Dump my E8400/Tpower I45 setup for an Athlon II X2 550BE/790GX board?

A

AmongTheChosenX

Supreme [H]ardness
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My old CPU and board combo is worth about $200-$210 ish shipped.

I can pick up an Athlon II X2 550BE for $100, plus a 790GX board for around $100.
now if the CPU can unlock to 4 cores, I may actually be able to jump from a dual core to a quad core setup for free.

Is it worth it?
 
I would say no... Your money is better spend on a new video card and hard drives ( your raptors are alot slower than the WD 640GB Black).
 
lt_shiro said:
I would say no... Your money is better spend on a new video card and hard drives ( your raptors are alot slower than the WD 640GB Black).
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I agree with this. The E8400 is a good processor. The OP would get more of a performance boost by upgrading that 8800GTX in their sig. For $210ish you can get a 4870 1GB or a GTX 260 at Newegg both of which would be a good upgrade over the 8800GTX.
 
lt_shiro said:
I would say no... Your money is better spend on a new video card and hard drives ( your raptors are alot slower than the WD 640GB Black).
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okay this is just bad information. the point of using a raptor is NOT for throughput. it's for lower access times.

the 640gb caviar black (WD6401AALS) has an avg access time of about 12ms
http://gergin.net/posts/HD Benchmarks Nov 10 2008/WD6401AALS D v2.55.jpg

a 36gb 16mb raptor (WD360ADFD) has an avg access time of about 8ms (this is the 74gb version, but they have the same access times)
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/3.5-hard-drive-charts/compare,658.html?prod[1821]=on

for why access times are more important than bandwidth/throughput, see AT's ssd anthology:
http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3531&p=3
 
Besides the fact that you would be downgrading to the AMD dual-core, you can't magically unlock the other 2 cores, the connections are laser cut. Unless you find a way to re-connect the other two cores correctly, you are stuck with an inferior dual core.
 
Gimpy04 said:
Besides the fact that you would be downgrading to the AMD dual-core, you can't magically unlock the other 2 cores, the connections are laser cut. Unless you find a way to re-connect the other two cores correctly, you are stuck with an inferior dual core.
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then explain this:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3834105

AMD has not yet used laser cutting to disable cores, so provided you have the correct mobo/bios, and your chip has two live cores, you CAN unlock.

As for the OP, from a 8400 to a 550 is a bit of a side-step, but the 550 does have the potential to be a quad-core in disguise... (then again, the 8400 probably OCes much better), as you state you could do this without it costing any real money, so if you feel like toying with the 550, i'd say go for it..

As for the 8800GTX / raptor upgrade ideas, those wouldnt come out budget neutral (as the 8400 to 550 swap would), and it all depends on what the OP does with his machine
 
Gimpy04 said:
Besides the fact that you would be downgrading to the AMD dual-core, you can't magically unlock the other 2 cores, the connections are laser cut. Unless you find a way to re-connect the other two cores correctly, you are stuck with an inferior dual core.
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besides the fact.. that your wrong.. they laser cut the phenom x3 and x2's.. the phenom II's they software disabled them.. which can be re-enabled with the ACC settings.. but most board manufactures have upgraded their bios to not allow it..

also your better off finding a dirt cheap C2Q either Q9450 or Q9550 over buying an entire phenom II setup since you already have the hardware to go quad core.. then when you decide to change sockets.. either lga-1366 or am3 you can just sell off the q9450/9550 which should still have some good resell value.. also take a look at the F/S section of the forum.. ya might be able to find a good deal on a second hand C2Q Q9450/9550..

but in the end it really depends on what you do.. if your a gamer.. you are better off overclocking the e8400 and getting either a 4870 1GB or gtx 260 like some one else recommended.. but it also depends on what size display you use..
 
Still, the cores might be defective or the unlocking might fail for some other reason.

Nothing from AMD can touch the performance of the E8400, core for core. If you need quad core just pick up a Core2 Quad...
 
JimmiG said:
Still, the cores might be defective or the unlocking might fail for some other reason.

