AMD x2 or just AMD

AWilderbeast · 31 Jul 2006 at 16:44

im trying to decide on wether to get a dual core or single core cpu, the computer will be maily used for gaming, but i do use a lot of photoshop and dreamweaver, so would it be worth getting a higher single cpu or going for dual core, silly question but what are the main advantages of dual core

easyrider · 31 Jul 2006 at 16:48

If you are building a new rig from scratch then get conroe.
Faster than amd's counterparts

samcat · 31 Jul 2006 at 16:51

The advantage of dual core is that it lets you do more at the same time.
CURRENT games dont really benefit from it, but photoshop does and dreamweaver does...

Personally I would always go dualcore now, as in the not so distant future games will start to use it.

As for Amd/intel, let the fanboys argue over that one.. I just purchased an X2 4600 but only because I currently have a 939 rig and didnt fancy the expense of building a new one from scratch... Conroe looks tempting from the synthetic performance benchmarks, but they only tell part of the story..

Sam C

AWilderbeast · 31 Jul 2006 at 17:07

i only want to really spend £100 or less and the amd 3800x2 is about that or i could go for a AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego for £80

which you reckon would be better?

easyrider · 31 Jul 2006 at 17:16

samcat said:
As for Amd/intel, let the fanboys argue over that one.. I just purchased an X2 4600 but only because I currently have a 939 rig and didnt fancy the expense of building a new one from scratch... Conroe looks tempting from the synthetic performance benchmarks, but they only tell part of the story..

Nothing about fanboyism,

If you already have a s939 rig then getting a new x2 to stick in the mobo is well worth the upgrade for the price.

If building a new system and purchasing DDR2 etc...Then one would be mad to get a AM2 system for the simple fact that conroe is faster much faster.

Conroe looks tempting from the synthetic performance benchmarks, but they only tell part of the story..

What part of the story is left untold....?

I have come from a opty dual core 170 running at FX 62 speeds 2.8ghz and my conroe flattens it.

This is personal experience from using both platforms.
Conroe is faster and around 25 quid more than an x2 3800

The decision is easy imo.

samcat · 31 Jul 2006 at 17:27

easyrider said:
What part of the story is left untold....?

I have come from a opty dual core 170 running at FX 62 speeds 2.8ghz and my conroe flattens it.

That part... End user experience. I like to actually try kit out to see if it will benefit what I do and the way I do it.. Bit like test driving a car. It may do 0-60 in half the time, but will I notice in the way I drive?

Either way, conroe looks and sounds pretty darn good!

Sam C

=assassin= · 31 Jul 2006 at 17:45

easyrider said:
Conroe is faster and around 25 quid more than an x2 3800

The decision is easy imo.

Well, that particular Conroe that's around that much more is OEM so doesn't have a heatsink/fan with it, which adds further cost of needed to get one, and a reason why people like me on a smaller budget for a new system would still get an AM2 X2 3800+ (which at £105 certainly helps keeps the costs right down) - plus there's the issue of ultra cheapies like me going for budget motherboards, which don't seem to be available for Conroe yet, at least not with decent features. All in all I could save quite a bit!

Now, if the E6300 was the same price..... that's another story.

Mr Jones · 31 Jul 2006 at 17:53

£17ish for a cooler; See Artic cooler (Intel Range).

The E6300 "almost" beats all it's current pentium range; if you do overclock it - it can beat a £750ish AMD.

Also, do go Dual Core - helps my mate's Photoshop system, also, try and get 1gb or more for memory - if you've not already.

easyrider · 31 Jul 2006 at 18:07

=assassin= said:
Well, that particular Conroe that's around that much more is OEM so doesn't have a heatsink/fan with it, which adds further cost of needed to get one, and a reason why people like me on a smaller budget for a new system would still get an AM2 X2 3800+ (which at £105 certainly helps keeps the costs right down) - plus there's the issue of ultra cheapies like me going for budget motherboards, which don't seem to be available for Conroe yet, at least not with decent features. All in all I could save quite a bit! Now, if the E6300 was the same price..... that's another story.

