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Buying tomorrow (Athlon II 4x 620 or Phenom 2x BE 550/ 3x 720)

1815 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  BlackOmega
I don't know what will the L3 cache of the Phenom II benefit me, games bench marks and graphs show the athlon II x4 at stock clocks better than the other 2...
I am certainly trying to unlock the L3 cache if I get Athlon II 620
Which mobo do you recommend of these (yea my retailer sells only these)
EGP = price in Egyptian pounds..

Asrock 68 n 7025 225

Ecs 6100 am2+ 225

Gigabyte MA-61-S2 = 275 EGP

Gigabyte MA-74GM-S2 = 305 EGP

Gigabyte GA-MA78Gm-Us2H = 455 EGP

Gigabyte GA-MA785Gm-Us2H = 475 EGP

Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H = 545 EGP

Gigabyte GA-MA785GT-UD3H = 565 EGP

Gigabyte MA-770T-UD3P = 535 EGP

Gigabyte MA-790XT-UD4P = 860 EGP

Gigabyte MA-790FXT-UD5P = 1125 EGP

MSI 790GX-G65 = 725 EGP

ECS A780GM Black Series = 385 EGP
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Gigabyte MA-790XT-UD4P = 860 EGP

Gigabyte MA-790FXT-UD5P = 1125 EGP

Either of those 2 boards. But if you're going to be using 2 video cards (or more) than the UD5P is the better choice. I was going to get that board until MSI came out with the 790FX-GD70. It has 2 full size PCI slots and 4 PCIe slots. And I liked the color scheme of the MSI board a lot more.

As for the CPU, what's your rig going to be used for? Primarily gaming? If so, then the 720BE is your best bet because of the L3 cache. I know you said you were going to try and unlock the L3 on the Athlon, you can't rely on that. Your expectation when buying any CPU that has locked components, whether it be a core or the L3, is that it WILL NOT unlock successfully. Don't get me wrong, if it does that's really awesome, but if it doesn't no loss.

But if you're going to be encoding I'd imagine that the extra core of the 620/630 would be more beneficial. However, I don't know how well the Athlons overclock. If they don't overclock well, then they lose their advantage.
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For gaming: Gigabyte MA-770T-UD3P + Phenom II x3 720
For gaming + encoding: Gigabyte MA-770T-UD3P + Athlon II x4 620 (if difference in price with 630 isn't too much, go for the 630)
3.2Ghz for the Athlon is the common max with some tweaking. And there is no way you can unlock the L3 on them now since they're not the deneb chips anymore(that was for the first few models). The 720 has a 50/50 chance from what I've seen and heard with getting the 4th to work. But it is about equal gaming wise at stock to the Athlon(mostly beating it except in GTA4). So unless you're really needing the encoding muscle the 720 wins.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Rookie1337 View Post
3.2Ghz for the Athlon is the common max with some tweaking. And there is no way you can unlock the L3 on them now since they're not the deneb chips anymore(that was for the first few models). The 720 has a 50/50 chance from what I've seen and heard with getting the 4th to work. But it is about equal gaming wise at stock to the Athlon(mostly beating it except in GTA4). So unless you're really needing the encoding muscle the 720 wins.
3.2 is pretty weak for gaming especially when using 2 or more GPU's. You need the processor speed to be able to keep up with them, 3.2 will not cut the mustard.
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Ok seems like the 720 BE is the right choice, and I am thinkin of getting the Gigabyte MA-770T-UD3P.
Since I don't really like the idea of crossfire which is offered by 790 chipsets
For unlocking the fourth core you need a SB750(790) or SB710(785) board with ACC. Not sure whether the 790s are the best at that though.

And not sure what Omega is saying. I'm pretty sure that past 3GHz with a quad or tri core is good enough for now. But the lack of cache size does hurt the Athlon in games.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Rookie1337 View Post
And not sure what Omega is saying. I'm pretty sure that past 3GHz with a quad or tri core is good enough for now. But the lack of cache size does hurt the Athlon in games.
Let me clarify. 3GHz is not fast enough to process all of the information packets 1 or 2 good GPU's put through. Hence this is known as a processor bottleneck. IMO, you need at least 3.5/3.6 to see cards like the 4870, 4890, 5770, 5850 etc. potential. Even in a single GPU configuration you need the high CPU speed for that and that alone, not that you need it to play a game.
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