Best AMD CPU for under $200

[Rifter]

im building a new computer and have been out of the loop for the last 3 years(im running a XP1700+ currently) whats the best Cheap AMD CPU right now, i would prefer it to be socket 939 as i have a mobo in mind already.

 

[BlueWeasel]

For overclocking or not?

 

[Rifter]

well i have experiance overclocking however i would like it to be stable more than fast. So i will run it stock for a month or so then take it up as high as i can and retain same stability as stock speed. So basically OC is not really an issue, if it OC's well great but if not im not going to cry about it.

 

[AMDxx165xxfx60]

you can try your luck at an opteron 144 or 146, single core overclocking goodness . if you reach around 2.7-2.9ghz that will be plenty fast, but even 2.6 which most of the time is easy to do and is well worth it .

 

[Gigantopithecus]

If you don't want an Opteron you should be able to score a new 3500+ Venice for less than or around $200. Haunt the FS/T forums here and you should be able to find a 3700+ San Diego for about the same.

 

[Corporate Thug]

opteron 144/146

 

[BW86]

As stated above, an Opteron 144/146 would be great.

 

[Rifter]

thanks guys this does seem to be the best cheapest option, is the retail heatsink any good nowdays or do i have to get a huge aftermarket cooler still? and if so whats a good cheap option, ill have plenty of fans in the case as well.

 

[wolfman11]

Retail heatsink fan is working fine on my Opteron 146. If you can get your hands on one of the heat pipe based AMD Retail heatsinks they ship with the dual cores even better (they are on ebay frequently).

 

[acegazda]

looks to me like the overclocking sweetspot is at the athlon 64 3200+ for $135 but the 3500+ is also availbale for $182 here. This would be better if you're a moderate overclocker. I've seen the 3200+ reach 2.8 stable and absolutely ruin a 3800+ on bench tests. Anyone: how are the opterons better?

 

[chusteczka]

Use the Anandtech Realtime Pricing Engine and find an AMD Athlon 64 3700+ socket 939, San Diego core, for $192.

 

[acegazda]

that's oem though...good if you're buying an aftermarket heatsink

 

[chusteczka]

Originally posted by: acegazda
that's oem though...good if you're buying an aftermarket heatsink

Good catch, I assumed it was retail due to the picture of the retail box. Does it matter? Overclocking will void the warrantly anyway...

I am not sure how anyone can overclock a socket 939 cpu without needing to purchase a separate heatsink. A separate heatsink is an assumed purchase for me.

socket 939 heatsinks at SVC
An excellent, cheap, and quiet 120mm fan

 

[acegazda]

yeah... the only reason i'm skeptical is becasue I bought an oem sound card last month and it never worked. Sent it back and bought the retail version for $15 more and it worked gr8. It was an audigy 2 zs by the way.

 

[fixxxer0]

I have never bought a retail box item in my 10 years of F'in with computers. Have not had a single complaint, they are the same quality.

 

[acegazda]

really... i don't know.
especially with processors. The sound card wanst a huge deal because I could use the onboard sound while i shipped the defective audigy back. I dont have any spare s939 processors lying around so I kinda need it to work. If I hear sparkling reviews, i'll seriously consider it.

 

[Jeff7181]

OEM != returned, refurbished, or anything else that would cause it to be of lower quality than a retail product. OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer... basically what it means is it comes bare in a white or brown box with no documentation or software rather than a pretty colorful box with a manual in English, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian with driver discs and trial software and game demo's. OEM products aren't intended to be put on store shelves... they're intended to be purchased in bulk for system builders who don't care about flashing packaging or accessories... hence the reduced price compared to the retail packaging.

 

[GundamSonicZeroX]

I got my Athlon 64 3500+ for less than $200.

 

[lopri]

For me it's easily 3700+ or an Opteron 146.

 

[avi85]

Originally posted by: acegazda
looks to me like the overclocking sweetspot is at the athlon 64 3200+ for $135 but the 3500+ is also availbale for $182 here. This would be better if you're a moderate overclocker. I've seen the 3200+ reach 2.8 stable and absolutely ruin a 3800+ on bench tests. Anyone: how are the opterons better?

1MB L2 Cache vs. 512kb (not including the 3700+)

 

[Pens1566]

Originally posted by: Corporate Thug
opteron 144/146

 

[drum]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
OEM != returned, refurbished, or anything else that would cause it to be of lower quality than a retail product. OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer... basically what it means is it comes bare in a white or brown box with no documentation or software rather than a pretty colorful box with a manual in English, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian with driver discs and trial software and game demo's. OEM products aren't intended to be put on store shelves... they're intended to be purchased in bulk for system builders who don't care about flashing packaging or accessories... hence the reduced price compared to the retail packaging.