Upgrade Questions

Started by Swoka Ikran, May 29, 2013, 03:50:37 PM

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Swoka Ikran

I planned to upgrade my existing PC today, but as it turns out the processor doesn't fit in the new MoBo.

I bought this board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157266
I was planning to reuse my Phenom II x4 940, because Newegg lists Phenom II as compatible.
I also bought 16GB of DDR3 RAM (my current board uses DDR2).

As it turns out, the board supports every Phenom II except two, the 920 and 940. Of course, I didn't find this out until the processor didn't fit in the socket and I found a section that says "(except 920 and 940)" in the manual.

I'm trying to figure out what to do from here...so far, I know I can:
* Buy an FX-8350 8-core that's listed as compatible ($180, non-returnable)
* Buy a Phenom II x4 965 Black Edition ($80, non-returnable)
* Return the motherboard and RAM (I have until June 10 to do so).

I use the PC mostly for development, Minecraft, and running lots of VMs. A GTS 450 is installed for "graphics". Any MoBo I get has to have a floppy controller and PS/2 keyboard port (yes, I still use these!), and there aren't many to choose from nowadays.

My questions are: Is the FX-8350 worth the money or should I get the 965 instead? Should I just return the board and buy one that can use my 940? Also, what's so special about the 940 that makes it incompatible? Google seems to suggest that a lot of other boards have the same limitation...
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`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

Since you are running VM's as well as some gaming, I would give serious thought to the FX-8350, especially because the AMD processors don't seem to be as fast overall as a similar Intel 'processor. Its the 'processors that tend to go out of date, not the motherboards. You might want to consider using liquid cooling with the 8350, as well. Those multicore processors dissipate a lot of heat in a small area.

16 GB of DDR3 RAM is an excellent choice, I would not go back on that, especially because it is DDR3. Make sure though, you run with a 64 bit OS to make sure you get the full potential of this much RAM.

PS/2 keyboard ports are still fairly common; floppy controllers are not. But you can get a floppy controller card for about $25, and this is the way I would consider going.

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Swoka Ikran

Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on May 29, 2013, 09:18:45 PM
Since you are running VM's as well as some gaming, I would give serious thought to the FX-8350, especially because the AMD processors don't seem to be as fast overall as a similar Intel 'processor. Its the 'processors that tend to go out of date, not the motherboards. You might want to consider using liquid cooling with the 8350, as well. Those multicore processors dissipate a lot of heat in a small area.
That's what I was thinking. I need a new board though, since my current one is an AM2+/AM3 board and an 8350 won't fit in it. DDR2 is also absurdly expensive...16GB for $400 :o

It'd be nice to give a core or two to VMs when I run them. I've never messed with liquid cooling before. I usually just run the stock cooler that comes in the box and just replace the crappy thermal pad with some good paste before installing. Seeing I hadn't planned to buy a processor, a cooler may be outside my budget.

Any advice or suggestions on this? I currently have the stock cooler+fan on my 940, plus 2 case fans (a monster 120mm in the back and an 80mm on the side), a PSU fan, and a fan on the 450. The front of the case is a mesh-like metal, so open to the air.

I don't normally OC the CPU (the graphics card is another story).

Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on May 29, 2013, 09:18:45 PM
16 GB of DDR3 RAM is an excellent choice, I would not go back on that, especially because it is DDR3. Make sure though, you run with a 64 bit OS to make sure you get the full potential of this much RAM.
Planning on Win7 Pro x64. :) Have had XP for the past 11 years and can't wait to get rid of it.

Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on May 29, 2013, 09:18:45 PM
PS/2 keyboard ports are still fairly common; floppy controllers are not. But you can get a floppy controller card for about $25, and this is the way I would consider going.
Really? I looked for one when I picked out the MoBo and couldn't find them anywhere, hence my choice of board. All I find are ISA ones on eBay. :(

Google for "PCI floppy controller" or "PCI-e floppy controller" seems to find nothing useful except posts saying they don't exist. Got a link by chance? If it exists at that price, I'd buy it.
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`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

I don't know much about AMD coolers, but I do know the 'stock' Intel coolers are good, and last a long time. They tend to use a brand of fan (Nidec) that is several steps above the usual cooling fans you find. These coolers are not expensive, and sometimes they come bundled with the processor.

DDR2 is expensive now because there is not much call for it. Everything new is DDR3.

What I tend to do is stretch a bit and build the best system I can afford. If well cared for, it should last considerably longer than the typical 'bargain' PC. For example, my last 'scratchbuilt' PC was used for just short of 8 years, and is still in good working order.

Now is the time to consider moving away from Windows, and move to Linux. Or even FreeBSD.

Rather then get a motherboard with a floppy controller, or a floppy controller card (I couldn't find one, either!), you can get an entire USB external floppy drive for $20 from Tigerdirect (and others, I'm sure). For the occasional tiles you need a floppy drive, this is the economical way to go. And if you only plug it in when you need it, it should last a very long time.

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Swoka Ikran

#4
Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on May 31, 2013, 02:15:21 AM
I don't know much about AMD coolers, but I do know the 'stock' Intel coolers are good, and last a long time. They tend to use a brand of fan (Nidec) that is several steps above the usual cooling fans you find. These coolers are not expensive, and sometimes they come bundled with the processor.
AMD's stock sinks have fans that aren't anything special. I've never seen one fail, but they sometimes get noisy after a few years. Good news is they're standard sizes and replaceable rather easily, so I could put a Nidec on an AMD sink if I needed a better fan.

As for the processor, I researched a bit and have decided that I might as well upgrade to that 8350 now. As it turns out, the Phenom II 940 I have is one of the first Phenom II's released. It is incompatible with any board that has DDR3 RAM, so pretty much anything recent. Time to order myself a processor...

Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on May 31, 2013, 02:15:21 AM
DDR2 is expensive now because there is not much call for it. Everything new is DDR3.
That's what I was thinking. :(

Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on May 31, 2013, 02:15:21 AM
What I tend to do is stretch a bit and build the best system I can afford. If well cared for, it should last considerably longer than the typical 'bargain' PC. For example, my last 'scratchbuilt' PC was used for just short of 8 years, and is still in good working order.
My current one is 4 years old. I could keep going with it since it is a decent system, but I need a RAM upgrade (have 3GB now) and a new processor+MoBo+DDR3 is cheaper than the $400 on DDR2.

Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on May 31, 2013, 02:15:21 AM
Now is the time to consider moving away from Windows, and move to Linux. Or even FreeBSD.
Can't. I use too much custom software that won't run in Wine and has no Linux version. Also, of the games on my PC, Minecraft is probably the only one that would run on Linux.

Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on May 31, 2013, 02:15:21 AM
Rather then get a motherboard with a floppy controller, or a floppy controller card (I couldn't find one, either!), you can get an entire USB external floppy drive for $20 from Tigerdirect (and others, I'm sure). For the occasional tiles you need a floppy drive, this is the economical way to go. And if you only plug it in when you need it, it should last a very long time.
Worst case scenario is an external, or I could go lug my old Pentium 4 out and use it for the floppy work. I already have an internal drive built into my media reader, so I was hoping to reuse it, but that seems to be nearly impossible except with the one MoBo. If I end up not keeping this MoBo, en external is probably what I'll do.

I hate obsolescence.

UPDATE: Processor ordered :)
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Swoka Ikran

8350 arrived, installed, and works :)

This thing is ridiculously fast. Next upgrade will be an SSD at some point.
2010 was the year of the Na'vi.Vivar 'ivong Na'vi!


 
Avatray | NWOTD Sigbars | Sacred's Sigbar Tool | My collection of Avatar merchandise