I was thinking about upgrading a few things... (help)

[ACleverUsername]

I am going to be upgrading to Windows 7 soon and was thinking I might upgrade a few other things. Let me know what you think, if this is a good idea, if I'm on the right track, etc.

My current specs...

CPU:
Intel C2D E7200 @ 3.33GHz (OC'd from 2.53 GHz)
L2 Cache: 3 MB
FSB: 1066 MHz

RAM:
4 gb OCZ DDR2 800
Latency: 4
Timing: 4-4-4-15

Now I'm wanting to go quad-core, and AMD is a whole lot cheaper than Intel, so I'm thinking of going AMD.

What I'm looking at...

CPU:
AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus @ 2.9GHz
L2 Cache: 4 x 512 KB
Hyper Transports: 4000MHz (is this AMD's version of FSB?)
AM3

Edit (additional CPU consideration):
AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition Deneb @ 3.0 GHz
L2: 4 x 512KB
L3: 6 MB
Hyper Transports: 3600MHz
AM2+

Just saw this one and thought I would list it. It's a bit more expensive (about $30) so I'm wondering if it's a huge jump or not from the one I listed above. It's also a 125 watter compared to the former which is 95, and my current is 65. Are more watts really that bad?

RAM:
2GB Crucial DDR3 1333
Latency: 7
Timing: 7-7-7-24

Could I expect to notice an increase in performance in games, multitasking, and overall system responsiveness? Will it be necessary to OC the processor or is it a good deal faster than my current one already? (I don't know if I want to spend the extra $40 right now for another Freezer 7 Pro) Will 2 gigs of the DDR3 be better than the 4 gigs of DDR2 that I have now? Sorry for the noob questions but I'm very unfamiliar with DDR3 and quad-core changes and terminology. If you have any better suggestions they, of course, would be appreciated. I want to spend less than 300 on this (which includes the mobo, the one I'm currently looking at is this, which I chose because of combo deals with the processors, but suggestions for a cheaper one are also appreciated!)

 

[Slaymate]

You just can't switch from an Intel to an AMD without also changing the motherboard. I'm not really knowledgable on AMD parts so I won't make a recommendation, but I'm sure someone will. Can you give everyone a budget number?

 

[ACleverUsername]

Are my edits not showing up?

I'd like to keep the mobo + processor + ram under $300. The lower the better, of course, because I'm also looking into getting an SDD.

Here's my full post + edited in case it's not showing up for anyone else:

I am going to be upgrading to Windows 7 soon and was thinking I might upgrade a few other things. Let me know what you think, if this is a good idea, if I'm on the right track, etc.

My current specs...

CPU:
Intel C2D E7200 @ 3.33GHz (OC'd from 2.53 GHz)
L2 Cache: 3 MB
FSB: 1066 MHz

RAM:
4 gb OCZ DDR2 800
Latency: 4
Timing: 4-4-4-15

Now I'm wanting to go quad-core, and AMD is a whole lot cheaper than Intel, so I'm thinking of going AMD.

What I'm looking at...

CPU:
AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus @ 2.9GHz
L2 Cache: 4 x 512 KB
Hyper Transports: 4000MHz (is this AMD's version of FSB?)
AM3

Edit (additional CPU consideration):
AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition Deneb @ 3.0 GHz
L2: 4 x 512KB
L3: 6 MB
Hyper Transports: 3600MHz
AM2+

Just saw this one and thought I would list it. It's a bit more expensive (about $30) so I'm wondering if it's a huge jump or not from the one I listed above. It's also a 125 watter compared to the former which is 95, and my current is 65. Are more watts really that bad?

RAM:
2GB Crucial DDR3 1333
Latency: 7
Timing: 7-7-7-24

Could I expect to notice an increase in performance in games, multitasking, and overall system responsiveness? Will it be necessary to OC the processor or is it a good deal faster than my current one already? (I don't know if I want to spend the extra $40 right now for another Freezer 7 Pro) Will 2 gigs of the DDR3 be better than the 4 gigs of DDR2 that I have now? Sorry for the noob questions but I'm very unfamiliar with DDR3 and quad-core changes and terminology. If you have any better suggestions they, of course, would be appreciated. I want to spend less than 300 on this (which includes the mobo, the one I'm currently looking at is this, which I chose because of combo deals with the processors, but suggestions for a cheaper one are also appreciated!)

 

[MindoverMaster]

Trust in Slaymate.

You cannot switch from a Intel to AMD on and Intel board. You have to get a AMD board if you want to switch to AMD.

I am unsure of the AMD realm as well. But you can not switch to the above. This much I know.

 

[playfutsal4life]

If you decide to get an SSD, make sure your system supports TRIM!

 

[patonb]

Trust in Slaymate.

You cannot switch from a Intel to AMD on and Intel board. You have to get a AMD board if you want to switch to AMD.

I am unsure of the AMD realm as well. But you can not switch to the above. This much I know.

People....... He knows this, and and clarified it in his edit, he wrote "the $300 is for cpu ram and MOBO".

I want to spend less than 300 on this (which includes the mobo, the one I'm currently looking at is this, which I chose because of combo deals with the processors, but suggestions for a cheaper one are also appreciated!)

And even included a link to a mobo/cpu combo from newegg

 

[ACleverUsername]

Thank you, patonb.

 

[MindoverMaster]

Oh crap. Sorry about that. I'm tired from the day's events. Sometimes I talk before I think...

 

[95BlackGA]

With that motherboard, you will not be able to use the 940 Deneb, it's AM2+ Socket. A lot of people were mad when they tried to upgrade their motherboards when AM3 started coming around. The 635 isn't a bad processor at all, and some have even been able to unlock the L3 cache with a motherboard that support ACC. You'll need the 710 southbridge, I believe. The 850 may be able to, but I have no clue. That would be something I would look into if I were you.