Nothing from AMD can touch the performance of the E8400, core for core. If you need quad core just pick up a Core2 Quad...
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overclocking wise.. no amd cant compete with the e8400.. but its just the same with the e8400 with the luck of the draw on a good overclocking chip.. majority of them limit out around 3.6-3.8ghz.. though i havent really payed attention to the benchmarks of the phenom II 550 BE yet..
 
sirmonkey1985 said:
overclocking wise.. no amd cant compete with the e8400.. but its just the same with the e8400 with the luck of the draw on a good overclocking chip.. majority of them limit out around 3.6-3.8ghz.. though i havent really payed attention to the benchmarks of the phenom II 550 BE yet..
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Either your estimate is a bit low or I have a freak of nature E8400. I can get mine stable at 4.5ghz on air.
 
Mind if you back that up with a 24-hour Prime95 test? ;)

I'd have to say no to this switch as well, its a gamble to get the other 2 cores unlocked. Some people can, some people can't, AND some of those who can find it unstable to the point where it wasn't worth the trouble.

Also, those E8400 pushers out there... ya, it BENCHMARKS better, but does it actually feel as smooth in actual operation? That's up for debate. Core i7 benchmarks say it is twice as fast as the equivalent Phenom II, but in practice (actually PLAYING the game) it most assuredly is not. Same goes between the Core i7 and the Core2Quad. Benchmarks are OK at indicating things, but you shouldn't tout them around when you're talking about how well something will actually perform.
 
fist off, i sold 2 of the 3 36gb raptrs i had. right now i have 1 x 74gb raptor and 1 x 36 gb raptor and im trrying to sell t hose as well (though i may sell the 36gb and buy a 74g drive to raid 0 them).

my 8800gtx is just fine for my games right now. i have no real reason to upgrade the card.
besides its in RMA right now, so there is a chance i can get a gtx 260 back as a replacement.

my biostar t power i45 is so bad at ocing my e8400 thats the mai reason i want to dump these mabe its causemine is a xeon e3110 but idkk.

the athlon 550 is almost neck and neck with the e8400 in most benchies ive seen. tha being said, if i get a 550 and it does unlock, i ould have quad core for free.

any more thoughts?
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AmongTheChosenX said:
my biostar t power i45 is so bad at ocing my e8400 thats the mai reason i want to dump these mabe its causemine is a xeon e3110 but idkk.

the athlon 550 is almost neck and neck with the e8400 in most benchies ive seen. tha being said, if i get a 550 and it does unlock, i ould have quad core for free.

any more thoughts?
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
Click to expand...

There is a thread about experiences with the new Phenom 550BEs and this conclusion is that the chip is a beast at 4.1+ Ghz and 4 cores!

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=226655

X4_550BEAST_UD4P_149volt_4000mhz.jpg
 
Hot damn! If they are all like that I might pick one up and see if I should still hang on to my 940 BE.
 
empower64 said:
maybe its just me but that pi time is pretty high for that kinda clock speed....
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superpi is historicly much faster on intel, for some reason. Comparing an amd time to an intel time does not give an accurate depiction of performance..
 
empower64 said:
maybe its just me but that pi time is pretty high for that kinda clock speed....
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Intel CPUs since the Core 2 have dominated SuperPi. Real world performance is far more important. And the 955BE at stock is roughly equal to the Q9550 in most applications/games with a few exceptions usually they trade blows in performance.

I'd say the OP is better off buying a 4890 1GB for $200 or so rather than sacrificing perfomance. The E8400 is a hands-down better CPU than the 550BE.
 
all of the benchmarks i have read show that the X2 550 is literally on the heels of the e8400. If I can profit money BACK into my pocket, at the SAME TIME i get a QUAD CORE out of a supposedly Dual core CPU, that is WIN!!!
 
I suppose..
The X2 550 will run hotter than your current CPU and may not OC as high. But then again, you get the chance at the 4 cores...
Selling your set up, waiting, ordering, installing the new stuff... eh too much hassle IMO.
I'd keep your current stuff, maybe drop a quad core in there or get a new GPU or something.
 
khanis said:
Selling your set up, waiting, ordering, installing the new stuff... eh too much hassle IMO.
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some people like the hassle ;)

and anyway, it'll end up a free switch, since his current setup is worth that much still.. looks like a fun experiment really..
 
DrFreeze said:
some people like the hassle ;)

and anyway, it'll end up a free switch, since his current setup is worth that much still.. looks like a fun experiment really..
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haha, yes totaly! i mean, its probably going to be a totall free switch involving no xtra money, and im out of wrk so it'll giveme something to do for awhile. 2 extra cores of power, giving me the horsepower roughly equal to a core i7 920/core 2 q9550 in certain apps? for absolutely free??? why not!?!!?!!?
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