What's the best CPU that can be bought for AM3? Upgrading old emachines

[DCCFan]

I've had this computer for 10 years. Not planning to invest a lot in it but my little girl often tries to play roblox in this and the PC can't even handle that lol. I was thinking of investing $20 in a used Athlon II x4 645 and another $40-50 on a GTX 750. I have a spare 500w PSU and a spare case should I need more space for the GPU (original case is SFF). Just trying to give this PC a few more years of usefulness and low end gaming capabilities. 

 

So what's the best CPU and GPU that can be bought for this machine? I'm looking to spend under $100 on both things but will be looking at only used items. Just want to know if the Athlon 645 is the best I can do or I should be looking at the phenom line (not familiar with it). Can this motherboard handle a 6 core CPU or is 4-core the best I can go? that kind of stuff is what's unclear to me. 

 

This is the machine https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883114085

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

[aisle9]

Are you sure it's AM3? This looks like one of those oddball systems that uses an AM3 chip in a BIOS flashed AM2 board, and I don't really trust those systems with much.

[DCCFan]

Hi Aisle9! I couldn't really say if this is a true AM3. Maybe I can open it up and look at the mobo to make sure. The newegg page does list AM3 but who knows how accurate that is. 

 

Apparently it's this one. It's listed as AM2+/AM3

https://www.game-debate.com/motherboard/index.php?mot_id=3589&motherboard=eMachines EL1352-07E Mainboard

[mariushm]

This list seems to be what's supported by the motherboard, but I can't be sure ALL of the ones below are supported.

 

However, a quick Google Images search shows a motherboard that's pretty weak in the VRM department, with only 2 phases for the main cpu power (it has locations for more phases but they're not installed).

So I personally would not suggest going with a CPU that has TDP higher than 65w or something like that.

 

The Athlon ii x4 645 and similar models in the series have a 95w TDP and they may be too power hungry for the motherboard.

Maybe go for a 65w model (those typically end with e in name, e for efficiency) ... for example Phenom ii x4 905e or 910e... they score around 3100 points compared to ~ 3700 for ii x4 645 but it's still decent performance boost.

The 905e is around 40-45$ on eBay.

 

Though it may not be worth it.... for example 80$ gets you a Dell Optiplex 7010 with an i3-3220 (~4200 points in benchmarks) and you can use half height video cards or you can use  a pci-e riser to hack a big video card in.

 

 

Phenom II X2 511 
Phenom II X2 521 
Phenom II X2 545 
Phenom II X2 550 
Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition 
Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition 
Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition 
Phenom II X2 565 
Phenom II X2 B53 
Phenom II X2 B55 
Phenom II X2 B57 
Phenom II X2 B59 
Phenom II X2 B60 
Phenom II X3 700e 
Phenom II X3 705e 
Phenom II X3 710 
Phenom II X3 715 
Phenom II X3 720 
Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition 
Phenom II X3 740 Black Edition 
Phenom II X3 B75 
Phenom II X3 B77 
Phenom II X4 10 
Phenom II X4 20 
Phenom II X4 40 
Phenom II X6 1405T 
Phenom II X6 1605T 

Athlon II 170u 
Athlon II X2 215 
Athlon II X2 220 
Athlon II X2 235e 
Athlon II X2 240 
Athlon II X2 240e 
Athlon II X2 245 
Athlon II X2 245e 
Athlon II X2 250 
Athlon II X2 250u 
Athlon II X2 255 
Athlon II X2 260 
Athlon II X2 280 
Athlon II X2 B24 
Athlon II X3 400e 
Athlon II X3 405e 
Athlon II X3 415e 
Athlon II X3 425 
Athlon II X3 435 
Athlon II X3 440 
Athlon II X3 445 
Athlon II X4 559 
Athlon II X4 640  



Sempron X2 180 
Sempron X2 190  

 

[mariushm]

later edit: also as for video card, you do have a pci-e x16 slot but it seems to be at the very bottom of the board, so if not only need a half-height / low profile video card but you also need a video card that's not thick... not something that would normally use cover the next slot with its heatsink.

 

You're looking at a GeForce 210 , GeForce GT 710 , XFX HD 5450 and other HD 5xxx series models ... the three I linked are "low profile ready" meaning they use full height bracket, but you can replace the bracket with a low profile version (which should be supplied in the box) by removing the VGA connector from the bracket (it comes with removable cable). If you don't get low profile bracket, it's not a big deal in general, cards usually are locked pretty well in slot so they stay even without a bracket.

 

---

 

Another thing that you may consider... An Athlon 200ge is around 55$ ... an a320 based motherboard is around 55$ .. a stick of memory is around 20$ ... you can reuse the hard disk and probably power supply and maybe even case. 

