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Putting lipstick on a pig?

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Y

Yabo

New Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
I'm trying to extend the life of my Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe mobo. I do a lot of graphic design but also want to enjoy the new games that are coming out. Here are the specs of my current box:

AMD Athlon Brisbane 64 X2 5200+
8.0 DDR2 G.Skill Memory
Nvidia GeForce 9600 GSO vid card

My question is, is it worth trying to upgrade to a new quad core processor? Am I better off going with a stout dual core instead or even a 3 core? My system has been a bit laggy lately and I imagine the bottleneck is the CPU.

Am wondering if any of the AMD Phenom 2 processors would be a good choice for my 64bit system?

HTML: 
[QUOTE]Summary
		Operating System
			MS Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit SP1
		CPU
			AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+	37 °C
			Brisbane 65nm Technology
		RAM
			8.0GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 387MHz (5-5-5-15)
		Motherboard
			ASUSTeK Computer INC. M2N-SLI DELUXE (Socket AM2 )
		Graphics
			Hanns.G HG281 @ 1920x1200
			SyncMaster @ 1440x900
			768MB GeForce 9600 GSO (XFX Pine Group)	48 °C
			ForceWare version	267.24
		Hard Drives
			977GB Western Digital WDC WD10 EADS-00L5B1 SCSI Disk Device (SCSI)
			78GB Western Digital WDC WD80 0JD-22LSA0 SCSI Disk Device (SCSI)
			78GB Western Digital WDC WD80 0JD-75HKA1 SCSI Disk Device (SCSI)
		Optical Drives
			NYPUF FCLQBWX2 SCSI CdRom Device
			TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S223F SCSI CdRom Device
		Audio
			SB Audigy
Operating System
	MS Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit SP1
	Installation Date: 27 September 2010, 14:20
	Serial Number: BBBBB-BBBBB-BBBBB-BBBBB-BBBBB
CPU
		AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+
			Cores	2
			Threads	2
			Name	AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+
			Code Name	Brisbane
			Package	Socket AM2 (940)
			Technology	65nm
			Specification	AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5200+
			Family	F
			Extended Family	F
			Model	B
			Extended Model	6B
			Stepping	2
			Revision	BH-G2
			Instructions	MMX (+), 3DNow! (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, x86-64
			Bus Speed	200.8 MHz
			Rated Bus Speed	1004.1 MHz
			Stock Core Speed	2700 MHz
			Stock Bus Speed	200 MHz
			Average Temperature	37 °C
				Caches
					L1 Data Cache Size	2 x 64 KBytes
					L1 Instructions Cache Size	2 x 64 KBytes
					L2 Unified Cache Size	2 x 512 KBytes
				Core 0
					Core Speed	2712.7 MHz
					Multiplier	x 13.5
					Bus Speed	200.8 MHz
					Rated Bus Speed	1004.1 MHz
					Temperature	32 °C
						Thread 1
							APIC ID	0
				Core 1
					Core Speed	2712.7 MHz
					Multiplier	x 13.5
					Bus Speed	200.8 MHz
					Rated Bus Speed	1004.1 MHz
					Temperature	42 °C
						Thread 1
							APIC ID	1
RAM
		Memory slots
			Total memory slots	4
			Used memory slots	4
			Free memory slots	0
		Memory
			Type	DDR2
			Size	8192 MBytes
			Channels #	Dual
			DRAM Frequency	387.3 MHz
			CAS# Latency (CL)	5 clocks
			RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRCD)	5 clocks
			RAS# Precharge (tRP)	5 clocks
			Cycle Time (tRAS)	15 clocks
			Bank Cycle Time (tR?)	25 clocks
			Command Rate (CR)	2T
		SPD
			Number Of SPD Modules	4
				Slot #1
					Type	DDR2
					Size	2048 MBytes
					Manufacturer	G.Skill
					Max Bandwidth	PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
					Part Number	F2-6400CL5-2GBPQ
					SPD Ext.	EPP
						JEDEC #2
							Frequency	400.0 MHz
							CAS# Latency	5.0
							RAS# To CAS#	5
							RAS# Precharge	5
							tRAS	15
							tRC	24
							Voltage	1.800 V
						JEDEC #1
							Frequency	266.7 MHz
							CAS# Latency	4.0
							RAS# To CAS#	4
							RAS# Precharge	4
							tRAS	10
							tRC	16
							Voltage	1.800 V
				Slot #2
					Type	DDR2
					Size	2048 MBytes
					Manufacturer	G.Skill
					Max Bandwidth	PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
					Part Number	F2-6400CL5-2GBPQ
					SPD Ext.	EPP
						JEDEC #2
							Frequency	400.0 MHz
							CAS# Latency	5.0
							RAS# To CAS#	5
