BleepingComputer.com: Looking for some upgrade advice for my cpu

I'm looking for some advice on what processor I should upgrade to. I've found a list of compatible cpus but I don't know all that much about them.(http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-ASUS/M2N-E.html).
I don't really want to go over $175-200 unless I would see a significant improvement in performance.

MB: m2n-e
GPU: xfx hd 5670 1gb
CPU: amd 64 x2 dualcore 3800+ 2.01 ghz
PSU: Cosair gs600 600 watt
RAM: 4 gigs
OP: Windows XP sp 3

Can you find any of those CPU's still in stores?

Uh well that didn't really come to mind. I was just planning on ordering it online anyway. Are they that outdated?

This post has been edited by htims_bob: 05 February 2011 - 10:34 PM

Your motherboard is very outdated, you may want to try ebay as a source, but with that comes hit and miss.

Hmm maybe it would be a better idea if I just got a new mobo than. Well I was hoping this would be as simple as upgrading my graphics card but I guess it's not.
Thanks for your help anyway.

While we're on the subject you wouldn't happen to have a suggestion for any newer mobos would you? I think I'd like to stay with an amd board since it's served me pretty well for a few years without any problems.

This post has been edited by htims_bob: 05 February 2011 - 11:33 PM

I build Intel Only machines, so I cant recommend any AMD Boards.

Ah well alright I'll figure it out myself.
Thanks anyway

Looks like that board should support most of the new AM3 CPUs, however, two things to watch out for-any am2+ or AM3 CPU will be bottlenecked in that (4000+ mhz FSB down to 2000 mhz for starters) and, it looks like you might have to make some modifications to the BIOS, modifying the Crash free feature (the BIOS backup) and the PXe thing, not entirely sure what that means. If you get that figured out a newer quad core would be beneficial, I ran a phenom II x4 in a AM2 board for awhile, it was a significant improvement-even bottlenecked, over my old athlon x2 6000+ Anyway, thats something to consider, you may have to write ASUS customer support though for exact directions for allowing the computer to support AM3 CPUs.

You will need to update to the latest BIOS to use newer CPU's and tweak a few settings in the BIOS to get AM3 CPU's to work, check this page for more information. If you are gaming, you would probably want a newer Phenom II, but if you are doing general PC work with light gaming, an Athlon II would suffice as well. That PC of yours really isn't configured for gaming, you're not running Windows Vista or 7 and the GPU is low-end. Upgrading your motherboard is a more involved process, especially if you're going to a newer system that uses DDR3 memory. You not only have to get a new CPU and motherboard, but also new RAM, and a purchase another copy of Windows, or reinstall Windows if you use a full boxed retail copy. Here's a list of CPU's you can consider:

AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz - This will be a slight increase over your current CPU due to the newer, more efficient architecture.

AMD Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition Callisto 3.3GHz - This is a higher class of dual core. If you are into overclocking, the Black Edition Phenom II's are easily overclocked due to the unlocked multipliers.

AMD Athlon II X4 645 Propus 3.1GHz - Think of this as a budget-oriented quad core CPU. If you are using programs that can take advantage of quad core's, you will see a definite increase in performance, if not, the Phenom II X2 560 would be a better value.

AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition Deneb 3.5GHz - This is the fastest CPU your motherboard can take. Even if your programs were not quad-core optimized, this would still beat the other processors due to the high stock speed.

Thankyou DJB I looked all over for that information, and could not find it. All I was finding was that you needed to change this, and no information how.

Thanks a lot you three. I'll probably end up buying the 970 and I'll report back once I get it working.

Yeah.....go with the 970, bbut be careful with the temp, make sure you track it when you change to make sure that your stock cooling system keeps it cool enough, if it dosent you can find some decent after market cooling systems online for pretty cheap.

Cooling generally isn't an issue until you start to do overclocking, or your case has very few fans, or a special cooling design. I'm not sure if AMD still has this restriction, but warranty service can be voided if you choose to do a non-stock cooler. I have no idea how they would know unless you volunteered the info.

It is still that way DJ, but like you said they dont know unless you volunteer it. If its defective or you need to RMA it for any reason, just dont mention the fact your using aftermarket cooling, if you are. They really shouldnt be so picky, the last stock cooler AMD sent me was complete garbage, the heatsink from my old Dual was more effective, so yes I purchased aftermarket cooling. To me, if they are going to void the warranty for aftermarket cooling then they need to include a decent heatsink. But thats just me rambling. :D

Alrighty got my cpu and popped it in no problem. New problem though. It keeps telling me it's only putting out 803.7 mhz when it should be quite a bit higher. I made sure I flashed to 5001 and turned off cool n' quiet. Not sure what else I can do. I thought it was supposed to be 3.5 ghz but maybe I'm not understanding something.

I also tried flashing to 3001 and increasing the multiplier via the bios setup but it didn't change anything.

Ok another update. Using the nvidia control panel I can manually ramp up the core multiplier. I'm not really sure what I should ramp it up to though. I tried x5 which got all the cores up to 1000mhz.
Just got finished trying 15.5x which is pretty close to what it should be. This caused my computer to lock up. Could no longer move the mouse or do anything just a complete freeze.

This post has been edited by htims_bob: 10 February 2011 - 06:58 AM