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02-14-2011, 11:13 PM   #1
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cpu upgrade question

Any computer people here? Was wondering if it was worth upgrading my Athlon 7750 kuma black (2.7 ghz) to a Phenom x4?

4gigs ram
windows 7 64bit
on board video (m3a78-em motherboard)

I don't play any games. I work mostly with Adobe cs3 and have been noticing that sometimes in Flash and Photoshop, things could be faster.

So would the phenom be a noticable upgrade?

02-14-2011, 11:56 PM   #2
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Your system should be fine for flash and PS CS3. Maybe the Windows was running to many junks in the background? A graphics card should boost the display performance but I would clean up the background process 1st.
02-15-2011, 12:04 AM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by eight08 Quote
Athlon 7750 kuma black (2.7 ghz) on board video
I agree maybe you have too much junk running you don't know about. I'm running the same AMD system you are but have a separate video card,and have no problems with it. Course I'm a computer tech and I keep my system squeaky clean.

Your motherboard has a PCI-e slot where you can add a standalone Video card. Onboard video is not the greatest to edit photos with since it uses memory from your 4gbs, and it uses cpu resources to run.

Better to upgrade the video card, That motherboard doesn't support the X4 cpus unless you flash the BIOS. See link below:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131324

Last edited by photolady95; 02-15-2011 at 12:15 AM.
02-15-2011, 12:24 AM   #4
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The CPU is usually not the bottleneck. I'd get more ram, however- 6gigs is a safe minimum for 64-bit systems, as most applications can only use up to 3.2, meaning that you'll always have plenty of memory left over for system stuff.

Also, I'd just like to mention that CS5 has much better performance on most systems than earlier versions because of its native use of the GPU. Maybe getting a graphics card and upgrading to cs5 wouldn't be a bad idea, either!


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02-15-2011, 10:29 AM   #5
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In a word, no. Since you are running Windows 64, I would instead upgrade the ram to 8GB. Also, as Adam implied, consider upgrading your Photoshop software.

Computers slow down from all the crap we load on them, even if you are conscientious and uninstall unwanted programs. True diehards will reformat and reinstall their operating systems periodically to retain system performance. Doing so can really be an eye opener.
02-15-2011, 12:52 PM   #6
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Hey, incidentally, could anyone give a quick rundown on the relative merits/any compatibility issues regarding 64 bit as opposed to 32 bit systems/OSes? I was starting to have a look at what's out there for used machines, and seem to see a number of mentions of it. (Though that may be about gaming.)
02-15-2011, 05:35 PM   #7
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If you are running older software for editing, you might want to stick with 32bit.
Compatibility could be a problem.
If you are running new versions of say, Lightroom, go with 64bit and at least 4 gig of RAM.
I ran XP 32 before my upgrade to win7 64 and LR 3 dogged badly. lr 2 ran fine on 2 gig.
LR 3 is available 64 bit and runs fine now on 4 gig
Runs fine on my 64 bit Vista laptop with 4gig too.

64 bit processes larger chunks of data at a time, so should theoretically run faster.
User experience may vary..........

02-15-2011, 07:01 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by shooz Quote
If you are running older software for editing, you might want to stick with 32bit.
Compatibility could be a problem.
If you are running new versions of say, Lightroom, go with 64bit and at least 4 gig of RAM.
I ran XP 32 before my upgrade to win7 64 and LR 3 dogged badly. lr 2 ran fine on 2 gig.
LR 3 is available 64 bit and runs fine now on 4 gig
Runs fine on my 64 bit Vista laptop with 4gig too.

64 bit processes larger chunks of data at a time, so should theoretically run faster.
User experience may vary..........

Sounds a little vague: I gather that a 64 bit OS would be wanted for a newer program and that those would need more computer resources to run on a 32 bit system, or should it just be matched?
02-15-2011, 08:06 PM   #9
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Sorry if it came out that way.

With 3 version of windows out there it can sound that way.
I'm assuming that your main use will be photo or video editing.
Since you didn't mention the software you will be using. I tried to keep it general.
I would have to say that win7 64 runs my photo editing software all the way back to Draw 11.
Some is 32 bit. Some is 64 bit.

Most 32 bit editing software will run fine in a 64 bit OS. indeed it is games that are sometimes a problem.
If you can? Get a used 64 bit OS and make sure it has enough RAM to handle newer software.
No harm in being future proof.
02-15-2011, 08:21 PM   #10
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Interesting responses. I wanted to avoid adding a video card (with a fan) for noise reasons. But I'll look for a fanless card, memory is also affordable so I'll do that too.

As for the possible junk on my system, I doubt it. I'm pretty diligent about not installing stuff unless nec. and do keep an eye on processes. My system at work is an older intel Core 2 with the same amount of ram... speed between the two are quite similar, I thought my speedier spec'd AMD would be faster.

So thanks to all, Ill be doing some video card shopping, yay! cs5 upgrade may be in the near future too.
02-15-2011, 08:57 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by shooz Quote
Sorry if it came out that way.
Oh, Sorry for my own phrasing, there, I didn't mean to say *you* were being vague, I was referring to the situation with compatibilities seemed a little vague. (Nursing a sinus headache today, I wasn't concentrating, apparently. )

I get it now, anyway.

Anyway, not really sure on what software/OS I'll go with: I figure I'll start with whatever I can get hold of/seems like a good combination to start with and go from there. (I'm using PSP X2 Ultimate at the moment, but I'm not too attached to it: right now it seems Lightroom would be the most appealing thing out there, so I may head Photoshop's way eventually. )

Sounds like the 64 bit is generally a plus: we went with this on sweetie's laptop figuring that it'd indeed be more future-proof.

I expect that photo editing will be the most demanding thing I care to do. I'm not really into gaming in any way to speak of, but I do think odds are good a lot of the used machines out there will have been made with that in mind anyway.

I appreciate the tip, it seems to make one variable pretty simple.
02-15-2011, 09:31 PM   #12
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Aita Pe'ape'a

Take the advice on a discrete video card if you can swing it.
You won't need anything fancy. A Geforce 5200 can be had cheaply and is fanless.
I have an old one around here somewhere, if you need it.

For some odd reason the spellcheck doesn't do Tahitian.
02-15-2011, 09:38 PM   #13
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a general note on upgrading

make sure your motherboard supports the components you are upgrading (cpu/ram/card)
02-15-2011, 10:53 PM   #14
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Be aware also, that not all 64bit OSes are the same or even better than the 32bit. Windows XP 64bit was the worse because manufacturers had no drivers for it. And if you intend to install Windows 7 64bit, make sure your computer manufacturer or motherboard manufacturer and your components has 64 bit drivers.
02-15-2011, 11:21 PM   #15
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Not to mention that Adobe hasn't offer a 64 bit codec for Vista or Win 7 that allows the OS to "see" DNG files.
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