Zeifer

So I play a lot of games, and I'm currently running an Athlon 64 X2 7750 BE, and I wanna jump on the 45nm bandwagon, without getting that (in my opinion) ridiculous 5000+ quad.

I want it to be a budget PC, so I'm not gonna be paying an extra 40 bucks for the X4, especially since there's a 50/50 chance I can unlock the 4th core.

The reason I'm considering the X3 is because RawZ showed it could OC quite well, and Windows 7 is optimized for quad-core CPUs, and I'm assuming it would take advantage of tri-cores as well (because it makes sense).

In addition to 13 dollar price difference between the X2 and X3 for a guaranteed working core, is that on occasion I'll do video rendering and whatnot, but nothing extensive that would require a quad.

Also, http://www.hardware.info/'s benchmarks for the Athlon II X4 and X3 showed a minimal difference in gaming, with the X3 actually performing better in one or two cases. The X4 did dominate in the programs that use all four cores for rendering, etc. However, this is a gaming PC.

Or should I wait and hope that the Athlon's get a C3 stepping revision?

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terence52

acutally i will choose the x3 rather since u can mutiltask with it
also its only 0.1ghz behind the 250 anyway
i doubt the athlon will get c3 stepping acutally

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KamuiRSX

Honestly, if you have $90, you can get the AMD Athlon X4 620 from ewiz.com. But as far as your stipulations are concerned, the tricore will always be better than the dual core. I will however suggest maybe an upgrade to your motherboard though and your gpu definitely. An upgrade to your GPU would be better for gaming than a new CPU.

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Armi

Really?

Get the Athlon II X3 435. Unless you want to get (720BE) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103649 or else just get the Athlon II X3

But after seeing these benchmarks: http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/r...X3_435_10.html

Athlon II X2 240e?

Zeifer

Well I will be swapping out my motherboard no matter what processor I get. I'm gonna snag this. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128384

The price difference between the Athlon II X3 and X4 is why the X4 isn't an option, the Phenom II X3 price is 3 dollars less than the Athlon II X4 lol.

I'm going to be getting a new PSU also, since mine is like, dying. And I would definitely love to get a GTX285, but right now I'm going to be swapping my crappy MB, and getting a 45nm processor.

And those ExtremeOverclocking benchmarks make the X3 even more favorable. >_>

Also, Kamui, I heard going from 4 to 8GB of RAM in Vista/7 is like going from 1 to 2GB in XP. Yay or nay?

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hilltopper06

Get the ridiculous 5000+ Quad

I would go with the tri core out of the two options you listed. But in reality the 5000+ is not a bad choice even for a dual core. Many are getting it to overclock to 3Ghz+ with just the two cores. I have mine at Quad and 3Ghz.

Zeifer

An L3 cache isn't worth the major increase in overclocking I can get with the Athlon II series, in my opinion. RawZ was able to clock his X3 to 3.5GHz on stock voltage. Also, I'm better off keeping my 7750 X2 instead of getting the 5000+ if I was gonna run it as a dual core. It's got a higher stock clock, more OC potential, and once I get my new motherboard, I might even be able to get a tri/quad out of it. The Athlon II, however, would still best that, I think.

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hilltopper06

I guess the real question then is if either is worth the cost of upgrade over your 7750 BE (which I wouldn't think would be a bottleneck for your system in most situations). I use a 7750 BE in my HTPC and it has tackled everything I have thrown at it. Unless you are running into severe performance issues right now in gaming (that you can definitively attribute to your CPU) then waiting for something newer (and/or cheaper) may be your best bet.

Zeifer

Well like I said, I want to get a 45nm chip for the lower temps and overclocking potential. The only bottleneck in my system at the moment would be my motherboard. With Windows 7 being out I'd like an additional core (a fourth if I'm lucky) to go with my new motherboard. The motherboard doesn't let me use ACC or unlock cores, and is only microATX. The max HT Link speed is onto 1800MHz, too.

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elito

you do know that HT speed doesn't matter at all right? theres probably a 1-2% if any gain/ decrease.. its NB speed that helps you out.. and no your 7750 will not be able to clock as high as the 5000+ x2 quad , yes, its 2.2ghz at base clock..but that chip is able to give you a 99% chance of hitting 3.2ghz..a 1Ghz oc..pls show me that your 7750 can do a 1ghz oc in terms of headroom..now if you wanna say your 7750 will have a higher clock..then that might be true..but not in terms of oc'ing headroom. ht1.8ghz/ 3600mhz or ht2ghz 4000mhz, will not give you any different results.

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