Bought an Athlon II 631 and FM1 m/b

[pcsavvy]

I decided for my needs to upgrade to a FM1 m/b and cpu. I had around $200 Amazon Gift card so this seemed to be the best deal.
I purchased the Athlon II 631 (2.6 Ghz, Quad) ($84.99 + free shipping), this is a llano with no graphics. Along with this I purchased the top of line Gigabyte M/B GA-A75-UD4H ($114.99 + $10 MIR).
I do casual gaming at best (bejeweled Twist), record tv shows, and download from itunes music and shows.
It should be shipping soon. I am not looking for something that will shave off 2/10ths of second from this or that.
I felt that AMD really offered the best bang for the buck on a tight budget. This way I got a quad and high end m/b for the less than the price of a 2500K. And my budget would not even allow a future upgrade in 6 months so I figured this is the best for what I could afford now. Once 7XXX series are out, I will see about uprading to a 6xxx series card.

Once I get it together, I will give a brief report about how it is compared to my current machine (see sig).

Edit: 641->631

 

[LoneNinja]

Unless you manage a serious overclock, putting an Athlon II X4 into your current machine would of been cheaper and more powerful. Llano still uses the K10 cores from Phenom/Athlon II/Phenom II.

 

[fourdegrees11]

If you can still cancel that order, you would be better off doing a bios update of your MB and installing an X6 1090T, especially if you dont plan on upgrading for a while

http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Phenom-109...3895077&sr=8-1

 

[pcsavvy]

I wanted to get a m/b that I could use at least 2 pcie slots since on my current m/b, my video card blocks access to 1 of the 2 pcie slots. My tv tuner uses one pcie and I would like to use my ASUS DX pcie sound card too. Right now the sound card is boxed and gathering dust.
I guess I just get the upgrade itch.
I can still cancel my order. I had been going back and forth in my mind whether to go FM1 or Thuban. I was also thinking about the Phenom II 960T BE since some people have had luck unlocking 2 additonal cores.

Cancelled the order and I guess I will think on this some more.

 

[know of fence]

disregard

 

[Rvenger]

Cancel the order. You literally will not see any difference in performance since its almost an expensive side grade. Buy a nice AM3+ board and call it a day. BTW you actually might be able to unlock your triple core to a quad.

 

[nenforcer]

Good job on canceling that, I like your old system better! Like SLK says above, just buy a Phenom 2 X6 or the X4 960T Zosma and then you can think about also purchasing an AM3+ 990XX motherboard now or waiting next year for the 1090XX AM3+ boards to come out.

BTW FM1 boards are suppose to be deprecated next year anyways when they release FM2 boards for the new Trinity series APU's, the replacement for LLano.

 

[pcsavvy]

OOOPS, I waited to long and Amazon was unable to cancel my order so the parts are on their way. D: My options at this point are to either refuse delivery or return them or keep them.
Does having a larger L2 cache make any kind of difference?

My cpu has 512 Mb per core versus 631 which has 1 Mb per core.
My 425 cost me around $76 with a low end m/b free at Fry's and it is overclocked at 3.12 Ghz right now.

I have tried in the past to unlock the 4th core but then it refuses to boot into Windows. It will only get so far into the booting process and then stops. Maybe I have to do some tweaking, not sure.

 

[fourdegrees11]

Returning suff on amazon is very easy. If you're dead set on a new MB, your best investment would probably be an 13-2120 for $130 and a Gigabyte z68 MB for $100.

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i3-2120-...3902098&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-GA-Z6...ef=pd_sim_e_26

 

[Rvenger]

Returning suff on amazon is very easy. If you're dead set on a new MB, your best investment would probably be an 13-2120 for $130 and a Gigabyte z68 MB for $100.

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i3-2120-...3902098&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-GA-Z6...ef=pd_sim_e_26

Why? When he already has a triple core processor. Hyperthreading or not, its still a dual core.

OP, Get a Zosma 960t or 1055T and get an AM3+ board. You can find nice feature rich boards for around $100 no problem.

 

[fourdegrees11]

Why? When he already has a triple core processor. Hyperthreading or not, its still a dual core.

OP, Get a Zosma 960t or 1055T and get an AM3+ board. You can find nice feature rich boards for around $100 no problem.

Ok

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/112?vs=289


I already mentioned he should just upgrade his cpu, but he dosent like his mb. An am3+ board dosent really make sense. BD is crap, PD has to prove it wont be crap, and all the AM3 chips are available to him now. 1155 gives him 2 more years of upgrade options and a much better cpu now.

 

[dakU7]

I unlocked the forth core on my 445, and it's running smooth at a stable 3.6GHZ.

 

[Rvenger]

Ok

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/112?vs=289


I already mentioned he should just upgrade his cpu, but he dosent like his mb. An am3+ board dosent really make sense. BD is crap, PD has to prove it wont be crap, and all the AM3 chips are available to him now. 1155 gives him 2 more years of upgrade options and a much better cpu now.

