Yup, I'm probably gonna get an i7. current setup...

 

4GB RAM

Radeon x1550 (I don't game, it's just to take some of the slack off so don't worry about this.)

AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core

Windows 7 Ultimate

 

Board: ASUSTeK Computer INC. M2N Rev 1.xx

Bus Clock: 200 megahertz

 

What do I need to do to upgrade? :)

Everything except Win7 and gpu.

It made me giggle that u asked if u need to upgrade the cpu.

 

i7 is a cpu; so obv u gotta change the cpu.

You might also need new ram. But sometimes u can get lucky and ur old ram will swap over nicely.

It made me giggle that u asked if u need to upgrade the cpu.

 

i7 is a cpu; so obv u gotta change the cpu.

You might also need new ram. But sometimes u can get lucky and ur old ram will swap over nicely.

Nope, it's DDR2.

aah dear. might be a sell this one, buy a new one job then :s

apologies, I know I need to upgrade the cpu, I meant what else - hahah.

so it's looking like new Mobo, RAM and CPU then?

aah dear. might be a sell this one, buy a new one job then :s

apologies, I know I need to upgrade the cpu, I meant what else - hahah.

so it's looking like new Mobo, RAM and CPU then?

And possible a psu, depending on what you got now. And perhaps a new case if you current one doesn't support atx.

It made me giggle that u asked if u need to upgrade the cpu.

 

i7 is a cpu; so obv u gotta change the cpu.

You might also need new ram. But sometimes u can get lucky and ur old ram will swap over nicely.

Nope, it's DDR2.

 

Some i7 mobos i seen can run ddr2, or atleast it says so in the specs.

I know most require ddr3 though.

It made me giggle that u asked if u need to upgrade the cpu.

 

i7 is a cpu; so obv u gotta change the cpu.

You might also need new ram. But sometimes u can get lucky and ur old ram will swap over nicely.

Nope, it's DDR2.

 

Some i7 mobos i seen can run ddr2, or atleast it says so in the specs.

I know most require ddr3 though.

All i7 cpu's uses DDR3 to my knowledge, server and mainstream types.

Yes they use DDR3 only. DDR2 is outphased.

Buy a Triple Channel DDR3 RAM kit. Costs like $150 and gives you 6GB RAM. That's what I did with my i7.

Will brand be much of an issue with RAM? I know people bang on about it, but what with buying studio equipment and whatnot, I don't want to be spending huge amounts...

What about an i3/i5? will my current setup support that?

No, but it has to be at 1.65v or lower.

No, you are using AMD and Intel is a completely different socket.

Otherwise you can just buy a new AMD cpu which works with AM2+.

Gotta be careful if you're trying to swap the processor only. I have an X2 that was running DDR not DDR2. Look up your computer model on the manufacturers website and see what socket and ram the specific set up is running.

.

an i7 wouldnt work without replacing basically your entire computer.

 

But if you don't play games, why would you want such a high end processor? Unless you do video encoding or similar, there's no point in upgrading.

Gotta be careful if you're trying to swap the processor only. I have an X2 that was running DDR not DDR2. Look up your computer model on the manufacturers website and see what socket and ram the specific set up is running.

Yeah, I have a socket 939 Athlon 64 X2 around here somewhere.

And to bring this point even futher, my Athlon64 X2 on my old computer is on the AM2 socket. Same processor different socket lol. (Not actually the same processor, but the same name).

an i7 wouldnt work without replacing basically your entire computer.

 

But if you don't play games, why would you want such a high end processor? Unless you do video encoding or similar, there's no point in upgrading.

 

Music Production. needs massive power.

 

It's been a while since I did anything, but stupid old me for some reason never clocked on that my system is AMD based. So, that said, what about AMD Processors?

an i7 wouldnt work without replacing basically your entire computer.

 

But if you don't play games, why would you want such a high end processor? Unless you do video encoding or similar, there's no point in upgrading.

 

Music Production. needs massive power.

 

It's been a while since I did anything, but stupid old me for some reason never clocked on that my system is AMD based. So, that said, what about AMD Processors?

 

Talking AMD now... I have the Phenom II X6 1090t and it's a beast. $210 for the processor. Expect to spend easily $1000+ for case and all. My base build was about $1150 or so I think. I had a bluray drive and then upgraded to SSD and some others later. I think in total almost 2k in my comp.

okay, a little research has lead me to discover a few things...

 

highest processor I can get without upgrading anything else is an AMD Phenom. I'm currently on an AMD Athlon X2 64, which I think is 6600+ dual core...unsure exactly.

 

so is that gonna be a worthy upgrade or am I just trying to cut corners, and should I just bite the bullet and upgrade to the Phenom II?

What doesn't your computer do that you want to do? I upgraded because of a fried mobo.

 

I take it you're using a manufactured computer? If so post the brand and model. It will be easier if we know when else it has in it.

No, custom built years ago...

 

Due to the extreme levels of processing power that's needed, basically, audio doesn't play properly once you get further along a project. It's like a video lagging because your computer can't handle it, but with audio. Quite simply, I've gotta upgrade so this happens less.

I gotta be honest, I'm not sure that you would need to jump up to the Phenom II, especially the X6. You could likely ge away with some more basic components. What program are you using for audio and is there anything else you particularly do with it?

Cubase 5 and Reason 4.0, possibly moving to Studio One. I think all new versions support multi threading. The issue with moving to the Phenom II is that I'd have to upgrade my mobo and possibly my RAM, and it's gonna be a hell of a lot cheaper to upgrade to a Phenom I. If I can do so, my system's fully compatible and It'll cost me about 80 quid to upgrade...

I'll have to take a look at those programs tonight when I'm home. The higher end Phenom I will likely work. Have you done a fresh install of Windows lately?

Yeah my comp's pretty stripped down and all of my data is on one partition with the programs on another. Regularly defrag, spyware etc...it's just a case of my computer not being powerful enough.