[ldoodle]

Hiya,


I have an 8300 board and need to replace my CPU. I'm looking at the new PII X3 705e model, but it's 65w TDP compared to my current 4050e which is 45w TDP.


I have a Shuriken cooler so would the heat/noise difference be noticeable?


Or should I wait for the AII X4 605e, rated at 45w TDP, and sacrifice the L3 cache?


Cheers

 

[ENiGmA1987]

The only thing you should start asking questions about as to whether the CPU will run too hot is if you are looking at 95w CPUs or higher. Yes the 65w CPU will be hotter than your current 45w, but not by much. And that cooler will work fine for a CPU with a TDP rating anywhere between 45w and 125w. But at 95w and higher you wouldnt be able to overclock it much, and it might produce too much heat and overheat the HTPC depending on how small your case is and the ventilation in it.


But yes the 65w CPUs will work fine power wise and heat wise.

You need to check your motherboard specs though on the manufacturers website, to make sure the CPUs you are looking at are supported or not and with what bios. I cant answer that for you since "an 8300 board" doesnt tell me anything.

 

[k-sider]

I believe the OP is talking about an Nvidia 8300 chipset which should be fine with Phenom II assuming the bios supports it. Obviously to be sure a motherboard model would be helpful.

 

[zicoz]

The 705e seems to be very undervolt friendly, Fudzilla got it as low as 0.995v, so that could save you a couple of watts if your motherboard supports it.

http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/14694/40/1/3/


Personally I'm going to get me a Sempron 140 to run some tests while I'm waiting for the 45w quad-cores. It might not be as powerfull as say a 4850, but it does have HT 3.0, but I don't know if that matters as much on the 8300 as it does on the 780G.

 

[ENiGmA1987]



Quote:
Originally Posted by zicoz /forum/post/16879753


The 705e seems to be very undervolt friendly, Fudzilla got it as low as 0.995v, so that could save you a couple of watts if your motherboard supports it.

http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/14694/40/1/3/


Personally I'm going to get me a Sempron 140 to run some tests while I'm waiting for the 45w quad-cores. It might not be as powerfull as say a 4850, but it does have HT 3.0, but I don't know if that matters as much on the 8300 as it does on the 780G.

lol when I read that I was really confused at first. A "4850" is a graphics card from AMD/ATI. And 4850e CPU is a processor from AMD.

Also, take anything you read on FudZilla site with a HUGE grain of salt. There is a reason the expression is "spreading Fud"

As k-sider said, you need to look up your model number and brand of whatever "8300 board" you have. Check whether the CPU you want is supported by the bios, and if so by what revision. You may need to flash the bios to support some of the newer CPUs.

 

[lsilvest]

I'm running 2 HTPCs, both with 65W CPUs with absolutely no heating problems. Both have good quiet airflow using front & back 120 fans. On one I'm using the new ATI heatsink/fan which is very quiet and efficient and works just as well as a Zalman I was using on this same CPU before. I do not O/C HTPC processors.

 

[zicoz]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ENiGmA1987 /forum/post/16879993


lol when I read that I was really confused at first. A "4850" is a graphics card from AMD/ATI. And 4850e CPU is a processor from AMD.

Also, take anything you read on FudZilla site with a HUGE grain of salt. There is a reason the expression is "spreading Fud"

I don't see the point of adding the e when it's clear that I'm talking about CPUs. Why would I be comparing a CPU with a gfx-card? And when it comes to FudZilla. Sure one can't take their news section too serious, but I don't see any reason not to trust their reviews.

 

[Java Jack]



Quote:
Originally Posted by zicoz /forum/post/16880773


I don't see the point of adding the e when it's clear that I'm talking about CPUs. Why would I be comparing a CPU with a gfx-card? And when it comes to FudZilla. Sure one can't take their news section too serious, but I don't see any reason not to trust their reviews.

While it may be clear you are talking about CPUs, it could still lead to confusion for others.


Also, some people may not know that the CPU in question is a engergy efficient part or may confuse it with other standard power parts. The e helps denote this as a low power part.

 

[ldoodle]

Thanks for the replies.


My case is a Lian Li PC-C37B and the motherboard is ASUS M3N78-EM. I need to check PCB version as I need 1.01G.


On that note, can I check without opening up the case (not that that's a problem!).

 

[bjterry62]

JFYI - I run an Athlon X2 7750 95W @ stock 2.7ghz in my Antec SK2400 with a Zalman CU7700 @ 5V and have no heat problems AT ALL and can barely hear it when the room is quiet.


BT

 

[joe531]

I'm using the Athlon X2 7850 cpu, which is virtually identical to the one in the above post.


I have a Scythe S-Flex SFF21E 120mm fan blowing air on it. My case is the Apevia X-Master 500. With Cool n Quiet turned on, it stays relatively quiet. Since it's been pretty hot this summer, room temperature's been hovering around 80F.


The only time it gets loud is when I'm either encoding video or in the BIOS, where it seems to run 100%. Running a program like Windows Media Center puts it in the low-mid range area for heat and noise. It's not quiet but it's also not distracting either.

 

[ldoodle]

OK, thinking of stepping up to the 905e (Quad) instead of the 705e (Triple).


However, the CPU Support List for my board doesn't list the 905e but does the 705e.


Is there a major hardware difference between the 2 that would cause one to be supported but not the other?


Cheers

 

[ENiGmA1987]

Not a major difference compared to the other quads. It is just a very new model that is a special low power edition. The bios doesnt know how to read the model and know what to do with it. So even if you stuck the CPU in and it did work, the motherboard would overvolt the CPU and it would use more power than is advertised.


Most likely it would just have problems booting with an unrecognized CPU.



Are you wanting to play games with this HTPC, or just for media watching? Cause a low speed quad would not be as good as a high speeds triple or dual core for just media watching. Some of the newer codecs can use multiple cores, but they still dont use them efficiently. Yes I know people will come in screaming how x.264 uses 4 cores and all that, but it doesnt use them very well. Now, of course a 905e is better than a 705e cause they are the same speed just an extra core. So if the debate is just between those two CPUs of course go for the quad. But if you are considering other ones, and all youw ant to do is watch stuff, then a 3GHz dual core might be worth considering. It would probably be cheaper as well.

 

[ldoodle]

Wow thanks!


It will be purely for media playback (DVD, BD optical and rips, home movies etc) and zero gaming.


I want something as low power/heat as possible (hence the 45w TDP question), and seeing as I can't get the older e models (4x50 - 5x50) in UK anymore, the Phenom IIs seem the logical option.


What processor would you recommend then, if it's purely for media playback - what about the Athlon 2 250?

 

[ENiGmA1987]

The Athlon X2 250 would work very nicely for a system strictly for media playback. Some people who have it have done a little bit of testing and although it technically is in the 65w TDP bracket, it rarely draws more than 50w they say. SO it barely didnt make it into the 45w bracket. You can also undervolt that CPU a good bit as well to drop down its power consumption more, you may even be able to get it to use as little as 35-40w


But what is the price difference for you between the 250 and the 905e?

 

[ldoodle]

The 205 is £58.08 and the 905e is £112.81. The 705e is £80.51 (ex VAT prices).


ASUS CPU list doesn't state either of them are supported, but the ASUS forums show some who have success with the latest BIOS.


Thanks