AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ / AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Black Edition

[tsmith]

Hi guys,

sorry i'm a bit of a newb to system building and i'm looking to buy this processor off Misco.

there appear to be 2 versions of the same processor but i cant really see what 'extra' the black edition processor gives you.
I note that the black actually has less cache memory, and as such i am airing on the side of the 'normal' one.

can anyone offer some advice please? it would be much appreciated.

also - i'm toying with the following motherboards:
Foxconn N570SM2AA socket AM2 motherboard also on misco
Gigabyte MA69GM-S2H

Sorry it would not allow me to post the URL's as i haven't made enough postings yet

can anyone see a problem with these setup's, suggest which would be better or even something better for a similar cost?

again any help gratefully received

[Ciber]

The black editions are supposed to use less power and so be more overclockable if I remember rightly. However if it really has less cache then thats quite bad for games, as games tend to like a good size cache.

Edit: Do you mean the 5000+ black edition? The title on misco says 5200+ but it is actually 5000+, which has less cache. As such I would probably go for the 5200+ non black edition for the bigger cache.

[staffsMike]

Black edition has an unlocked multiplier which means it can be very easily overclocked to 3.2ghz or more.

It means the motherboard doesn't have to be overclocked just the chip.

I have one and it's fantastic. It doesn't come with a cooler though so make sure you buy one.

[Ciber]

In that case I wish they made one that fits on my S939 mobo.

[tsmith]

Thanks for the advice guys, i really dont think i'll be overclocking it, i had a bad experience a couple of years ago where my m8 said it would be a good idea and 3 weeks later my processor went bye bye...........i learnt the hard way about ventilation!!!!

If i go for the AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ will i need to by a heatsink and fan?

[staffsMike]

the non black edition comes with a HSF the black edition doesn't.

It's a very cool running chip actually. At 3.0Ghz mine is running around 20 degrees

[tsmith]

i'm currently up to here with my machine:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ socket AM2 processor £75
Foxconn N570SM2AA socket AM2 motherboard £50
Western Digital 160GB SATATA2/300 7200rpm 8MB (for os) £33
Western Digital Caviar SE 320GB SATA II 7200rpm 16MB £53
Antec Sonata III PC Case with earthwatts power supply unit £75
Akasa AK-873 AMD socket 754/939 CPU cooling fan £21
Crucial 2x1GB DDR2 PC2-5300, CL=5, UNBUFFERED, NON-ECC, DDR2 £28
total £335

Im not going to be using it for heavy game play so i thught i would consider an additional graphics card at a later date.

how does this sound?

[staffsMike]

looks pretty good.

I used this motherboard
Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

Onboard DVI and VGA and a fantastic little board overall I found.

Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK
I find these model of Western Digital fantastic. Super quiet (will be silent with antec's hard drive cages) and a bit cheaper.

If you're buying an extra HSF anyway it might be worth looking here
Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK
They have the black edition for £78 and honestly as long as you just go to about 3.0ghz (which it finds very easy) you will be fine overclocking it.

[tsmith]

staffsmike................you are a legend.

your help is really appreciated

[Max Tractor]

Foxconn N570SM2AA

I would go for something else.