Best 939s Dual core processor you recommend for main gaming and muti-tasking?

[DARQ MX]

Ok, Well lets see here.

Right now I have a 3700+ on a 939s. IT is great CPU and overclocks nice... (plus I have the E4) Anyway, I want to upgrade to a dual core CPU pretty soon and I would like to do it after the price drop. The only bad thing about the price drop is it just applies to the 512mb & 512x2 L2 cache cpus. Now I would like to go for a 4400+ toledo but that not price dropping because of the 1mbx2 cache. Now the 4200+ is dropping $125 buck! WOW. Nice deal. Now one thing that bugs me.

I heard they don't really OC nice. And I don't know if it is this cpu or not but I have read some reviews saying gaming suckys on them compared to the singles(That makes no sense because the FX-60 is primarily for gaming and it is dualcore). Also in that review he said you have to switch over to a single core for some games (I did not believe this but I never used a dualcore cpu before so I was not sure).

I do know about just a handful of games that support muti-threaded to utilize the dual cores but I am just worried about my older single-threaded games and if they will run the same if not better than my currant setup.

I know a lot of the reviews were from a bunch of dumb-asses that think they know what they are talking about but they don't. There were some other reviews that could be legit though like the one I mentioned above. I guess another choice is to go with the Opterons cause they OC better but they are not price dropping to my knowledge at all.

Basically in all, I don't want to downgrade at all, and I really would like to get a bit faster or same speed processor that is at least dual core for future and major muti-tasking. Cause even-though my 3700+ is nice and fast too me and nice in games, When I am doing some muti-tasking I feel too much lag when I am browsing the net while I am burning/encoding a movie.

So what processor do you think will give me what I want in a good price range?

Thanks

 

[keeleysam]

Opteron 165 CCB1E

 

[DaveSimmons]

X2 4200+ is fast enough to drive existing single-threaded games at full speed at resolutions of 1024x768 and up.

Future games might require faster single-core CPU performance, but they are likely to make enough use of the second core in a dual core to run just as well.

It's up to you to decide whether per-core performance is good enough for non-gaming applications that aren't optimized for dual core.

 

[GarfieldtheCat]

I'd go with the 3800+ X2, and OC it. Most of those should get up to 2.4GHz easy, probably more. I don't think the opterons with bigger cache make that much of a difference (~5% I think).

 

[Duvie]

I say the 165 opteron as well...1mb of L2 cache makes a decent difference in gaming apps I have seen and though it is only 1.8ghz newer 165's have been hitting same levels of X2...2.4ghz should be a cake walk....

 

[deadseasquirrel]

Looks like you have a pretty nice LCD there. What's the native resolution? What it comes down to is this-- dual-core chips for gaming (at this point) really don't offer any increase in performance at all for resolutions around 1600x1200 with AA/AF. i.e. even a 3000+ would result in the same framerate as an FX-57 at that resolution with the same video card. Granted, that's going by today's benchmarks with today's games... anything can happen in the future. Right now, Quake4 will boost up 30% with a dual-core chip-- but on at 1280x1024 resolution. Kick it up to 1600x1200 and those gains go away. And Quake4 is the best example of dual-core gaming we have so far.

Now, you did mention "multitasking", and that's a word that is thrown around a lot, but means different things to different people. Having a browser open, email client, virus protection, IM, and playing a game at the same time might be multi-tasking, but the game isn't going to get better performance from a dual-core chip in that instance since none of those other apps are CPU-intensive. Now, if you're shrinking a DVD at the same time as playing a game, the dual-core will allow you to play without a hitch, while the single-core would choke.

IMO, if you want better gaming performance, (again, depending on your playing resolution) I would sell the 7800gt and upgrade to the 7900gtx or XT or see what the DX10 cards show. Here's a quick example. Dunno if you play Oblivion, and dunno if you play at 1600x1200, but you'll at least see my point--

Here's Oblivion at 1600x1200 across many CPUs from 2ghz single-core to 2.4ghz dual-core.
Here's Oblivion at 1600x1200 across many GPUs.

As you can see, the CPUs offer the same performance across the board, yet the upgrade from a 7800gt at 25fps to an x1900xt at 44fps makes the game MUCH more playable. In this game, at this resolution, upgrading a CPU gives 0% performance increase, but the GPU upgrade gives almost 100%. Kinda forces you to consider just how much CPU-intensive tasks you do besides gaming and what your buudget is.

 

[DARQ MX]

Yea, I only play at Resolutions @ 1280x1024 with mostly everything all high in visual settings. And I usally have to have Vsync turned on because I hate ripping in the screen.

