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need AMD processor recomendation

C

crippledlemming

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 7, 2009
Messages
166
So I received an Asus Sabertooth 990FX board this weekend at the AMD [H]ardOCP gaming experience and I am at a bit of a loss for which processor to pair it to. I've been running an intel processor since the AMD Barton days and haven't the foggiest idea what to purchase. I am currently rocking a e6600 on DangerDen water OC'ed. I plan on OC'ing the hell out of the AMD processor on the same water setup. I'm not too worried about budget as I tend to buy a processor once and keep it a long time and OC when I need extra HP. I was thinking 8150, but read some reviews and am apprehensive, or a 1100T BE, but the 1100 is older technology, and can't seem to find a BE of it. I primarily game, video edit, and photoedit on this machine. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
 
It's a bit of a toss-up between the two, really. Performance is quite close and they trade blows depending on the benchmark, so it's just a matter of which benchmarks and applications mean more to you.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/434?vs=203

All of the 1100T are black editions, so don't worry there. Grats on your board :)
 
I cant seem to find a 1100T in stock anywhere I found a 1055T on newegg, are those unlocked as well? I am looking for something to OC, and I don't mind going with something that is lower end if I can OC it up to compete with a 2500k or 2600k...
 
Did you consider the 8120? its about the same price as he 1100T and can usually reach 4.4-4.5ghz.
 
Frankly, I'd opt to go with a 1055T if I were in your position, because although the FX and Thuban processors are upgrades, at the moment you can't find an upgrade that would compete with an overclocked 2500K/2600K (they do get close to the 2500K). The 1055T can be bumped up to 3.6-4.0ghz and they're relatively cheap, so it's a solid investment.

I'd snag a 1055T and wait till late this year to see whether AMD improves upon their Piledriver cores enough to warrant selling off that 1055T and getting a Vishera (2012 AM3+ Bulldozer upgrade).
 
Is it worth going BD at this point, or would it be better to go with a cheaper processor (955BE etc) and waiting until the next round of AMD offerings?
 
crippledlemming said:
Is it worth going BD at this point, or would it be better to go with a cheaper processor (955BE etc) and waiting until the next round of AMD offerings?
Click to expand...

Since you're doing video editing and would get some use out of the extra cores and the FX instruction sets, the question would be how often do you use those programs? If it's a lot, then you're one of the few people that can use the Bulldozer processors to their full potential, but if you game a lot more or very rarely use those programs, I'd buy something cheaper and wait it out. Frankly, it's somewhat of a waste to spend $200-$270 on an 8120/8150 unless you need the upgrade now (really, only if you need the new instruction sets), so opting to buy a cheaper $130 1055T leaves you some money in your pocket to wait till AMD's new desktop enthusiast chip. Piledriver looks to be in good shape, but we won't know for certain until mid-2012.

Bulldozers aren't horrible, they're just not an upgrade over the 6-core Thubans and not a worthy upgrade over the quad Phenom IIs. If you'll be waiting for late 2012 for AMD's new AM3+ chip then buy a cheap 6-core Thuban and sell it off to pay for an upgrade at the end of the year.
 
I'd get an 8120. It'll overclock very well with that motherboard which I personally think is the best AMD board on the market and costs about the same as an 1100. Its true that an 1100 is nearly as fast in a lot of benchmarks and as fast in some but at the end of the day the 8120 is the better processor.

FX processors are just fine. They're considered a disappointment because they're slower than Intel and not much faster than Phenom but they're still good processors. You'll get good performance out of them, you just won't win any benchmark competitions.
 
Fuck the 1055t, it's $150 and you can't even overclock it. Like I said, the VERY overclock-able 8120 is a good buy and WILL outperform a 1100t when overclocked.
 
1055t is locked, ie not a BE... The 1100's have been out of stock for a few weeks now, seems like they are spooling down thuban production. If you can find a 1090T (black edition) then grab that, otherwise you might be better off with an 8120 if you do the transcoding and whatnot. If you are needing single thread performance (and cant find an unlocked X6) grab a 965 or something like that. I have that board myself and I am running an 1100T @ 4.12ghz, great mobo. Congrats!
 
jreinlie4 said:
Fuck the 1055t, it's $150 and you can't even overclock it. Like I said, the VERY overclock-able 8120 is a good buy and WILL outperform a 1100t when overclocked.
Click to expand...

Oh?

http://www.overclock.net/t/718960/got-my-1055t

They very frequently do 4.0ghz at 1.45v, which puts it at about the same as an 8120 at 4.5ghz performance wise.

