Is my cpu any good?

[gop]

Hi, just a quick question. How is my cpu rate, I mean by today's standards, could I upgrade reasonably cheap if needed? It's an AND ATHLON 64x dual core 5000+. I see it has a benchmark of 1302, which means nothing to me! I don't use it for gaming, just wondering is all.

 

[EndlessWaves]

Hi, just a quick question. How is my cpu rate, I mean by today's standards, could I upgrade reasonably cheap if needed? It's an AND ATHLON 64x dual core 5000+.

AMD CPU labelling of that era can be confusing, I count at least five different processors with that label.

I see it has a benchmark of 1302, which means nothing to me!

It doesn't mean anything to anyone unless you specify what the benchmark program is. With a number of that magnitude I'm guessing it's probably some sort of synthetic benchmark but it could be measuring anything from office work to video encoding.

All the processors have similar performance. They're not fast but they're not hopelessly obsolete either.

Whether you can upgrade depends on the motherboard, not the processor. As far as I can see the Athlon 64 Dual Core 5000+ models are all desktop AM2/AM2+ processors so there's a decent chance you may be able to upgrade to something like an early Phenom X4 (quad core) if you found you needed a little more processing power.

 

[gop]

Hi, thanks for your quick reply. My mobo is: gigabyte M52L-S3P, WIN 7, 5gig, Yes the amd cpu is for a desktop comp (from system info, its just down as AMD ATHLON 64x dual core 5000+, 2600 mhz). With mobo, is an upgrade possible, is it old as the hills!?

 

[EndlessWaves]

Go to the Gigabyte website for your motherboard:
GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket AM2 - GA-M52L-S3P (rev. 2.4)

Select the revision you've got and then go to support & downloads and click on the 'CPU support list'. All the CPUs there should work with the motherboard. The fastest ones are the AM3 CPUs - The Phenoms being better than the Athlons and the X# denoting the number of cores (more being better if your applications can use them).

 

[gop]

Go to the Gigabyte website for your motherboard:
GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket AM2 - GA-M52L-S3P (rev. 2.4)

Select the revision you've got and then go to support & downloads and click on the 'CPU support list'. All the CPUs there should work with the motherboard. The fastest ones are the AM3 CPUs - The Phenoms being better than the Athlons and the X# denoting the number of cores (more being better if your applications can use them).

Thanks again. If the AM3's are faster, yet on average around 2.8 mhz, would I notice a considerable difference in performance, compared to my 2.6mHz? Also is there any other physical factors I need to be aware of like, incompatible graphics cards, memory, hard drives etc?

Do I need to flash the bios before installing, and is a cup easy to install? Last question! Will the cpu come with a fan, if not can I just use the one I have?

 

[EndlessWaves]

Thanks again. If the AM3's are faster, yet on average around 2.8 mhz, would I notice a considerable difference in performance, compared to my 2.6mHz?

Clockspeed is about as relevant as engine RPM on a car - a good guage of power output if everything else is identical, but increasingly meaningless for increasingly different designs.

In the best case a Phenom II X6 is around five times the speed of your current processor:
Giant roundup: 168 Intel and AMD processors! (page 10: Crysis) - BeHardware

Also is there any other physical factors I need to be aware of like, incompatible graphics cards, memory, hard drives etc?

There can be in some cases, particularly memory, but as far as I know they should all be compatible here.

Do I need to flash the bios before installing

Only if the CPU support list says it requires a higher version than you have currently, or if the descriptions of the newer BIOSes mention any problem you're having.

is a cup easy to install?

The CPU just drops in.

Coolers can be a bit more difficult depending on weight and mounting system, but the newer ones aren't too bad.

Last question! Will the cpu come with a fan, if not can I just use the one I have?

Like anything else bought second hand it'll depend on the exact item in question. They were sold both with fans ('Retail') and without ('OEM') and third party fans are also commonly used so they may be included as well.

