SOLVED:New Processor, AMD 64 X2 5600+ or 6000+

Finally, after a bit of work I finally found out that my motherboard supports AM2.

My current mission is to slowly upgrade my PC so by the end of next year, it'll be battle ready for DX10 and Vista (which I think will start to swing into full bloom by the end of 2008, just my opinion).

I just recently upgraded from SLI 7600GTs to a 8800GTS 640MB. My next step is to upgrade my processor, because my current one is dragging things down a little and I need a bit more pep.

I currently have an AMD 64 X2 3800+ and I want to get my hands on something a bit better. I can get my hands on a 5600+ for about $145 or I can get a 6000+ for about $175 (give or take a bit).

My questions/concerns are:

First: Is the 6000+ that much better then the 5600+ to even notice, aside from maybe running some benchmarks? I'd rather not spend over $150, but if I need to squeeze out a little more for something that is that much better, I'm willing to do so.

Second: Any recommendations on thermal paste I should use?

Third: I've never swapped processors before, so I don't entirely know what to expect. Will I have to adjust anything in BIOS? Should I backup info just in case the worse happens and things start to crash? Or is this just a simple swap, kind of like graphic cards or RAM, and I have nothing to worry about?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I've never really bought a separate processor nor swapped one.
But I think the BIOS is just for the motherboard, you need to have the right one though.
And as long the processor is supported by the motherboard it should just work, since the BIOS etc. would also be compatible with it.
For the physical acts, just read the manual and be careful and precise just to be sure.

Also, if by "squeezing out a little more" you mean overclocking, don't.
I've been made really clear that it will just make your processor unstable and it will have a shorter lifespan etc.
It's just a waste to do that to a nice new processor and not recommended.
But I guess the results of it of course depend on how much you overclock.
If you really have to, be sure to have really good and smooth cooling.
But that will again cost you a lot of tens extra.

About cooling, I recommend the ZM-STG1 by Zalman: http://zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=198
It is really easy to apply with the brush and it's thin, even though some people say both of those things are negative things.
It's really much handier to kind of "paint" it on very precise rather than using one of those tubes and a card or knife or whatever.
And the performance I find very well, I have it between a Pentium 4 HT 3GHz+ and a Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu.
It keeps the processor around 50 degrees Celsius depending on the rest of your system's cooling of course.
I think the temperature also dropped versus the previous Cooler Master paste I used.
It seems to work well anyways.

Another obvious good one would be the Arctic Silver 5 or maybe another one by Arctic Silver.
Just be sure you don't get one of their glue kinds of pastes, or your cooler will be permanently stuck to your processor.
It also might be a bit more expensive, I'm not sure, but the STG1 seems to last a lot longer, I guess because it's thinner.


Just throwing out some of my personal experience and thoughts.

- Damage Inc.

Well obviously the 6000+ is going to be faster then the 5600+, by a little bit, only go for it if you really want to not upgrade for a little bit down the line. So go with the 5600+, it will be fast.

For the thermal paste, this will be fine. LINK



And for switching the processors, its actually very simple. Total time should take 20 minutes at most.


Just take off current heatsink.
Take out current proecssor.
Place new processor in.
Place a small amount of thermal paste on the new processor (Pea size, spread it around the processor)
Place new heatsink on.

You're good to go.

Actually, Arctic Silver instructs that you just should put a drop in the center, not spread it out but directly put the heatsink on top.
And that later you will find it spread out because of the pressure and only on the area of the actual core too.

I don't think it matters much, but they might be pointing out something good, I don't know.
I just spread it out on my GPU since the whole "processor" might be the core on a GPU unlike a CPU, just to be sure.

Yeah, they SAY that just have the heatsink on top, but I've found it works better when you spread it out. Either way it will work.

Excellent. You guys are the best.

Within the next week or two, I should be sporting a new processor.

I'll let you guys know the outcome! Thanks for the reply/info!

Hey, no problem and good luck!

If there's anything you need help with or aren't sure about, just ask, someone might have an answer here.
Be sure to use manuals and official websites from the brand of your devices.
Those can be very helpful too.

No problem! Always love to hear that!

If you have any further questions you may open up another topic. Need help with anything else? There is a section on Soft Hardware for it!

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