Recommending a Bulldozer or Thuban is difficult when compared to Intel offerings, but since you already have an AM3+ board then you can't go wrong either way. The question would be are you willing to save money now and sell it off to buy a hopefully better CPU or spend the big bucks now. There really isn't a noticeable difference between the Thubans and the 4-module Bulldozers, whether an 1100T, 8120, 8150 or 1055T they're all in the same ballpark since you're overclocking anyway. You'd get maybe 200-300mhz higher with the 1100T or 8150 because of binning rather than the 1055T or 8120.
 
pelo said:
Oh?

http://www.overclock.net/t/718960/got-my-1055t

They very frequently do 4.0ghz at 1.45v, which puts it at about the same as an 8120 at 4.5ghz performance wise.

Recommending a Bulldozer or Thuban is difficult when compared to Intel offerings, but since you already have an AM3+ board then you can't go wrong either way. The question would be are you willing to save money now and sell it off to buy a hopefully better CPU or spend the big bucks now. There really isn't a noticeable difference between the Thubans and the 4-module Bulldozers, whether an 1100T, 8120, 8150 or 1055T they're all in the same ballpark since you're overclocking anyway. You'd get maybe 200-300mhz higher with the 1100T or 8150 because of binning rather than the 1055T or 8120.
Click to expand...

Yeah because jacking the FSB to its limits always gives you the most stable overclock. It's got a locked multiplier. If you want to overclock, buy a chip that's unlocked.
 
If I were buying new... I'd consider the 8120 you should be able to overclclock it to 4.4 perhaps even 4.5/4.6+ with good cooling. Some samples of the 8120/8150 can run hot. I've got an 8150 @4.7Ghz "daily" under water with ~1.412v load.

If on a budget... I would also consider in the forum classified's something like a used 1100T or 1095T.

Since you already have the 990FX board don't shy away from considering an 8-core FX.
 
jreinlie4 said:
Yeah because jacking the FSB to its limits always gives you the most stable overclock.
Click to expand...

Not to derail here but, yes, actually. Bumping HT Ref can indeed help to achieve higher stable clocks than multi alone, even with unlocked models. Any instability encountered when doing so is usually due to not locking down RAM, HTT, and/or CPU-NB clocks during the process.
 
all phenom 2's are unlocked in my mind

well thanks to k10stat.

now if you want to adjust muti through bios then by all means grab a unlocked chip. However using k10stat you can adjust your p-states manually in windows, along with the cpu voltage.

I would lean towards the FX cpu's vs the older thuban. Unless you can find a nice bargin 1100T or 1090T i would get a fx 81XX.
 
cerwinvega said:
Not to derail here but, yes, actually. Bumping HT Ref can indeed help to achieve higher stable clocks than multi alone, even with unlocked models. Any instability encountered when doing so is usually due to not locking down RAM, HTT, and/or CPU-NB clocks during the process.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Thubans like the base clock overclocks much better. I have mine at 15.5x265mhz and its way more stable (and faster in benches, thank you cpu/nb) than 20.5x200mhz. I cant speak much for bulldozer as I have no experience, but I think they are along the same lines.
 
^^ due to a great IMC you're getting even better performance gains with the FSB clock increases. It's the way overclocking was done for ages before we were gifted with cheap CPUs with unlocked multipliers. If you want the best overclock you should always fiddle with your RAM/NB/FSB, P-states, voltages, etc., otherwise you're not getting the most out of it.

If I were in your position, I'd probably grab a 1055T or this 960T , that has an unlocked multiplier, costs only $125 and has a good chance at unlocking to 6 cores. Save the spare cash and put it away for Vishera. The 8120 would be a close second, but would be first if you don't plan on upgrading anytime soon.
 
ebduncan said:
I would lean towards the FX cpu's vs the older thuban. Unless you can find a nice bargin 1100T or 1090T i would get a fx 81XX.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

1055T isn't a bad deal at ~$150, but the few available 1090T/1100T have all been ~$200, and at that point, FX really makes more sense.

I went with 1100T even at the inflated price, simply because it is also a drop in upgrade for all of my other machines, but others may not have that as a consideration.
 
I would go with the 8120 or Phenom 960T. 960t may unlock to six cores and its about half the price. I havent looked recently, but the 960t has been on sale a few times around $109
 
Thanks for all the info, currently scavenging several forums FS threads (mostly [H]), and if I cant find anything I think I'm going to go 960T try my hand at unlocking it to 6 cores. I'd really like a BD part but at over $100 more than the 960T and not much performance boost I dont think it is worth it. Plus when you add in the fact that I have a 3x120mm single stack rad with only the CPU + mobo on it I think I'll be able to OC into the 1100T range with a 960T.
 
I would wait it out. Vishera is coming out later this year or early next year which will be compatible with that motherboard. You will regret purchasing a 960T (which is old technology), especially if you tend to stick with one CPU for a long time. You can overclock it all you want but that will only go so far. Vishera will be using Piledriver cores (up to 10), new instructions, and possibly running quad channel memory. That 960T will seem dated pretty fast.
 