							RAS# Precharge	5
							tRAS	15
							tRC	24
							Voltage	1.800 V
						JEDEC #1
							Frequency	266.7 MHz
							CAS# Latency	4.0
							RAS# To CAS#	4
							RAS# Precharge	4
							tRAS	10
							tRC	16
							Voltage	1.800 V
				Slot #3
					Type	DDR2
					Size	2048 MBytes
					Manufacturer	G.Skill
					Max Bandwidth	PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
					Part Number	F2-6400CL5-2GBPQ
					SPD Ext.	EPP
						JEDEC #2
							Frequency	400.0 MHz
							CAS# Latency	5.0
							RAS# To CAS#	5
							RAS# Precharge	5
							tRAS	15
							tRC	24
							Voltage	1.800 V
						JEDEC #1
							Frequency	266.7 MHz
							CAS# Latency	4.0
							RAS# To CAS#	4
							RAS# Precharge	4
							tRAS	10
							tRC	16
							Voltage	1.800 V
				Slot #4
					Type	DDR2
					Size	2048 MBytes
					Manufacturer	G.Skill
					Max Bandwidth	PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
					Part Number	F2-6400CL5-2GBPQ
					SPD Ext.	EPP
						JEDEC #2
							Frequency	400.0 MHz
							CAS# Latency	5.0
							RAS# To CAS#	5
							RAS# Precharge	5
							tRAS	15
							tRC	24
							Voltage	1.800 V
						JEDEC #1
							Frequency	266.7 MHz
							CAS# Latency	4.0
							RAS# To CAS#	4
							RAS# Precharge	4
							tRAS	10
							tRC	16
							Voltage	1.800 V
Motherboard
	Manufacturer	ASUSTeK Computer INC.
	Model	M2N-SLI DELUXE
	Version	System Version
	Chipset Vendor	NVIDIA
	Chipset Model	nForce 570 SLI
	Chipset Revision	A2
	Southbridge Vendor	NVIDIA
	Southbridge Model	nForce 570 SLI
	Southbridge Revision	A3
		BIOS
			Brand	Phoenix Technologies, LTD
			Version	ASUS M2N-SLI DELUXE ACPI BIOS Revision 1701
			Date	10/02/2008
Graphics
		Monitor
			Name	Hanns.G HG281 on NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO
			Current Resolution	1920x1200 pixels
			Work Resolution	1920x1170 pixels
			State	enabled, primary, output devices support
			Monitor Width	1920
			Monitor Height	1200
			Monitor BPP	32 bits per pixel
			Monitor Frequency	59 Hz
			Device	\\.\DISPLAY1\Monitor0
			Name	SyncMaster on NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO
			Current Resolution	1440x900 pixels
			Work Resolution	1440x900 pixels
			State	enabled, output devices support
			Monitor Width	1440
			Monitor Height	900
			Monitor BPP	32 bits per pixel
			Monitor Frequency	60 Hz
			Device	\\.\DISPLAY2\Monitor0
		GeForce 9600 GSO
			GPU	G92
			Device ID	10DE-0610
			Revision	A3
			Subvendor	XFX Pine Group (1682)
			Technology	65 nm
			Die Size	330 nm?
			Transistors	754 M
			Release Date	May 2008
			DirectX Support	10.0
			DirectX Shader Model	4.0
			OpenGL Support	3.0
			Bus Interface	PCI Express x8
			Temperature	48 °C
			ForceWare version	267.24
			BIOS Version	62.92.4c.00.06
			ROPs	16
			Shaders	96 unified
			Memory Type	GDDR3
			Physical Memory	768 MB
			Virtual Memory	512 MB
			Bus Width	192 Bit
Hard Drives
		WDC WD10 EADS-00L5B1 SCSI Disk Device
			Manufacturer	Western Digital
			Form Factor	GB/3.5-inch
			Business Unit/Brand	Enterprise/WD Raptor®
			Interface	SCSI
			Capacity	977GB
			Real size	1,000,204,886,016 bytes
				S.M.A.R.T
					S.M.A.R.T not supported
				Partition 0
					Partition ID	Disk #2, Partition #0
					Disk Letter	H:
					File System	NTFS
					Volume Serial Number	F473389D
					Size	932GB
					Used Space	830GB (90%)
					Free Space	102GB (10%)
		WDC WD80 0JD-22LSA0 SCSI Disk Device
			Manufacturer	Western Digital
			Form Factor	TB/2.5-inch
			Business Unit/Brand	Enterprise/WD Raptor®
			Interface	SCSI
			Capacity	78GB
			Real size	80,026,361,856 bytes
				S.M.A.R.T
					S.M.A.R.T not supported
				Partition 0
					Partition ID	Disk #0, Partition #0
					Disk Letter	C:
					File System	NTFS
					Volume Serial Number	B0FC0F73
					Size	75GB
					Used Space	60GB (80%)
					Free Space	15.0GB (20%)
		WDC WD80 0JD-75HKA1 SCSI Disk Device
			Manufacturer	Western Digital
			Form Factor	TB/2.5-inch
			Business Unit/Brand	Enterprise/WD Raptor®
			Interface	SCSI
			Capacity	78GB
			Real size	80,000,000,000 bytes
				S.M.A.R.T
					S.M.A.R.T not supported
				Partition 0
					Partition ID	Disk #1, Partition #0
					Disk Letter	D:
					File System	NTFS
					Volume Serial Number	809598B9
					Size	74GB
					Used Space	27.4GB (37%)
					Free Space	47GB (63%)[/QUOTE]
 
