upgrade help!? no clue about amds!

1001 Views 32 Replies 6 Participants Last post by pc-illiterate, Sep 22, 2012

Big-Pete

Discussion Starter · Sep 22, 2012

ok guys so ive just aquired an acer aspire M3201.

it has 2gb of ddr2 (2 1gb sticks

)
onboard GPU
320gb HDD,

but some good things its got a 9150e, adn has the capability to get 8gb of ram in the system

so what im thinking is:
6gb ram= 2 more sticks of this with the stuff thats already installed
SSD= OCZ 120GB Solid SSD
and possibly one of these 6670 1gb GDDR5

note the GPU is buss powered, as i dont want to put any more strain on the PSU.

what im thinking is how can i make it even faster,

the cpu is a 9150e and i think its am2 ????? ergo its a 1.8quad core, is there anything i can stick in there to make it even quicker???? also whats the difference between am2/am3/am3+??????
could i stick a bulldozer in the rig with the right cooling?!

i am on a budget mind.

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1 - 20 of 33 Posts

Bdebrooke

· #2 · Sep 22, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big-Pete

ok guys so ive just aquired an acer aspire M3201.
it has 2gb of ddr2 (2 1gb sticks

)
onboard GPU
320gb HDD,
but some good things its got a 9150e, adn has the capability to get 8gb of ram in the system
so what im thinking is:
6gb ram= 2 more sticks of this with the stuff thats already installed
SSD= OCZ 120GB Solid SSD
and possibly one of these 6670 1gb GDDR5
note the GPU is buss powered, as i dont want to put any more strain on the PSU.
what im thinking is how can i make it even faster,
the cpu is a 9150e and i think its am2 ????? ergo its a 1.8quad core, is there anything i can stick in there to make it even quicker???? also whats the difference between am2/am3/am3+??????
could i stick a bulldozer in the rig with the right cooling?!
i am on a budget mind.

Bulldozer is a different Slot , look for a different CPU like a Phenom II or a Phenom Clocked at at least 2.3. That 1.8 Quad is going to be pretty slow for games.

Big-Pete

Discussion Starter · #3 · Sep 22, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bdebrooke

Bulldozer is a different Slot , look for a different CPU like a Phenom II or a Phenom Clocked at at least 2.3. That 1.8 Quad is going to be pretty slow for games.

it wont be for gaming, it will be a backup rig or a rig for a buddy of mine, and he just uses youtube etc, but cant stand slow pcs, he rage quit his last one lol!

so yeah probably going to go with a phenom x4 965.

i have no idea what socket this thing is btw?!

Bdebrooke

· #4 · Sep 22, 2012

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103287

Socket AM2+

Reactions: 1

Big-Pete

Discussion Starter · #5 · Sep 22, 2012

AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition

advisable?!?!? who rocks one of these cpus!? tell me about em!?

PunkX 1

· #6 · Sep 22, 2012

There's only so much you can do with a rig this outdated

Sadly, there's no current CPU you can upgrade to since BD is AM3+ and AM2+ Phenoms' are practically extinct.

Besides, an OEM board wouldn't be ale to handle much anyway. Got an upgrade budget? You could probably get something 10x faster for not-too-much-money.

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Big-Pete

Discussion Starter · #7 · Sep 22, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by PunkX 1

There's only so much you can do with a rig this outdated

Sadly, there's no current CPU you can upgrade to since BD is AM3+ and AM2+ Phenoms' are practically extinct.
Besides, an OEM board wouldn't be ale to handle much anyway. Got an upgrade budget? You could probably get something 10x faster for not-too-much-money.

60notes.

also with gpu/ram/ssd it all comes to £200ish.

pc-illiterate

· #8 · Sep 22, 2012

build a new cheap system. you want to spend roughly $325 us. thats a cheap build and expensive as all hell to upgrade an oem thats still slower than molasses in febuary.

Big-Pete

Discussion Starter · #9 · Sep 22, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by pc-illiterate

build a new cheap system. you want to spend roughly $325 us. thats a cheap build and expensive as all hell to upgrade an oem thats still slower than molasses in febuary.

i cant build a system for £325 that will be as quick.

a 9950+6670+ssd(120gb)+6gb ram= a rapido pc. or am i wrong?!

