[Advise] Intel Pentium D 945 or AMD Athlon AM2 X2 3800+

[S1NGH]

I had made a similar post here:
http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?p=3986608#post3986608

But i don't think i got the answers i was looking for. So i request to everyone and anyone to help me make a choice here, which is the best CPU overall and what can i get out of each?

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (Socket AM2)
or
Intel Pentium D 945 (3.40GHz)

I really need to know this information as accurate as it can be?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Markfw]

neither... Get a C2D. (Conroe) No reason at all to buy either of those two.

 

[brikis98]

i agree.... since you're already looking at ddr 2 and a new mobo, it would be a waste to get anything but an intel c2d...

 

[Duvie]

I agree as well especially since it appears you want to OC....What you get with the C2D will be a much higher OC and ultimately 30-50% faster then anything you can get from either of those....


For a basic comparison of those 2 cpus go to Tomshardware and use the "CPU chart"...For ocs??? i am not certain on the 945 P-D. I have heard of some getting to 4ghz but maybe 3.8ghz would be realistic top out for you on that chip. the X2 3800+ would likely top out around 2.7-2.8ghz. So look up similar speed chips on the chart if you can. Fact is that a stock E6600 at 2.4ghz would still beat both of the pcus in a majority of apps. However with a few minutes of research you can get 3.2ghz with not much effort.

E6400
gigabyte S3 mobo
decent PC6400 DDR2 800

 

[S1NGH]

Thanks a lot everyone, this has really helped, i was being mislead by someone perhaps. Now i will have to see if my local dealer has this and how much he supplies them for

- This forum rocks, you will be seeing more of me ^^

 

[Duvie]

Welcome to the forums...

 

[S1NGH]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

 

[Accord99]

For benchmarks of the 3 processors, Xbitlabs has a relevant review here:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2duo-e6300_11.html

 

[Duvie]

The amzing thing I have not seen many 3ghz A64's compared to 3.2+ghz C2Ds.....I think it will be even better...

 

[S1NGH]

Originally posted by: Duvie
The amzing thing I have not seen many 3ghz A64's compared to 3.2+ghz C2Ds.....I think it will be even better...

/agee ...so therefore an E6400 overclocked to lets say @ 3.0/3.2 Ghz will still outperform most of the AMD X2 which are overclocked too right?

 

[Duvie]

That review showed a 2.94ghz already laying waste to a 3ghz X2 which I think is not likely and far less common then people getting all sorts of C2Ds to 3.2ghz....

I bet you have a real shot at 3.4ghz if you invest in an aftermarket HSF. Something like a scythe Ninja will mor ethen do the job....

 

[Markfw]

well, lets see, I have 5 C2D's, 3 E6300's and 2 E6400's and none below 3.2 (except the $50 mobo), so I would say your chances of 3.2 or better are almost a lock unless you get crap hardware.

 

[Duvie]

I have 3 still and have had 2 others and all of them did 3.4ghz.....I think a 3.2ghz C2D is pretty good odds....3ghz on an X2...not even close to the same odds....

 

[n7]

As mentioned, neither.

AFAIK, C2D E4300 is showing up in some stores (in teh US anyway), & that will quite easily blow away either one of two you listed if you overclock it a little.

 

[S1NGH]

Originally posted by: Duvie
I have 3 still and have had 2 others and all of them did 3.4ghz.....I think a 3.2ghz C2D is pretty good odds....3ghz on an X2...not even close to the same odds....

Alright, this is the drill, the parts arn't available here, and if we order via them, it would be way too expensive for me to aford, as my dad wants to get 2 of the same rigs and he agreed on the Intel Core 2 Duo E6400, so if i get those, would you help me overclock them? If you say so, i will get the Scythe Ninja as i know how hot those CPU's can get.

This is the motherboard i am thinking of:
GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128017

If i can get better for a slight increase in price, please let me know.
I am still thinking about RAM, don't know if i should buy from here or not - i will contact my local dealer and find out which type of RAM he has and which make.

All of this, my dad is willing to get from the UK or Germany since he will go there for a trip. If you know any place around there where i can get all of these for a very good price, please let me know, we would be getting two of each.

 

[S1NGH]

Originally posted by: n7
As mentioned, neither.

AFAIK, C2D E4300 is showing up in some stores (in teh US anyway), & that will quite easily blow away either one of two you listed if you overclock it a little.

This is why i have decided to go for a C2D E6400 and overclock it with the help from Duvie.

 

[Duvie]

We will all help you...I hang here regularly...

I am very familiar with the S3 and the E6400.....I also own 2 ninjas....

 

[AstroGuardian]

Originally posted by: S1NGH
This is the motherboard i am thinking of:
GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128017

If i can get better for a slight increase in price, please let me know.
I am still thinking about RAM, don't know if i should buy from here or not - i will contact my local dealer and find out which type of RAM he has and which make.

Since you plan to overclock, i would say you go for the GigaByte GA-965P-S4 or DQ6

And of course we will help you overclock them. But for that i would strongly recommend E4300

 

[S1NGH]

Originally posted by: AstroGuardian

Originally posted by: S1NGH
This is the motherboard i am thinking of:
GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128017

If i can get better for a slight increase in price, please let me know.
I am still thinking about RAM, don't know if i should buy from here or not - i will contact my local dealer and find out which type of RAM he has and which make.

