Athlon II X3 - Still good for gaming ?

E

Excalibur55

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Messages
184
Planning my very first build to replace my aging Pentium D setup. Is the Athlon II X3 still a good choice for a moderate gaming system ?

Most demanding games I have or I want to buy in the future :

Civilisation V
Oblivion
Fallout 3
Risen
Skyrim
The Witcher 2

I also want to buy a 20" monitor to replace my 17". No Crossfire or core unlocking is planned for my future build; what do you think ?
 
Yeah I recently built my system for gaming and it runs really well.
My system is
X3 450 @ 3.5Ghz
Asus m4a88ti-Deluxe
HD 5570
4 Gig 1333
128 Gig SSD
SG05
 
Yes its pretty good especially when teamed up with a very strong video card.

That being said, if you could stretch your CPU budget to from $90 for the X3 to $125 you could get an Intel i3-2100 which will run rings around any AMD proc in gaming - even the X6!

i3-2100 vs Athlon X3 450
i3-2100 vs Phenom II X6 1100

Jesus thats just sad when an Intel DUAL CORE lays the smack down on an AMD 6 core. Just sad.
 
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Keep the opinions coming folks and thanks !

Just in the first stage of my future build (collecting the info) with a limited budget so I don't know where I will go but I would like a few good options for something that will last me 4-5 years.
 
Don't think you'll be able to put together a build that will last 4 years on a tight budget. Hell getting a $1000 rig to be viable for 4 years is asking a lot. In 2009 a 4850 was a very strong and respected video card. Now its barely considered entry level.

One possible solution would be to pick up a decent AM3+ board and use a cheap Athlon X3 just to get your rig up and running. Then save up for when Bulldozer comes out and maybe in 6-9 months, upgrade to one of those. That should last you a good while.

For a gaming rig, you don't necessarily need a $1000 processor since the GPU will be doing most of the work.
 
MacLeod said:
Yes its pretty good especially when teamed up with a very strong video card.

That being said, if you could stretch your CPU budget to from $90 for the X3 to $125 you could get an Intel i3-2100 which will run rings around any AMD proc in gaming - even the X6!

i3-2100 vs Athlon X3 450
i3-2100 vs Phenom II X6 1100

Jesus thats just sad when an Intel DUAL CORE lays the smack down on an AMD 6 core. Just sad.
Click to expand...

None of your links work, To be fair the I3 is on a smaller nm process so it will be faster on single and dual core load but will be left behind in multi threaded applications.

If you want gaming go with the sandy bridge, But if you can wait wait till Bulldozer comes out to make your computer.

Also mine does just fine.
 
MacLeod said:
For a gaming rig, you don't necessarily need a $1000 processor since the GPU will be doing most of the work.
Click to expand...

This. He'd be better served by getting a good GPU, and not investing in some expensive processor.
 
If you already have the chip, I say go for it. Try to go with a motherboard that will allow you to unlock the 4th core, and overclock it a bit.

If you haven't bought it yet, I would spend about the same amount of money and go with a Phenom II X2 550 or 555 BE. That extra L3 cache will help with the games, and you should still be able to unlock and overclock.

The later production weeks are more or less guaranteed to unlock to X4 and hit 4+ Ghz rock solid with a decent cooler.

At 4+ Ghz Phenom II x4, you are probably going to be experiencing speeds just slightly slower than a Core i7-965, which is really quite respectable.

I also like the sandy bridge core i3 idea mentioned above, but it is $35 more and doesn't take into account that you'd likely need a much more expensive motherboard. Intel motherboards always seem to cost more than AMD ones. You'd also not likely be able to overclock it, as - as I understand - only sandy bridge chips ending in K can be overclocked...

When I built my stepsons system at around christmas time I used the following:
  • MSI 870S-G54 Motherboard ($89.99 on Newegg)
  • AMD Phenom II 550 (555 is $87.99 on Newegg.)
  • Scythe SCMG 2100 Cooler ($39.99 on Newegg) Pretty much any good aftermarket cooler should do it, I just wouldn't use the stock cooler. I added an extra fan just fot peace of mind, but the included fan still reached X4 4.2 ghz rock stable under Prime 95 load.

