The most powerful AMD CPU you can get?

8004 Views 26 Replies 17 Participants Last post by soulsonicforce, Mar 8, 2009

Iverieli

Discussion Starter · Mar 4, 2009

What's the most powerful AMD CPU you can currently get in terms of raw power for gaming?

I was thinking either the Phenom II 940 Black Edition 3ghz or the
AM3 Phenom II 910 2.6ghz (smaller, cooler CPU)?

Or is there a better option I'm not thinking of?

1 - 20 of 27 Posts

Slappa

· #2 · Mar 4, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iverieli

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What's the most powerful AMD CPU you can currently get in terms of raw power for gaming?

I was thinking either the Phenom II 940 Black Edition 3ghz or the
AM3 Phenom II 910 2.6ghz (smaller, cooler CPU)?

Or is there a better option I'm not thinking of?

That would be the Phenom II 940 BE for most powerful, but DDR2 only.

910 is DDR3, but in reality DDR3 does not add that much to perfomance.

However I have seen some Tri Cores capable of better overclocking than the quads.

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Shift.

· #3 · Mar 4, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iverieli

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What's the most powerful AMD CPU you can currently get in terms of raw power for gaming?

I was thinking either the Phenom II 940 Black Edition 3ghz or the
AM3 Phenom II 910 2.6ghz (smaller, cooler CPU)?

Or is there a better option I'm not thinking of?

Gaming you say?

X3 720BE.

It's even been proven to match, and even surpass the i7 920 in some games.

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Iverieli

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 4, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shift.

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Gaming you say?

X3 720BE.

It's even been proven to match, and even surpass the i7 920 in some games.

Examples? Links? If this is true, I might consider an X3.

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Shift.

· #5 · Mar 4, 2009

2

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iverieli

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Examples? Links? If this is true, I might consider an X3.

As you wish.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-ph...-review-am3/22

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Bose Einstein Condensate

· #6 · Mar 4, 2009

my x3 720 BE is a badass cpu. got it 3.7ghz rock stable and it zipps along quite nicely

SinX7

· #7 · Mar 4, 2009

I say 940

kgd1

· #8 · Mar 4, 2009

Phenom II 940 BE

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sgdude

· #9 · Mar 4, 2009

940 the 920 shouldnt run any cooler
or the x3 720 and unlock the 4th core with a sb750 mobo. (not guaranteed to work but works alot)
or wait for am3 940BE equivalent (945?)

Shift.

· #10 · Mar 4, 2009

He's talking about gaming, so he'd be getting the most out of a tri right now.

Iverieli

Discussion Starter · #11 · Mar 4, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shift.

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He's talking about gaming, so he'd be getting the most out of a tri right now.

So youre saying a Phenom II X3 720 BE can outperform a Phenom II X4 940 BE?

I'm assuming if this is true that its because the X3 720 can be overclocked very well.

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gerikoh

· #12 · Mar 4, 2009

that tri will beat the 940be in gaming.

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Diplomacy

· #13 · Mar 4, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iverieli

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So youre saying a Phenom II X3 720 BE can outperform a Phenom II X4 940 BE?

I'm assuming if this is true that its because the X3 720 can be overclocked very well.

More L3 cache per core too.

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Cdpkook132

· #14 · Mar 4, 2009

Where is the 925 and 945 is the main question here. i would say the 720 is more powerful then the 940 also especially when paired with ddr3

pixie

· #15 · Mar 4, 2009

bone stock, and 3GHz quad IS NOT more powerful than a 2.8GHz tri. it's just not gonna happen.

in gaming, it's more about Hz - the more the better. so if you can get a 3 core running at a higher speed stably than a 4 core, then yes, the 3 core will be a better choice for gaming. this is proven true on alot of 3dmark runs where dual cores CPU's are in the top performing rigs in the stats, simply because they are clock a GHz or more over a quad. and graphics cards REALLY like extra Hz from the CPU.

tri's are really great for the money, but i prefer a quad.

gerikoh

· #16 · Mar 4, 2009

2

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixie

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bone stock, and 3GHz quad IS NOT more powerful than a 2.8GHz tri. it's just not gonna happen.

in gaming, it's more about Hz - the more the better. so if you can get a 3 core running at a higher speed stably than a 4 core, then yes, the 3 core will be a better choice for gaming. this is proven true on alot of 3dmark runs where dual cores CPU's are in the top performing rigs in the stats, simply because they are clock a GHz or more over a quad. and graphics cards REALLY like extra Hz from the CPU.

tri's are really great for the money, but i prefer a quad.

yep it's true. it's probably because the 720be gets more l3 cache per core. but it did beat an e8500

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xXkeyboardkowboyXx

· #17 · Mar 4, 2009

The 720be beats the 940be in games only because of more l3 cache per core, and the fact that most games only utilize 2 cores. that third core become very useful for running the other apps in the background. but from what I've seen they overclock about the same.

NrGx

· #18 · Mar 4, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shift.

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Gaming you say?

X3 720BE.

It's even been proven to match, and even surpass the i7 920 in some games.

Purely because gaming performance has no real relation to processor performance these days. Any CPU will be fine for gaming unless you are benchmarking; it is not prudent to say the X3 720 will surpass the i7 920 however. The differences in FPS are probably due to small variations in the testing methodology than any real advantage the AMD processor has. This can be easily deduced from the following graphs from the same review:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-ph...-review-am3/16

The Core i7 range is on a completely different level...but the price reflects this.

To answer the OP, the most powerful AMD processor is the Phenom II 940 but I am given to understand the 945 revision is out soon.

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pixie

· #19 · Mar 4, 2009

2

Quote:

Originally Posted by NrGx

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Purely because gaming performance has no real relation to processor performance these days. Any CPU will be fine for gaming unless you are benchmarking;

that's so true dude. i just downloaded the whole Half Life series, since i've never played the first one and nothing but a demo of the second.

anyways, while playing the first Half Life, my GPU's are coming in at a whopping 0-1% usage and 100% CPU usage on the 1st core only (rest are less that 2%) and that's with 71fps constantly capped

it's just funny how low level those old games were.

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Diabolical999

· #20 · Mar 4, 2009

X4 940 > X4 920 > X3 720 > X4 810 > X3 710

^Is how I see it.

Edit: Can't wait 'til my 940 BE arrives

.

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