Upgrading from Athlon 64 X2 build to 960T (For Audio Production)

[samth3mancgp]

Hey Everybody, this is my fist post on this forum. It seemed like one of the biggest PC forums on the net and the threads I have been reading all had lots of great info.

Anyway, I am here to get some advice on upgrading my Athlon 64 X2 build from way back in 2007

Here are the general specs on that:
> Mainboard : Asus M2N-E SLI
> Chipset : nVidia nForce4
> Processor : AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ @ 3200 MHz
> Physical Memory : 6144 MB (G-Skill DDR2 800)
> Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT
> Hard Disk : WD SATA RAPTOR (150 GB)
> Hard Disk : ST3250824A (250 GB)
> Hard Disk : (WD 320 GB)
> Hard Disk : (Samsung 500 GB)
> DVD-Rom Drive : LITE-ON DVDRW LH-20A1H
> Operating Systems : Windows 7 Ultimate SP1
> Power Supply: Thermaltake 450 watt
> CPU cooler: ZeroTherm BTF-90 UFO


I was looking at upgrading it with these parts.

AMD Phenom II X4 960T

ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS

Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)

I need the biggest bang for my buck (We're talking like <$250 for all parts if possible) in terms of a CPU because I use my computer for Audio Production using Avid ProTools. ProTools has not been upgraded to a 64bit program yet and it will only recognize 4GB of RAM no matter how much RAM I have in my computer which is why I am alright with getting a board that will only support 8GB of RAM for now. ProTools DOES recognize as many processor cores as you have in your computer. The effects/mixing/automation that I do to songs in ProTools is mostly taxing on the CPU.

I want to try to unlock this processor to use the other two cores and have a 6 core processor, and maybe overclock it if it is worth trying?

My biggest concerns are whether or not this CPU is the right one for me, The success rate with unlocking the cores, Whether or not my PSU has enough power, whether or not my current CPU heatsink/fan will have what it takes to cool this processor, and if I will have a serious boost in performance with this setup.

Any advice/help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Randyman...]

I know cost is a factor - but to be honest, i5/i7 owns the DAW-PC arena at this point (and ever since C2D). WRT AMD, I'm clueless, but I can tell you every single Intel DAW PC I've built over the years has been a jaw-dropping powerhouse for not a ton of cash.

Maybe consider a used i5/1155 setup from the classifieds? You're likely to see a lot of SB i5's come up in our Classifieds with Ivy Bridge coming out this week.

If this is for "serious" DAW production, this is not the place to save a few hundred dollars IMNSHO (save for another few months and do it right ). If it's just for toying around in the bedroom, then that AMD setup would likely be a nice upgrade regardless...



EDIT: For instance - Here is a SICK X58/i7-930 (Triple Channel LGA-1366) setup in the Classifieds for $275!!! (Need a CPU Cooler and DDR3 RAM)

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=705441

Food for thought

 

[samth3mancgp]

You are probably right.. Everything I have read about AMDs is just people comparing it to Intel stuff. Everybody compares it to the 2500k i5..

My friend has an early Intel i7 rig that he said he would sell to me for $600. Here are the specs for it:

Computer
Model : OEM System Product Name To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Serial Number : System Serial Number
Chassis : Chassis Manufacture Desktop
Mainboard : ASUS Rampage II Extreme
Serial Number : MS1C8BBJ2Q01448
BIOS : AMI (OEM) 0503 10/30/2008
Total Memory : 8GB DIMM DDR3

Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 940 @ 2.93GHz (4C 8T 3.07GHz Turbo, 2.81GHz IMC, 4x 256kB L2, 8MB L3)

Chipset
Memory Controller : ASUS X58 I/O Hub 2x 3.22GHz (6.43GHz) FSB
Memory Controller : Intel Core Desktop (Bloomfield) UnCore 2x 3.22GHz (6.43GHz) FSB, 3x 2.67GB DIMM DDR3 2x 670MHz (1.34GHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Mushkin 991659 996659 2GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-24 4-33-10-5)
Memory Module : Mushkin 991659 996659 2GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-24 4-33-10-5)
Memory Module : Mushkin 991659 996659 2GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-24 4-33-10-5)
Memory Module : Mushkin 991659 996659 2GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-24 4-33-10-5)

