Reviving an old 939 :D

[AlienIsGOD]

So i was given a s939 X2 3800+ box for my kids. Im going to be buying some pieces to get it in better working order (and also to carry over to a IB or AMD APU rig) so i know it wont blow up

Heres what im looking at so far:

Thermaltake TR2 600w, a cheap Asus wireless card and a HD6450. Will these be fine for now with an old x2 3800? im not looking to game on it or anything, just stuff a 10 year old will do. But is the PSU refutable enough for the build im planning? i'll be throwing my 6870 in with the new cpu, mobo and ram and am looking at no more than a core i5 or a AMD quad w/ GPU. Be aware that im on a pretty tight budget for this atm, so i would like to keep the prices down if possible.

This is where I shop http://www.canadacomputers.com/ so any suggestions should come from there. Thanks for looking in advance

 

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

Well as I am running 2 s939 systems. If you not gaming and if you where the HD6450 would be overkill on a 939 3800+. A high 3 series or 4 series would be plenty of gpu power for that 2 ghz x2 proc. I run 3650's in both of mine, one is a 3800+ and the other is a 4200+. Also what os are you going to be running?

As far as power supply goes if you run something lower for a gpu you can also run a lower psu. I am running Antec 450's in mine without issues. Any use wifi adapter will work without issue. I am using a linksys wusb54gc (silver one ebay $7) with my one that isn't hardwired in.

Both of mine are running Asus boards. One is a A8n-e and the other is a A8n sli premium.

 

[AlienIsGOD]

well the HD6450 will be going into the new build over the summer until I buy a 7850 would like to keep the 6450 as I have a few friends that play WoW and the rig as is (well in 2 weeks with the aforementioned pieces) should handle low settings. Will prolly run F@H or WCG GPU stuff on the 6450 too, while the x2 3800+ will soldier along running WCG.

Board wise its an Acer pre built http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/desktop/0000/Acer/AspireE380/AspireE380sp2.shtml

Will be putting my old OCZ Reapers in it whether it be 2x1gb or 4x1gb.

 

[BlackOmega]

Well as I am running 2 s939 systems. If you not gaming and if you where the HD6450 would be overkill on a 939 3800+. A high 3 series or 4 series would be plenty of gpu power for that 2 ghz x2 proc. I run 3650's in both of mine, one is a 3800+ and the other is a 4200+. Also what os are you going to be running?

As far as power supply goes if you run something lower for a gpu you can also run a lower psu. I am running Antec 450's in mine without issues. Any use wifi adapter will work without issue. I am using a linksys wusb54gc (silver one ebay $7) with my one that isn't hardwired in.

Both of mine are running Asus boards. One is a A8n-e and the other is a A8n sli premium.

How is a 6450 overkill? A 4870 will literally stomp a 6450 into the dirt and a s939 rig can handle a 4870 with ease. Having run a DFI CFX3200DR, Opty 180 and 2 4870's, I can tell you that a s939 rig would be able to handle a 6450 with ease. Quite honestly, it could handle more.
NOTE: A socket 939 rig, even at 3.0GHz cannot handle 2 4870's. The performance difference from 1 to 2 cards is negligible. Need a newer architecture, like socket AM3, to be able to fully utilize 2 4870's.

OP, a 6450 will run just fine and I'm sure that your 3800x2 will easily run it at full load. FWIW, you should be able to OC that 3800x2 to ~2.5GHz with relative ease --depending on the motherboard and CPU cooling.

 

[Melvis]

Good old 939 systems, soild as a rock and still give enough grunt for todays tasks. I also just recived another 939 system with a 3800X2, on a ASUS board , 2GB RAM and a GTX210 all for $60.