Your current one will fit, whether it'll provide enough cooling depending on which Athlon 64 X2 5000+ you have now (newer ones run cooler), which newer CPU you go for, and of course, the heatsink itself.

 

[gop]

Thanks Endlesswaves. A lot to consider. I've been researching this, and some people are saying, updating the motherboard will be more advantagous, other claim you can unlock my processor to quad core, seems like bull to me. But now I'm thinking of taking my time and buying a full tower case, selecting good and motherboard that'll work with my components: ie
ddr2 Dimm ram, 5 gig
Corsair 550 watt pus
Asus hd graphic card
Tbs dual satellite DVD s2 tuner
X-fi professional titanium facility sound card.
Two 300gig hrs
1 blu Ray Rom and 1 DVD Rom

And also a decent cup with decent cooler.

I mean my motherboard and cpu are nearly ten years old!

Is this a seriously difficult task. I've done this before but like the idea of the challenge and getting around the hurdles.

Would you help me?

I

 

[gop]

My mistake, meant to say never done this before!

 

[EndlessWaves]

other claim you can unlock my processor to quad core, seems like bull to me.

Chip design is complicated and the technology to make them is pushing the boundries, that leads to two consequences:

1. You really don't want to make a lot of different chip designs

2. Many of your chips will come off the production line with faults

As a result, processor 'models' tend to be all the same chip but graded, so the better models get the chips that came out well and the chips with defects have that part sealed off and sold as slower models.

However, demand doesn't always match supply so if people want a more of the lower end chips than are available then sometimes chips that could have gone to higher end models get sold under that model.

However, I suspect you're getting it confused with the Athlon X2 5000+ which is a cut down Phenom, the Athlon 64 X2 5000+ you have pre-dates the quad cores so there's nothing on it to unlock (I said AMD's naming of that era was confusing).

But now I'm thinking of taking my time and buying a full tower case, selecting good and motherboard that'll work with my components: ie
ddr2 Dimm ram, 5 gig

You'll need to replace the memory as well, nothing supports DDR2 now.

The graphics card may be redundant with a new motherboard, which model is it? Something like an HD 2600?

The X-Fi Titanium is PCI-E, is your tuner card PCI or PCI-E?

A new CPU would have somewhat more processing power, but motherboard, memory and brand new CPU does add quite a lot of cost.

I mean my motherboard and cpu are nearly ten years old!

The Athlon 64 X2 5000+ models were released between May 2006 and September 2008 so it sounds like you've got one of the earlier ones.


It's not particularly difficult, they've been refining the designs of the inside of a PC for at least twenty years so most of the rough edges have been knocked off.

 

[gop]

My graphics cars, is an AMD Raedon HD 6450.

Didnt realize the ram i have its obsolete and not compatible with newer mobo's. Thats kinda putting me off, as far as i rem memory modules are quite expensive, so much so that the potential cost of a new rebuild may be dearer than buying a new comp?

 

[gop]

Endlesswaves, What do you think of this?

Asus AMD Performance Bundle (Includes M5A78L-M/USB3, AMD FX-4300 & 4GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 Memory) (ASUSAMD-FXPERF3) - dabs.com

 

[gop]

would this fit into my trendsonic case, wizard series (HEIGHT: 42coms, width: 20cms, lenght: 44cms), and be compatible with my 2, 300 gig HD's which are western digital:sata, rpm 7200, firmware AD, model:WD3200AAKS?

jUST THINK IT MIGHT BE A CHEAPER OPTION TO GET A FASTER MORE UPDATED COMP SPECS.

 

[EndlessWaves]

Thats kinda putting me off, as far as i rem memory modules are quite expensive, so much so that the potential cost of a new rebuild may be dearer than buying a new comp?

You don't save much by buying components assembled, unless you're replacing almost everything then it's going to be cheaper to only buy what you need. Memory prices fluctuate, at the moment it's not the cheapest it's been, but neither is it particularly expensive.

