Okay carl.h has already done all the research I just may add, that you should upgrade your BIOS first. It's not a big deal. Look here and scroll down to the bottom of the page. There are installation instruction and right at the bottom the download button. After that's done you can be sure that your Athlon X2 will boot.
I recommend an Athlon 64 X2 3800+ since it gives the best price/performance ratio. You can get one for under 150 $ from newegg. Make sure you choose the Socket 939 CPU since all Athlon 64 X2 are now available for Socket AM2 as well.

dcdc,

he wrote hy bought 1,5 Gigs of additional RAM, so that is far more than sufficient.

For the multiprocessor setting:

If Windows does not set it on its own you can just enter the control panel, hardware, device manager and then go to "computer" and open the panel for it. You then click "update driver" on the "driver" tab and select HAL.dll to be the multiprocessor driver instead of the single processor driver. After that the computer needs to be restarted. That's all there is to it. I did it in Win2000 two weeks ago and it went without a glitch.

[edit] Yes, tralala, I have the X2 3800 too and the price is just fantastic. It runs at 2,2 GHz instead of 2. I could also have taken it to 2.5, but did not want that much overclock and did not want to go through all that memtesting and stability thingy wossname stuff over and over until I knew the safe upper margin.

Thanx to all who have helped so far!

I'll be doing the bios upgrade later this afternoon.

Looking through newegg as we speak.....

Another thing that I would do, presuming DDR memory is used, is consider this FAQ at Crucial, http://www.crucial.com/store/listmodule.asp?family=DDR&tabid=DDR+PC2700, and remove the original stick of 256 MB.

Do I have to buy the same size upgrade as the memory module currently installed in my computer or can I mix different sizes?
In newer systems using SDRAM or DDR SDRAM memory, you can use modules of different densities with no problem. For example, if your computer came with a 128MB memory module, you can add a 256MB module for a total of 384MB of RAM. However, if you have a "dual-channel" system and want to take advantage of that technology, you will need to ensure that the modules in each memory slot are the same density.

Bad Penguin, if you reall ywant or need to (or just want to prove) that it's a s939 then downlaod CBId http://cbid.amdclub.ru/ and it'll teall you everything and more. I always find this better then CPUz http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php, though CPUz is better for Memory SPD info.

But this makes it clearer http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/sempron-3000.html
....
s a matter of fact, AMD has long been making Semprons for the Socket 939 platform, but only for computer manufacturers rather than for retail sales. For example, Fujitsu-Siemens and HP have been offering Socket 939 Sempron-based PCs almost since the beginning of this year. About 10% of all Semprons based on the K8 architecture were made in Socket 939 packaging in the first half of 2005 to meet the demand of leading PC suppliers and this percentage has grown up more by today, of course.

And since there are so many Socket 939 Sempron processors produced, we could expect them to emerge in the retail market, too, sooner or later. And last week we really spotted such processors in a few retail shops here, in Moscow. And since the Socket 939 Sempron may be like a completely new processor for many users, we decided to buy one and test it our labs.
....

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Team mauisun.org

Thanx for utility software sugestions. It's a 939!

I've got to hand it to you, Bad Penguin, that is a killer deal. An X2 cruncher for just over $450 (granted you can find a 3800 X2 for about $150).

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I've never dealt with NewEgg, but everyone seems to be recommending them. $152.

Question is, do I want to wait a bit, and see if it'll drop even more....

I've got to hand it to you, Bad Penguin, that is a killer deal. An X2 cruncher for just over $450 (granted you can find a 3800 X2 for about $150).

NewEgg is super. I just bought a Wacom tablet for my granddaughter and had it dropped to her university dorm. BillMeLater owns my soul.

For the multiprocessor setting:

If Windows does not set it on its own you can just enter the control panel, hardware, device manager and then go to "computer" and open the panel for it. You then click "update driver" on the "driver" tab and select HAL.dll to be the multiprocessor driver instead of the single processor driver. After that the computer needs to be restarted. That's all there is to it. I did it in Win2000 two weeks ago and it went without a glitch.

This ability is disabled in WinXP (any version) but it is possible to change from single to multiprocessor by manually extracting two files from the appropriate .cab file and replacing them while outside of Windows (i.e. from DOS). I can tell you that this may blow up Windows but I've done it very recently with XP SP2 and it did work. Basically you need to replace the hardware layer and the kernel, both at the same time, with the proper matching set.

Post here if you need more specific details, I don't want to post all the details for fear that someone might mess up their computer.

For the multiprocessor setting:

If Windows does not set it on its own you can just enter the control panel, hardware, device manager and then go to "computer" and open the panel for it. You then click "update driver" on the "driver" tab and select HAL.dll to be the multiprocessor driver instead of the single processor driver. After that the computer needs to be restarted. That's all there is to it. I did it in Win2000 two weeks ago and it went without a glitch.

This ability is disabled in WinXP (any version) but it is possible to change from single to multiprocessor by manually extracting two files from the appropriate .cab file and replacing them while outside of Windows (i.e. from DOS). I can tell you that this may blow up Windows but I've done it very recently with XP SP2 and it did work. Basically you need to replace the hardware layer and the kernel, both at the same time, with the proper matching set.

