.

Please help.

 

I would go with the nVidia 9600GT. If you were to upgrade the CPU and continued to run it through the 6600 I don't think you would notice as much of a performance increase in your games. However, in media applications you would get a better gain with the dual core CPU. But you should get a nice performance gain either way with the 3GB of RAM. That will really help. Still, if you are heavily into games the 9600GT would be a nice upgrade.

 

As far as I know, socket 939 CPUs of the Athlon X2 line are twice as expensive as the same CPUs in socket A. Buy a graphics card, I guess. I agree with Chandos. Unless you want an 8800GT or a Radeon HD 4850. In my experience, switching the graphics card is the best fps per gp when it comes to hardware upgrading. Beware, though, some cards may need a stronger power supply than yours - although I don't know what kind of PSU you have (HD 4850 officially requires 450W).

 

I don't use the PC to do much gaming; I use the PC for video editing, photos, and other multi-media functions. On occasion I do like to play NWN, Baldur's Gate, Fate or other RPGs.

 

Ati 3850 is also a good option for the 9600. More than enough fort NWN2. Both are good upgrades. BTW Mass effect can run on your system after the graphic upgrade. Your processor is not dead yet.

Any cpu for 939 is a waste. the graphic card can be used on a new system.

Assuming you have pci-express and not agp.

 

3850 has an AGP version from what I recall.

 

I have PCI-e. My mobo is Abit AN8.

 

In that case, you're better off, since PCI-E cards cost half of what their AGP counterparts do. I recommend getting the cheapest 8800GT you can find (not including the 640 MB memory version, which isn't all that great), or the 9600GT. Unless you can afford the 9800 GTS, which is supposed to have a new revision soon - the 9800 GTS+ or something like that (with a plus at any rate). It's going to drop in price because of the release of Radeon HD 4850 from ATI. By the way, I have a 4850, but in retrospect, I wish I had waited a bit for nVidia's counter.

 

Chevalier,

I don't have PCI-e 2.0, it would be a waste buying anything that that is PCI-e 2.0 as I could not use the card's full potential.

 

The 939 board will not last long. Your next one will most likely has 2.0. The new generation of both brands are 2.0.

 

The difference in performance between PCI-e 1 and 2 is minimal.

 

I know that. My computer is already 3 years old. I am planning on buying one after AMD releases their 45nm technology or once Intel designs and release a true quad Core CPU.

 

September is the month for the new Bloomfield, together whit the x58 chipset and the new 1366 socket. If that is your target, get a 2.0 card for that board.

 

I finally went out and upgraded parts of old computer. Here is what I ended up ordering.

New Parts:
FoxConn ATi 780G Motherboard - Foxconn A7GM-S
AMD Phenom 8450 Toliman
G.SKILL 4GB of DDR2 800mhz Ram

The parts I'm keeping:
IDE PATA 133 250GB Maxtor Diamond HD
IDE LiteOn DVD Burner
FireWire / USB Rear Panel Card

Part I'm not sure about:
GPU Nvidia 6600 512MB DDR2

Every forum and website providing info on HD did not provide a high recommendation for swapping HD unless you plan to go with a RAID setup. If my HD does end up being a bottle neck on my computer I will order 2 SATAII 40-120 GB to setup in RAID 0 and use the old HD for music, video and picture storage.

As for the old GPU, I'm not sure if it is better than the on board 3200 GPU. I was thinking about buying a 3450 or 3470 video card to use the Hybred crossfire of the 780G Mobo. I'm looking for recommendations on this issue.

My order should be at my doorstep by Wednesday?

 

Hybrid crossfire lets you use the onboard videochip for desktop work shutting down the powerconsuption of the GPU. Both cards will work fine. Later you can buy in a strong card if you want to.

A single sata 2 32 mb cache hdd is the next upgrade. A 500 gb disk in normal nowadays. Some hdd have 1000 gb.

The 6600 is history. Bioware claims that it is not strong enough to play Mass Effect. it cannot be used in hybrid crossfire. Games like Dragon age will most likely ask more than Mass Effect.

 

Thanks for your advice.

I made sure the PCI-e was 2.0 as I would like to upgrade to a 3850/4850 or the newer middle class ATi video card down the road.

As for a HD, I did some research and if anything I would upgrade to a RAID setup with the Seagate 250GB with the 32MB cache instead of going to a 500GB as I would still have IDE HD for my media storage.

I know I won't be selling my old parts as they will be used to upgrade my in-laws computer. They get an update PC every time I purchase or update my PC.

 

I checked around some more. The hybrid only works whit the 3400 series. Higher series do not need it. So 3450 I would say.

The power unit cat handle big cards later?

 

In addition it only works in Vista; that would mean an OS upgrade. With that being said I now have to really determine if my 6600 DR2 GPU is worth keeping or should I upgrade my OS. Tough decisions.

 

There's little doubt that this is going to be major bottleneck. I would replace it with an SATA 3.0GB/s 500GB - 1.00TB drive asap. But solid state drives are coming, and they will be another worthwhile upgrade to consider in your equation.

 

So, you have a retail version of xp. Though choice. Decide to spent an other 110 euro on an oem vista, or use it for the Gpu to buy a strong one so you will not need the hybrid crossfire, and can wait out vista until windows 7 comes.

Solid state drives are nice. Expensive but nice.