920 or Bulldozer

R

Rahburt-33

Gawd
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Mar 17, 2008
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I'd like to do a CPU upgrade, since my Phenom II can't unlock.
I have an AM3+ mobo with USB3 and SATA III.

I'm wondering if I can get a used 920 (or any other similarly priced chip) and a newer 1366 motherboard with USB3 and SATA III for about $250
If I do this, I could sell my current Phenom II, AM3+ board, and my old AM3 board (The AM3 board can be sold either way), and this would earn me some money back. (at least $100)

OR

I could get an 8 core bulldozer, and not sell any parts, except for the old AM3 board.

Which CPU is gonna yield better performance?
 
if the price was the same, I'd go for a BD, i have a 920 currently, and your max OC Is 4.2ghz, I'd say a 4.6-4.8ghz BD would be faster in most cases and use similar power. However for that amount of money, I can't suggest BD or a 920 =p how about a 2500k or 2600k?
 
If youve already got the AM3+ board, you might as well use it and go with a 8120. $250 could get you a Z68 motherboard and i3-2120 and that would be a pretty powerful rig right there and outperform the Bulldozer on most things except for heavily threaded work.

Thing is though you might have to shell out the cash for another copy of Windows. When I swapped out my AM2+ board for my current Sabertooth, I had to reinstall Windows as it wouldnt even boot. I had no problems reactivating it because everything else was the same. If youre swapping motherboard and CPU you might have trouble activating it if you have to reinstall it. You can always place a call to Microsoft and plead your case but if you have lousy luck like I do, its no guarantee that itll work. With a 8120 you can just drop it in and go and youd still have a whole hell of a lot of CPU muscle under the hood. Yeah it wont be as fast as Sandy Bridge but itll still be plenty damn fast.
 
I got my 920 with a MSI Big Bang Xpower for ~$260 shipped, used. The 920 will outperform Bulldozer in most scenarios, especially clocked at 4.2, but you have to be really patient to find parts at those prices. The Bulldozer route would have much less hassles.
 
According to the Anand Bench, a FX8150 would be faster than a 920 in most all applications except gaming. So yeah, I definitely say FX-8120 now.
 
MacLeod said:
According to the Anand Bench, a FX8150 would be faster than a 920 in most all applications except gaming. So yeah, I definitely say FX-8120 now.
Click to expand...

Thats pathetic. AMD needed 3 years and 1 more ghz to keep up with a non-OC'd I7-920.
Since most 920's do 4.0ghz no problem, thats even more sad.
 
Well a bulldozer is gonna be about $200.
Initially, going the 920 route will cost more ($250-270), but I can sell my AMD parts for about $100-$120.
Of course I could sell my current Phenom II should I get a bulldozer.....
 
No microcenters in the Houston area afaik (but I have lived here for only a few months)
It's a GA-970A-UD3 board.
 
There's a Microcenter in Houston. Close to Beltway 8. Just use your navi.
 
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The FX 8120/8150 probably will walk all over an overclocked 920 if you can get them to 4.5GHz+. Also, as apps start becoming more optimized for FMA/AVX, you'll probably see them really take off.
 
P4rD0nM3 said:
There's a Microcenter on Houston. Close to Beltway 8. Just use your navi.
Click to expand...

Wow it is closer than I thought, I live in Katy, so I-10 is right down the street

If I do things the right way I can sell my Phenom II and my old AM3 Board. And then I can get a FX-8120
 
I would go with the FX, it will save you a little cash and it is a newer platform. I personally don't see upgrading to a CPU that is 3 years old even though it may be just as fast in some instances.
 
How the hell did you not know we had a Microcenter in Houston??? lol I love that place.. I am closer to Fry's though so I just make Fry's match Microcenter prices.... or Newegg's... or Amazon's..
 
Lol well what can I say? I am usually at work or school, and I don't have a car at the moment.
 
Well, the 2600k with the facebook microcenter coupon deal is well worth it. You can walk out the door with a 2600k + good overclocking motherboard for less than $400. The MSI Z68A-GD65 also has a $30 rebate, which would make costs around $350.
 
I'm thinking you shoiuld probably go for an 8120... hopefully the Giga 970-ud3 will have the bios options that will allow the FX to overclock fully and not be limited by some kind of throttling issues. You should also be aware that some of these 8-core fx chips can run hot so you should have good (or at least decent) cooling or you may find some of the chip's o.c. potential limited by heat issues.
 
Well the cooling that I have now works great, I have two fans on it. It keeps my current Phenom II at about 30 C.
 
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