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[Sensei]

So this christmas, I'm looking to upgrade my CPU. I've done some research and concluded that, because I have an AMD Athlon x2 processor and DDR2 RAM, I must have an AM2 processor socket.

Currently my processor is a dual core and clocks in at 2.1ghz, so I noticed there were some better processors than that in the $40-100 range.

So what I'm wondering:
-Would you guys recommend anything in particular? I was looking at this, a dual 2.9ghz processor $62.
-Does it matter if a processor is 65nm or 90nm? I'm not sure what that means, I've seen AM2 processors with both.
-Any caveats to installing the processor itself? One website I looked at strongly recommends applying thermal grease.
-One reason I was thinking of upgrading was because Stalker:CoP claims that a 2.2ghz processor is its minimum requirement. However, I think that's a single core, would my current 2.1x2 be above that? Or do I basically need at last one core of the recommended clock speed?
-Did I miss anything?

[Phmcw]

Yup, that this should be in life advice.

Now am2 is a fairly old socket, and that processor is almost the price of a new one. And it so happen that your ram is (most probably) DDR2, which will impact performances too. So one advice, buy a new RAM/processor/motherboard combo.

To answer your previous question : yes you really should take a 65nm because it impact the consumption and efficiency of the processor.
You pretty much must apply thermal grease, and most fan come with a bit of it (in the last amd processor, at least, it's pre applied on the bottom of the fan, so probably no problems there.
Clock speed is not reliable at all for estimation of the power of a processor. Try the game first and see if it work. But given the age of your system, the first thing I'd check is the graphic card : what is it? 

[Montague]

I've been shopping around and researching myself and decided I want a Intel i5 or i7. A 4+ core processor is the new minimum for a respectibly powerful system these days, which is one of the reasons why clock speed isn't very important anymore.

Also, from what I understand replacing a CPU is a lot more trouble then say replacing a GPU. Often times the motherboard or power supply won't be fully compatible with a newer CPU.

You might want to consider the cost and practibility of upgrading your current pc compared to just biting the bullet and buying a new one. Sometimes its just not worth it to upgrade, especially if its older then 3 or 4 years.

[Phmcw]

I've been shopping around and researching myself and decided I want a Intel i5 or i7. A 4+ core processor is the new minimum for a respectibly powerful system these days, which is one of the reasons why clock speed isn't very important anymore.

Also, from what I understand replacing a CPU is a lot more trouble then say replacing a GPU. Often times the motherboard or power supply won't be fully compatible with a newer CPU.

You might want to consider the cost and practicability of upgrading your current pc compared to just biting the bullet and buying a new one. Sometimes its just not worth it to upgrade, especially if its older then 3 or 4 years.

Actually, it's false : a 4 core processor is virtually only interesting for running multiple program at the same time/highly parallelized applications. A decent 2 core may do the trick (Phenom II are cheap and efficients) Beside I7 are overkill for near everything (except DF, that is).
Upgrading with a new motherboard is practically buying a new PC, but keeping the keep-able part. It all depend : if he bought a good graphic card (say nvidia 270/280) a good power supply and a big HDD, then he only really need a new motherboard, PCU, Ram and maybe a ssd and he'll have a good PC again.It will all be a bit over 200$.

But yeah, it doesn't seems like the case.

[Il Palazzo]

-Would you guys recommend anything in particular? I was looking at this, a dual 2.9ghz processor $62.

Looks ok, quite fast and most likely compatibile with the socket you have. It's not a huge upgrade over your previous one, but still should unlock some potential for entertainment, if that's what you're looking for.

-Does it matter if a processor is 65nm or 90nm? I'm not sure what that means, I've seen AM2 processors with both.

The lower the number the more efficient the processor it. I.e. less energy usage(and less heating). I don't know about any performance differences, providing other specs are the same.

-Any caveats to installing the processor itself? One website I looked at strongly recommends applying thermal grease.

It's not a difficult process. With the new processor you should get a quick quide on how-to-install, but even without it you should be o.k. as long as you're not suffering from common sense deficiency syndrome.
If the processor comes without a new fan(in which case the paste should be factory-applied), you'll have to remove the old paste from your old fan and apply new one. It's generally not a good idea to try and reuse the old paste.

