AMD 939 upgrade for kids budget gamer UPDATED

[HomeAppraiser]

Last August we got the Acer Sempron special ( Specifications ) at Circuit City for a net of $209 after selling the bundeled LCD. Slapped in an eVGA 7600GS 256mb and an extra 1GB of RAM for a budget gamer. Now it is time to upgrade the 3200+ Sempron processor for less than $150 total.

For gaming does dual core really matter or will a fast single core do the trick? I am looking for a 3800+ and up Athlon 64 in single core or X2 Retail Box, but am mostly finding OEM. Any help in selection would be much appreciated.

UPDATE

OK downloaded the AMD X2 patch, dropped the X2 3800+ in, reused the Acer HSF and started up. WindowsXP recognized new hardware and installed it. CPU-z shows both cores. Start up of the computer and programs are still long. Why am I not noticing any change in performance?

Added 2X256 PC3200 RAM (from a dead PC) to the existing 2X512, both dual channel 2.5 CAS and now the kids get decent frame rates on Spiderman 3.

$81 could have been better spent on more RAM. I am not impressed with dual-core.
Am I missing something?

 

[Nnyan]

If you're going to get a cpu and have up to 150 to spend then just get the best dual core you can.

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Not looking so much at what I can get for $150, but what is the bigest improvement to gaming for the money. I see some Athlon 64 3800+ single core retail box going for for $59.

Is spending an extra $90 on an Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Toledo worth it?

Also I don't know anything about AMD Opterons, but would a low end Denmark work in their Acer?

 

[Jeff7181]

I got an X2 3800+ for under $100 from zipzoomfly.com. Have it overclocked to 2.6 GHz on default voltage with an "aluminum chunk" heatsink. No heatpipes, no copper center. Idles around 32C now and under normal gaming loads it doesn't break 50.

I'd definitely go dual core. Multi-threaded games are coming, and you never only have a game running, there are other processes running in the background. nVidia's graphics drivers are multi-threaded too so you'll get a little performance boost from that too.

 

[hydroponik]

DC won't speed up your gaming (in most situations), but getting a single core chip now is pointless when DCs are so cheap. Your overall pc performance will be much better going with dual.

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Is an Opteron 165 Denmark or an X2 4200+ at the same price better for gaming?

 

[lyssword]

4200 better if not oc'd

 

[o1die]

The dual core x2 3800 goes for about $90 shipped at either newegg or tigerdirect, last time I checked. That will leave you with enough for a better power supply or motherboard. I'm assuming your board is socket 939, but it could be socket 754

 

[Kur]

Dual core is good because even if u are just playing games the extra core will help with other applications while playing that game.

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Looks like these OEMs are the only socket 939 available. NewEgg

Is a 0.2GHz difference in Operating Frequency worth an extra $41.50?

If so is it worth another $26.50 for the stock cooler and three year warranty? Anyone heard of directron ?

 

[Estrella]

opteron = easy 2.6 ghz overclock, mine is at 2.9 when the ambient temp is <=70 with stock cooler!

 

[kmmatney]

I didn't see any mention in the specification that this system is a Socket 939. Are you sure its 939, and not a Socket 754? If its Socket 754, then you'll need a new motherboard as well - which can be a tricky choice if you want to keep your DDR memory.

Edit: Looks like Sempron 3200+ were only made for S939...

On my second computer (Socket 939(, I went from an Athlon 3400+ (overclocked to 2.5 Ghz) to a Toledo X3800+ (OEM) overclocked to 2.4 Ghz. To me, there is a significant improvement in the "smoothness" of games, even though I lost some clock speed.

A fast single core will be a big improvement over what you have, and for gaming only, a fast single core is probably the best band for the buck. For overall computer use, dual core is much nicer.

 

[kmmatney]

..

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Yes it is a socket 939. Pretty much set on the OEM X2 3800+ for $81 shipped from NewEgg. Now I just need a quiet fan/heatsink for it.

 

[tallman45]

Windows itself runs a lot of programs that take advantage of a Dual core processor

Just Ctl-Alt-Del. Then click on Processes tab and you will see 40-50 running right now. They will be split between 2 cores if you had them.

Dual core processors helps everything run better

 

[GeezerMan]

Yes, the Toledo core 3800+ X2 from the egg is the way to go. I have now upgraded 2 939 rigs using the Toledo core. 2.6GHz on stock volts, though YMMV. Some run a bit hot. We used the 70mm fan version of the AMD heatpipe HSF. One of the best air cooling you can get, IF you bypass the thermistor on the fan and let it run higher. It does get a bit loud at full blast, but what I did was set the fan speed in the bios to only max out after 50 degrees. By shorting out the thermistor, letting the fan run higher, we saw a drop in temps of about 6 to 7 degrees under full load. With the thermistor, it never would go to high speed, even at 60 degrees.

 

[f4phantom2500]

does your motherboard overclock at all? it's not very uncommon to get a 33~50% overclock on some of those a64 based semprons.

