Personally with your budget I'd go for a PII X4 965BE build with a 5850, 4gb ram etc as suggested above .... which will cost you less than £600 ... but then why not treat yourself an 80gb intel SSD with the extra? It will probably give you a much more tangible performance boost than spending the money on other hardware.
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i7 920 vs AMD 965 black edition
- Thread starter solway
- Start date
...that's more or less what i done .. then sold all my old components on EBay - Q6600, HD 4870 , DDR2 , Motherboard etc and recouped half my money back ......
lol ok, then
bidding starts for a Althon XP 3200 Barton, 2GB DDR RAM, Geforce 6800GT 256MB. MSI K7N2 Delta
do i hear £400? rotflmao
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Tbh, with the current speed of new technologies every few months now, the best bet would be to get AM3 board with 1600mhz DDR3, then x3 435 or 555BE and upgrade in a 1,5-2yrs if you feel like needing more power instead of splashing 200-250 on a cpu that you will use only at 20-30% of it's power for the next 2yrs and then upgrade it anyways coz it will be outdated.
yea was thinking that
as for ram bus rate... the old days we had to match the CPU, is that still required? i.e. does 1600mhz for i7 and Pii a requirement? or is 2000mhz bit overkill
ok ive come up with this. (bit lost on ram)
Wayne got any opinions?
Ive taken your advice, and know that the hardware will be outdated soon.
i guess after a few small upgrades on cpu/gpu i can keep pace with tech, until another big upgrade.
was thinking of a 5770 but review state its crap, and a 4870 beats it sometimes. so i'll hold on a 5850, and see what nvidia's **** hits the fan.
someone suggested a 555BE but OCers don't stock it (yet?) for quad unlock if i can (bit of a gamble).
question, is the 550/555 a 965 but just with x2 cores? so all cache sizes the same? etc...
Think i'll hold out (again) for these few cpu/gpu that are coming up in march
Wayne got any opinions?
Ive taken your advice, and know that the hardware will be outdated soon.
i guess after a few small upgrades on cpu/gpu i can keep pace with tech, until another big upgrade.
was thinking of a 5770 but review state its crap, and a 4870 beats it sometimes. so i'll hold on a 5850, and see what nvidia's **** hits the fan.
someone suggested a 555BE but OCers don't stock it (yet?) for quad unlock if i can (bit of a gamble).
question, is the 550/555 a 965 but just with x2 cores? so all cache sizes the same? etc...
Think i'll hold out (again) for these few cpu/gpu that are coming up in march
ok ive come up with this. (bit lost on ram)
Wayne got any opinions?
Ive taken your advice, and know that the hardware will be outdated soon.
i guess after a few small upgrades on cpu/gpu i can keep pace with tech, until another big upgrade.
was thinking of a 5770 but review state its crap, and a 4870 beats it sometimes. so i'll hold on a 5850, and see what nvidia's **** hits the fan.
someone suggested a 555BE but OCers don't stock it (yet?) for quad unlock if i can (bit of a gamble).
question, is the 550/555 a 965 but just with x2 cores? so all cache sizes the same? etc...
Think i'll hold out (again) for these few cpu/gpu that are coming up in march
550BE is 945 with 2 cores disabled.
555BE is the new 965 with new c3 stepping so make it 555 : ).
Also they seem to have 100% unlock just yet so grab one till you can ( and even if not, 4ghz dual pII is still freaking fast for next 1-2yr).
I would consider cheaper mobo as well unless you need all the sata 3 and stuff but tbh by the time it will be needed you would be able to buy new better mobo for the diff you've saved ; ).
5770 is not bad at all, it now beats 4870 mostly with the new drivers.
Get cheaper ram, Gskill/Geil @ 1600mhz will do.
Probably the best choice is the c7 patriot if they have it in stock,
unfortunately for me it was out of stock and I couldn't be arsed to wait 2 weeks so I bought c9 gskill ripjaw which is excellent anyways as I can run it at 1700mhz for sweet spot. Probably the patriot will do same with lower timings but it's not a world breaking difference so both choices are good.
Geils are good as well, I personally wouldn't spend more than 90quid on 4gb.
From an AMD® perspective you have pretty much nailed it!any opinions?
. . . your last spec is still £46.84 more expensive than the one in post #32 (it's the USB/SATA-III sniz and Corsair Brand name fee?) . . . I'd be very tempted to pay the extra £10 for the PhIIX2555 as it's C3 revison silicon which is *rumoured* to have a higher unlock success rate and also overclocks a bit better (if thats important to you!)Fatboy the OcUK Processor stock buyer is getting a bit more AMD® stock in soon so I expect you can sit it out for a while and twiddle your thumbs!
From an AMD® perspective you have pretty much nailed it!
Fatboy the OcUK Processor stock buyer is getting a bit more AMD® stock in soon so I expect you can sit it out for a while and twiddle your thumbs!
yea i'll wait for the Pii555BE to come in. unlocking it to Pii965 (great bonus)
i'll also wait for the upcoming ATI / Nvidia fight, see what happens to prices
PhoenixUK, thanks for the ram help. gone are the days where you had to match CPU bus rate
As for mobo, well that 8xx series chipset has support for 6core AM3?, plus usb3 and sata3 is a good bonus. although i guess addin cards and bois updates can sort of counterattack that choice.
i just noticed i get free shipment now, lol i thought i needed 200 posts, great bonus.
eXtreme Power Supply Calculator
based on the spec above with the current hardware to add to it (hdd etc), im getting approx 435W at 100% peak load
my PSU is 580 Hiper. that should be ok for now?
my current system is grabbing approx 340w, LOL
not if i can unlock them to quad its isn't!