From my experience, even the newer dual cores are better than the old brisbanes and such. However you will get the most benefit if your wanting to stick to your current board and memory, from a Phenom II 945, which is the highest your board can go due to its 95watt limit for the cpu.

Least according to the cpu support list on asus.
 
I would suggest upgrading your graphics card first.

The 9600 is five generations old. Though your CPU is similarly aged, you will see much more substantial gains from a new graphics card vs. the marginal performance of a newer CPU.

When you say you do graphics design -- which applications specifically? Some are bolstered by GPU and some can be held back by the speed of your harddrive.
 
Angry said:
From my experience, even the newer dual cores are better than the old brisbanes and such. However you will get the most benefit if your wanting to stick to your current board and memory, from a Phenom II 945, which is the highest your board can go due to its 95watt limit for the cpu.

Least according to the cpu support list on asus.
Click to expand...

a c i d.f l y said:
I would suggest upgrading your graphics card first.

The 9600 is five generations old. Though your CPU is similarly aged, you will see much more substantial gains from a new graphics card vs. the marginal performance of a newer CPU.

When you say you do graphics design -- which applications specifically? Some are bolstered by GPU and some can be held back by the speed of your harddrive.
Click to expand...


I have a VERY similar setup and after research you really need to upgrade both the CPU and GPU at the same time. You current CPU & GPU have level performance profile, if you upgrade one and not the other you will bottleneck the one you didn't upgrade.
 
All great feedback, thank you. I looked at the supported CPU list on ASUS and it was overwhelming, my question is will the higher 95 wattage be supported by my 600 watt PSU? I can't imagine it would be a problem, but that's why I'm here!

My graphic design work includes work on Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, etc. The usual suspects, no 3d rendering or any video work other than home video crap.

I would certainly upgrade both...any recommendations on a decent vid card that my system will support? I know that's a loaded question but budget/performance has always been my focus. Not looking to go broke but want something that will run most current games and still get the job done with day to day work.

At some point I will be getting more serious about my design work and would love to have a dedicated workstation for that, but in the meantime I need something to be good at both.
 
will the higher 95 wattage be supported by my 600 watt PSU? =That depends on which power supply you actually have. There are many 600 watt power supplies that are that wattage in mostly name only.
 
^^ Id go for a PIIX4 over an AX4, if hes wanting to play games. Photoshop and the like might not care so much, but my AX4 is often the bottle neck less than an 8800GTX much less anything newer.
 