 

[o1die]

I wouldn't even think about overclocking. If you don't, you may be able to use the current heatsink, and most oem motherboards don't have any overclocking adjustments. The other reason is the cheap power supplies with oem systems. You need a decent brand such as fortron, antec, or enermax, which will run you at least $45 shipped for the fortron.

 

[Falloutboy]

wouldn't a Videocard offer more of a performance boost than a new cpu for gaiming?

something like a 7900gs for 130.

could then flip the CPU and the GPU you have now and scrap together another 80 for that x2

 

[customcoms]

I'm a firm believer in the power of Opteron 165's, WHEN you overclock the crap out of them, which is simple if you have a good board (like geezer said, the stock heatpipe cooler is plenty fine). Herein lies the problem: finding a good S939 board. I would start searching now for a used board. For a little more than $150, this is what i would buy:

A) The X2 you linked (the Opteron 165 is $150, which isn't really worth it at this point) if you just want a drop in replacement.

Then, purchase the following and overclock that sucker:

A) http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=2774

B)http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817189005

at the price point, there is no better psu. However, the case can be made that buying a new motherboard should be the start of a C2D or AM2 system. If you can pick up a good used S939 board for like $50, this would be a good upgrade. Otherwise, you will probably get better GAMING performance from a higher clocked single core system, using this: http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=1583 or this: http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=1584

However, I would buy the X2. Case in point: my buddy has a relatively high end (was top of the line 2 years ago) AMD S939 system, with a 7800GTX, 1GB ram, 3700+, DFI nForce4 SLI-DR. He switched to the Opteron 165 this past November (put the 3700 in a siblings rig) after I upgraded my rig to the 165 and knocked out a 2.7ghz overclock practically in my sleep. Now, we ran into complications and long story short his 2.7ghz+ capable processor is sitting at stock speeds. His gaming performance is not what it used to be, but it is more than enough (games are GPU bound anyway). However, his overall user experience has been VASTLY improved, and Photoshop is no longer the dog it was on single core.

 

[GeezerMan]

I have seen some bargains on the bay for 939 boards. I saw more than one of the DFI Infinity series, with very good overclocking reviews, brand new boards, go for 45.00 delivered. Put that with the X2 3800 Toledo for 80.00, that's pretty darn good for a new board and X2 for 125.00ish. Of course, now we are getting into whether or not to invest much in a "dying" socket, and maybe one should not do that.

 

[HomeAppraiser]

The computer was a bargain last summer for $209 so I want to give it one last upgrade before getting the kids a new one. We keep it in the living room so a quiet fan is a MUST. The fanless eVGA 7600GS, added for $79 after rebates last summer, works pretty good for them and I think the current Sempron is the bottleneck. I am not going to replace the moterboard since that would require a new WinXP disc. I doubt the motherboard in this economy ACER has much overclocking ability.

So for fans, the current one is very quiet and I could reuse it with some new thermal paste. Do Semprons run much cooler? I wouldn't want to fry the new X2 in the first week.

 

[kmmatney]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...&viewitem=&item=250112398522&rd=1&rd=1

I'm selling this one right now (me posting this is probably against some forum rule)- it is still at $1.99...a minor upgrade if run at stock speed. This is the processor that I had running at 2.4 - 2.5 Ghz, at stock voltage, with an arctic freezer Pro 64. But in any case, single core Athlons are at good prices on Ebay these days, and would make a nice bang for buck upgrade.

Semprons do run cooler. Also, my old single core Athlon did run cooler than my current Toledo dual-core. However the toledo is cooled just fine, slightly overclocked, with my arctic freezer 64, even with a resistor soldered into the power connector to make the fan spin slower. I did most of my overclocking using "ClockGen" software, which may have support for your motherboard. I would try this software out, and se if you can get a minor overlock with it.

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: HomeAppraiser
The fanless eVGA 7600GS, added for $79 after rebates last summer, works pretty good for them and I think the current Sempron is the bottleneck.

It'd have to be a very a slow Sempron CPU to be the bottleneck for gaming with that 7600GS. Apart from a few RTS games, or very low res details, gaming is largely graphics limited.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: betasub

Originally posted by: HomeAppraiser
The fanless eVGA 7600GS, added for $79 after rebates last summer, works pretty good for them and I think the current Sempron is the bottleneck.

It'd have to be a very a slow Sempron CPU to be the bottleneck for gaming with that 7600GS. Apart from a few RTS games, or very low res details, gaming is largely graphics limited.

I agree, although there are a few games that are more cpu-bound, like any of Microsoft's flight simulators, and Oblivion and one or two others. Of course, if he'd invest $20 or so in an Arctic Freezer Pro, he could overclock very well with his motherboard, I'm pretty sure. My dad bought an Acer computer at about exactly the same time that the OP did, and his has the ATI Radeon Xpress chipset, and overclocks quite well. It even has settings for vcore, memory timings, and even memory dividers.