Help Picking a Processor

[WintersFury]

Hey all,

I'm helping a friend who wants to know nothing about hardware build a computer for playing MMO's and single player RPG's. Now I'm a bit out of the loop myself since I'm still happy with my system and haven't been keeping an eye on what's going on.

But I figure for a best bang for the buck gaming system, AMD is still the way to go?

Now my gut instinct is to suggest the P2 x3 720 over the P2 x2 555 or A2 x4 635 which can all be had for about $100.

This computer will be used for gaming 99% of the time. The other 1% will be for the rare transcoding of a in game video for posting on youtube.

So my thinking is either BE will OC better than the x4 and will beat it out because of that and games don't really use 4 cores. And unless the x2 can OC way better than the x3 the extra core will allow newer games to use it and gain an advantage.

What do you all think?

Thanks!

 

[Enigma]

if it were me I would get a X6 thuban 1055t or 1090t either one would suit quite well and give the system some longevity

 

[zaxour]

Well, it also depends on budget. But, for gaming and occasional transcoding, I don't see how you can go too wrong with the X3.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

I would go with the X3. Nice compromise between clock speed and threading.

Of course, you could go with a Thuban, and get Turbo CORE/whatever it's called for gaming as well as 6 cores for transcoding.

 

[WintersFury]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I would go with the X3. Nice compromise between clock speed and threading.

That's exactly what I thought myself



As for the x6, well the budget keeps it at around $100 so their a bit out of the price range. And for the maybe 20 minutes of fraps video he does anything with I think it would be a bit overkill as well.

And heck, since AMD is doing really good with keeping the processors working in the somewhat older sockets he could throw a x6 in there when they hit $100.

 

[ScottALot]

I feel like going for something that could have a secret core is a good idea

 

[WintersFury]

I feel like going for something that could have a secret core is a good idea

Hrmmm... I wasn't even thinking of unlocking potential. A x3 that might be a x4... Added bonus!

 

[sirmonkey1985]

Hrmmm... I wasn't even thinking of unlocking potential. A x3 that might be a x4... Added bonus!

all depends on the board you own and if it has the SB710 or SB750 south bridge.. if it doesnt then you cant unlock it..

 

[la_guy]

Yea the buy 3 get 1 free not only applies to the firework stand up the road, it applies to CPU cores. I agree go with the Tri-core.

 

[WintersFury]

all depends on the board you own and if it has the SB710 or SB750 south bridge.. if it doesnt then you cant unlock it..

Ah, well I guess no unlocking then since it'll be one of the new boards with the SB850. But I think an overclocked tri core should be fine for what he's doing.

Thanks for the info on that.

 

[sirmonkey1985]

Ah, well I guess no unlocking then since it'll be one of the new boards with the SB850. But I think an overclocked tri core should be fine for what he's doing.

Thanks for the info on that.

if it has the SB850 make sure its a board with the unlocker on it.. they removed the old fashion ACC unlock that the SB710/750 has but gigabyte and i believe asus and msi also have their own unlocking feature on the 800 series boards.. just check the spec's/product summery or it will say on the motherboard its self if it has the unlocker..

 

[W.Feather]

Ah, well I guess no unlocking then since it'll be one of the new boards with the SB850. But I think an overclocked tri core should be fine for what he's doing.

Thanks for the info on that.

just because its an SB850 doesnt mean it doesnt do unlocking....most Asus/MSI boards with the SB850 have something built in, and IIRC so do some of the ASRock.



my recomendation is the x3....only because your guranteed atleast 3 cores, and an L3 cache.....people will say go for the A2, which is another good choice, and unlock the L3 cache.....doesnt usually work....

being a BE doesnt mean it will OC better....just easier.....infact both the Athlon and the BE will overclock to similar levels, with the Athlon having a bit of a higher roof...due to the X3 being an old stepping.

In gaming the L3 will make some of a difference, which is why the x3 will edge out performance wise(stock)


as far as the x6 goes.....its really game dependent.....if your doing any crappy console ports(not to say the game is bad.....just that it wasnt coded properly), ie GTA, or if your doing BFBC2......these will eat up cores, so it is benificial to get an x6 in this case, since the cores will be used.


sorry for the long winded reply.....lol, just board here late at night in NZ