Advice in upgrading my PC

[lberrios1962]

Based on my Sandra report (below) I'm planning in upgrade my CPU to a 6 cores one. I found this one as a compatible with my motherboard...Phenom II X6 1055T AM3 2.8G 9MB 45NM 95W 2800MHZ

Here is the link:
http://www.provantage.com/amd-hdt55t...r~7AAMD2H2.htm


Any advises, ideas or comments?

Here is the Sandra report.....

SiSoftware Sandra

Computer
Model : HP p6823w
Workgroup :
Host Name :
User :

Processor
Model : AMD Phenom(tm) II X2 521 Processor
Speed : 3.5GHz
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Dual-Core
Integrated Data Cache : 2x 64kB, Synchronous, Write-Back, 2-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 2x 1MB, ECC, Synchronous, Write-Back, 16-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size

Computer
Mainboard : FOXCONN 2AB1
BIOS : AMI 6.06 03/22/2011
Bus(es) : ISA X-Bus PCI PCIe IMB USB i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
Total Memory : 12GB DIMM DDR3

Chipset
Model : HP RS780 Host Bridge Alternate
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 2GHz (4GHz)
Channels : 1
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 100MHz (200MHz)

Chipset
Model : AMD F10h Athlon 64/Opteron/Sempron HT Hub
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 2GHz (4GHz)
Total Memory : 12GB DIMM DDR3
Channels : 2
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 667MHz (1.33GHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Samsung M378B5273CH0-CH9 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-10700U DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module : Samsung M378B5273CH0-CH9 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-10700U DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module : Samsung M378B5273CH0-CH9 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-10700U DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)

Video System
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 210 (16 SM4.1, 512MB DDR2, PCIe 2.00 x16)
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 210 (16 SM4.1, 512MB DDR2, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor

Storage Devices
Seagate ST31000528AS (1TB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ) : 932GB (C:) (D:)
Seagate FreeAgent 1.5TB (USB) : 1TB (J:)
Generic-SD/MMC (USB) : N/A (F:)
Generic-Compact Flash (USB) : N/A (G:)
Generic-SM/xD-Picture (USB) : N/A (H:)
Generic-MS/MS-Pro (USB) : N/A (I:)
hp CDDVDW TS-H653T (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (E:)

Logical Storage Devices
SYSTEM : 100MB (NTFS)
FreeAgent Drive (J:) : 1TB (NTFS) @ Seagate FreeAgent 1.5TB (USB)
OS (C:) : 920GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST31000528AS (1TB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ)
HP_RECOVERY (D:) : 11GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST31000528AS (1TB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ)
Removable Drive (F:) : N/A @ Generic-SD/MMC (USB)
Removable Drive (G:) : N/A @ Generic-Compact Flash (USB)
Removable Drive (H:) : N/A @ Generic-SM/xD-Picture (USB)
Removable Drive (I:) : N/A @ Generic-MS/MS-Pro (USB)
Hard Disk (Q:) : N/A
Optical Drive (E:) : N/A @ hp CDDVDW TS-H653T (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : HP IXP SB600 SMBUS Controller
LPC Hub Controller 2 : HP SB700 LPC host controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : T2 87-21
Audio Device : HP IXP SB600 High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Codec : Realtek Semiconductor 888 High Definition Audio
Audio Device : nVidia High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Codec : nVidia 000Bh
Audio Codec : nVidia 000Bh
Audio Codec : nVidia 000Bh
Disk Controller : HP SB700 SATA Controller [AHCI mode]
USB Controller 1 : HP SB700 USB OHCI0 Controller
USB Controller 2 : HP SB700 USB OHCI1 Controller
USB Controller 3 : HP SB700 USB EHCI Controller
USB Controller 4 : HP SB700 USB OHCI0 Controller
USB Controller 5 : HP SB700 USB OHCI1 Controller
USB Controller 6 : HP SB700 USB EHCI Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : ATI SB600 SMBus
SMBus/i2c Controller 2 : ATI AFS SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : PDF Complete Converter (2400x2400, Colour)
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Printer : HP Officejet 6500 E709n Series (600x600, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)
Printer : Adobe PDF Converter (4000x4000, Colour)

Peripherals
Media Player : ()
Media Player : ()
Media Player : ()
Media Player : ()

Network Services
Network Adapter : Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller (Ethernet, 100Mbps)

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Home 6.01.7601 (Service Pack 1)
Platform Compliance : x64

Performance Enhancing Tips
Warning 100 : Large memory sizes should be made of Registered/Buffered memory.
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.

[albee1952]

Check the motherboard manufacturer to see if you need a BIOS update to run the 6 core. Since this is a desktop, I would add 2 internal hard drives(WD Caviar Black 32 meg cache or equiv.) and record to one, and use the other for any sample libraries you may have(or add in the future) and you could also backup sessions to the samples drive(but RUN them from the recording drive whenever possible). Recording to an internal SATA drive will yield the best performance over any external(other than eSATA). And streaming samples off their own drive will take stress off of the system drive. Use your USB drive for backups and transfers. You might want to beef up the power supply as well. The Sandra doesn't report what it is so, I recommend 650 watts or better. Your new cpu will draw more, extra drives draw more, and you have a ton of RAM that draws, so.............

[lberrios1962]

Originally Posted by albee1952

Check the motherboard manufacturer to see if you need a BIOS update to run the 6 core. Since this is a desktop, I would add 2 internal hard drives(WD Caviar Black 32 meg cache or equiv.) and record to one, and use the other for any sample libraries you may have(or add in the future) and you could also backup sessions to the samples drive(but RUN them from the recording drive whenever possible). Recording to an internal SATA drive will yield the best performance over any external(other than eSATA). And streaming samples off their own drive will take stress off of the system drive. Use your USB drive for backups and transfers. You might want to beef up the power supply as well. The Sandra doesn't report what it is so, I recommend 650 watts or better. Your new cpu will draw more, extra drives draw more, and you have a ton of RAM that draws, so.............

Thanks for the note.

I already added another 1TB of internal HD. I ran the Sandra report before I added the HD. The desktop is a HP and they dont have an update BIOS, but base on my conversations with their tech support they dont have a clue about anything, so they are wasted time.
I think I will run the PC the way its and if I get problems in the future I will consider it the upgrade. So far the PC is running fine and Protools is "behaving"...LOL
I thought about the power supply as well, any ideas of a good one? I checked few days ago in but I could not find one to fit my computer case.

Thanks