I am very pleased how his rig turned out. the X4 4.2 Ghz is more than enough to keep up with his mildly overclocked GTX 470, and does an admirable job in games. It's even faster than my Intel Core i7-920 (but probably only cause I keep it stock due to my silly SFF case)
 
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heflys20 said:
This. He'd be better served by getting a good GPU, and not investing in some expensive processor.
Click to expand...

Agreed. For a gaming rig - with only a few limited exceptions of games that tend to be stupidly CPU dependent - you'd be better off spending any extra money you have available on the GPU.

Saving money on the CPU and motherboard and going with the Phenom II 555 BE as above should really do the trick, IMHO.
 
Zarathustra[H];1037379679 said:
Agreed. For a gaming rig - with only a few limited exceptions of games that tend to be stupidly CPU dependent - you'd be better off spending any extra money you have available on the GPU.

Saving money on the CPU and motherboard and going with the Phenom II 555 BE as above should really do the trick, IMHO.
Click to expand...

He makes quite a valid point, Also his name reminds me of Xenosaga so he gets at least a plus 1.
 
Pentium G840 Sandy Bridge 2.8GHz $87 from newegg. It is just as fast as a x3 450 @3.2Ghz in most games.
 
for 80 dollars get the athlon II x4 630. then overclock it to 3.2-3.4Ghz at the stock voltage(3.6-3.7Ghz with a voltage bump).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103932

but if you want something to last 4-5 years you might want to wait for the low end 900 series boards to come out with the am3/am3+ support. the 980/990GX boards should be coming out soon or try to find a used 800 series board for dirt cheap to replace it later with an am3+ board.
 
MacLeod said:
Don't think you'll be able to put together a build that will last 4 years on a tight budget. Hell getting a $1000 rig to be viable for 4 years is asking a lot. In 2009 a 4850 was a very strong and respected video card. Now its barely considered entry level.
Click to expand...

I just wanted to chime in on this point. The 4850 may be barely considered entry level (I slightly disagree on this point) but at any resolution below 1920 it won't break a sweat in most any game you can throw at it. I think with the current game market a good gaming computer has been able to last longer and longer.

That said, I agree with saving money on the processor and spending it on the gpu if you're building only for gaming.
 
Fading Phoenix said:
I just wanted to chime in on this point. The 4850 may be barely considered entry level (I slightly disagree on this point) but at any resolution below 1920 it won't break a sweat in most any game you can throw at it. I think with the current game market a good gaming computer has been able to last longer and longer.

That said, I agree with saving money on the processor and spending it on the gpu if you're building only for gaming.
Click to expand...

A 4850 would be fine for all the games OP lists that he is going to play EXCEPT Civilization V. Civ 5 does not run well on systems without DX11.

That, and it looks like the OP has a 4650, not a 4850...

bastage said:
OP I would do a build thread in General Hardware.. And if your near a fry's or Microcenter then the i3-2100 is definitely a better buy.. Will last you much longer if you dont plan to unlock cores or overclock as you state..
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Maybe I am blind, but I didn't see anywhere the OP stated that they would not overclock.

That being said, I agree. An i3-2100 (or even a Pentium G840, though if I had to choose I'd pick the i3) will be the better system, no-contest, at stock clocks. Current AMD CPU's are only competitive if overclocked.
 
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OP I would do a build thread in General Hardware.. And if your near a fry's or Microcenter then the i3-2100 is definitely a better buy.. Will last you much longer if you dont plan to unlock cores or overclock as you state..
 
mannyman said:
None of your links work
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Oops, my bad. Somehow managed to put an extra http in each address. Fixed.