I said it once and I'll say it again. Buy the FX-8120 and overclock the piss out of it.
Newegg is offering a 10$ gift card with the purchase of the 8120 @199.99 + no tax + free shipping.
That will do just fine for the 8-12 months until PD is released. Assuming there is no delays, then sell the Mobo/CPU
and upgrade to whatever you can afford at the time (lowered Ivy prices or PD that is hopefully competitively priced).
Seeing as how the new features of Vishera will require a new Mobo anyways. 6+ months is a long time to wait.
 
I bought my son a 1055T a few weeks ago and the other day I slapped an H-60 on it. I was curious to see what it could actually do so I went into the bios, set the FSB to 286mhz, up the voltage to 1.4v and brought the memory back into specs. It booted on the first try.
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2212980



That little chip rocks, I couldn't believe it.
 
Pitbully said:
I bought my son a 1055T a few weeks ago and the other day I slapped an H-60 on it. I was curious to see what it could actually do so I went into the bios, set the FSB to 286mhz, up the voltage to 1.4v and brought the memory back into specs. It booted on the first try.
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2212980



That little chip rocks, I couldn't believe it.
Click to expand...

Greatly improved IMC on those. The Thubans were underrated as processors and still are, imo. Locked multiplier makes little difference when OCing those on good quality ram with some headroom. Not a guarantee that all of them will hit the 4ghz mark, but nearly all of them should do at least 3.6ghz
 
i've got a similar MB to you (asus CHV) which i bought for BD tho after reviews got a 1100T instead. OC's well to 4.2Ghz with tweaked FSB/CPU-NB/memory (HTT@233x18, CPU-NB@2800, RAM@1866). at these settings it comparable to a 'stock' 2500/2600k.

having said that, if you can get a cheap 'unlocked' x6 thuban, i recon do that. however with PD (which is expected to have 10-15% IPC over thuban chips) due sometime in the middle of the year, the smarter money might be better spent on something like a 960T. it'll clock easily over 4GHz on 4 cores. if you get a decent chip, you can unlock the other 2 cores tho getting it stable over 4Ghz is another matter. 3.8/3.9 is more likely if the unlocked cores aren't borked.

when the PD chips for AM3+ surface, pony up the cash to get a high end chip then.

and alternative if you wanted to do it real cheap is to pick up a x2 555/560 (while waiting for PD) for around 50 bucks . most of those will unlock to 4 cores and do 4GHz. hell even i've got an old x2 555 which i was able to unlock and get stable @4GHz which i snagged with the purchase of my CHV.
 
Bah so much back and fourth I really have hope for the piledrivers, but usually dont swap procs much... might have to make an exception and go cheap now for PD later :D
 
crippledlemming said:
Bah so much back and fourth I really have hope for the piledrivers, but usually don't swap procs much... might have to make an exception and go cheap now for PD later :D
Click to expand...

your situation is a little tough to make a decision regarding the best CPU for your Asus 990FX MB. having said that you're already ahead on the motherboard front. you got it for free after all and the board is about as good as it gets for AMD side of things and is better in many cases vs current intel chipsets (6 native SATA III/6Gb ports + the 2 SATAII 3Gb from JMicron, 40 native PCIe lanes etc). so all your looking at is $50 - $150 for the CPU and maybe another $50 for decent RAM. all up a max of $200 bucks providing you already have the other bits & pieces (case, PSU, GPU, HDs etc).

you said you're looking at doing gaming & video encoding on this rig. if the bias is towards gaming then your decision is a little easier, a deneb/thuban is the way to go. an OC'ed thuban as someone already mentioned is a very underrated CPU. @4Ghz+ it's still the business. the only reason i'd personally consider a BD chip is if video encoding is the primary task. if it was 50/50 (gaming/video stuff) i'd still go a thuban b/c its no slouch there either for encoding work.

now if you were being thrifty and wanted the platform to last for 3+ years then the PD CPU's needs to be on your radar. with that in mind i'd look at $50 x2 555/560. i'm not sure if they are still in retail channels anymore but a forum member might be able to help you out with an secondhand x2 that definately unlocks to a 4 core chip. as i said earlier i've got one sitting in the original box that i know unlocks to 4 cores and is stable at least to 3.9GHz (didn't play with it for very long before i got my 1100T). so there must be other members out there that have one of these doing nothing at the moment.

have a look here on the 'Post your AMD unlock pass/fail here! v. 2.0 + How to unlock' thread;
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1499697&highlight=555+unlock

if you want guaranteed 4 cores with the option on getting a free 1 or 2 extra cores then the 960T for a little more cash is the best bet. believe you can still get these thru retail channels as well.

personally i'm waiting on PD chips. as we know what BD is capable of, they (PD) can't be any worse. be a fairly safe bet it should at least be a little better than thuban's IPC plus it should have decent OC'ing headroom. BD has 4.5 to 4.8 so PD should be a little better, perhaps 4.9 to 5Ghz+. not sure a 10 core version will work in AM3+ but we should get a 8 core version which will be the last chip to work in AM3+ socket MB's.
 
