Upgrading my Phenom II X4 965

[palosanto]

Hi,

I have 2 old(er) machines with AsRock M3A770DE mobo and a Phenom U X4 965 BE CPU with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
1.- What would be the fastest processor that I can upgrade to? I realize that it might be out of production but I could try on eba if I can't buy them new.
2.- Could I still use the same CPU cooler?
3.- Is it worth the effort / money ?
4.- What would be the increase in performance in multi-threaded tasks, for example 3D rendering ?

The rest of the gear is fairly good, 8Gb ram and good video cards.

Thanks

[debs3759]

I'm guessing you meant Phenom II X4 965 BE. http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K10/AMD-Phenom%20II%20X4%20965%20Black%20Edition%20-%20HDZ965FBK4DGI%20%28HDZ965FBGIBOX%29.html describes the processor. At the bottom of that page is a list of compatible processors. Phenom II X4 980 is the fastest, with approx 9% speed increase. You should be OK with the same cooler. Only you can decide if it's worth the price when you find one The chip you have may overclock better, I forget what black edition means.

[Guest]

Thanks debs3759.
I'm currently o'çlocking them at 3.8 Ghz and running stable and cool.
Would the 980 overclock higher than that?
Also I went to AsRock and check for compatible CPU's for the M3A770DE
and it lists the HDE00ZFBK6DGR(BE) which is the X6 1100T BE.
Wouldn't be this one faster? or am I reading wrong the table ?

[debs3759]

Yes, you right if you use apps that can use all the cores. I only looked at what was listed on the processor page above. More cores is usually better.

As for overclocking potential, that can vary from chip to chip even with the same part number, so it is impossible to know unless the sellers is open about any overclocking they have tried.

[Guest]

Thank you.

[Mr.Scott]

Deb, Black Edition simply means it has an unlocked multiplier. Easier to overclock.

OP- I'd go for that 1100T. It's a hex core with an unlocked multiplier, plus, being a Thuban core instead of a Deneb means it has a much better internal memory controller.