Like BlackOmega said^ the 6450 isnt over kill at all, all depends on the CPU and how far its clocked, ive run many different cards on 939 systems like 6600, 7600GT, 8600GT's, 7900GT's, 9600GT, 4870, 4870X2 and they all ran with out issues, but to be honest anything over the 9600GT was a waste as the CPU just couldnt keep up. (mainly tested on the FX-57 CPU)

Im sure it will run just fine for your kids to use

 

[jpierce55]

The PSU should be fine, in fact with 6450 you could probably get a nice psu in the 5-550 range. Amps are just as important to watch as the wattage. Look at this calculator. It is a great tool:
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

[Athlon2K15]

I have an old am2 with an FX62 does anyone wanna revive it? lol

 

[AlienIsGOD]

the board in question is an Acer OEM board, so no o/c. was looking at some cases that came with PSUs. i know the generics PSUs are crap, but would a 500w be enuff for this system? Reason I ask is that the case is very small and I would like to get a bigger case for the future. I would then be able to save for a better PSU and the rest of the upgrade while my daughter gets a working Pc quicker.

I did the PSU calculator and it came back @ 252 watts recommended, so im sure a craptacular PSU @500watts would handle the system for a month or 2. feedback is appreciated on this.

 

[Melvis]

the board in question is an Acer OEM board, so no o/c. was looking at some cases that came with PSUs. i know the generics PSUs are crap, but would a 500w be enuff for this system? Reason I ask is that the case is very small and I would like to get a bigger case for the future. I would then be able to save for a better PSU and the rest of the upgrade while my daughter gets a working Pc quicker.

I did the PSU calculator and it came back @ 252 watts recommended, so im sure a craptacular PSU @500watts would handle the system for a month or 2. feedback is appreciated on this.

Yes a generic 500W PSU would be fine

 

[AlienIsGOD]

i may go a slower route in putting this together would a GT 430 be overkill? (be reminded that the 939 CPU/Mobo is just a holdover for now) i'd just rather a gfx card that will last more than a month or 2 before i want to replace i...

 

[brandonwh64]

try to find a GTS 450?

 

[AlienIsGOD]

try to find a GTS 450?

can't spend more than $100 and the GT430 is the only decent card at my store for that price, AMD side its a 6450 then 7750s which are $114 that are in stock.

 

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

If your going to upgrade the system from s939 then a 450 or a 6 or 7 series Amd will be fine. What you have to remember even though the cards will run in the s939 the cpu will bottleneck it. You will see just how bad when you upgrade to a newer system and use the card in it. The card will take off then. Now what card it will start to bottleneck at I am not sure. Probably around a High 3 or High 4 series Amd card. What that means is that the biggest baddest card out there will not run any faster then say for example the 4870 if thats where the s939 3800+ at stock speeds starts to bottleneck at. But if your goin g to upgrade the board and proc then the faster card will get utilized better and you will see it shine then. But like I said then system will run the card it's just a matter will it fully utilize it or not.


Also what os are you going to run?

 

[Melvis]

Honestly anything over a 9600GT is going to bottle neck the CPU, after running a lot of different cards in my FX-57 rig ive found that the 9600GT is the sweet spot for it

 

[AlienIsGOD]

ya but the point is to get this thing running for now, while investing in parts that can be used later. The 3800+ and mobo is just being used because thats what was given to me, I want parts that can run with a core i3 and not be a waste of money. For that matter, i have 2 x 4850s sitting in my closet if i really needed a good gfx card to use.

I want the final build to be a Core i3 w/ z77 mobo, 8GB ram and a decent DX 11 gfx card with Win 7 running on it. I also plan to have this done by Xmas this year, for now i just want something running for my lil girl so she doesn't have to bug me to use my PC all the time.

Edit: thats what i'll prolly do, invest in a good PSU and use a 4850 for now. Am also going to throw the old OCZ Reapers in the OEM board to see if all 4GB can be recognized.

 

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

Edit: thats what i'll prolly do, invest in a good PSU and use a 4850 for now. Am also going to throw the old OCZ Reapers in the OEM board to see if all 4GB can be recognized.

Thats seems like a good plane there. Use what you already have, and when it comes time to build the new system maybe prices on the gpu you want will be lower.

 

[AlienIsGOD]

maybe prices on the gpu you want will be lower.

ideally I would like to drop my 6870 in there and throw a 7850/70 in my rig

 

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

Sounds like a good plan you have there.

 

[moocow0463]

Check the for sale section of this forum maybe you can find a second hand card for pretty cheap, as soon as my 7970 gets here I'll be getting rid of my crossfire setup