Saving 15 quid on a new system on AM2 is not really a good enough reason TBH.

Its perfromance that counts and saying that you could not stretch 15 quid for a conroe is laughable IMO.

There are budget mobo's about that support conroe that are cheaper than AM2 mobo's currently available.That will still offer faster performance than AM2 for less money.

lay-z-boy · 31 Jul 2006 at 18:13

amd are doing what they did when it was a-xp vs p4-ht.

The intel may be better performance/feature wise, but the xp was a good seller due to low price.

I laugh at people without sse2

Dont be swayed by prices, conroe > current gen amd.

The Old Man · 31 Jul 2006 at 18:15

Which one of the remaining 939 dual core CPU's is the best to buy then?
I would like to overclock it a bit of course!

I'm looking at the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400 @ £139.95 +VAT which I wondered would be worthwhile putting in my 2nd PC (son's gaming machine) as the end of the road for that AGP DDR400 platform. It currently has an AMD64 3200.

AWilderbeast · 31 Jul 2006 at 18:20

so i should go for the conroe then, can someone suggest a decent mobo to go with it for a cheap price

easyrider · 31 Jul 2006 at 18:22

The Old Man said:
Which one of the remaining 939 dual core CPU's is the best to buy then?
I would like to overclock it a bit of course!

I'm looking at the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400 @ £139.95 +VAT which I wondered would be worthwhile putting in my 2nd PC (son's gaming machine) as the end of the road for that AGP DDR400 platform. It currently has an AMD64 3200.

The AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400 is a good buy if still on s939.

The 4400 or the x 2 3800 are the two sweet spots in the x2 range.The extra cache on the 4400 is seen as being around 200mhz.

so a x2 3800 clocked at 2.4ghz will perform the same as a stock 4400 @ 2.2ghz

easyrider · 31 Jul 2006 at 18:24

AWilderbeast said:
so i should go for the conroe then, can someone suggest a decent mobo to go with it for a cheap price

What is your budget?

AWilderbeast · 31 Jul 2006 at 18:32

my whole rig for under £500, i was getting the Asus A8N-SLi SE nForce4 SLi thats £60 so something around that will do

Doppleganger · 31 Jul 2006 at 20:01

easyrider said:
Nothing about fanboyism,

If you already have a s939 rig then getting a new x2 to stick in the mobo is well worth the upgrade for the price.

If building a new system and purchasing DDR2 etc...Then one would be mad to get a AM2 system for the simple fact that conroe is faster much faster.

What part of the story is left untold....?

I have come from a opty dual core 170 running at FX 62 speeds 2.8ghz and my conroe flattens it.

This is personal experience from using both platforms.
Conroe is faster and around 25 quid more than an x2 3800

The decision is easy imo.

I agree 100%.

AWilderbeast · 31 Jul 2006 at 21:03

mmk, ill go conroe but mobo suggestions anyone?

easyrider · 31 Jul 2006 at 21:14

DS3 if you can raise the extra 40

AWilderbeast · 1 Aug 2006 at 11:51

so to go conroe ill be spending an extra £60 and thats putting a massive increase on a budget pc

taz488 · 1 Aug 2006 at 12:41

you can go conroe if you want to spend that bit more but i went am2, i had a low budget and went for the am2 3800+ single core which i can upgrade to whatever amd bring out next, i couldve blown my budget but then id be scraping to be able to afford it, for me conroe was just too expensive.

youd be mad not to go conroe

no you wouldnt if you had a budget to stick to.

when building a computer theres always an extra £30 to spend on one thing or another. but at the end of the day if your on a budget like me you should stick to it, if this means getting an am2, theres nothing stupid about going am2, its the budget option, who cares what you can buy if you had £100 more, you dont.