Just saying he can get a Thuban 6 core for practically the same price as the i3. I wasn't comparing the triple core to the i3, we know that is faster partly because it lacks L3 cache and no HT. BD being crap doesn't mean the whole platform is crap.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Just saying he can get a Thuban 6 core for practically the same price as the i3. I wasn't comparing the triple core to the i3, we know that is faster partly because it lacks L3 cache and no HT. BD being crap doesn't mean the whole platform is crap.

+1

Get an X6 1055T

 

[monkeydelmagico]

I vote keep it. It runs cool, SATA 6, usb3, and that cpu has some good OC headroom. Yeah it's on a dead platform already but will give several years of service first.

Great bang for the buck CPU but don't take my word for it go here:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_value_available.html

1st on the list.

 

[fourdegrees11]

Why? When he already has a triple core processor. Hyperthreading or not, its still a dual core.

OP, Get a Zosma 960t or 1055T and get an AM3+ board. You can find nice feature rich boards for around $100 no problem.

Just saying he can get a Thuban 6 core for practically the same price as the i3. I wasn't comparing the triple core to the i3, we know that is faster partly because it lacks L3 cache and no HT. BD being crap doesn't mean the whole platform is crap.

My first post in this thread I told him to get an X6 for his current MB.

AM3+ is crap for a new build until AMD comes out with something good on it.

 

[pcsavvy]

Thank you guys for all your suggestions and insights.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to unlock that 4th core. When I try to unlock it, the bios does recognize L3 has having 6144 kb. On the boot up screen it is recognized as a Phenom II 425B.

But I get the BSOD with the message Phase0_exception. I am not sure what this indicates.
But I now have my stock 2.7 Ghz overclocked at 3.24 Ghz.

I guess that 4th core is unstable or I have to do some tweaking in the BIOS.

I would like to have a smooth running computer, that can handle blu-ray play, hulu streaming, web browsing, using Windows Media Center to record and play shows, downloading music and shows from Itunes, and be able to charge my Apple products without turning on the computer, play the occasional Bejeweled Twist or Zuma or Spider Solitaire, run my Norton 360 without bogging down, and utilize at least two pcie slots for my pcie cards like my tv turner and sound card.

Edit: I guess I should also start saving for a SSD as my primary boot up drive.:whiste:
ps thanks for the kind words too.

 

[dakU7]

Honestly, your current system is capable of doing all those tasks easily, I doubt you'll notice any difference with the 631.
Get an SSD now instead, and install your OS on it. Your system will be more snappier and you'll notice a bigger difference.

 

[formulav8]

Enable the core unlock but disable the faulty core under the core control section in the bios. Then you can at least get the Level 3 cache enabled. Thats 5-10% increase clock for clock at least.

If that won't make you happy then I say keep the Llano and oc it to 4ghz. I would have waited for the K style though since they include an unlocked multiplier as well. But people are still getting these way up into the 3ghz and even 4ghz area's.

 

[nyker96]

I heard 631 can really be overclocked like crazy considering 32nm. So any of you owners tried to OC it to max? how far can it be overclocked?

 

[pcsavvy]

My new parts are scheduled to arrive 12/21/11 so I have till then to make up my mind whether to keep them and sell off my old parts or send them back and get AM3+ m/b and new cpu.
With the Christmas mail, I am not sure how long it would take for the parts to get back to Amazon.

But I have done a little more research on the 631 by reading some other people's posts about it. It sounds like it could overclock like crazy.

But it sure would be nice if Anandtech could run some benchmarks with various Llanos and give people a realistic view of what those chips are capable of.
But I guess the focus is on Intel right now not so much on AMD.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

But I guess the focus is on Intel right now not so much on AMD.

Ssshhhhh....not so loud......

It means there are some very interesting AMD's at low prices. From what I've read that CPU can def OC big...... but it is also tricky. Do your homework. That being said it's not going to get to 2500k levels of performance and that's O.K. in my book because it is half the cost. Is it half the CPU? NOT.


nothing to see here move along :whiste:

 

[pcsavvy]

Where else can you get a quad core for $84.99? Definately not Intel. So it can't keep up with the 2500k but I am sure it can give i-3's a run for their money. This CPU is only $8 more than my 425 was at time of purchase, 425 had a $10 MIR also. The FM1 motherboard is the same price as the AM3+ with similiar features.
So for the price of a 2500k not only can you get an actual quad but a high end AMD based m/b.
Since the 631 does not come with IGPU, you may not run into the same problems of overclocking it. And it is not so fussy about memory.
The old performance vs $$$ argument.:whiste:

Decisions, Decisions:sneaky:

 

[richierich1212]

Should return those items and just upgrade to a 960T and try to unlock to X6 .

 

[pcsavvy]

It seems that the 3870K, the unlocked llano is being released on Dec. 26th. Maybe I should think about that one too. It is rated at 3.0 Ghz with an unlocked core so who knows how much of an overclock that can go.

The msrp is $135.

I know Anandtech recommended the 3850 for Holiday Midrange guide as an $800 system.

Decisions, Decisions:whiste: