550 or 620?

[PermaBanned]

Well as an upgrade i'm trying to keep to a certain budget, AM3 seems like a logical choice with a decent upgrade path. Uses will be gaming, folding and media editing (as well as the normal stuff). What i want to know though is if i should go for the Phenom II 550, and hope i can unlock the extra cores or go for the Athlon II 620 and hope i can unlock the extra cache. They're very similarly priced. Overclocking it would be nice to hit 4GHz but it's not really that important, since i'll most likely not run it at that speed all the time anyway. Cooling shouldn't be a problem

Thanks.

 

[gamesaregood]

You really need to decide which you would prefer:

Cache Crippled Slower Quad core or High Clocking Dual Core....

Basically which of the worst outcomes would you prefer?

 

[PermaBanned]

Both have the opportunity to unlock to the same chip... with the Athlon it's dependant on which one you're given (from which batch) and with the Phenom it's dependant on what the chip was binned as. There's honestly so little in it...

 

[Trunks9486]

Look at the stock performance and the overlcocked performance of each chip.

Unlocking is a gamble and shouldnt be used a purchasing decision. the dual core is generally seen as the better one for one who likes to tweak.

 

[Scomac]

I have the same dilemma. I think for my purposes (internet, media duties and gaming), the dual would suffice so the higher clock speed, cache and unlocked multi of the 550BE would suit me best (if of course I can't have free bonus core goodness!). That said, for a little more the X3 guarantees me at least 3 cores without sacrificing the clocking potential. I like you am on a budget, so the decision is not easy. Out of interest (and slight OT), what MB etc. are you going for?

 

[PermaBanned]

I was looking at the Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P, since it has decent options and similar performance to the 790 chipset but i have little need of the integrated graphics chip on the 780.

 

[TipTop]

I would wait for the release of the new Phenom II 975 BE with B3 stepping. Throw a few coins in a box along the way.

I was going to buy a 955 BE but I don't think it would be a wise move at the moment.

 

[AsLan]

The 550 BE may unlock to a quad core, mine didn't but runs at 3.7 on the stock cooler with no voltage increase. I thought the athlon 2's where fabricated without the cache to cut down costs so can't be unlocked to anything more than what they are. Or did you mean unlock the athlon 2 x2 to an x4.
Most of the reviews I've seen have the two devices pretty much performing the same at stock.

 

[Sindri]

I would wait for the release of the new Phenom II 975 BE with B3 stepping. Throw a few coins in a box along the way.

I was going to buy a 955 BE but I don't think it would be a wise move at the moment.

lol wouldn't this be somewhat over budget?

 

[blaineoliver]

You have to check your model with the 620s, some are native minus l3, some are harvested die.

 

[PermaBanned]

Yeah... i still have no idea. Folding i could make use of the extra cores. I don't suppose my Linux use would make much of a difference.

 

[blaineoliver]

For general stuff, 2 cores is better than 4, for very recent gaming, 4 cores is better, and for folding, 4 cores is better.