If you want something short-term to hold you over until PD comes (which is what I recommend) get the 960T. They reliably unlock to X6, so you have an unlocked hex for $120. If you don't want to take the risk get a 1090T or 1100T. From what I've heard AMD does not overclock well with FSB, so avoid the 1055T and other locked processors.

I think Bulldozer is not worth it at this time. It barely outperforms Thuban in multi-threaded applications and gets beaten handily in lightly threaded applications. Thuban is more well-rounded for general usage. They both have similar performance-per-watt so you don't lose anything by going with an older architecture in this case.
 
XacTactX said:
If you want something short-term to hold you over until PD comes (which is what I recommend) get the 960T. They reliably unlock to X6, so you have an unlocked hex for $120. If you don't want to take the risk get a 1090T or 1100T. From what I've heard AMD does not overclock well with FSB, so avoid the 1055T and other locked processors.

I think Bulldozer is not worth it at this time. It barely outperforms Thuban in multi-threaded applications and gets beaten handily in lightly threaded applications. Thuban is more well-rounded for general usage. They both have similar performance-per-watt so you don't lose anything by going with an older architecture in this case.
Click to expand...

agree with this tho an unlocked thuban X6's are hard to come by now unless you hit up the forum for sale threads or flea-bay. tho a 960T is pretty good value, if the OP has the view of getting a PD chip when released later this year, the $120 for the 960T + $250-300 (just a guess at the price points for PD) might be a getting a little expensive in long run.
a cheap x2 deneb (555/560) might be a wiser path and from my gauge of unlock rates, the OP will have a higher success with and x2 unlocking to a x4 rather than a 960T unlocking to 6 core. plus a 555/560 should be 60-70 bucks cheaper.

disagree on FSB/HTT overclocking. you'll get more out of your CPU with a combo of mult/FSB overclocking rather than straight multi overclocking. having said that, it'll be harder to reach a higher clock on 1055 tho not impossible. all up a unlocked CPU is definitely preferred.
 
960T is a good chip, nice bang for buck. Four-core thuban with the chance to unlock cores. Don't need to mention the slight gain over deneb. That said, I <3 my 955BE
 
I ended up going with the 960T managed to find one new for $95 shipped onsale :) I have another thread detailing the build if anyone is interested.
 
I might be tempted to try the quad 960T Zosma, too, since it is a BE and seems to unlock to 6 cores succesfully. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103995
For $124.99 it might be worth trying and should clock up decently.
I was lucky. I was in the market for a new AMD setup and walked in to my local CompUSA and spotted 2 1090T's in their cpu display. They are almost impossible to find now. They had 2. I got 1 and the other one was gone the next day. Paid $169.99 for it and felt good about it. I recently saw an 1100T going for $259.99 on Amazon. What a rip-off.
 
Personally, if I could do it again, I would probably get the 8120 instead of the 1090T I have now. Do not get me wrong, the 1090T I have does run fast and does everything I ask of it without complaining, except for one thing, overclocking. :( This is on an Asrock Extreme 4 990FX mainboard.

Unfortunately, I managed to get a 1090T that will only do 3.8 GHz at 1.40 stable and nothing more. I have tried 3.9 and 4.0 but no matter what voltage I use, it does not matter. I have using a H50 in push pull config so that works decently.

All I am saying is, regardless of what charts and sites say, do not get your hopes up to high on overclocking a 1055T.
 
To the OP, grats on getting the 960T. 95usd is a killer price. Hope yours does well for you. They are awesome chips.

Overclocking is indeed luck of the draw. Below are charts from XS for OCs their users achieved with Thuban. The charts are only 1090T and 1055T though.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums...ot-Core-(Phenom-II-X6)-XS-Overclocking-Charts

Mobo quality and PSU quality may impact things too. You're won't get far if your mobo has a shoddy BIOS and poor voltage regulation. Also if you've a cheap PSU that puts out dirty unstable power that could hold you back as well.
 
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Yup. Couldn't get my 1090 passed 3.8 stable on my old ASRock but this beautiful new Sabertooth has it running just fine at a hair over 4 gig and once I get some better cooling, I bet I can get a little more. The motherboard is as important as the CPU when it comes to how far you can overclock.
 
Well, except in this case, it is a new Asrock board: Extreme 4 990FX Unfortunately, in this case, it is the chip and not the board. Afterall, not all cpu's are created equal.
 
In case any of y'all are interested I have a build log going with the hardware we've been talking about in this thread over here It's been on ongoing project, so to see the AMD posts you may have to scroll a bit. Let me know what you think of my build?
 
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