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tri cores....worth it or not?

I would also like to know the answer to this, I thought I was settled on the athlon II x4 630, But I've heard the phenom II x3 720 is the best AMD cpu under £100?
 
X3 for Gamer - X4 for Gamer/Cruncher

So looking at the gaming results above it's pretty clear the RANA Triple-Core is not at any "obvious" disadvantage vs the Quad-Core PROPUS in the gaming department . . . it seems that most of the MultiCore friendly games that favour Quadcores also favour TripleCores and you do not witness the disparity in frame rates that is starting to show when comparing DualCores vs QuadCores in titles such as Dragon Age Origins . . .

So for the Gamer/CoreJunkie on a budget who doesn't fancy his chances with a Phenom™ II X2 555 BE x3/x4 Unlock then the AMD® Athlon™ II X3 435 seems like the obvious choice right? . . . you pay your money, you get your TripleCore and you overclock it! :D . . . . and last but not least you also get the chance to unlock your X3 Rana into an X4 Propus . . . slim chance but it's better than a kick in the teeth innit! :p

  • Luckus Maximus = PhIIX2BE PhIIX3BE, PhIIX4BE
  • Skeptus Gloomus = AIIX3

So with almost identical gaming results between an X3/X4 above it's only right we see the areas where shelling out the extra £20 for the Quad comes into play . . . all heavy "computational" stuff but some may appreciate the gains! :cool:


 
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Grab a 555be, if it doesn't unlock, sell it, buy another one, most seem to unlock these days as yields are so good out of AMD's plants on the C3 stepping.

£80, i got a 555be that within about 10 minutes of playing was doing 4Ghz, with all 4 cores unlocked 2.6Ghz Ht/NB speeds idle temps under 30c and load temps under 50C. Still playing but seems to be able to do some stuff quite easily at still sub 55C temps load at 4.4Ghz all on a IFX14 but with very low speed and quiet fan.

Having a look on Xtremesys and there are 4-5 threads on people buying either the 545 or 555be and both seem to hit 4Ghz and unlock very often with no issues. Other people posting in those threads saying they got the same chips and similar speeds.

I'd not buy a quad core for another couple months until there are the hex core chips out, firstly it will push the prices across the range down, and it will also bring with it quad cores that are really hex cores with 2 cores disabled and they may bring with them the possibility of unlocking 6 cores, though maybe not, we'll have to see. Either way its only a month away and it will definately knock quad core prices down.
 
I'm planning on getting the Asus M4A785TD-V Evo AMD 785G, I know unlocking cores isn't guaranteed, but if I get the 555be how easy is it to try and unlock the cores with this board bearing in mind I've never tried overclocking befor and my pc knowledge is quite limited.
 
famas said:
I'm planning on getting the Asus M4A785TD-V Evo AMD 785G, I know unlocking cores isn't guaranteed, but if I get the 555be how easy is it to try and unlock the cores with this board bearing in mind I've never tried overclocking befor and my pc knowledge is quite limited.
Click to expand...

Very easy just turn on Core Unlock in the BIOS and reboot.....

The only time it gets tricky is if both extra cores are FUBAR (very unlikely), then it might stop your Pc from even posting on reboot, in which case you would have to clear your CMOS by removing the little battery or remove the little jumper switch on the Mobo.

Once that's done you will be back to your regular 2 cores.

And on a side note, when it comes to gaming, 3 cores are about 90-95% as fast as a Quad Core in all the games i've got......its upto others to decide if an extra 5% or 10% in frames per second is worth nearly 50% more money....
 
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that made for a very good read thinking about getting myself a tri core now can you unlock the last core on these by any chance ?
 
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My experience is that its better to just get a quad core, why compromise.

If you get one either two things will happen on your head.

1) unimpressed with the performance and wish you got a quad.

2) unimpressed with the performance and wish you saved the money on a dual core.
 
Hey Mr. May . . . as the Rana is just a Propus with a disabled core there is a chance it can be unlocked* . . . . looking at the Anandtech chart above in post #6 I don't see any "compromise" to buying a TripleCore vs a QuadCore for gaming unless your one of these types that like to encode a video while you game! :p

£15-£30 saved on the processor is £15-£30 that can be spent elsewhere . . you could put that towards a newer chip out in 9 months or just pocket it! . . . I would say overclocking a TripleCore is gonna be easier, cooler running chip and PWMs and some power saved by not fuelling an extra overclocked core that "may" not be adding a whole lot? . . . makes sense to me anyway! ;)

If somebody has a motherboard with the SB710/SB750/SB850 Southbridge then it's a tricky but "fun" choice working out what chips right for you . . . . Kudos to AMD for giving us a reasonably open platform that lets us pop in & out chips . . I'm having no performance issues with a Rana @ 3.6GHz and if I ever do it's really not a problem for me personally to pop out the chip and plug in a new one (and then flog the older one) . . . I'm starting to think that any money shaved off the processor cost should be put towards a slightly more "beefier" AM3 motherboard! :)

Slowly (but surely) we are moving away from Dual/Quad arena (2006-2010) and replacing it with Tri/Hex . . . any money saved on an AM3 purchase today is also money towards one of the "many" enticing AM3 chips lurking in the near future! :p . . . . keep your money in your pocket guys, make them work "really" hard before you cave in! . . . in the meantime the 100% guaranteed TripleCore Rana can be had for £55 and makes an excellent AM3 start-up chip! :cool:

[edit]

for the people with older boards that haven't got the required SouthBridge for unlocking then the AMD® Athlon™ II offers the most affordable route to the MultiCore Market . . although overclocking these "fixed" multi chips is an easier task for someone with overclocking experience compared to a novice . . . For people with only basic overclocking know how then the Deneb Black Edition chips do make it easier with their "open" CPU Multiplier . . . these are the chips I personally think are very "compelling" for anyone looking for "maximum" value for money . . .

  • AMD® Athlon™ II TripleCore (425/435) £50-£60 (Quad unlock Gamble*)
  • AMD® Phenom™ II DualCore (550/555) £70-£80 (Triple/Quad unlock Gamble*)
  • AMD® Athlon™ II QuadCore (620/630) £70-£80

* Requires suitable SB710/SB750/SB850 enabled chipset and a little luck
 
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lol, sorry fella, he's a friendly one if its any condolence :)

definitely dont look at my blog if you dont like spiders.
 
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