best AMD gaming cpu up to £100?

[bobchiba]

I had it in my mind I was going to get a Phenom ii X3 720BE but I think they've been discontinued in most places and the ones that are left seem bit overpriced.

I am now looking at a Phenom ii X2 555BE (3.2ghz) as it seems to get reviewed and overclocked very well and has a big cache.

However I just noticed how affordable some of the Athlon 2's are. I guess now im wondering what sort of differences I would see between something like an Athlon 2 X4 640 (3ghz) and the above Phenom for gaming.

I intend to pick up an ATI 4890 and finally try Crysis.

(I am happy with overclocking if that makes a difference, have done it before with a P4 system)


*Finally what type DDR3 should I get for these amd's, its the one thing Im not very well read on since deciding to get back into building*

Cheers guys.

 

[Orcvader]

Get the 555BE and overclock it, you also have a chance to unlock the other two cores if you're lucky. Not many games uses more than two cores anyway. What bugdet do you have for the RAM?

 

[bobchiba]

thanks,

...well im not sure, I may be able to get some for free of a friend in the industry but its not a sure thing, i think I'd be prepared to spend about £60. Am I better with faster frequency or good timings? I gather the AM3 boards let you operate at 1600mhz? but heard people say its better to run 1300mhz and better timings. Also triple channel is new to me, last time a built a rig dual channel was only just out...

 

[franco_22]

Like the previous poster said, you can get a 555BE and overclock it and hope you unlock 2 cores, or if you don't want to risk it just get a 955BE for future proof as eventually games will be on quad core, GTA IV supports quads for example.

By the way, why not go for a intel? The i3 is an excellent dual core and can overclock at 4ghz easily on air or even 4.4ghz.

 

[Arcimbaldo]

Get the 555BE and overclock it, you also have a chance to unlock the other two cores if you're lucky. Not many games uses more than two cores anyway. What bugdet do you have for the RAM?

This.
I had a 550 but my 4th core was a dud, meaning i could still use it as a tri core but tbh i didn't notice that much difference, however you loose the ability to monitor temperatures if you unlock it.

As for RAM you would be looking at 80-120 for a decent 4GB set.
If you want a 1600mhz kit.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=8&subid=1517&sortby=priceAsc

I would recommend the:
OCZ Reaper
Corsair Dominator
G skill raw

But i am not an expert on Memory so maybe any other could shed some light on this?

 

[Big.Wayne]

AMD® Athlon™ II X4 640 (3.0GHz)

£72.84 inc

 

[buttkinz]

I'd advise a phenom over the athlons if your gaming, I had an athlon x4 @3.8ghz and performance in crysis was abysmal, a phenom is much better suited for gaming with it's l3 cache may be worth hunting around for a proven unlockable x2 550 or 555 second hand.