WTB: AMD X6 AM3 CPU

[Clocker]

Howdy-
I dug my brother's old PC out of storage (it was about 1 year old when he passed). It's a Lenovo H215 with 3GB of DDR3 RAM. Turns out it has an AM3 socket with AMD X2 215 CPU. I'm thinking I would upgrade this to an X6 cpu since I would like improved x264 encoding performance in my WHS box over my current Q6600.

Anyone have an X6 CPU they would like to dump or know where I could get a good deal on one?

Thanks,
Clocker

 

[Stereodude]

So you want something like a 1090T? Check the F/S section of a place like HardForum, ebay, craigslist...

 

[Clocker]

1090T or I think there may be some lower end versions too. I always look here first as I am not in a rush. But thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Stereodude]

I don't think AMD CPUs have been popular with the folks here due to their lack of competitiveness with Intel's offerings for the past several years.

 

[sdbardwick]

Clocker, before you buy one, make sure that motherboard can support 125W processors (6 core 125W, IIRC 4 core 95W) .

 

[Mercutio]

I have a 955 X4 sitting around. That's a step in the right direction.

 

[Chewy509]

Clocker, before you buy one, make sure that motherboard can support 125W processors (6 core 125W, IIRC 4 core 95W) .

Along these lines as well, double check the PSU as well, as a few of them only had 180W PSUs. (Also, FYI, there were even different motherboards used in the H215 series, so may work for one, may not work for another).

**. The PSU issue came around as people tried to install a new graphics card, and realised the lack of PSU connectors...

 

[Clocker]

Thanks guys. The PSU is a new 300W Seasonic that my brother had to have installed (at Microcenter) after they determined the original PSU died.

I do question as to whether or not this board will accept an X6 CPU. A guy at Hardforums is offering to sell me a 1090T with a Kuher 620water cooler for $125. I may take it and pick up a new cheap AM3+ board with some ram to take advantage of the CPU deal. It doesn't seem I can get good encoding performance for cheaper than this, can I? Opinions appreciated!

 

[Clocker]

Hmmm Maybe I just look at the newer AMD 8-core offerings?

 

[CougTek]

IMO, if you're considering a new AMD 8-core, a new motherboard and additional RAM, you're better off with a new build entirely. For this one, Merc's offer for the 955 x4 looks pretty good for your situation. Merc never asks much for his parts anyway.

 

[Mercutio]

Maybe... $60 for my X4? The motherboard it was on is suspect and since I don't normally deal with AMD CPUs my plan was just to to buy the cheapest AM3 board I could find and make it in to a charity case desktop.

 

[Clocker]

Maybe... $60 for my X4? The motherboard it was on is suspect and since I don't normally deal with AMD CPUs my plan was just to to buy the cheapest AM3 board I could find and make it in to a charity case desktop.

I think that is a nice offer. However, if I spend any time on updating the machine I would want more than a 30% or so increase on 2nd pass encoding performance.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/53?vs=88

 

[Stereodude]

You may want to rethink your strategy here. link

I am putting this information here for any future googlers who are looking for an answer as to upgrading the AMD H215 0893-1DU. Thank you XKCD.

This system comes with several motherboard/processor combinations. The one I had purchased (for my mom) was with an AMD Athlon II X2 250 @ 3.0ghz, Tilapia CRB motherboard with AMD 780G chipset, onboard Radeon HD 3000 graphics, and a 180W Lite-On power supply.

Any ATX power supply will fit and work with this system. I upgraded to a 600W modular OCZ for sake of efficiency. This PSU also has an intake fan on the bottom, improving system airflow.

There is no available BIOS update for the Tilapia CRB motherboard. I could not get the system to recognize or boot with a Phenom II X6 1045T, even though that's a 95W part. It will run quite happily with a Phenom II X4 B93, which is a rebadged X4 830.

I may add a 120mm fan on the back to increase airflow but currently the improved airflow from the new PSU is sufficient. There is a second available fan header on the motherboard.

I would not put anything higher than 95W into this system due to the layout of the motherboard VRM.

Also this.

 

[Mercutio]

I think that is a nice offer. However, if I spend any time on updating the machine I would want more than a 30% or so increase on 2nd pass encoding performance.

For around $125, you could switch to a Pentium G2120 and an H61 motherboard. Performance would probably roughly double from that X2 215 and you'd have a reasonably modern platform if you ever felt like upgrading again.

 

[Clocker]

Thanks. Honestly I think this Q6600 is plenty modern... it would just be nice to have something with good encoding performance. Even if it sucked at everything else but was relatively fast at encoding I would be happier because it is only my WHS that I rdp into to use for streaming, sickbeard, snabzd (sp?) and handbraking downloads that are not encoded to my needs.

 

[Mercutio]

Dude. PLEX MEDIA SERVER. Fuck reencoding. That Q6600 can handle at least two simultaneous real-time 1.5Mbit streams or deliver the original file to local, capable clients.

 

[Clocker]

Does Plex allow you to choose which language audio steam you want to listen to? Most of the time, the reason I need to re-encode is because my server (Serviio), which will transcode to a degree, can only send whatever the first audio steam that is packed into the mkv file is. It will transcode it if I want but not change the language. If I get a German or french title I have to free - encode it to make the English track first in the file.

 

[Stereodude]

If I get a German or french title I have to free - encode it to make the English track first in the file.

Or you could use MKVtoolnix to re-order the streams, or dump the ones you're not interested in.

 

[Mercutio]

Looks like.

Ayup

 

[Clocker]

You guys are awesome! Thanks! I will try both of those options.

Much better than getting some new hardware just so I can be less annoyed with the situation.