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what do i do, which CPU ?

Mal X

Mal X

Mal X

Soldato
Joined
25 Jun 2009
Posts
7,711
hi i'm new to this forum and totally confused...:D

i'm about to build a new high end rig but...

I was going to get the AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz and overclock it to 4GHz.... until i read about the new Fusion/Bulldozer 8-16 cores.... now this is due out ( Fusion) in maybe 2010, and the Bulldozer 2011.....

now july 2010, (due to having to save the money), is when i intend to finish building my PC, i.e i'll wait till then before i buy the latest card.

now do i buy the Athlon 955.... now or at Xmas, or should i wait till the next generation come out..Fusion/Bulldozer.

this is really bothering me..... i need advice, is this new CPU worth the wait or is the present Athlon good enough for the next 3 to 4 years.

thanks.
 
It really depends what you are doing with it, my laptop is a 1.2Ghz Athlon4, all I use it for is browsing and email, but it runs Office 2003 with no problem. My desktop is is an Athlon x2 2Ghz 3800+ with a GF8600, is more than adequate for everything I do with it (which isn't gaming).

To be honest, there is always a new thing just around the corner, if you wait for them all you will never upgrade. Also there is no guarantee that these parts will be out on time and they may not even be any good when they get here. They will be expensive when they first launch so you may have to wait even longer before you get one. They may also require other new bits like new Ram and motherboard. If gaming is your thing then the extra cores don't do many favours as most games are linear and so are most programmers.

There are definitely better times than others to buy but never ideal times. Your current computer will still do everything it does now in 2, 3 or 10 years but if you want a new computer or you want to do more with your computer now is actually not a bad time to buy (at least on the AMD side).

You say you have an Athlon, at the moment.

If you are currently on SDR or DDR ram then go for an AM3 Motherboard and DDR3 Ram for the 955.

If you are on DDR2 then consider a reusing your ram on an AM2+ board. I suggest a minimum of 2GB Ram, 4GB would be better 6 or 8GB if you can afford it.
 
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Just get the Phenom II 955, an AM3 board and some good ram and clock the nuts off it, OR you could wait and wait and wait and wait and wait for the newer more expensive stuff which is mainly only going to be used for servers.
 
DF1986 said:
Just get the Phenom II 955, an AM3 board and some good ram and clock the nuts off it, OR you could wait and wait and wait and wait and wait for the newer more expensive stuff which is mainly only going to be used for servers.
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hi....i like this reply :D
the trouble is i knew exactly what i wanted to buy and then yesterday, i saw this Bulldozer/fusion CPU... i then thought ``oh hell, what do i do, buy now or wait``

i have the athlon 64X2 6400 ...gtx 9800...4gb DDR2....650w...MSI mobo, but it needs upgrading, well it doesn't really, but i just feel like doing so!. .... it's either another Athlon as stated, or the i7 DO Stepping, but i prefer the Athlon as it's cheaper, plus i'm an Athlon fanboy anyway :D

what frames per sec will i get on a 4.0 ghz O.C .....playing FEAR and Fallout 3.....with the 295 GTX ?

i think i'm gonna' like this forum, because i'll need your advice to get to 4.0GHz ;);)

my main concern is that i have a PC that's futureproof and dosn't need a major upgrade for the next 3 to 4 years

thanks Mal
 
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Personally if your aiming for 4ghz, i'd go for the Intel Q9550. It should run cooler and require less volts to get to 4.0ghz. Plus the fact that they are E0 stepping should mean 4.0ghz is likely. AMD's are harder to overclock.

You also get a wider choice of motherboards and CPU coolers to choose from. :)

If you're planning on keeping it for a few years, it doesnt really matter if 775 is coming to the end of its life, as by the time you'll want a new PC, everything will have changed.
 
BigBruiserAl said:
How about 550BE o/c to 4.0 then you just sell the chip and buy new a one next year thats 4 core+ when thers maybe some more use for it?
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i havent noticed this one, but i dont think it's DDR3...whatever the case, i'd prefer to go for its bigger brother.
 
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OzZie said:
Personally if your aiming for 4ghz, i'd go for the Intel Q9550. It should run cooler and require less volts to get to 4.0ghz. Plus the fact that they are E0 stepping should mean 4.0ghz is likely. AMD's are harder to overclock.

You also get a wider choice of motherboards and CPU coolers to choose from. :)
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This is pretty good advice tbh, the AMD's are still a bit of a raffle for sub 4ghz overclocks ....mostly due to the sub standard quality from their range of motherboards, i still don't think the range of quality is there to match intels 775 boards just yet.

An EO 9550 and an Asus/Gigabyte P45 = ~4ghz territory with decent cooling.
 
As far as I can see AMD are going to be using Phenom II Based Deneb CPUs are going to be mainstream for the rest of this year and next. Waiting for something that might be released in 2011 or might not is not a good idea in this game.

Which motherboard are you planning on using? Does your current motherboard support Phenom II CPUs or are you looking to upgrade that?

I would always advise sending less and upgrading more often is generally better value.

Have you considered getting a Phenom II X2 550 and paired with the right motherboard you might be able to unlock it to a quad (Requires fairly decent motherboard with SB750)? Not guaranteed but a great value CPU even running as a dual core.
 
no my motherboard needs replacing..

i'm doing a fresh build from scratch...new case, PSU, everything, so i'm after the best MOBO up to 200 quid...

i dont mind X2 550....as long as it's as powerful as the 955 black and up to 3.8 to 4GHz...because i'm after the most power i can get...

but 3 and quad core processors have a higher framerate/sec, so this is quite important to me, so it looks like i'll go for the 955 black, but i need advice on which is the best MOBO and it must be DDR3

thanks.
 
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AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 940 Black Edition 3.0GHz......but there is this cheaper quad core at about 130 quid...this might go up to 3.8GHz
 
Mal X said:
no my motherboard needs replacing..

i'm doing a fresh build from scratch...new case, PSU, everything, so i'm after the best MOBO up to 200 quid...

i dont mind X2 550....as long as it's as powerful as the 955 black and up to 3.8 to 4GHz...because i'm after the most power i can get...

but 3 and quad core processors have a higher framerate/sec, so this is quite important to me, so it looks like i'll go for the 955 black, but i need advice on which is the best MOBO and it must be DDR3

thanks.
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Trade secret thats not a secret but a 550 is 955 with 2 cores turned off. Now a lot of people are turning the cores back on and getting 3.5 + stable which is exellent for £70. On the other hand so 550 have the 2 cores turn off as they were defective. pays your money you take your chances. But even a dual core at 3.8 - 4.0 will serve your purpose why pay 100 more for gaming?
 
ha ha..........decisions decisions.... i like the Quad Core 940 Black Edition 3.0GHz....because it's between the two :D
 
Mal X said:
but i still need advice on the board please.....between 100 to 200 quid DDR3
thanks.
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Asus Crosshair III Formula = Early reviews show to be the among the top for am3 overclock, people seem to spit their dummy out as it only has 2 pcie and 5 ( ithink) Sata ports. IMO seems fine to only have that many?

Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P = Proved it self to be a good all round board with goos customer service o/c fairly well.

MSI 790FX-GD70 AMD 790FX = Sexy board, won a lot of awards clocks very well MSI rma are er well...you know

:p
 
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