CPU upgrade dilemma

[snowy92]

Hello,My desktop PC is primarily for gaming. It's about 4 years old but have upgraded the video card and the power supply. I feel the video card is being bottlenecked by the original CPU so I'm interested in an upgrade however I do not know (and can't seem to find) of any suitable upgrade to fit the AM2 socket on my M2N68-LA motherboard.


The current cpu is an AMD phenom x4 9500 quad core processor and my graphics card is an ATI radeon HD5700. I understand most of the newer AMD processors will not fit my motherboards socket so I do not know if there is an immediate upgrade available that will fit in the AM2 socket or if I will have to upgrade my motherboard to be compatible with AMD's AM3 socket processors? If the latter, will I also need to upgrade my RAM to support the new motherboard *current RAM listed below*? Are there any other components that must be upgraded to be compatible with a newer motherboard.

To summarize, I guess I'm asking what the best option is for me in my situation, easiest being finding an upgrade that fits my socket and most complicated being buying a completely new system.

Any help is appreciated and I am by no means an expert to I apologize in advance if I am not supplying sufficient details or making sense


Thanks for your time!!




Memory:
DDR2 PC2-6400, DDR2 PC2-8500


Memory Type: DDR2 PC2-6400, DDR2 PC2-8500, DDR2 (non-ECC)
Maximum Memory: 8GB
Currently Installed Memory: 6GB
Total Memory Slots: 4
Available Memory Slots: 0

 

[MindoverMaster]

What is your motherboard make/model?

 

[Roark]

I don't think you're going to find much of an upgrade option available.

Poking around on Google I found this forum post (link).
HP, like Dell, has variants of the same motherboard that are limited to the CPUs they can use (to make upgrading less worth your time).
It looks like from this post the best one available is the Narra3 variation, which supports "Phenom with Quad Core (Agena) technology (AM2+) up to 9600 (up to 95 watt)"
So, if you're already using a Phenom x4 9500, I doubt the jump to 9600 is going to be worth the $.

 

[Joe C]

HP, like Dell, has variants of the same motherboard that are limited to the CPUs they can use

that true

you may want to consider that idea of upgrading with a retail motherboard, you'll have a better option to upgrade in the future. Of course you'll probably need a new case to go along with that board too because a lot of oem cases lack the proper air flow for cooling on a retail cpu and board

 

[snowy92]

Thanks for the help everyone, looks like I'll be going the route of purchasing a new mobo and going from there

 

[-RockMan-]

Hello,My desktop PC is primarily for gaming. It's about 4 years old but have upgraded the video card and the power supply. I feel the video card is being bottlenecked by the original CPU so I'm interested in M2N68-LA

Newegg.com - ASRock 880GM-LE FX AM3+ AMD 880G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
70.00

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
124.99

Total is 192.00, I feel like you should upgrade your computer soon if you feel like it can't handles todays need.
You are correct about the onboard and the gpu fails so hard at anything...
If I were you make plans on selling your current rig and take what you get and add it to a good set budget.

 

[MindoverMaster]

He'd need DDR3 RAM, too, Mike.

 

[-RockMan-]

He'd need DDR3 RAM, too, Mike.

Yes, I know that but I am waiting on him to see if he decides on AM3/AM3+ or wants to try something different.
Wait for his reply then make a suggestion to what he wants.

 

[snowy92]

Yes, I know that but I am waiting on him to see if he decides on AM3/AM3+ or wants to try something different.
Wait for his reply then make a suggestion to what he wants.

This site is really a gem, your guys' help is incredible. I'd perfer to stay the AM3 socket route if that's reasonable, ideally something to support a higher grade Phenom II X4 or a X6. The motherboard and CPU you linked are very appealing to me. Is it viable to roll with that mobo + CPU combo if I also upgraded the RAM suitable to the motherboard? Are there further component upgrades necessary for compatibility sake?

I really appreciate your time and patience , thanks again

 

[-RockMan-]

This site is really a gem, your guys' help is incredible. I'd perfer to stay the AM3 socket route if that's reasonable, ideally something to support a higher grade Phenom II X4 or a X6. The motherboard and CPU you linked are very appealing to me. Is it viable to roll with that mobo + CPU combo if I also upgraded the RAM suitable to the motherboard? Are there further component upgrades necessary for compatibility sake?

I really appreciate your time and patience , thanks again

Of course its reasonable if you want AM3 or AM3+
Like MIND mentioned you'll need to upgrade your memory, I used kingston mostly or mushkin because both seem to get perfectly fine with AMD builds.
Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C9AD3/2G
This model I have but I have a 4GB 2 sticks, they are quite good for gaming and everyday use, but pathetic at times when trying to do extreme OC's.

The video card for picking....
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-N550D5-1GI GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

About the higher end phenoms ii and motherboard if you want something abit more stronger you have quite a few options:
1045T hexa-core
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X6 1045T Thuban 2.7GHz Socket AM3 95W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT45TWFGRBOX

or

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, CPUs / Processors, Processors - Desktops, Phenom II X4
That Phenom II X4 965 will do you great justice and is very good for medium high end gaming

Another mobo choice is this:
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard