Processor changing?

  • Thread starter Thread starter kidkage
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kidkage

kidkage

Bored of Canada
I've got one of these as my recording computer HP Pavilion p6531p Desktop PC - AMD Athlon II X4 635 2.9GHz, 6GB DDR3, 750GB HDD, DVDRW, WiFi, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit at TigerDirect.com

Everything seems pretty solid to me. I'm curious though, if things move slowly or get loud or whatever, say, if I'm running a vst program or something that would be a processor problem right?

If so, could that be fixed by replacing the processor with something like this
AMD FD4100WMGUSBX FX-4100 Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 2MB L2 Cache, 3.60GHz (3.80GHz Max Turbo), Socket AM3+, 95W, Fan, Unlocked, Retail at TigerDirect.com ?

Also, if that's what it calls for, would only the processor need to be changed or would that call of a change for other components as well.
 
kidkage said:
I've got one of these as my recording computer HP Pavilion p6531p Desktop PC - AMD Athlon II X4 635 2.9GHz, 6GB DDR3, 750GB HDD, DVDRW, WiFi, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit at TigerDirect.com

Everything seems pretty solid to me. I'm curious though, if things move slowly or get loud or whatever, say, if I'm running a vst program or something that would be a processor problem right?

If so, could that be fixed by replacing the processor with something like this
AMD FD4100WMGUSBX FX-4100 Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 2MB L2 Cache, 3.60GHz (3.80GHz Max Turbo), Socket AM3+, 95W, Fan, Unlocked, Retail at TigerDirect.com ?

Also, if that's what it calls for, would only the processor need to be changed or would that call of a change for other components as well.
Click to expand...

I don't know about those particular processors, but I know AMD use the same sockets a lot. Unlike Intel, who use a new one for every generation of CPUs. =P
But if that particular one can't just be swapped out, then it would require a whole new motherboard too.
 
Read up on reviews pal.

I'm not an amd buff but a quick google suggested that both above chips aren't amazing.

phenom x4 chips were recommended.

But, to answer your real question, It's difficult to second guess and plan ahead.

If you experience performance issues don't jump the gun and buy stuff.
There are ways of monitoring your pc activity and seeing exactly where the bottleneck is first.

Hope that helps.
 
Alright
Just trying to plan ahead as much as I can :p and make sure it wouldnt be a RAM or Hard drive issue
As it is now, everything is working fine *knock on wood*
So then at most it would call for me changing out the motherboard as well?

And thanks for all the help!
And the X4 recommendation
 
Steenamaroo said:
Read up on reviews pal.

I'm not an amd buff but a quick google suggested that both above chips aren't amazing.

phenom x4 chips were recommended.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm not too sure on what to look for in processors :o I just sort of figured more ghz=better
 
In the old days, yeh, but I wouldn't trust that now.

There's gota be 10 online benchmarks with comparisons for every cpu ever made, so it's really easy to find out what's what now.

I mean, I run an i3 2.3ghz and of course it completely smokes my old pentium 4 at 3.6ghz.

Number of cycles is important, but it's equally important just how much info can be processed per cycle if that makes sense.
 
Ah, very informative.
Well, awesome. I'll get to reading, and if I ever run into problems I'll have some more info to recall... before I come here :p
 
There is alot more to look for in Procs than just clockspeed. It's nice to look at the amount of cores, how big the cache is, whether or not it supports 64 bit or hyperthreading. Stuff like that..

Also, different procs require different sockets (which has been mentioned), but also require completely seperate boards. The new Intel Core i7's eliminate the front side bus and use hypertransporting. Now the proc doesn't have to do a hop-to-hop connection to memory and it is ALOT faster accessing the systems memory.

Anyway, just my 2 cents on the matter.
 
