Building a gaming rig. How important is L1 and L2 Cache and 32bit and 64bit technology?

[fibes]

I'm getting ready to build my third system. I'm on a budget, so I can't swing a 64 bit processor and an expensive 64 bit motherboard. So, I was wondering if I can build a half way decent gaming rig without spending a lot of cash?

My questions are, since I'm building a gaming rig, is the L1 and L2 cache important(ie. 64k/256K vs. 512k)? I plan to overclock my processor(i.e. 2500 Barton), so is a 64bit processor much of an advantage over a 32 bit processor?

Thanks in advance for all the advise!

 

[carlosd]

Overclocked Mobile barton is as good as slower Athlons 64. In the meantime 64 bit is not that important for games, since all them are 32bits, but in the near future games will use 64 bits capabilities making the run faster than in a 32 bit processor. The advantage of the Athlons 64 in gaming is not about their 64 bits capabilities at the moment or a larger cache L2. It is about the new packing/decode stages added and mainly thanks to the integrated memory controller. In fact you won't see a big difference in performance between Athlons 64 with 512K and 1MB of L2 cache at same clock speed.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: fibes
I'm getting ready to build my third system. I'm on a budget, so I can't swing a 64 bit processor and an expensive 64 bit motherboard. So, I was wondering if I can build a half way decent gaming rig without spending a lot of cash?

My questions are, since I'm building a gaming rig, is the L1 and L2 cache important(ie. 64k/256K vs. 512k)? I plan to overclock my processor(i.e. 2500 Barton), so is a 64bit processor much of an advantage over a 32 bit processor?

Thanks in advance for all the advise!

First of all, ignore L1 cache altogether. This isn't the P3 vs the original Athlon days, and L1 cache size is not a worry for end users anymore since chips come with full-CPU-speed on-die L2 cache these days.

L2 cache size is what matters now.

As for the 64-bit... I think it's a nonissue right now (although it could mean something in the next couple of years; realistically it won't mean jack until Longhorn though).

However, Athlon 64's are still great chips for today's 32-bit applications. Ugh, I'm too tired to tip-toe around the symantecs; just get a new, fast P4 or Athlon 64 on a supported motherboard and you'll be happy. Don't worry about L2 or L2 cache size because they both are the best from their respective companies, regardless of cache size.

 

[Zebo]

How can you not afford a a64?
$209 with farcry, retail A64 2800 and a chaintech nforce 3 250 mobo which is highly overclockable..

link


You don't buy A64 for 64 bitness, it's a marketing gimmick for now. You buy it for blazing fast speed and on board mem controller. The new newcastle are hitting 2.5 on air which you'll need a mobile xp @3000mhz to match it.. Not going to happen.


As far a cache, with AMD processors it makes little difference because they don't have pipeline stalls.

 

[Vee]

Originally posted by: fibes
My questions are, since I'm building a gaming rig, is the L1 and L2 cache important(ie. 64k/256K vs. 512k)? I plan to overclock my processor(i.e. 2500 Barton), so is a 64bit processor much of an advantage over a 32 bit processor?

Never mind. It's far easier than that in practice. Just get an Athlon64!
Of course you can afford it! It's not more expensive than 32-bit. Ignore all that socket 939 "upgrade path" nonsens and that must-have-some-Asus-super-DeLuxe BS. Get a cheap 754 mainboard and a cheap 754 cpu. Standard PC3200 Ram unless you want to OC. It will work fine. Put the money in a decent videocard instead.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: Vee

Originally posted by: fibes
My questions are, since I'm building a gaming rig, is the L1 and L2 cache important(ie. 64k/256K vs. 512k)? I plan to overclock my processor(i.e. 2500 Barton), so is a 64bit processor much of an advantage over a 32 bit processor?

Never mind. It's far easier than that in practice. Just get an Athlon64!
Of course you can afford it! It's not more expensive than 32-bit. Ignore all that socket 939 "upgrade path" nonsens and that must-have-some-Asus-super-DeLuxe BS. Get a cheap 754 mainboard and a cheap 754 cpu. Standard PC3200 Ram unless you want to OC. It will work fine. Put the money in a decent videocard instead.

Well said.

However you can even get cheap ram and run async, I do, and it makes very little difference since all ram runs async anyway on A64. In fact at newegg they have 'good' PDP pc3200 with 2-3-2-5 timings for $85 for 512 right now!