Endlesswaves, What do you think of this?

Asus AMD Performance Bundle (Includes M5A78L-M/USB3, AMD FX-4300 & 4GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 Memory) (ASUSAMD-FXPERF3) - dabs.com

The FX 4300 is a waste of money, if you want something faster than a Phenom II you're looking at an FX-8000 series or an i5:
AMD Vishera FX-6300 & FX-4300 Review - Page 4

would this fit into my trendsonic case, wizard series (HEIGHT: 42coms, width: 20cms, lenght: 44cms), and be compatible with my 2, 300 gig HD's which are western digital:sata, rpm 7200, firmware AD, model:WD3200AAKS?

Would another case fit into your existing case? I don't understand.

You also haven't provided any link detailing how many 3.5" bays it has and what type of motherboards and PSUs it supports - you can't say anything for sure about compatibility from the size alone as it needs to have mounting holes in the right places.

 

[gop]

I couldn't find a link for my case, it's about 7 years old. It has seven 3.5 inch gaps at the back, running bottom up, as far as types of motherboards it can support, I only know it has the gigabyte M52L-S3P in it, with corsair 550 psu. Would I be wrong to assume that if it supports the gigabyte novo, then it could also support newer gigabyte movie of same dimensions?

 

[EndlessWaves]

Seven 3.5" gaps at the back?

Usually seven gaps at the back is the blanking plates for expansion slots for an ATX motherboard, although they're closer to 4" long. The 3.5" hard drive bays are generally inside near the front of the case (with occasionally one or two going through the front of the case, for floppy drive use).

Your current motherboard is ATX, which means other ATX motherboards as well as mATX and ITX motherboards will work (they use the same mounting points but have less expansion slots). These are by far the most common motherboards, so while you may want to double check the form factor of what you're considering buying anything you're likely to want to put in that case should work.

 

[gop]

That's good to hear. Yes those are expansion slots (my mistake), the front of the case holds two hard drives, and two roms, and a sd, micro card reader. What do you think of this bundle:

AMD Bulldozer FX-6300 6 Core 3.5Ghz, ASUS M5A78L-M USB3 Motherboard & 8GB 1600Mhz DDR3 RAM Bundle: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

[gop]

Actually, that board, only has one pcie slot, and I need two. I'm finding it hard to get an AMD bundle with two pcie slots.

 

[EndlessWaves]

As I said, I'd really be looking for something faster to make it worth buying new. The FX-6300 is only about the same speed as the Phenom II X6 - it's two years newer but it's also a £100 model instead of a £300 model.

 

[gop]

I see what your getting at, however my budget won't go to £300 for a processor nevermind that for a motherboard bundle. I use my comp as a HTPC, not for gaming. So I'm merely looking a decent upgrade with a mobo that had 2 pcie slots, enough ide ports, and compatible with my graphic card and sound card, and hd's.

 

[EndlessWaves]

It does seem silly to spend £200 on a new motherboard, CPU and memory and not get any more performance than spending £80-100 second hand on an upgrade.

Where is it that your current setup has problems? Maybe there's some other benefit to upgrading.

 

[gop]

You don't think a newer motherboard and cpu, would be faster than my years old set up?

With my set up, I'm noticing it hanging more starting applications, slow to boot and shut down (about 3 mins each way). Also, since I started this thread, I upsets the chipset from gigabyte, (from 2006 drivers, to 2010), from that, the core temp has risen from an average of 30c to 45, yesterday it just shut down, and today watching tv through wme7, the picture froze, sound kept repeating, speakers, also made buzzing sounds. Took near 10 mins to shut down and start up. My initial intention was to see how 'good' my cpu was, and if a newer motherboard and cpu, would increase performance, perhaps give better graphics and sound, as this is where we watch tv, dvds and use the net, play music etc

Still can't find a motherboard bundle with AMD and 2 pcie slots!