 

[DARQ MX]

Wow, Not a bad price drop the X2 4200 is now $200... Wow. I may just get a 4600+ for $320. Also, I wonder how much more game perfromence I will get out of these X2's over my current 3700+

 

[Pederv]

Picked up my 4800 X2 at Atacom for less than $300. It's the fastest that my motherboard "officially" supports.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Originally posted by: DARQ MX
Wow, Not a bad price drop the X2 4200 is now $200... Wow. I may just get a 4600+ for $320. Also, I wonder how much more game perfromence I will get out of these X2's over my current 3700+

320 for a 4600+ is too much $ they are out there for 250 or under, check pricewatch, Mwave has them for 242.

 

[DARQ MX]

Yea, IT just saw. ZZF has them on backorder for like $260. Wow, it is a crime what newegg is doing... haha. Man. I am shocked they are doing that. Also I would probably have to reformat to use the affninty fuction huh? Or will Windows reconize that right away?

 

[guskline]

Just received my X2 4600 from mwave. Has the heatpipe heatsink. Runs great. $242 (I splurged and got overnight shipping for $20)

 

[imported_wicka]

What, so if what I am hearing from you guys is right, if I were to keep my current processor and overclock it to the levels that the X2 3800/4200 would OC to, I would see the exact same performance in games as long as I am not multitasking w/ CPU intensive programs?

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Originally posted by: wicka
What, so if what I am hearing from you guys is right, if I were to keep my current processor and overclock it to the levels that the X2 3800/4200 would OC to, I would see the exact same performance in games as long as I am not multitasking w/ CPU intensive programs?

If you are building a gaming rig the majority of the time the games are GPU bound over CPU bound so getting your GPU pushed by any decent CPU like a 3800+ will result in good performance. You wont get the exact, but think about it whats the difference running 100 fps or 120 fps. Keeping minimum fps is more important then having the highest.

 

[DARQ MX]

I think what he means is. Will he get more gaming performence in single treaded games?

 

[Rottie]

Originally posted by: DARQ MX
Also I would probably have to reformat to use the affninty fuction huh? Or will Windows reconize that right away?

That is what I would like to know?

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: DARQ MX
I think what he means is. Will he get more gaming performence in single treaded games?

Of course not, he'll either get less or the same. Less, if he can't get the processor that he buys up to what his overclock is at now (assuming that game is cpu-bound), or the same if he gets the new X2 up to the same speed. And, that goes for every single-threaded app. ever made, not just games.

@ Wicka: That 3700 has the ability to run 2.7-2.8 Ghz, the speed of an FX-57.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: wicka
What, so if what I am hearing from you guys is right, if I were to keep my current processor and overclock it to the levels that the X2 3800/4200 would OC to, I would see the exact same performance in games as long as I am not multitasking w/ CPU intensive programs?

Yep, thats why I'm sticking with my 3700+ for awhile. And the 3700+ overclocks very well, mines been running 2.8ghz for over a year now.

 

[MrUniq]

I just installed a X2 4600+ tonight..got it from MWAVE and to be honest..i don't regret it. I had a 3200+. I noticed considerable increases games(not having to share a core with windows) and I could burn, load heavy tasks, and watch divx at the same time without hiccups like before. I can only image how much better conroe or the AM2's are. I'd say go for it if you can.

 

[MrUniq]

Also when games like UT 2006 come out in the fall i'm sure they will utilize dual core..my copy of Oblivion seems to be performing better to..should be...it was designed 'somewhat' for multithreading.

 

[athfbum]

The Opty 165 seems like a good deal

 

[lopri]

While I'm toying around with Conroe, I have no plan to switch my main rig (See sig) in near future. I play games @1920 and my games literaly fly. The only game I saw faster on Conroe is Age of Empires 3 - when it comes to minimum frame rate, that is. When hundreds of units duking out and special effects / physics all over, that's when a fast CPU shines. Conroe maintains 30+ FPS minimum while A64 @3.0GHz drops to 15 FPS even with SLI. But everything else is faster with the latter.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: MrUniq
I just installed a X2 4600+ tonight..got it from MWAVE and to be honest..i don't regret it. I had a 3200+. I noticed considerable increases games(not having to share a core with windows) and I could burn, load heavy tasks, and watch divx at the same time without hiccups like before. I can only image how much better conroe or the AM2's are. I'd say go for it if you can.

Congrats! Have you tried any overclocking with the 4600+? Curious as to how well those O/C

 

[MrUniq]

Not yet...i'll OC down the road because I like to run systems on defaults and I have OCZ platinum..which i heard wasn't the best OC'ing ram out there.

 

[DARQ MX]

OCZ plat, will still give you a pretty decent OC. You should be able to get that 4600+ to hit 2.6 or 7 stable...