I would go ahead and grab the highest CPU that you can fit on that board and aim for something in the range of a GTX 460. You can find those pretty close to $100 very often now days.
 
Angry said:
^^ Id go for a PIIX4 over an AX4, if hes wanting to play games. Photoshop and the like might not care so much, but my AX4 is often the bottle neck less than an 8800GTX much less anything newer.
Click to expand...

My bad, I was thinking PII and totally looked up the AII.

Yes, go with the PII, it's not much more and you will get more performance.

Your mobo says it will take the 945 95w, but they only make a 125w 945, so I don't think that is right. On the safe side I would look for a 925 95w.
 
WOW talk about taxation on that CPU. I had(read killed) a 925 and was extremely happy with it, mind you I only paid $109 with free shipping from the egg for mine about a year ago.
 
I hate to bump this thread but I have a very similar computer as Yabo and I would like to get some help since we are basicly talking about the same machine.

my specs

========================================================================

Operating System
MS Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+
Brisbane 65nm Technology

RAM
8.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 373MHz (6-6-6-18) :eek:

Motherboard
ASUSTeK Computer INC. M2N-SLI (Socket AM2 )

Graphics
1024MB GeForce 9500 GT (EVGA)
Monitor
Acer P221W (1680x1050@59Hz)


Hard Drives
488GB Hitachi Hitachi HDP725050GLA360 ATA Device (SATA)
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GH22LP20 ATA Device
Audio
USB Audio Device

========================================================================

I want to make sure that what I buy for upgrades, are in fact compatible with my system.

I think my biggest concern is what CPU processor to get.

As for the rest, I am thinking

Graphicscard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125401

Power Supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095


? Is this ok?

Now back to the CPU because the post here was a bit confusing.
Can some one with the knowledge recommend an upgrade?

Ty so much and I am sorry for bumping this thread but I googled it and landed here on your forum.
 
Angry said:
From my experience, even the newer dual cores are better than the old brisbanes and such. However you will get the most benefit if your wanting to stick to your current board and memory, from a Phenom II 945, which is the highest your board can go due to its 95watt limit for the cpu.

Least according to the cpu support list on asus.
Click to expand...

This is wrong by the way, there are several CPU's listed with 125W TDP that are in the supported CPU list on the Asus website.

I, myself, own this board and have run it with a 125W CPU from the supported list with both XP and 7 and it runs fine in either OS.
 
I think I would start with a GPU upgrade. It doesn't take much to beat an nvidia 9500.
 
BoxingChaos2011 said:
I hate to bump this thread but I have a very similar computer as Yabo and I would like to get some help since we are basicly talking about the same machine.

my specs

========================================================================

Operating System
MS Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+
Brisbane 65nm Technology

RAM
8.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 373MHz (6-6-6-18) :eek:

Motherboard
ASUSTeK Computer INC. M2N-SLI (Socket AM2 )

Graphics
1024MB GeForce 9500 GT (EVGA)
Monitor
Acer P221W (1680x1050@59Hz)


Hard Drives
488GB Hitachi Hitachi HDP725050GLA360 ATA Device (SATA)
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GH22LP20 ATA Device
Audio
USB Audio Device

========================================================================

I want to make sure that what I buy for upgrades, are in fact compatible with my system.

I think my biggest concern is what CPU processor to get.

As for the rest, I am thinking

Graphicscard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125401

Power Supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095


? Is this ok?

Now back to the CPU because the post here was a bit confusing.
Can some one with the knowledge recommend an upgrade?

Ty so much and I am sorry for bumping this thread but I googled it and landed here on your forum.
Click to expand...

Both the graphics card and PSU choices are solid.

I would max out that board with a AMD Phenom II X4 945.




Tech Tweaker said:
This is wrong by the way, there are several CPU's listed with 125W TDP that are in the supported CPU list on the Asus website.

I, myself, own this board and have run it with a 125W CPU from the supported list with both XP and 7 and it runs fine in either OS.
Click to expand...

The Deluxe model supports some 125w CPUs like what the original poster had, but BoxingChaos2011 said he has the non-Deluxe model which doesn't support any 125w CPUs. Just wanted to clarify for BoxingChaos2011.
 
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