Video System
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 (2x 128 SM4.0 1.51GHz, 2x 512MB DDR3 2GHz 256-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
OpenCL GP Processor : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 (128SP 16C 1.5GHz, 512MB DDR3 2GHz 256-bit)
OpenCL GP Processor : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 (128SP 16C 1.5GHz, 512MB DDR3 2GHz 256-bit)
Compute Shader Processor : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 (128SP 1.51GHz/1.5GHz, 512MB DDR3 2GHz 256-bit)
CUDA GP Processor : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 (128SP 16C 1.5GHz, 512MB DDR3 2GHz 256-bit)
CUDA GP Processor : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 (128SP 16C 1.5GHz, 512MB DDR3 2GHz 256-bit)

Storage Devices
SAMSUNG HD501LJ (500.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache) : 466GB (D
WDC WD2500AAJS-52B4A0 (250GB, SATA150, 3.5", 7200rpm, 8MB Cache) : 233GB (F
WDC WD1500HLFS-01G6U0 (150GB, SATA300, 3.5", 10000rpm, 16MB Cache) : 140GB (C
Seagate ST3500320AS (500.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm) : 466GB (E
PHILIPS DVD+-RW DVD8701 (ATAPI, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (G
HL-DT-STDVD-RAM GSA-H55L (ATA66, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (K

Logical Storage Devices
BIG BOY (D : 466GB (NTFS) @ SAMSUNG HD501LJ (500.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache)
WD250(2) (F : 233GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD2500AAJS-52B4A0 (250GB, SATA150, 3.5", 7200rpm, 8MB Cache)
Hard Disk (C : 140GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD1500HLFS-01G6U0 (150GB, SATA300, 3.5", 10000rpm, 16MB Cache)
SG500 (E : 466GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST3500320AS (500.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm)
Optical Drive (G : N/A @ PHILIPS DVD+-RW DVD8701 (ATAPI, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)
Optical Drive (K : N/A @ HL-DT-STDVD-RAM GSA-H55L (ATA66, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : ASUS LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : T0 A5-13
Audio Device : ASUS HD Audio Controller
Disk Controller : ASUS 4 port SATA IDE Controller
Disk Controller : ASUS 2 port SATA IDE Controller
Disk Controller : ASUS JMB36X PCIE-to-SATAII/IDE RAID Controller
USB Controller 1 : ASUS USB UHCI Controller #4
USB Controller 2 : ASUS USB UHCI Controller #5
USB Controller 3 : ASUS USB UHCI Controller #6
USB Controller 4 : ASUS USB EHCI Controller #2
USB Controller 5 : ASUS USB UHCI Controller #1
USB Controller 6 : ASUS USB UHCI Controller #2
USB Controller 7 : ASUS USB UHCI Controller #3
USB Controller 8 : ASUS USB EHCI Controller #1
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : ASUS VIA VT6308 1394 OHCI Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus

Network Services
Network Adapter : Marvell Yukon 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Ethernet, 100Mbps)
Network Adapter : Marvell Yukon 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller #2 (Ethernet)
Network Adapter : TAP-Win32 Adapter V9 (Ethernet)

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.01.7601 (Service Pack 1)
Platform Compliance : x64

Seems like a good deal, I'll be getting an entire computer for the same price as the upgrade to the new 8 core AMD Bulldozer would be. I should probably just save up for that.. What are your thoughts on that rig?

 

[Randyman...]

For $600 I would agree that's a pretty good deal for an entire x58/i7-940 setup with tons of peripherals and a solid MoBo.

You can still go with a CPU/MoBo/RAM upgrade like you previously planned (but a used i5/i7) for around $350 or so if your current Case/PSU/Drives,etc are good...

The AMD you mentioned would work and handle descent projects, but an i7 will pwn (especially once you start overclocking).

 

[samth3mancgp]

He has a 750 watt power supply in it. Will the Intel socket be changing for Ivy Bridge? If I'm going to upgrade his Intel machine I am going to upgrade to the latest and greatest processor. It seems like the RAM is already matching the latest speeds and the graphics is only 1 generation behind (but still better than any GPU I have ever used!).

I'm asking him now if he ever tried Overclocking it and how far he got if he did. Not sure what kind of cooling it has..

EDIT: He has the stock cooler on it right now.. probably not worth OCing stock?