 

[EndlessWaves]

You don't think a newer motherboard and cpu, would be faster than my years old set up?

Only if what's slowing it down is the processor or something on the motherboard

With my set up, I'm noticing it hanging more starting applications, slow to boot and shut down (about 3 mins each way).

Application loading and boot times for example, are generally determined by the hard drive. If you wanted to speed them up then the best way would be to spend money on an SSD for your OS and programs and keep the hard drives for storing the media files.

A faster processor for HTPC use would generally mean you could play high quality video formats (although unless you're a 4k early adopter there's probably not much practical use if your current setup handles Full HD), use more post-processing (if that's your thing) and convert video to other formats and sizes faster (for streaming to other devices or putting on mobile devices).

Motherboards are generally about the technologies they contain rather than any performance on themselves, such as USB3.

Also, since I started this thread, I upsets the chipset from gigabyte, (from 2006 drivers, to 2010), from that, the core temp has risen from an average of 30c to 45, yesterday it just shut down, and today watching tv through wme7, the picture froze, sound kept repeating, speakers, also made buzzing sounds. Took near 10 mins to shut down and start up.

The temperature is neither here nor there, I'd only start getting worried if it was close to 70°C. It may simply be that the temperature measurement was adjusted to be more accurate rather than it being worked harder and getting hotter.

Have the crashing/shutdown/freezing problems only started with the new drivers or were they happening anyway? If it's just the drivers it's likely to be a problem with them and it's worth going back to the old ones, if not then it may be a bit of failing hardware.

My initial intention was to see how 'good' my cpu was, and if a newer motherboard and cpu, would increase performance, perhaps give better graphics and sound, as this is where we watch tv, dvds and use the net, play music etc

Still can't find a motherboard bundle with AMD and 2 pcie slots!

A couple of points that I'm not sure whether you're aware of:

1. PCI-E cards can go in higher rated slots. For example if you've got a 16x card (the graphics card) and two 1x cards then a motherboard with two 16x slots and one 1x slot will work fine.

2. A 'motherboard bundle' generally refers to a pre-assembled set of components that's shipped with the CPU, heatsink and memory already installed in the motherboard rather than a discount given if you buy stuff together. You'll generally pay more than if you buy the components separately in fact - the £200 bundle above can be had for £175 if bought individually.

 

[gop]

Well, the freezing issues and the shut down were just after the chipset driver update, was aware of this, and I'm giving it a chance to see how it pans out. But before the update, on at least 1 in 3 times when I put the is to sleep, then started it, I get the boot screen, last known good configuration.
As far as the pcie slots, I'm confused. Are you saying that a pcie card can be slotted into a pci 16 slot? I have two pcie slots, one for my sound card, the other for my satellite tuner, graphic card is in pci16.
Also my current set up can display full he. I'll look at these SSDs

 

[gop]

My god, there very expensive for all the gigs on them! I should point out, I have two 300gig hds, one is the is, and the other holds all my music, films. Was wondering, would a new internal hd speed things up?

 

[EndlessWaves]

As far as the pcie slots, I'm confused. Are you saying that a pcie card can be slotted into a pci 16 slot? I have two pcie slots, one for my sound card, the other for my satellite tuner, graphic card is in pci16.

There's no such thing as 'PCI16'. You're graphics card is probably PCI-Express 16x. (PCI-E 16x)

PCI-Express slots can come in various sizes and speeds, of which 1x and 16x are the most common. Any smaller size or slower speed will work fine in a larger or faster slot (or both).

My god, there very expensive for all the gigs on them! I should point out, I have two 300gig hds, one is the is, and the other holds all my music, films. Was wondering, would a new internal hd speed things up?

Not much, you just buy the SSD for the OS and programs, a 100GB model is common. Music tracks, videos and and other things running at a fixed rate don't benefit from a faster drive so they'd stay on the hard drives