-One reason I was thinking of upgrading was because Stalker:CoP claims that a 2.2ghz processor is its minimum requirement. However, I think that's a single core, would my current 2.1x2 be above that? Or do I basically need at last one core of the recommended clock speed?

As a rule of thumb, the processor speed requirements of games regard the maximum speed of any single core. That is not to say you absolutely couldn't run Stalker on your old one, but it definitelly wouldn't be much fun.

[Sensei]

Heh, I downloaded the Call of Pripyat benchmark- depending on the lighting conditions, I average between 11 and 7 FPS, with a maximum of 20.

I DO have a newer graphics card (ATI Radeon HD 4550) and I think 3GB of DDR2 ram will suffice for now. In fact I can run Skyrim fairly decently, although with the graphics down. I think that my processor is the weakest part of my computer by some margin.

I like the idea of upgrading to yesteryear processor because, well, it's only $62. I don't want to replace my motherboard (about $100), especially since I'm sure I'd want to upgrade to DDR3 RAM in the process (another 40-80 dollars). I also am not totally enthusiastic about the work of making sure I find a motherboard compatible with everything I don't want to replace, and actually doing everything.

In other words I'm lazy and don't want to spend $200.

[Montague]

There isn't a huge difference between DDR2 and DDR3 RAM. Rather, more RAM is better then better RAM. Definately consider putting in more RAM, especially if you want to play FPS type games. 3 GB is rather marginal for that. Also RAM is cheap and easy to improve, compared to replacing a CPU.

Might want to upgrade your RAM to 4-6mb before anything else, it might be enough to accomplish what you want and if it doesn't you can always pop out and re-use the RAM cards and stick them into a new PC. Can't do much like that with an new, old CPU, which might end up being too little too late for an older PC and ultimately might be a waste of money, especially if its only a slight improvement over the one already stuck in there.

[Phmcw]

No, no, no, no : he probably got an older windows, and thus a 32 bit operating system, so any more ram would be wasted.
What's more DDR2/DRR3 make quite a lot of difference, and are not compatible at all, so a motherboard that use DDR3 would not accept your DDR2. Bad idea.
You could upgrade your proc alone, but it won't hold much more time, and you'll have to change the whole system in relatively short notice if you want to keep up with new games.

Yes that graphic card, while not great, is not too bad either.

[Sensei]

I have Vista 32, and my motherboard supports up to 4GB of RAM. It would cost be only about $20 to upgrade that.

Of course, if I switched to a DDR3 motherboard, I could easily have 8-16GB of RAM.

I probably will procrastinate as long as possible on a new motherboard -until my computer truly is woefully inadequate, rather than slightly inadequate- because of course, the hardware is only getting cheaper while I wait. And I can also reassess the possibility of getting an entirely new computer then.

[Phmcw]

Vista32 = 32 bit operating system = 3,2 gb ram maximum. So, no, it's useless to buy more ram, it will just sit in your comp doing nothing.
And if you change comp, you'll need a 64bits operating system to use more than 3,2gb ram anyway.

[Sensei]

Yeah, in that case, I'll want to upgrade my OS, I might as well get an entirely new computer when I do.

Also, and this is one of the things that prompted me to make the thread (although somehow I forgot it) I ran a diagnostic program and it said my FSB type was an "AMD Hammer". Does that mean it's not an AM2? Or is it just a silly name?

Edit: Given that AMD Hammer on wikipedia just redirects to the Athlon 64 article, it is probably just me being silly.

[Phmcw]

Actually, are you sure that you have an am2 socket? What is the exact name of your proc?

[Sensei]

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+

[Phmcw]

Yeah, AMD, the socket before that didn't support DDR2 anyway.

[kinglog]

I did a similar upgrade last year - ~2ghz AM2 to a 2.6. I got a substantial improvement (yes, it's relative) out of the upgrade and still happily use the computer for gaming. I have played stalker (all three) on the machine (mit 8800gtx).

I >did< also upgrade to 4 gigs ram and windows 7. I was able to get an inexpensive academic lisense and RAM is cheap

If you want an inexpensive improvement go for it - it's fairly simple and gave me a nice little boost. I have not had any game perform so poorly on this machine that I'm willing to do a full upgrade. (n.b. have no interest in Crysis 2)

In the worst case, you're out $60 bucks (very small chance to fry motherboard) - with the full upgrade yr guaranteed to be out >$200