Phenom II X2 550 BE

[koshman]

Why would you upgrade the PSU? You could fit 2 Phenoms X4 into 400W...

EDIT: @ the_leander: Actually, Black editions use the same amount of juice as the non BE versions, they only have unlocked multiplier. It's when you start overclocking, potential heat-related problems might appear, but that's what you meant, I guess...

[koshman]

Corsair/Seasonic PSUs are nice, but considering that this system even with Phenom X4 will hardly draw more than 200W (significantly less, I'd say) even cheapo 400W 70% efficiency PSu should be quite enough. Stability-wise, especially when overclocking, it might be a different story though...

[koshman]

Maybe you're limited by your internet connection??

[koshman]

Sure, but in my experience system monitors often show 100% CPU utilization when I'm playing a game regardless of how demanding the said game actually is, i.e. even when the CPU isn't really running at its full capacity. So I wouldn't take that as a completely reliable figure.
Is it possible to change resolution, detail settings etc. in SL? I would try if it runs faster with lower settings first.

[koshman]

I'm positive that those 160W was the full system, the BE editions really have the same rating as the regular Phenoms.
Of course, I totally agree with the cooling being a possible problem when going from a lower CPU to a more powerful one.

[koshman]

Well, if it was "AMD's fastest ever processor" then you're probably right and 160W sounds not so unrealistic. I though we were mostly still speaking about the Phenom II X2 550 BE

[koshman]

@ Jose: try updating your BIOS. A lot of the cheaper 770/785G mobos had problems when ACC was enabled even when the chip itself was not faulty (4th core only disabled) - they usually wouldn't even POST with the original BIOS when ACC was enabled. I've heard lots of reports where a newer BIOS revision solved this problem.

[koshman]

I'm thinking about buying the same CPU soon. I'm deciding between X4 630 and X3 435 - I know I probably won't use the 4th core, but I hate odd numbers...

[koshman]

You can invest in those higher end PSUs for stability and quiet operation, but as for power even 400W should totally be enough.

[koshman]

Agreed. Although I don't think it's necessary to spend that much - here you can buy OEM Seasonic Energy Knight units for less than half of that - <30GBP for 400W. That's with active PFC, 80+ certification etc. Also Fortrons (Green Power) are said to be good and those can be had for even less. I would expect the prices in the rest of Europe/USA to be even lower.

[koshman]

And, maybe more importantly, does he use the board placed horizontally in a desktop case? Such a heatsink surely must break off as soon as you pick up the mobo and place it vertically....

EDIT: Congrats on your 1000th post, trekiej