Hey Guys, I'm due for an upgrade but I'm wanting some help with my current build and some advice on what to buy. Ok so, I currently own a AMD Phenom II X2 550 which can be supposely be unlocked to 4 cores and overclocked to 4Ghz, but alot of people are having problems doing so. My current motherboard is a GigaByte GA-770T-D3L, and I was wondering if it is actually compatiable with the CPU to unlock and overclock. Or shall I wait for the Bulldozer to come out and get that? Also, for up and coming games I was wondering, shall I keep my HD5770 Sapphire edition or shall I sell up and buy a better one? Or shall I buy one more and crossfire them? All advice is welcome ^.^
To unlock cores on that CPU you need a motherboard which is able to do so. From what I can see that MB isn't able to do so so you wouldn't be able to unlock the cores. It will be able to overclock (This is a whole long descriptions as to how to do this which is covered in serious depth elsewhere) but you wouldn't be able to push it too hard as that's a budget orientated board and doesn't have the VRM circuitry/hardware to deal with heavy overclocks for long periods of time. To better answer your question we need to know what your budget is. What monitor do you have? (Size andresolution) What kind of games do you play? (EDIT: NEver mind on this one, just seen your sig!) Also, AM3 boards are not compatible with Bulldozer so if you waited for it you'd need to get a new board as well.
What budget do you have for this upgrade? What resolution do you game at and what games do you play? Damn it! Ninja'd!
That board supports core unlocking. Go for it. There is nothing to lose. If you go with bulldoser then you will need a new M/B That board only seems to have one PCI-E slot so Crossfire is out of the question. How much do you have to spend? 6870's are going for under 130 pounds ATM. EDIT: Getting details from here http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3587#ov
All the games I play are in my sig ^.^ And my monitor is some ancient TV I have.....Unsure of resoulution but I think it maybe.. 1280x900 something I think?...Not too sure... I have a £500 budget ^.^ Is it worth swapping the board? And I this board has Am3+ I thought thats what Bulldozer runs off?
I think the motherboard should unlock, but not certain on that, I've only ever done it on ASUS boards. I have cf 5770s and have been very happy with them, but it may be worth waiting for Bulldozer and for the 7xxx if only because it will drop prices on the 6xxx series. This would, IMO, work out as a better upgrade rather than fiddling about with what will soon be a 2 generation old crossfire. Unlocking the processor would the simplest and cheapest upgrade, worth a shot. If it doesn't work, just wait for Bulldozer/Ivy Bridge. Edit: It seriously took me that long to write this that I was ninjad THREE TIMES!!!!? I need to go home and rethink my life lol
Aye that's where I was looking too. Where does it say it unlocks? I couldn't find it. Better eyes on you obviously!
If you have a £500 budget you could put together a delightful 2500k system including a 6870 which would be perfect for your needs. What RAM/PSU/Case/HD do you have? Also if you're gaming at 1280 * 768 maybe a new monitor is due?
" Core Boost Support GIGABYTE’s Core Boost technology provides an easy way for users unlocking the CPU’s hidden cores via the EasyTune6 utility. Without any complicated setting needed in BIOS, users can experience a phenomenal performance upgrade right away. *The ability of unlocking the hidden CPU cores might vary by different processors."
Bout half way down the page under the heading Core Boost Support. I think... I wouldnt bother buying a new m/b for your chip as its not going to bring much more to the table other than USB 3 and crossfire First thing to do is see if you can unlock them cores. If not It would be worth putting in a 955. 500 pounds will get you a long way. New gfx, Screen and maybe an ssd depending on if you can unlock that 550 EDIT: So much ninjaing!
I'm tempted to Unlock and overclock then give it a couple of months whilst on that system and save abit more money then go for another graphics card and for the bulldozer (And another monitor...) How does that sound?
Sounds good. Why two monitors though, seems a little bit pointless. And don't go jumping into bed with Bulldozer too fast, it might be crap for all we know lol (I'm aware of the record clock speed, but clock speed isn't everything). Oh and you can't CrossFire on your board.
Unlock and overclock first and when BF3 comes along then see what the GFX market has to offer along with a screen. What case do you have? Maybe an SSD as well?
Exactly this. As I mentioned you'd need a new board as well so you need to re-evaluate your position when it comes out and see what's availible. It might be better to go Sandy bridge. If you have £500. Providing your PSU/Mem/Case/HD (or at least two of those) are good quality I'd build a 2500k system now. But then, if you're having no problems with your current system, no need to do anything now. A nice LG 23" IPS (£150) would be lovely though, although you'd struggle to play newer games on it with any kind of quality with the 5770.
Oh I do agree. It's certainly not a bad CPU but that's only if he can unlock any extra cores. (Not that a X2 550 BE is terrible either mind) I've just shifted from an X2 550 BE which unlocked to a full fat 4 core B55 to a 2500k. It's a very very noticeable improvement. For £500 he could get a P67 board, 2500k, 6870 and a 64gb M4 and have £70 to spare (As I mentioned above, only if he's got ok mem/PSU/case/HD... Sell his board and CPU and he's got nearly enough for the LG 23" IPS. Good deal?
lol at Parge. I agree with Zinfandel and murraynt. CPU's still pretty decent, so worth unlocking if possible. As Zinfandel mentioned though, you could get a Sandy Bridge build within budget if you reused some parts. And 100% get the screen Zinfandel suggested, best thing I've bought for my computer +rep to Zinfandel
