[RESOLVED] Need advice on low consumption upgrade

[Euid2003]

Hello. I have been a happy owner for some time now of this:

- Socket 939 x2 3800
- 2 Gb RAM DDR 400Mhz
- Asrock 6100 chipset.
- Asus 6600 512 MB RAM VGA.

I was very lucky in that the CPU is running at 2000Mhz (Cool N Quiet disabled) always at 1,1 V.


I WOULD like to make an upgrade, but i 've been out of the loop for some time and googling has confused me.

* My main goal is to have a low power consumption system but with upgraded capabilities. I read for example that the 780G chipset has a good IGP that could allow me to get rid of the standalone VGA. I am fine with that, i don't play new games, i only want to watch HD movies and IGP should suffice with that.

I have found interest and available in:
1) Athlon x2 5050e
2) Various Phenoms II x3
3) Phenom X4 9350e

I would prefer to avoid option 3, for cost reasons.

What about the Athlon x2 5050e? It is energy efficient , probably doesn't consume more than my current 3800. But, would it give a reasonable boost?

The Phenoms X3 seem good in between solution. But i have seen the TDP is 95W, so they should be consuming much more than my current setup.

So if you could please help me... What would you do if you were me? Upgrade now? To what? Or better wait?

I have no big complaint about my current setup. I want this upgrade mainly as a "future proof" solution for migration to Windows 7 (from XP), without worries. And i want to keep power consumption AS LOW AS POSSIBLE (it benefits both the electricity bill and my nerves for not worrying about overheating).

My plan is:
? motherboard (probably from Asrock)
? CPU
4 GB RAM
VGA: IGP

Thank you.

[Euid2003]

Well, i decided to go for the 5050e. The Phenoms are way too energy hungry, while i found some charts with the system consumption of the 5050e under 100 W under load. Besides i get a boost in Mhz and get a better IGP. The mobo will be AM3 compatible , so in the future i can upgrade.


Sorry for your time.

[glussier]

What motherboard have you decided to purchase?

[Euid2003]

I bought 2 actually (for spare parts):

Asrock A790GMH/128M 78 euros
Asrock A780GXH/128M 65 euros

and 2x2gb DDR2 800 Kingston HyperX cas4 RAM.

The latter came in dead, so now it's in RMA. I use the 790GMH right now and i am very happy with its stability and features (6 SATA connectors on an u-atx)...

Both are AM3 ready.