x2 5000+ to quad Phenom 9600 worth 30 bucks?

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Kettchxxii

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Jun 13, 2007
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I know this is a ghetto upgrade, but is it worth 30 bucks? Someone has the 9600 on CL locally and I am hoping that this will give me a little more juice on my 2408.

Long term I would like to ditch the AM2 setup for an i5/i7, but that's a long way off. Need my third 2408 monitor first :)

Current system is:

x2 5000+
AM2+ motherboard
4 gigs ram
250 gts 512 mb

What do you guys say, worth 30 bucks?
 
If you can clock that 9600 up by 200-300Mhz, then yes, it'll be worth it. At stock, it'll only be a noticeable upgrade with apps that scale over multiple threads, and that's still not the majority. Honestly, if I was in your situation, I would take the deal.
 
he also has a Phenom 9850 Black Edition for 55, but 30 dollars seems so trivial. Both come with their stock heatsink.

Edit: but the 95 watt is more appealing than the 125 watt (9600 v 9850).
 
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The 9850 would be nice. Not a bad price, it'll be a complete upgrade, and the difference in power consumption won't be noticeable outside of watching a power meter. Remember, the 9850 is a later revision compared to the 9600, and there were some enhancements done to the architecture. Nothing major, but it can only help. It'll be a nice match for the rest of your rig, and will help you stretch out it's useful life.
 
Get the 9850, great chip, will OC to 3.0 GHz(with a little work).....ive got one in my dad's build and its awsome, and destroyed my x2 5000+ at everything(even with the x2 OC'd to 3.0 GHz and the 9850 at stock speed)
 
In my general purpose office pc I went from a BE-2400 clocked to 2.7ghz to a phenom 9500 that I scored in the FS/FT forum for $40. These B2 chips are pretty serious about their clocking walls, mine does 2.42ghz undervolted slightly but won't do 2.5 stable even at 1.5v. Anyway, it is definitely a worthwhile upgrade, the usability of the pc increases dramatically. If you check out anandtech.com/bench you'll find the phenom 9600 is roughly equivalent to the curent Athlon II 620. I say get the 9600 and see what you can do overclocking on stock voltage and it will allow that system to age much more gracefully (as it lives on in hand me downs) with the ever increasing parallel nature of PC demands
 
man, positives on both there.

lets play a game. say you have 100 dollars in the bank. do you get the 30 dollar chip, or the 55?

going to get another 2408wfp first, then a 5 series, then the i5/i7. or maybe the i5/i7 and a second gen eyefinity card.

figure the 5000+ is worth 20 bucks shipped... so thats something...
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
Don't get the 9600 if you plan on running 64-bit. A lot of them cannot run 64-bit properly. Some people will ignorantly argue this, but it is well-established fact. Spend the extra $25 and get the 9850. The 9500/9600 should be avoided like the plague.
 
SicKlown42012 said:
If you can clock that 9600 up by 200-300Mhz, then yes, it'll be worth it. At stock, it'll only be a noticeable upgrade with apps that scale over multiple threads, and that's still not the majority. Honestly, if I was in your situation, I would take the deal.
Click to expand...

I'd say that it would be virtually impossible to squeeze an extra 300 MHz out of a Phenom I on an older board without ACC. I would just go for the 9850 and be done with it, rather than take that chance on a chip that'sfrom a family of notoriously bad overclockers. I used to have a Phenom I 9500, and I've never seen such a poor overclocker in my life. From what I hear, pretty much all of the B2 Phenoms are like that, plus there's the TLB bug possibility.
 
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so win7 64bit on 9600 is a no no?

I have been traveling the last two years so I have a huge knowledge gap...
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
ordovician said:
Don't get the 9600 if you plan on running 64-bit. A lot of them cannot run 64-bit properly. Some people will ignorantly argue this, but it is well-established fact. Spend the extra $25 and get the 9850. The 9500/9600 should be avoided like the plague.
Click to expand...

That is true, mine won't do 64 bit. If your motherboard doesn't support over 4 gb of ram though it is a moot point as the added os overhead from 64 bit uses most of the additional .75gb of ram you gain. I also find it useful to keep a 32 bit system around for programs and periphials that don't have 64 bit support.

the 9850 is an attractive option at 55, but imho it is getting close to Athlon II x4 prices and those use much less power. In my case the mobo was only rated to a 95w proc.
 
If you are running some 64bit linux than the 9600 will be fine.

If you want to run 64bit Windows then go for a 9x50.
 
if you are mainly a gamer, don't waste your money. if you do wind up buying the 9600, make sure you google "tlb fix" and download the necessary program. without this little program you will get terrible performance in anything greater than vista sp1.
 
^
Umm you know the TLB fix actually lowers the performance by 15%?