Cannon19932006

· #10 · Sep 22, 2012

it's am2+ socket, on 780g chipset, is there any reason he can't use a phenom 2?

pc-illiterate

· #11 · Sep 22, 2012

youre wrong. sorry. look at a cheap motherboard and the new(er) amd apu's. cheap and powerful for what they are. damaggio has 'results' posted in this section somewhere.
i'll be back with an edit with a link. watch for the edit....
Quote:

Originally Posted by Cannon19932006

it's am2+ socket, on 780g chipset, is there any reason he can't use a phenom 2?

its an oem mobo with locked bios and no bios support for it. lucky if he can upgrade the cpu at all.

*EDIT*
http://www.overclock.net/forum/newestpost/1274862
this thread. read his parts and prices. yes they are us dollars but it will still be close.

Big-Pete

Discussion Starter · #12 · Sep 22, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cannon19932006

it's am2+ socket, on 780g chipset, is there any reason he can't use a phenom 2?

phenom 2 is AM3??

thepoopscooper

· #13 · Sep 22, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cannon19932006

it's am2+ socket, on 780g chipset, is there any reason he can't use a phenom 2?

his power supply and motherboard. his power supply is probably the cheapest one around, and the motherboard probably has a very low power phase design, so in other words his motherboard would die with a high powered chip like a phenom ii

thepoopscooper

· #14 · Sep 22, 2012

why not get something like this?
MSI A55M-P33 FM1 AMD A55
AMD A6-3650/3500
4gb ddr3, 2X2gb, 1600mhz,

or something along these lines, like you could get a better mobo, or an a8 3850.
if you choose to upgrade to a llano/ trinity processor, make sure you get dual channel ram that is at least 1600mhz

PunkX 1

· #15 · Sep 22, 2012

2

325$ eh? Well here goes

(using Newegg as reference here)

CPU - AMD A8-3870K Unlocked Llano 3.0GHz Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Desktop - 110$

Mobo - ASRock A75M-ITX FM1 AMD A75 - 90$

RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 1600MHz - 30$

SSD - OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3-128G 2.5" 128GB - 100$

Total - 330$ (203 pounds)

A tad over

Your friend will be more at home with an APU build. The 3870 runs circles around that old 9950 and is more efficient. The built in 6550D will suffice for all basic needs, including casual gaming.

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Cannon19932006

· #16 · Sep 22, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by thepoopscooper

his power supply and motherboard. his power supply is probably the cheapest one around, and the motherboard probably has a very low power phase design, so in other words his motherboard would die with a high powered chip like a phenom ii

Athlon ii then, if i were him i would ask acer perhaps if the bios with the board will support it. That 9150e is a dog.

Acer also has a few bios updates on their site for the aspire 3201.

edit: but yes as suggested above, the best option would to be starting from scratch, an apu would probably be a good idea.

Big-Pete

Discussion Starter · #17 · Sep 22, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by PunkX 1

325$ eh? Well here goes

(using Newegg and NCIX as reference here)
CPU - MD A8-3870K Unlocked Llano 3.0GHz Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Desktop - 110$
Mobo - ASRock A75M-ITX FM1 AMD A75 - 90$

RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 1600MHz - 30$
SSD - OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3-128G 2.5" 128GB - 100$
Total - 330$ (203 pounds)
A tad over

Your friend will be more at home with an APU build. The 3870 runs circles around that old 9950 and is more efficient. The built in 6550D will suffice for all basic needs, including casual gaming.

psu?
case?
hdds?

i have a fully working system right here, and with th 200~ pounds, i can have a rapid system all built! infact with just 4gb extra ram and an SSd it will be quick!

Cannon19932006

· #18 · Sep 22, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big-Pete

phenom 2 is AM3??

You can use am3 cpu's in am2+ sockets. I have a athlon ii 620 in an am2+ board running in my backup rig right now. Whether or not The acer board supports the certain processors is up for debate...

thepoopscooper

· #19 · Sep 22, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cannon19932006

Athlon ii then, if i were him i would ask acer perhaps if the bios with the board will support it. That 9150e is a dog.
Acer also has a few bios updates on their site for the aspire 3201.
edit: but yes as suggested above, the best option would to be starting from scratch, an apu would probably be a good idea.

again, most athlon ii are 95W. that processor is a 65W, and since it is a pre built, that probably means that it is probably struggling on the bare minimum. the 65W athlon ii chips are dual cores, and what is the point of gaining performance per core if you lose 2 cores?

Cannon19932006

· #20 · Sep 22, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big-Pete

psu?
case?
hdds?
i have a fully working system right here, and with th 200~ pounds, i can have a rapid system all built! infact with just 4gb extra ram and an SSd it will be quick!

Were talking about a 1.6ghz quad core with lower ipc then a phenom ii, the processor is a DOG. i would recommend even an athlon ii dual core over it.

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