I would consider a Phenom II X3 720 instead. It will also work with your setup (since AM3 CPUs can work with AM2 systems), and later on when you get an AM3 motherboard and DDR3 RAM, you can use the 720 in that system.
Should I get a Phenom II X4 940?
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I too would suggest an AM3 cpu but not the 720. You can get a 955 for about the same money as the 940 you were looking at.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103674
By the way...how did you manage to get 7gig ram?
Originally Posted by Afrodisiac  I would consider a Phenom II X3 720 instead. It will also work with your setup (since AM3 CPUs can work with AM2 systems), and later on when you get an AM3 motherboard and DDR3 RAM, you can use the 720 in that system. |
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103674
By the way...how did you manage to get 7gig ram?
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Heya,
The 940 is a great CPU. 3.0ghz Quad with L3 cache and plenty of room to overclock. Slap a Mugen2 on there ($35) and you can crank her up to probably 3.6~3.8ghz on air alone without too much trouble. You'll note that DualCores are still very strong. A quadcore today will be very strong in the years to come. Quadcores are way ahead of their time, hell, multi-core CPU's are ahead of their time. We just don't have a lot of things that truly take advantage of all these cores yet. And of the things we do have, they just fly on them. So getting a Quad is a good move, it'll last a good long while. And the 940 at $150 shipped is a great Quad at 3.0ghz with its L3 cache and its overclockability. For a wee bit more, you can grab the 955. It's 3.2ghz, but otherwise, the same chip. But they hit 3.8ghz on air very easily. Just a thought.
On that note, why upgrade the other parts so quickly? That motherboard is actually very good. I have one of those as well. The overclock (and underclock) abilities of it are fantastic. It's a sweet little board that sort of `does it all.'
If anything, the only thing to upgrade is your GPU. An 8600gt these days can play some games, but not at impressive settings. Maybe look at a 260 or a 4870 in the $150 price range. Otherwise, a 5770 in the $160~$170 price range if you want some DX11 capability.
Your PSU is perfectly fine for what you're doing. You don't need to change it at all.
Note that there really isn't a huge difference between DDR2 and DDR3 memory. Sure, they cost about the same now. But it's not worth upgrading a motherboard/chipset just for DDR3. That's the beauty of AMD's chips. You can get that fancy new deneb quad and not have to use a DDR3-only board. Save your money and wait for the next round of memory and boards. For now, DDR2 is still perfectly fine. At the current prices, it's just not worth getting a whole new set of RAM really. I wouldn't rush to upgrade this.
Rehash:
Everything in your system is perfectly good and will be great. Don't upgrade that stuff unless you just want a totally new system (like building a DDR3 + i7 for a lot of money). The only points of upgrade would be to go to a nice overclockable Quad and to get a new GPU (if you game, if you do not game, don't bother changing that thing either). Everything else is worth keeping for now. The cost of upgrading to DDR3 and all that is not worth the 1%~4% increase in performance you'll get from it.
Very best,
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Originally Posted by makecoldplayhistory You can see my system information below my post... The Phenom seems like a fantastic CPU and one I won't be looking to upgrade for a long time. Will it run well with my system? I know it's a fast CPU working with only reasonable other components. Will it at least run quickly though? Mobo / GPU / PSU upgrades to follow several months down the line. Is it the only CPU worth considering in the price range? Thanks a lot, Mike |
The 940 is a great CPU. 3.0ghz Quad with L3 cache and plenty of room to overclock. Slap a Mugen2 on there ($35) and you can crank her up to probably 3.6~3.8ghz on air alone without too much trouble. You'll note that DualCores are still very strong. A quadcore today will be very strong in the years to come. Quadcores are way ahead of their time, hell, multi-core CPU's are ahead of their time. We just don't have a lot of things that truly take advantage of all these cores yet. And of the things we do have, they just fly on them. So getting a Quad is a good move, it'll last a good long while. And the 940 at $150 shipped is a great Quad at 3.0ghz with its L3 cache and its overclockability. For a wee bit more, you can grab the 955. It's 3.2ghz, but otherwise, the same chip. But they hit 3.8ghz on air very easily. Just a thought.
On that note, why upgrade the other parts so quickly? That motherboard is actually very good. I have one of those as well. The overclock (and underclock) abilities of it are fantastic. It's a sweet little board that sort of `does it all.'
If anything, the only thing to upgrade is your GPU. An 8600gt these days can play some games, but not at impressive settings. Maybe look at a 260 or a 4870 in the $150 price range. Otherwise, a 5770 in the $160~$170 price range if you want some DX11 capability.
Your PSU is perfectly fine for what you're doing. You don't need to change it at all.
Note that there really isn't a huge difference between DDR2 and DDR3 memory. Sure, they cost about the same now. But it's not worth upgrading a motherboard/chipset just for DDR3. That's the beauty of AMD's chips. You can get that fancy new deneb quad and not have to use a DDR3-only board. Save your money and wait for the next round of memory and boards. For now, DDR2 is still perfectly fine. At the current prices, it's just not worth getting a whole new set of RAM really. I wouldn't rush to upgrade this.
Rehash:
Everything in your system is perfectly good and will be great. Don't upgrade that stuff unless you just want a totally new system (like building a DDR3 + i7 for a lot of money). The only points of upgrade would be to go to a nice overclockable Quad and to get a new GPU (if you game, if you do not game, don't bother changing that thing either). Everything else is worth keeping for now. The cost of upgrading to DDR3 and all that is not worth the 1%~4% increase in performance you'll get from it.
Very best,
2
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I agree, get the 955, I love my 940, but to future proof yourself. 7gigs???? Maybe 3x2gb + 1x1gb.
Originally Posted by Penicilyn I too would suggest an AM3 cpu but not the 720. You can get a 955 for about the same money as the 940 you were looking at. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103674 By the way...how did you manage to get 7gig ram? |
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