And the TLB bug hardly affect many people.
 
Even at 2.3 GHz, the Phenom 9600 should be slightly faster than your 5000+ across the board. I would know, since I upgraded from a 4800+ at 2.9 GHz (5600+ speed) to a Phenom 9650. At worst, they were about the same, but in most cases the extra cores gave the Phenom a great lead.

With the 9650 oc'd to 2.7 GHz, there was no comparison.

That said, a 45nm Phenom II would be much faster and a great upgrade, especially if you already have an AM2+ board. Slightly faster per clock and much higher clock speeds. If you can get a 955 or 965, I'm not sure you'd really need that i5 upgrade.
 
DTN107 said:
^
Umm you know the TLB fix actually lowers the performance by 15%?

And the TLB bug hardly affect many people.
Click to expand...


ya that's precisely the point, i meant that he should download the necessary software to remove the tlb fix. what did you think i meant? that he should download the patch that already comes installed with everything greater than vista sp1?
 
Phenom 1's really sucked, mad heat and power suckage for not much power.

Id just keep that 30 bones toward an Athlon II X4 620, I mean 30 bucks is almost 1/3 of the way there. The 620 is going to far outperform any Phenom 1, eat much less power and make much less heat, and oc way way way better. Just IMO ofc :)
 
I have 9600 BE right now and it doesnt overclock well at all but it will be a slight upgrade to what you have now. I would get the 9850 if your mobo supports 125w CPU's
 
BretG57 said:
ya that's precisely the point, i meant that he should download the necessary software to remove the tlb fix. what did you think i meant? that he should download the patch that already comes installed with everything greater than vista sp1?
Click to expand...

Naw it would been more clearer if you say TLB fix remover.
 
Thanks for the information guys. Dunno If I should pick anything up at this point. Maybe it's best that I get my third monitor and go from there.

Can a Phenom II with DDR2 compete with a i5/DDR3 setup?

Would just going for the top of the line video card be more important then a better proc/ram combo at 6.3 million pixels?
 
Response to Kettchxxii last comment, Based on the following assumptions:

1. Request some speed improvement
2. Prefer pay only if you need it now. (Just-In-Time). You do not want to pay for performance that meant very little now because your software does not demand it. or you can accept the slower response.
3. When you need enhanced performance in future, the previous performance part price has dropped to reasonable level. see point 1
4. You are basically generic software usage consumer, want enhancement with minimal cost.

Suggestion: (assume good PSU) reuse everything except
1. (Athlon II X4 620+cooler) or (Phenom II X3 720BE+cooler) overclocked to 3.2-3.6GHz will last you for some time. Confirm your MB to be AM2+. BE processors easier to overclock. My 720BE stock heat sink safe to 3.1GHz so you can cut cooler cost if this is good enough for you.
2. Visible generic usage improvement with money spent on small SSD if price drops to comfortable level for you and you demand it. Internet Browsing/email/word processing do not warrant current SSD price.
 
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The end goal is to support 6.3 million pixels in eyefinity. Parts yet to buy, and probably in this order:

Third monitor (2408wfp)
5 series video card (CF not available on mATX mobo)
Processor to keep up with video card (AM2+ mobo, I believe mobo max wattage is 120)

I have a 640 Black in there as a hard drive, and don't really worry about loading associated with disk access. I am just fearful that when I reach the 3 2408/5 series that I am going to have to upgrade the cpu/mobo/ram to achieve the desired frame rates...
 
Based on latest description of your eventual goals, I must admit perhaps the assumptions listed in the previous reply are not entirely correct, I initially assume seeing you are mostly considering a < 50 improvement. Judging from the list you could be putting up a few more hundreds to get the job done.

The logic is not wrong, but from your desired investment list and intention, I am sensing your could eventually demand heavy gaming performance in the not too distant future. The X4 620 overclocked to 3.8GHz should still last you some time. However, since it is not a BE processor, your mb is only upto 120w (vrm stress) and (bleeding edge overclocking requires proper cooling on other MB parts especially non-BE since you need to play with other settings without multiplier convenient, increasing your cost.). I am not really a good overclocker so you need other forum members' help if 3.8GHz is goal.

X3 720BE is slightly easier to oc with the same concern but I feel you will eventually miss the 4th core if heavy gaming (your request for this to last a bit longer)

(3.8GHz is the current reasonable max for majority Phenom II/Athlon II processors). If you spend too much time/effort/money getting there or going beyond, you may need to consider getting i5-750 instead.

So a revamp suggestion
If you agree with this latest review and do not want to go thorough too much hassle, I admit defeat and suggest other forum members' help to spec for a better setup. The slight issue is memory price is really getting the nerve of many tech users at this point of time. Many long for the day where you could load up the machine without much thought.

Cheers
 
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