Since you plan to overclock, i would say you go for the GigaByte GA-965P-S4 or DQ6

And of course we will help you overclock them. But for that i would strongly recommend E4300

hmm... So you are saying that i should go with the GA-965P-S4 and E4300 combo? If so, why is it better than the E6400 - is it because of the overclocking performance boost you get out of the E4300 THAT out performs the E6400?

I would really like to learn more

 

[josh609]

I would recommend a Asus P5B Deluxe. It's a great motherboard and very stable, also great at overclocking. I have my Core 2 Duo E6600 at 3.4Ghz. I can crank it up to 3.6Ghz if i were to up my DRam voltages.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/josh_1413/3.jpg

 

[n7]

The reason we recommend the E4300 is because it's much easier to overclock than an E6300/E6400.

Overclocking is all simple math. (Or in AMD's case, slightly more complicated math when RAM dividers get involved )

Default E4300 is 1800 MHz (9x multiplier, 200 MHz FSB). 9x200 = 1800 MHz
Default E6300 is 1866 MHz (7x 266.66 MHz FSB)

So let's say you want to overclock to 3.2 GHz.

On an E4300 than means 3200 / 9 = 355.55
So that's 9x356, which means you need RAM that do can 356 MHz double data rate (DDR2-712), & of course, motherboard only needs to reach a FSB of 356 MHz.

On an E6300, that is 3200 / 7 = 457.15
So that's 9x458, which means you need RAM that do can 458 MHz double data rate (DDR2-916), & of course, motherboard now needs to reach a FSB of 458 MHz.

Any decent P965 motherboard will achieve around ~ 400 FSB. Over 450 becomes a little more challenging, though it's not hard with good motherboards like the P5B Deluxe, some DS3s, etc.

RAM that goes over DDR2-900 speeds isn't the most common, so then you usually have to start looking into higher end Micron-based kits, which are a lot pricier.

With the E4300, all you need is some semi-decent DDR2-800 & you're set.

Now if you're me, i'd say the E4300 kinda takes the challenge out of OCing, but if you don't mind an easier path, the E4300 is certainly the way to go

Good luck regardless

 

[S1NGH]

Originally posted by: josh609
I would recommend a Asus P5B Deluxe. It's a great motherboard and very stable, also great at overclocking. I have my Core 2 Duo E6600 at 3.4Ghz. I can crank it up to 3.6Ghz if i were to up my DRam voltages.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/josh_1413/3.jpg

Are you using stock heatsink and fan, or yo bought another one? Those CPU's are quite cool. ^^ But i have heard some people having problems with the boards after some time, like it gets really hot in there!

 

[S1NGH]

Originally posted by: n7
The reason we recommend the E4300 is because it's much easier to overclock than an E6300/E6400.

Overclocking is all simple math. (Or in AMD's case, slightly more complicated math when RAM dividers get involved )

Default E4300 is 1800 MHz (9x multiplier, 200 MHz FSB). 9x200 = 1800 MHz
Default E6300 is 1866 MHz (7x 266.66 MHz FSB)

So let's say you want to overclock to 3.2 GHz.

On an E4300 than means 3200 / 9 = 355.55
So that's 9x356, which means you need RAM that do can 356 MHz double data rate (DDR2-712), & of course, motherboard only needs to reach a FSB of 356 MHz.

On an E6300, that is 3200 / 7 = 457.15
So that's 9x458, which means you need RAM that do can 458 MHz double data rate (DDR2-916), & of course, motherboard now needs to reach a FSB of 458 MHz.

Any decent P965 motherboard will achieve around ~ 400 FSB. Over 450 becomes a little more challenging, though it's not hard with good motherboards like the P5B Deluxe, some DS3s, etc.

RAM that goes over DDR2-900 speeds isn't the most common, so then you usually have to start looking into higher end Micron-based kits, which are a lot pricier.

With the E4300, all you need is some semi-decent DDR2-800 & you're set.

Now if you're me, i'd say the E4300 kinda takes the challenge out of OCing, but if you don't mind an easier path, the E4300 is certainly the way to go

Good luck regardless

WoW! This is some information, now i understand even more. So if the CPU supports more multipliers, the more easier it is to OC!? and is a 9 multiplier the highest available at the moment?

Well you have made my day, i think i will go with the E4300 and the P5B Deluxe. I will be getting DDR2-800 Ram, i am still looking for a good make with good prices in the UK or Germany. I am thinking of OCZ and Crucial.

You guys need to make a HowTo section where we can learn a lot more about hardware etc...

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: AstroGuardian
Since you plan to overclock, i would say you go for the GigaByte GA-965P-S4 or DQ6

Umm, neither of those overclocks nearly as well as the 965P-S3.

 

[josh609]

Originally posted by: S1NGH

Originally posted by: josh609
I would recommend a Asus P5B Deluxe. It's a great motherboard and very stable, also great at overclocking. I have my Core 2 Duo E6600 at 3.4Ghz. I can crank it up to 3.6Ghz if i were to up my DRam voltages.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/josh_1413/3.jpg

Are you using stock heatsink and fan, or yo bought another one? Those CPU's are quite cool. ^^ But i have heard some people having problems with the boards after some time, like it gets really hot in there!

I'm using the Arctic Freezer Pro 7 to cool my CPU. It runs great!