As for the 4850, yes its still a capable card. I had one up til last December. At 1680x1050, I had to turn down settings in Stalker, Borderlands, Assassins Creed and if course Crysis and Metro. So since the majority of monitors, even the $140 21" monitors at Walmart, are 1920x1080 which would be even tougher on the card and with a 5770 costing only about $20 more but is faster, has DX11 and uses considerably less power, the 4850 is barely worth buying anymore.
 
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Zarathustra[H];1037379670 said:
When I built my stepsons system at around christmas time I used the following:
  • MSI 870S-G54 Motherboard ($89.99 on Newegg)
  • AMD Phenom II 550 (555 is $87.99 on Newegg.)
  • Scythe SCMG 2100 Cooler ($39.99 on Newegg) Pretty much any good aftermarket cooler should do it, I just wouldn't use the stock cooler. I added an extra fan just fot peace of mind, but the included fan still reached X4 4.2 ghz rock stable under Prime 95 load.
Click to expand...

And this just became an even better buy. Since last night, the price on the motherboard dropped to $74.99
 
The X3 works like a champ for me :) I've been contemplating a new X4 or X6, but just can't justify it because my X3 is still truckn'.
 
Zarathustra[H];1037379670 said:
I also like the sandy bridge core i3 idea mentioned above, but it is $35 more and doesn't take into account that you'd likely need a much more expensive motherboard. Intel motherboards always seem to cost more than AMD ones.
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There are plenty of cheap motherboards for the i3. Newegg has a bunch of H61's for $60. Also, Newegg runs i3 + cheap H61 combos fairly often. The i3 combo I bought was $15 off an i3 + cheapo motherboard and there was an additional motherboard rebate on top to that.

I had been planning to upgrade that machine to an Athlon II x4 but the i3 combo deal was too good to pass up.
 
kristof said:
There are plenty of cheap motherboards for the i3. Newegg has a bunch of H61's for $60. Also, Newegg runs i3 + cheap H61 combos fairly often. The i3 combo I bought was $15 off an i3 + cheapo motherboard and there was an additional motherboard rebate on top to that.

I had been planning to upgrade that machine to an Athlon II x4 but the i3 combo deal was too good to pass up.
Click to expand...

I know there are cheap H61 boards, but they are usually micro-ATX boards with very limited expansion. You have to compare apples to apples :p

What LGA1155 motherboard with dual x16 PCI Express slots, 1 PCIe x1 lot and 3 PCI slots can you get for $74.99? That's 5 expansion slots, and its crossfire compatible as well :p

The cheapest ATX form factor LGA1155 that doesn't have really shitty average reviews on Newegg is $99.99

If I wanted to recommend a super cheap AMD motherboard I could have suggested one for $29.99, but its not a motherboard I would use for myself, so I didn't recommend it :p

Spending $125 on the CPU instead of $85, and $99.99 instead of $74.99 may not seem much to you, but when building a system on a budget (which I have done many times) all these small differences add up and could mean the difference between a decent GPU and a crappy one, or 4 gigs of ram vs 8....

I agree, the core i3 is the more modern design, but since the Phenom II process is so mature you can really overclock the crap out of them these days and get some real solid performance.
 
My LAN box is an Athlon II X3 @3.2 Ghz with a 5750. It's decent for gaming, really. Every time I use it I am actually surprised with how well it actually runs.
 
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First of all; thank you for the replies ! Didn't tought I would received so many of them...

Some general comments of my own

1) To all of you who suggested the i3; I didn't thought of that CPU at all. Intel completely lost me with their new way of CPU naming. I'll have to pick up some info on the i3; glad to see that this option is available to me.

2) I should have mentionned right from the start that my new system will be a low-budget (600$-700$) one and that I'm planning to buy some or all the parts during the summer. But your parts suggestions are welcomed and I'll consider some of them later in the next weeks.

3) Glad to see that the x3 is still appreciated by their owners; this is a strange chip and I don't think we will see another one like this (4, 6 and 8 cores will be the standard line of progression in the future).

4) Thank you again for the GPU suggestions; I will go with the Radeon line for my next card (considering the 5670, 5770 and 5830; right now the 5770 has the edge here).