 

If you're near a Microcenter they have stupid deals, like 30$ off a CPU when you buy it with a motherboard Fry's maybe you can get some 20-30$ cheaper

45$ athlon 200ge : https://www.microcenter.com/product/514137/athlon-200ge-32ghz-dual-core-am4-boxer-processor-with-radeon-vega-3-graphics

55$ asrock a320m-hdv : https://www.microcenter.com/product/603745/a320m-hdv-r40-am4-matx-amd-motherboard

and 30$ off a cpu, if it's eligible... i don't think it is. cheapest is 80$ ryzen 5 1600 ... still, you'd get a ryzen 5 1600 for 50$ and maybe spend 20-30$ on separate video card 

 

The integrated graphics in the Athlon 200ge will be better than any 20-30$ separate video card, and the cpu performance is also good (around 5000 points for a dual core). Can maybe sell the system for 20-30$ on eBay or craiglist or maybe sell just the ram separately

 

[DCCFan]

Hi Mariushm! Thanks so much for all the info  I'd love to build on AM4, didn't consider the Athlon 200ge before but I might just have to start a build from scratch as this emachines mobo doesn't seem to allow for much upgrading. If it can't take a 750ti, then I see no reason to upgrade 'cause I'd have to get a super low power GPU. I'm definitely not against integrated graphics since my little girl only plays Roblox and other simpler games and I already have a 6600k build for more demanding games. How does the Athlon 200ge compare to the ryzen 3 2200 APU? Too bad this mobo doesn't take an older APU. I was looking at those but they're all for FM2. 

 

 

[mariushm]

The integrated graphics in 2200 would be more powerful, better, but it's debatable if it's really worth spending 50$ more for it, if it's really a pc for light gaming (where 2 cores will be enough)

For example, you could buy a used RX 460 later for 50$ or less (or something equivalent from nVidia, like a GT 1050) and you'd have better integrated graphics than even 2200 integrated graphics.

 

If also interested in other games, then maybe having four cores (2200) would be a benefit.

 

One thing I forgot to mention was that if you do decide to go with integrated graphics, the performance will be really affected by memory mode (dual channel vs single channel) and memory frequency.

Ideally, you want to use TWO ram sticks - the pc will work just fine with just one ram stick but you'll get quite a performance drop in graphics and even regular use. So if your budget is tight, better stick to integrated graphics and two ram sticks instead of 2200 and one stick of ram.

In general memory frequency helps a lot.

However, Athlon 200ge is locked at 2400 Mhz if I remember correctly, so while you could buy higher frequency RAM sticks, the motherboard will auto configure them at 2400 Mhz.

I think the 2200 and 2400 are limited officially to 2933 Mhz.

Even if you're on a tight budget, I'd suggest not buying ram sticks that run at less than 2666 Mhz, the price difference is extremely small.

 

[DCCFan]

Hey all! I'm reviving my old thread just to give an update for those who might be thinking of upgrading an Emachines like this one. I actually did upgrade it and it works SO well compared to what it used to be. Keep in mind I'm not gaming with this, it's mainly used for school and to watch videos (although my children do play Roblox on it without much problem).

 

Before the upgrades, it used to be a pain to just open more than 2 tabs on the browser or even load graphic intensive webpages. Watching HD video was pretty much out of the question too as it lacked a graphics card (only had the GeForce 6150 SE chipset for graphics).

 

So what did I buy? I got pretty much the first quad-core CPU I saw on eBay that I found at a discount, and in my case that was the Athlon II X4 635. It was only $10! I didn't want to spend too much because I knew there was some risk the CPU wouldn't work on this motherboard because it is a 95 TDP processor, but it worked and I'm happy as can be

 

Then I got a A-Tech 2x4GB DDR3 set for $20, and it worked! It's a very simple set without heatsinks, will post the exact model later in case anyone needs to know. This PC only had 4GB RAM so the difference was amazing. I have 7 tabs open right now plus the Folding@Home client and there are no hiccups. Many websites state that this mobo does not support over 4GB of RAM but I had seen a YouTuber add 16GB to his own SFF Emachines so that's why I decided to take a chance. 

 

Then for the graphics card I got a second hand Dell R7 250 2GB, also for $20. And compared to the nforce graphics chip it had, it's like a beast, no really LMAO. From what I read this graphics card is comparable to using Intel HD Graphics for Skylake, so that was good enough for me. 

 

So overall, I'm very happy with having spent just $50 and having a WAY more powerful office PC. If anyone needs help upgrading a similar older PC let me know. 

 

Have a great one!