amd 3700+ upgrade to 3800x2 worth it?

[Nocky666]

At the moment ive got an amd 3700+ and just wondered whether it was worth upgrading to a 3800x2 and whether i'd notice much in terms of performance. Money is kinda tight aswell (hence why im only goin for a 3800x2) but thought i'd best get on the dual core wagon before they're all out of stock.

I mainly play games, in particular counter strike source which i know is very cpu intensive rather than gpu intensive.

So would it be worth it?

thanks

 

[Quixote]

No.
For mostly everything else, including general windows use, the 3800x2 is worth the upgrade. But for most games, most of the time, it will be the same or slower.

 

[Nocky666]

ok thanks for the reply

 

[squiffy]

If you do music/video encoding at high priority and want your machine to be nippy whilst it's in the background, then get a dual core. My 3700+ is quite unresponsive at times.

Because Windows is a multi-processing OS you will likely be doing several high CPU processes at the same, so why either

a) Set to low priority so machine is still responsive
b) Set to high priority and leave machine alone until it's finished

Wheras if you get a dual you can set high priority and play a game.

 

[Quixote]

I should add that the source engine is due to be patched in the future to offer increased performance with dual cores. However, this patch does not have a release date yet & I could not speculate on whether it will significantly outperform the 3700+.
Like I said, many applications, as well as multi-tasking will be better on the x2 but strictly for gaming, I don't think the upgrade is worth it.

 

[Kmodo]

OCUK had only yesterday I think oem x2 3800's for £65 BARGAIN!!! (The OEM x2 4600 is about £140 and the 3800 could easily OC to that speed) Overclocked x2 3800 that would have made a very nice upgrade IMO If I had single core 939 and was on a strict budget that is what I would be looking for.

 

[Nocky666]

thanks for the reply but the problem is i have no idea how to overclock cpus im kinda a noob when it comes down to this stuff.

 

[Kmodo]

thanks for the reply but the problem is i have no idea how to overclock cpus im kinda a noob when it comes down to this stuff.

quite simple my friend. Go into to bios. Select the multiplyer to the highest number (3800 is 10) and put the FSB (FREQUENCY) to e.g. 260.

10 x 260 = 2.6ghz

Increase the cpu voltage due to the increased speed (1.45-1.5v should do).

Then put a divider on the memory 166 or 133 dependent on whether you want to OC your ram.

This is the basics but I can assure you do not need to be a genius

 

[YoungBlood]

In a similar situation myself, currently running a 3200+
Plan to swap it out with a x2 3800 or a x2 4200, the 4200 would be much better for me as I have a very limited FSB Oc potential, cant go above 240, so the 11x mutiplyer on the 4200 would be nice.

So technicaly I could see 2.6ghz on a x2 4200 and 2.4ghz on a 3800, just can't decide if the extra $$ for the 4200 is worth it.
If I had the 3700 like you do, I would be much less inclined to go for the x2 3800 unless you could pick one up <£60 or you do a lot of multitaking, or play Supreme Commander