Can A Upgrade To A Quad Core Processor With The Follwing Specifications?

Question

I Have a

AMD ATHLON 64X2 DUAL CORE PROCESSOR4000+ 2.16GHZ
ACPI x86-based PC
4 GIG RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 512

This is my new computer which i built myself although ive noticed you can now have quad core prosessors, i am a keen gamer. Help lol!

Answer 1

AMD have already released the quad cores which is called Phenom. The Phenom 9600 and 9500 are available to buy, and there will be another model out next year.
You need to have at least a AM2 motherboard to use those new processors and will require a bios update.

You have X2 dual core cpu which is either on a socket 939 mobo or a AM2 mobo, if you have an AM2 motherboard then you don't need to change anything, you will be able to use AMD's Phenom processors, but first you still need to go to the manufacturers website to see(confirmation) whether it supports your mobo as a few don't like Gigabytes's AM2 n-force550 boards but the other AM2 motherboards do with only a bios update required and it will work.

To be honest your current processor is quite good and the new Phenoms aren't quite as good as the Q6600 quad-core.

You need better graphics card which, let me tell you will give you a much better and more noticeable peformance increase in gaming. That graphics card is very low end which is why you can't play games that well, its not the processor.
Just because it has 512mb doesn't mean its good the 7300GT can't even utilize all of that video memory.

Get a HD 2600XT or best cards at the moment the 8800GT or HD3850/HD3870 and you'll be fine. Make sure your psu is up to the job however for the latter cards.

All your specs is fine you have a X2 dual core cpu ready for any games and tasks. 4GB ram - plenty - if your using 32-bit OS then all of that 4GB won't be addressed.
All that is needed is a good graphics card and you are set, you don't need to upgrade to quad yet and even if you did you won't see a huge improvement because the graphics card is key to gaming and your one is not that good.

Answer 2

FYI, AMD are now doing Quad Core CPU's.

It all depends on your Motherboard, if you dont know the Model number, it will be printed on the Motherboard it's self, such as my Motherboard is an Asus P5N32-E SLi.

Then simply go to the manufacturer website, look up your motherboard model, and they will have a list of all the CPU's it can support.

Don't bother checking the motherboard manual, as frequently the manufactureres will relase BIOS updates that will allow you to use newer CPU's then what was supported when the Motherboard Manual was printed.

Hope this helps.

Also, if you know what to look for, the Motherboard Model number is displayed breifly when you power on the PC.

Answer 3

You may, if your motherboard supports the new AMD Phenom 9500 or 9600 quadcore. But you might just be disappointed in gaming because they are only clocked at 2.2-2.3gHz.

Consider the X2 5000+ Black Edition that has unlocked multipliers. It can easily be overclocked to perform like the X2 6000+ but at lower wattage. That means FAST but COOL.
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/22/budget_overclocker/page7.html

But do take note that gaming still depends a lot on the graphics card. Your 7300GT is just a fast BUDGET card. Some options:
Better than your 7300GT= ATI HD 2600 XT or Geforce 8600GT
Awesome: Geforce 8800GT or ATI HD 3850 or 3870.

Answer 4

Right now only Intel has Quad Core. AMD will be awhile before they get their "quad core". You will have to change motherboards in order to use the Intel Quad Cores.

Answer 5

You'll need an intel motherboard before you can move to the quad core processor.