It's not about offering good advice, it's about ass licking/fanboyism etc.
yeah.
A real shame....
Soldato
- Joined
- 23 Apr 2009
- Posts
- 11,973
- Location
- Cheshire
Dear the OP.
You seem to think that unlocking a Pii 550/555 to a Quad core is a done deal, please understand that it isn't at all.
It is true that some Phenom X2s are just fully functioning X4s with a pair of cores locked to make up X2 numbers. However, this is not always the case. The reason these X2s are made in this way is so that X4s with core defects on one or two cores can still be sold (albeit as an X2). Trying to unlock such an X2 results in failure and you will always be stuck with a dual core.
Also, considering AMD make a lot more money on each quad core than a dual core - you can pretty much guarantee that a working X4 being "demoted" to dual core duties will be one of the lower binned chips (ie. in initial testing these chips respond less well to higher clockspeeds and generally won't overclock as well as their higher binned brethren). Therefore, if you do unlock a dual to a quad - it will not perform as well as an off-the-shelf quad when overclocking.
From one of your earlier posts you indicated that you not only play games, but also use autocad and other apps. Therefore I would think that a quad core would be of use to you. Which one depends on budget, but the X4 Athlon IIs, X4 Phenom IIs, i5 750 and i7 930 are all certainly the ones to look at. Here is a nice in depth review that shows these cpus compared in several tests.
You seem to think that unlocking a Pii 550/555 to a Quad core is a done deal, please understand that it isn't at all.
It is true that some Phenom X2s are just fully functioning X4s with a pair of cores locked to make up X2 numbers. However, this is not always the case. The reason these X2s are made in this way is so that X4s with core defects on one or two cores can still be sold (albeit as an X2). Trying to unlock such an X2 results in failure and you will always be stuck with a dual core.
Also, considering AMD make a lot more money on each quad core than a dual core - you can pretty much guarantee that a working X4 being "demoted" to dual core duties will be one of the lower binned chips (ie. in initial testing these chips respond less well to higher clockspeeds and generally won't overclock as well as their higher binned brethren). Therefore, if you do unlock a dual to a quad - it will not perform as well as an off-the-shelf quad when overclocking.
From one of your earlier posts you indicated that you not only play games, but also use autocad and other apps. Therefore I would think that a quad core would be of use to you. Which one depends on budget, but the X4 Athlon IIs, X4 Phenom IIs, i5 750 and i7 930 are all certainly the ones to look at. Here is a nice in depth review that shows these cpus compared in several tests.
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Associate
- Joined
- 26 Jan 2009
- Posts
- 894
?
thanks
yea i knew the risk, im still sitting on the fence to be honest. i7 has good interest, although the downside is the mobo cost.
Also some people missed the point where he showed his current spec..
A barton ....
Even 555 not unlocked will have plenty more power than you'll need ; ).
x3 435 is also great value/performance and if you need more power later, you've saved so much money that upgrade won't be a problem.
Best choice atm for the long run is probably either x3 435 or 555 and spend your money elsewhere or keep it for future upgrades.
A barton ....
Even 555 not unlocked will have plenty more power than you'll need ; ).
x3 435 is also great value/performance and if you need more power later, you've saved so much money that upgrade won't be a problem.
Best choice atm for the long run is probably either x3 435 or 555 and spend your money elsewhere or keep it for future upgrades.
Solway, as a pII 550be owner I'd say stick with the good advice that you have been given and ignore easyriders scaremongering.
A 555BE is a good bet for core unlocking. Even without the extra cores it is still a very quick chip.
Worst case scenario it will only run dual core and you don't find it fast enough .. ebay it and you might lose £15. Then buy yourself a quad. It's hardly the end of the world that easyrider makes it out to be.
If you want to guarantee 4 cores of course buy a quad to start with .... but the odds are pretty good on the 555 when you consider the potential saving! I was very happy with my 550BE performance at stock (coming from an x2 3800+) and even happier once all my cores unlocked with nothing more than changing the ACC.
Coming from a barton you are going to be blown away either way ... even if you end up with dual core ... when it's no longer fast enough just drop in an X6 when they are cheap
A 555BE is a good bet for core unlocking. Even without the extra cores it is still a very quick chip.
Worst case scenario it will only run dual core and you don't find it fast enough .. ebay it and you might lose £15. Then buy yourself a quad. It's hardly the end of the world that easyrider makes it out to be.
If you want to guarantee 4 cores of course buy a quad to start with .... but the odds are pretty good on the 555 when you consider the potential saving! I was very happy with my 550BE performance at stock (coming from an x2 3800+) and even happier once all my cores unlocked with nothing more than changing the ACC.
Coming from a barton you are going to be blown away either way ... even if you end up with dual core ... when it's no longer fast enough just drop in an X6 when they are cheap
That's what LGA1156 is for, unless you're planning Crossfire/SLI or buying a 6 core CPU LGA1156 is fine.