Post here if you need more specific details, I don't want to post all the details for fear that someone might mess up their computer.

Don't forget to download the AMD dual core optimizer and run it.
Dual core Optimizer

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when you go to buy remember to check whether they charge sales tax and shipping.

newegg is out for me as they charge sales tax (7%) for me in new jersey (free shipping)

chief value newegg's sister company charges sales tax for CA, NJ, TN, and Puerto Rico (free shipping)

mwave only charges tax in CA. (shipping charges)

zipzoomfly only charges sales tax in CA (free shipping)

note the difference in the cores. will you be going with a windsor or manchester?

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I am in NY, so anyone with no tax and free shipping will get my attention!

Have been hearing good things about NewEgg, and they seem to be very competitive price-wise.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I am under the impression that Manchester is only for Socket 939, and Windsor is only for AM2.

Since I have a S939, I believe I have no choice, it must be a Manchester.

You are right. Look in section 2.1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_Athlon_64_microprocessors

Anyone have thoughts as to whether stock fan / heat sink is sufficient for X2 3800, considering I will be boinc'ing 100%, 24/7?

For better or worse, 100%, 24/7 boinc'ing has my Sempron 3400+ at 73C according to Hmonitor software.

Any recommendations appreciated. Heck, I'd even consider water cooling if that was the majority consensus!

You know the old saying, "In for a penny, in for a pound." (XS The Machine - so much for a $450 X2 cruncher!)

I think its time to buy some lottery tickets:

http://www.coolitsystems.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79

Peltiers anyone?

Penguin,

I wouldn't go for watercooling. First it will spoil your price/performance ratio but second and more important it won't work on your motherboard. Your motherboard has probably very limited overclocking abilities if at all. The most you can hope for are 10-20% overclocking and that you'll easily achieve with the box cooler. For serious overclocking you need good RAM as well. So it makes no sense to go for water cooling if all the remaining parts are the old ones. Buy the cheapest X2 3800+ with stock cooler you can get and save the money for a new conroe once they get cheaper.

Hi Penguin.

For better or worse, 100%, 24/7 boinc'ing has my Sempron 3400+ at 73C according to Hmonitor software.

73C? That is way too high anyway. The cooler is either slightly tilted or does not have an appropriate thermal compound between it and the CPU. Maybe the stock cooler just sticks on the CPU with a fat pillow of thermal grease under it instead of sitting tightly on it, pressing the unnecessary grease out at the sides (which conducts heat much less than the pure metal to metal contact, it is only meant to fill gaps and unevennesses).

I run my X2 3800 with an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro which costs around 20$ and it keeps it around 36 to 43C at full load, depending on room temperature. It is pretty quiet as it is a copper plate tower fan with heat pipes. When I turn Rosetta off it goes down to 3 degrees or so above room temperature.

One easy way to make venting much more efficient is building in a fan that will draw air out of your case. If the air stands in the case no cooler whatever can help that, the heat just builds up.

My case is open and I put a kind of tube of 4 inches (10 cm) length on the fan so it draws air that is not directly coming back from the fan. I'll replace the cover but will then have an opening in it which leads the tube out of the case. SO the fan sucks the air from outside and builds a pressure that shoves it out through the backside again. In addition I have on 80mm fan on the backside that I can turn on if needed.

There is a lot you can do, and most of it is cheap. Water Cooling is expensive and unnecessary for an X2 3800 unless driven to the max.

BP, replaced one of my 939 3000+ yesterday with a 3800+ x2 and an Artic Cooler Freezer 64 (which it already had).

Just took out heatsink and fan, changed the CPU, reapplied thermal grease to the heatsink fan and put back. It booted I could see a 3800+ x2 in the Bios so no changes necessary. Windows found new hardware, ACPI Multiprocessor asked for a reboot and that was that job done.

Runs at 40C overclocked by 10% with full load on both cores. Can`t beat it mate. Excellent stuff !


73C is miles too hot,as others stated, my 3000+ oc`ed to 3300+ was running at 52C full load.

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Not all Czech`s bounce but I`d like to try with Barbar ;-)

Make no mistake This IS the TEDDIES TEAM.

I really don't know. I'm assuming that Hmonitor software is giving a fairly accurate estimate. Even if it is off a few degrees, as others have suggested, seems to be running much hotter than expected.

I have opened the case.

In addition to the fan / heat sink (?) on the cpu there is a fan on the power supply. No fan for the computer itself, although there is what appears to be a space for one (~ 82 mm).

I'll see what case fan I can pick up, maybe that'll help.

Since I'm picking up the X2 3800, I'll hope that'll run cooler by itself then. No need to go crazy trying to solve a problem for the Sempron 3400+ if its not gonna be on my motherboard too much longer.

(Assuming that the problem IS with the Sempron, and not something else within chasis)

Arctic Cooler Freezer? I'll look into it as a possible replacement for stock on the X2.