Upgrading CPU

wild_eyed

I bought a bundle before chrstmas from Maplins and wanted to upgrade the cpu to max it out..

the board is a Foxconn a74ml-k

and the chip i have is a AMD Phenom x3 8250.

whats the best possible cpu i can get for my motherboard?

here is the list, but which is the best?
sempron or phenom or which?

http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-Foxconn/A74ML-K.html

Monotype

It looks like that board is well supported. The best there would be the phenom X6s, although if you weren't going to need 6 cores the newer phenom X4s would be just as good - i.e., 955 (965 should be compatible too). If you can find a 960T (should be compatible as the X6s are), that would also be a good option as they can be unlocked to an X6 if you're lucky and the board supports unlocking. However, they're a bit harder to find at the moment.

Edit: Actually, the 955 and 1055T there are the 95W versions, which are hard to find... you might have a harder job finding a suitable one and may have to settle for an athlon X4. I'll have a look to see what I can find.

Monotype

You can get a 960T that should be compatible as it's rated at 95W and the other 95W X6s are compatible. It's £117 though.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-Phenom-Processor-Socket-Warranty/dp/B0056D5AMY/

Another option is the Phenom 840 - this is actually not a 'phenom' as it has no L3 cache but more like a higher clocked Athlon X4. £75.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-Phenom-3-20-Quad-Core-Processor/dp/B004LRO9B4/

Best option is probably the 1045T for £99.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-Phenom-Processor-Socket-Warranty/dp/B006G76LZY/

wild_eyed

thanks for the quick responce.
looking at the
AMD Phenom II X6

the pc is mainly used for
photoshop, pro tools, and adobe premiere and some gaming.

will the chip greatly speed up the pc? how much better is it than what i have?

many thanks

deconduo

Yeah if that's what you are using it for then definitely go for the X6. It will be much much faster than what you have.

Also did you really buy that just a couple of months ago? The original phenom lineup is about 5 years old.

Tea_Bag

I would stretch the extra £17 to the 960T where possible. it has an unlocked multiplier unlike the other two, making it far easier to OC. if you can unlock the 960T to a 6 core you're looking at a chip more than twice as fast as your own.

wild_eyed

deconduo wrote: »

Yeah if that's what you are using it for then definitely go for the X6. It will be much much faster than what you have.

Also did you really buy that just a couple of months ago? The original phenom lineup is about 5 years old.

Yup. Bought it in napkins for 70 quid before Xmas. Only got the build up and running about two weeks ago and it's fine but it needs more umph!


Napkins = Maplins

Tea_Bag

why am I not surprised that they're still flogging ancient tech.