5) Again, I won't try to overclock or try to unlock cores in the future; I simply don't have the time to try this but thanks for the suggestions anyway.

Thank you again everyone ! :)
 
bastage said:
OP I would do a build thread in General Hardware.. And if your near a fry's or Microcenter then the i3-2100 is definitely a better buy.. Will last you much longer if you dont plan to unlock cores or overclock as you state..
Click to expand...

I'm in Canada so no Fry's or Microcenter for me :(

I'll do a list in the General Hardware section for sure...
 
Excalibur55 said:
5) Again, I won't try to overclock or try to unlock cores in the future; I simply don't have the time to try this but thanks for the suggestions anyway.
Click to expand...

If you don't plan on overclocking, then the i3-2100 or Pentium G840 (essentially an i3 with some features locked out) will probably be your best choice.

The current line of AMD CPUs simply are not competitive at stock clocks. This may change once Bulldozer comes out, but god knows when that will happen at this rate.
 
Excalibur55 said:
First of all; thank you for the replies ! Didn't tought I would received so many of them...

Some general comments of my own

1) To all of you who suggested the i3; I didn't thought of that CPU at all. Intel completely lost me with their new way of CPU naming. I'll have to pick up some info on the i3; glad to see that this option is available to me.

2) I should have mentionned right from the start that my new system will be a low-budget (600$-700$) one and that I'm planning to buy some or all the parts during the summer. But your parts suggestions are welcomed and I'll consider some of them later in the next weeks.

3) Glad to see that the x3 is still appreciated by their owners; this is a strange chip and I don't think we will see another one like this (4, 6 and 8 cores will be the standard line of progression in the future).

4) Thank you again for the GPU suggestions; I will go with the Radeon line for my next card (considering the 5670, 5770 and 5830; right now the 5770 has the edge here).

5) Again, I won't try to overclock or try to unlock cores in the future; I simply don't have the time to try this but thanks for the suggestions anyway.

Thank you again everyone ! :)
Click to expand...

Is this $600-$700 for the whole computer including mouse/keyboard/monitor etc.?

Excalibur55 said:
Interesting suggestion here, didn't thought the Pentium name would be back. I'll consider it...
Click to expand...
Pentium never left, it has been the lowest end part since it was replaced back when the core 2 duo's were around.
 
Zarathustra[H];1037382638 said:
I know there are cheap H61 boards, but they are usually micro-ATX boards with very limited expansion. You have to compare apples to apples :p

What LGA1155 motherboard with dual x16 PCI Express slots, 1 PCIe x1 lot and 3 PCI slots can you get for $74.99? That's 5 expansion slots, and its crossfire compatible as well :p
Click to expand...

OP said he needed a "moderate gaming" machine. To me that means a single GPU, 4GB ram (two sticks), one disk, and one optical. H61 fits the bill. Who needs three PCI slots in 2011?

Zarathustra[H];1037382638 said:
The cheapest ATX form factor LGA1155 that doesn't have really shitty average reviews on Newegg is $99.99
Click to expand...

I take Newegg motherboard reviews with a grain of salt. The people mostly likely to review are people with problems or guys who are really into PC hardware. The latter tend to buy the more expensive boards. As a result, the more expensive boards have more reviews and more positive reviews.

My H61 board still has zero reviews. It's been perfect, in fact one of my favorite boards lately. How many other people have had the same experience but couldn't be bothered adding to the disaster that is Newegg reviews? No way to tell.

When I want to know if a board is good I search here and ask if I don't find enough info. I trust the word of three or four of you guys over all the reviews on Newegg.

A while back one manufacturer's boards (which had previously been good boards) were blowing vrm mosfets. Some were catching fire. When I looked on Newegg there was nothing. All the affected boards still had great ratings. When I looked here not only did the [H]ard guys know something was up, they knew it was a problem with the VRM heatsinks not being seated properly on recently shipped boards. Just one example...
 
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