Gaming CPU help

[Bloodgod]

I can't really help him cause I know virtually nothing in PC talk besides what RAM I need.

This is his current CPU
http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/503/asdasdasdib.png

People suggested him to get one of these two below
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819103210

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819103773

Both are AM2 socket types. But he wants a definite answer if it will fit his MOBO.

 

[FAST6191]

Physical fit is determined purely by the socket, what I would be more concerned with is the motherboard supporting the processor; dual and higher core support is/was often added in a BIOS update along with support for higher bus speeds and the like.
You already have a working processor so that is OK (several times I have seen people have to find old processors to use to update the BIOS) but I would like the motherboard name/model so people are able to greenlight things (CPUZ should do it).

 

[Cermage]

i'm surprised newegg aren't selling black editions anymore. though yeah they'll fit without a problem.

 

[Bloodgod]

His mobo
http://img155.imageshack.us/i/22004p.png/

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/documen...product=3300335

Topic mentions of a bios update but gives no specifics on where to get it. A user also had luck with 6000+ X2
http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-ASUS/A8M2N-LA.html

Edit: Found the BIOS update. From what you guys said this upgrade will work for him, correct?

 

[FAST6191]

Looking at those links you gave the more expensive of the two looks to have issues (some said it would not recognise, others said it may need a PSU upgrade), the cheaper one apparently should work without a BIOS update

Three links to help you out if you decide on more reading.
Product page:
http://products.amd.com/en-us/DesktopCPUResult.aspx
The more expensive processor:
http://products.amd.com/en-us/DesktopCPUDe...p;f11=&f12=
The cheaper one:
http://products.amd.com/en-us/DesktopCPUDe...p;f11=&f12=

 

[Bloodgod]

There a big diff between the two CPU? I should mention he does virtually no current gen gaming and uses his Comp just for web/old games/video watching&editing. He has OCD so I guess he does a lot of multitasking.

 

[FAST6191]

web/old games/video watching (assuming no H264 stuff) is fine but editing (and ultimately encoding) is right up there with modern games and CAD in terms of "things that will tax your computers resources".

Back on topic speed wise or in any way that matters (cache and the like) there is a 13% difference in clockspeed and probably less if you feel like overclocking (which you will probably not be able to do seen as it is a vendor machine).
It appears as though I was right on this occasion to get you to check the motherboard for assuming that link you dug up is correct (and I am not inclined to doubt it) the motherboard will have a problem with the more expensive processor and it is doubtful a BIOS update can fix it (BIOS fails to recognise and PSU updates are mentioned on the site which hints at far deeper problems which nobody is going to bother to sort for an old machine like this).

Frankly though while dual core is nice I suspect you will see similar gains (aside from serious multitasking) by tweaking the OS for speed (removal of background and startup stuff..... the usual), defragging the drive (or maybe sticking a fast one in there)- I would certainly try it first before laying down cash and even if you do end up paying you can probably still use your speed tweaks.
If you do want to play the odd game (assuming sensible ram and graphics) and encode the odd video then I do suggest the multicore processor.

 

[Bloodgod]

Theres the problem right there for him. He can watch most H.264 stuff. But if its packaged with .MKV containers his comp goes ape shit and lags to the point where video and audio doesn't sync up. Not to mention the subtitles. He's maxed out the RAM slots up to 2GB and installed a vid card(95/9600GT? can't remember). Video encoding really doesn't matter speed wise. IIRC he does that when he goes to bed.

Basically the major annoyance for him is the day to day crap like multitasking, waiting for progs to load and watching vids. I'm assuming lower end model (X2 5200+) will get rid of these?

Edit: I gave him Windows 7 and it has eliminated the OS slowdown when it was on XP. So all those background process that comes with pre built comps are gone. Plus even if he did go along with the OS tweaks he wouldn't know where to begin. A simple CPU upgrade will suffice.

 

[Bloodgod]

failed to convince him to go for the lower end. He has the mindset of " my mobo is old and this will probably the last upgrade I do. I might as well take my chances to the best CPU available that has a chance to work."

Will report next week when he has time to install. I'll be there to lol at him if it fails. xD

 

[Bloodgod]

Last bump

We installed it last week and it worked fine. I talked him down from the 6000+ to the 5200+. He's ragin at me though cause he thinks it(6000+) might have worked. oh well guess he can wait a few more months and see if it drops in price.

 

[Jiggah]

If he's using the comp to watch mkv files then he needs to use Media Player Classic - Home Cinema with the Matroska filter. It'll allow his 9600GT to offload some of the processing keep his computer from crashing on him.

People play 1080p on an Ion nettop just fine (Atom+9300GT). I'm 100% sure that his processor would kill an Atom processor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StkRSh1VXJY