3700, 3800, Or 4000+

[PaperAngel]

Hey guys,

I am currently running an AMD 3200+ @ Stock, and have the cash to upgrade.

I have an X1800XT, 450W PSU aswell, just incase power affects your decision...

I don't want to go with a dual core, as i still play quite a lot of CS 1.6, and changing the affinity etc can be a pain, not to mention the hasstle with FPS in CSS.

I do have the money to buy any of the listed CPU's, but would like to save some cash. What do you advise I go with? I probably won't overclock, if that is worth taking into consideration, and the games I play primarily are CS 1.6 and CSS.

Thanks lads,

PA.

P.S Please note that I will be buying from OcUK!

 

[lee87]

I would keep your cpu, you wouldn't notice much or any improvement by getting one of them cpus.
If not overclocking the best to get would be the 4000+.

 

[utherpendragon]

why not try overclocking your cpu and see where that gets you.

 

[Bennah]

So you dont want to go down the Dual Core line.

I would suggest a 3700+ SD then. They are cheap as anything these days and are good cpu's. Only talking an overclock of 200MHz to get to 4000+ speeds.

Have you tried to overclock your current cpu? Where did you get to?

 

[PaperAngel]

Well i would but I'm so busy at the moment with exams, and I don't have the time to read tutorials, and I don't have a clue to start with.

So honestly, should I keep the 3200+ cause I won't notice a difference with any other chip?

**EDIT** I haven't honestly tried OCing my 3200, I'm a really nervous guy when it comes to my PC, simply cause I have put so much money into it, and i don't want it to 'blow' up. I just feel more comfortable keeping a CPU @ stock and having the assurance it won't read me up.

PA.

 

[utherpendragon]

wait until after your exams. Overclocking your chip is easy. And if it clocks well enough there's no need to upgrade.

 

[squiffy]

I wouldn't replace your CPU either, just overclock it a bit. Fit a good HSF.

 

[PaperAngel]

Have one, Zalman Ultra Flower, year old, amazing.

What are the dangers of overclocking?

If i screw up, can i return the CPU to normal, or is it permanently set at the last stable clock?

PA.

 

[utherpendragon]

theres no real danger in overclocking as long as you know what your doing, and have realistic expectations. Take it (relatively) slowly and be careful and nothing will go wrong. if you push too far you will get errors in memtest, superpi or prime95, so you just need to step things back a notch to a good stable setting. You can easily return everything back to stock either through bios options, bios reset or cmos clear. Just wait until you have some free time, and I'm sure theres a load of people on here who could help guide you through the process.

 

[=assassin=]

The only thing about with overclocking for you is that you have a Gigabyte motherboard, and they can vary from barely overclocking at all, to overclocking fairly good - but saying that, there's no harm in trying!

 

[booyaka]

no point in upgrading.

just overclock it when you have the time (after exams).

Have a read at the tutorials on here and it is fairly straight forward from there. Keep the cash just now.

 

[dalex]

why do you want to upgrade
i normally only upgrade when a step change occurs i.e socket a - socket 939
agp - pcie graphics
next step change is socket am2
the last single core chips for 939 the oem 3700 is the best bang for your buck because with very little overclock it runs as fast as the 4000
the oem dual core 939 chips have come down in price recently
dave

 

[Rick_Barnes]

If your still playing 1.6 your x1800XT should be more than muscle enough.

what makes you think you even need an upgrade unless your playing brand new games at widescreen rez?

 

[Defcon5]

I just feel more comfortable keeping a CPU @ stock and having the assurance it won't **** up.

PA.

id change that if i were you.

What about a new case? or maybe 2gb ram?