Well, using HP's website as my source HP Pavilion p6531p Desktop PC Product Specifications HP Pavilion p6531p Desktop PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

It looks like I can support this AMD Phenom II X4 980 HDZ980FBGMBOX Black Edition Processor - Quad Core, 6MB L3 Cache, 2MB L2 Cache, 3.70 GHz, Socket AM3, 125W, Fan, Unlocked, Retail at TigerDirect.com
So I think I'm gonna go with that.

Any red flags you guys can think of?

Also using the HP spec sheet, I found this:
[This is what is in the pc already]
Memory
6 GB
Amount: 6 GB
Speed: PC3-10600 MB/sec

[Upgrade...options:confused:]
Memory upgrade information:
Four DDR3 DIMM (240-pin) sockets
Supports 1 GB, 2 GB, and 4 GB DDR3 DIMMs per socket
Supports Dual channel memory architecture
Supported speeds
PC3-10600 @ 1333 MHz*
PC3-8500 @ 1066 MHz
*DDR3-1333 modules run at 1066 MHz if three or more modules are installed.
Non-ECC memory only, unbuffered
Supports up to 16 GB on 64-bit PCs (DIMMs run at DDR3-1066)
Supports up to 4 GB* on 32-bit PCs
* Actual available memory may be less.
---------------

I've got 64 bit windows 7.
How would I go about getting the full 16gb memory.
I see there are 4 slots that can handle up to 4gb each.
I assume I would put a 4gb piece in all four slots.
Wrong?
 
It is indeed as easy as that. If you really want to get technical, you can go into BIOS and play around with some numbers, but I doubt you'll ever really use the full 16 either way. 6GB you already have is a good amount. I have 8GB and generally never use more than 4GB of it. You could get some better results with perhaps a new hard drive, just for plug ins and such.
 
somegeezer said:
It is indeed as easy as that. If you really want to get technical, you can go into BIOS and play around with some numbers, but I doubt you'll ever really use the full 16 either way. 6GB you already have is a good amount. I have 8GB and generally never use more than 4GB of it. You could get some better results with perhaps a new hard drive, just for plug ins and such.
Click to expand...

:p sweet.ordered new processor and memory last night :D
 
Seems like a reasonable upgrade.

Your old and new are both on this list.

You good to go for fitting this thing?
 
Cool. Just make sure all the old thermal paste is completely gone. Use alcohol if you can.
And don't apply too much when you're redoing it. That's as bad as not putting on enough.

Good luck. :)
 
Steenamaroo said:
Cool. Just make sure all the old thermal paste is completely gone. Use alcohol if you can.
And don't apply too much when you're redoing it. That's as bad as not putting on enough.

Good luck. :)
Click to expand...

:o
:eek:

uh oh.
thermal paste? SHIT.
I forgot to add that to the cart.

Any recommendations?

And on a related note- will the computer be any quieter or louder with the new upgrades?
There such things as silent fans?
 
No such thing as slient, but some are quieter than others, yes. You can always just turn them down during recording. My front fans on the case are barely above the lowest setting. My CPU is fine with just the water cooling [with the radiator hooked up to the rear fans].
If yours is really noisy, you might have a look at some insulation for inside the case. It will make it a lot warmer inside, but keep a lot of noise from getting into your mics too.
I would think your cooler will probably come with thermal paste on already. Mine did. It's always good to add some more every now and then though. It does tend to evaporate. =P
 
The paste hardens over time and shouldn't be re used.

It can go dry and crumble away into dust, but I've never heard of it evaporating.

AFAIK, it's best practice to remove it completely and apply new stuff every time the heatsink is removed and replace.

Look for arctic silver 5 or something like that.
 
Steenamaroo said:
The paste hardens over time and shouldn't be re used.

It can go dry and crumble away into dust, but I've never heard of it evaporating.

AFAIK, it's best practice to remove it completely and apply new stuff every time the heatsink is removed and replace.

Look for arctic silver 5 or something like that.
Click to expand...

That is it evaporating. leaving behind the solids. But yes, make sure you put the new paste on after making sure the surface is clean.
 
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