Cheap Upgrade for Bday? (AMD)

[WazMeister]

Hi all, My wife (2 weeks now.. so weird getting used to saying WIFE!).

Is willing to buy me a small upgrade which will now have to last a few more years as we intend to start a family etc etc.
Now in reality that rings bells to go get a full blown most powerful thing I can get so it lasts a good while.. But fact is I can't afford that.
My goal is just to get a little bit more juice out of this so I can play this years and next years games fine.

My system atm-
AMD x2 6400
4 gigs 800mhz ram
ATI 4850


Now Im thinking of getting a AM3 motherboard and a Phenom CPU to boost it.
If im correct my ram is corsair dominator or I think its Corsair crusadar or something, I think its does up to 1000 speed which my current board dont do.
So if I can get a new cpu and mobo my ram will go maybe 1% fast too!

This is the CPU im looking at, is it much of a jump from my current CPU, would I notice a diffrence?
Your thoughts please, also any suggestions on a good cheap AM3 mobo.

AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 550 3.10GHz Black Edition (Socket AM3) - Retail AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 550



Thanks

Waz

[abigsmurf]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/166518

From what I can see of benchmarks it's a mid improvement, about 20-30% I'd guess (bit hard to compare though). The black edition does have an advantage of being very good for overclocking and, as it's a cool processor, you've a fair amount of leeway.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/165438

That's the cheapest AM3 motherboard they do, haven't a clue if it's really any good (motherboard quality mostly affects overclocking, performances differences are usually single figure). You should get an overall boost using an AM3 board, especially if you can increase the speed of your ram.

This setup should be fine for a couple of years, running games on nice settings with a decent frame rate. Games aren't going to significantly improve graphically until the next round of consoles (although future MMOs could stress it).

[WazMeister]

Thanks for post, Brilliant!

Long as i can run the new Star Wars MMo I be happy tbh!

Would I need a new PSU or will my current one that powers my AMD 6400 and ati 4850 be enough.
I dont think there is much power jump from chaing these CPUs and mobos right?

[abigsmurf]

Can't see it being much of a problem. Not sure if the TDP is less on the athlon 64x2s but that's a low power CPU compared to most phenom x2s

[WazMeister]

TDP?

Whats that

[abigsmurf]

Thermal Design Power. Basically the maximum amount of heat a CPU will output (in watts). It's info that's meant to help heatsink makers know how much heat they have to dissapate but it's handy for system builders to get an idea of what size PSU they need.