Convince me to keep my 7850

Eureka

Diamond Member
Sep 6, 2005
3,822
1
81
Well, it's that itch again. I got my 7850 about 3 weeks ago, I've pretty much overclocked it to near max, now I'm getting that itch to upgrade it.

I don't do anything beyond gaming, none of my classes require heavy simulation, none of my other hobbies require a heavy processor. But I keep on looking at the system in my sig, and I feel like the 7850 is the weak link.

I got the 7850 along with the 790gx for $150, but now these Phenom dual cores are coming out with 3.7ghz OCs for $80. Or the quad cores for $190.

Somebody talk some sense into me!
 

Fox5

Diamond Member
Jan 31, 2005
5,957
7
81
Well, going from a dual core to a dual core probably isn't worth it.
A quad core would be reasonable, and I think they start cheaper than $190 for the full quad cores.

But if you wait a few months, I have a feeling you'll see AMD chips hitting up to 4.5Ghz.
 

soonerproud

Golden Member
Jun 30, 2007
1,874
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Just spend the extra cash and get the Phenom X3 720 for that mobo. You get a unlocked multiplier to over clock to your hearts content and in some cases a fourth core will unlock with ACC set to auto. That should scratch that itch for quite some time if you happen to get lucky and get a quad for the price of a tri core. If not, then you still get a awesome processor that can beat even the Core i7 920 in some single threaded gaming benchmarks.
 

baddog60

Member
Apr 1, 2009
47
0
0
I built a new system back in February with the 7750. I also caught the bug for no good reason. Everything that I threw at my system ran well. But, I still had the bug. My solution came in the form of an Open Box PhII 940 for under $140. I don't know how I got to be the one to get it, but as soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it. I can't say that the upgrade has been productive, but it sure is fun. Thus, if you keep your eyes open you may be able to scratch that itch and not feel too guilty.
 

Rifter

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,522
751
126
do it, but go quad core. I just upgraded from a 7750BE to a 940BE and there is a large improvement in perforrmance.
 

Gikaseixas

Platinum Member
Jul 1, 2004
2,836
218
106
since u have ur 7850 ocd to 3.31ghz i would only upgrade to a X3 720BE or X4 920. Sell ur current cpu to minimise the cost of buying a new one.
 

Eureka

Diamond Member
Sep 6, 2005
3,822
1
81
Oh great... looks like I'm keeping my eye on 940s then.

For the ones with 940s, and OC, is the stock cooler enough? Is the 940 limited by heat or by chip? I know that my Kuma is chip-limited, even when OC'ed the temp doesn't go above 60 C under load on the stock cooler.

Also, those with the 940, do you find better results with multiplier OCing or FSB OCing?
 

baddog60

Member
Apr 1, 2009
47
0
0
Since mine was open box, I did not know if it was even going to include a cooler so I bought an aftermarket cooler right from the beginning. That said, my guess is that the stock cooler would do pretty well. Unlike my 7750 cooler (and I assume your 7850), it does have the copper base and heat pipes.

As for OCing, it looks like FSB or Multi will get you to the same place, but it is nice to have the option of either way. I think that the OCing is chip limited in my experience. Keep in mind I am using Win 7 64bit so that might affect what I can get out of it. I am running stable at 3.6 but think I could get 3.7 if I did some more tweaking. 3.8 does not look like it is doable on my setup.
 

Rifter

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,522
751
126
i would get a aftermarket cooler for the 940 if you want to go over 3.4 as thats when mine started needing more voltage and thus generating more heat, the Xiggy 1283 is a great choice thats what i use and it keeps my 940 under 60c at load, at 3.8.
 

lopri

Elite Member
Jul 27, 2002
13,209
594
126
I thought you wanted to keep the 7850..

I am currently playing with a 7750 + Asrock 780G combo. My 7750 does 3.20GHz with stock cooler and somewhere between 3.30~3.40GHz with aftermarket cooler. I am loving this combo and I think this combo is an absolute bargain for $130. The Asrock board has a very different BIOS than usual, and it gives tons of controls at my hand. 780G's stock IGP clock is 500MHz but it's so easy to clock it to 700MHz so it's like getting a free upgrade to 790G. This combo is the first that does 30" desktop without a discrete GPU, and it handles Aero better than anything I've seen in its category. (even better than some of the low end discrete cards, such as HD 3450 or 8500 GT)

And the 7750 is powerful enough to handle all kinds of 1080p. So outside of gaming, this combo does everything and I don't feel it's any less snappy than my other systems. Right now I'm trying to get DXVA to work but it turns out to be somewhat difficult. I don't know whether it has anything to do with desktop resolution (2560x1600) but since when it does, it works pretty well so I believe it's the drivers and/or codecs. I'm trying to figure it out..

So sometimes I wonder, why would I need anything more than this? I can put everything in a case like this or this.
 

Candymancan21

Senior member
Jun 8, 2009
278
3
81
That cpu is deff the weak link, i bet youre 4890 isnt even being used 50%. Get a x3 710/720 or the x4 940.

I know you wanted us to convice you to keep the cpu but i wouldnt recomend anyone to even buy the cpu lol. Its basicly a re-packaged x2 6000+ for all im concerned which = slow.
 

jaggerwild

Guest
Sep 14, 2007
430
0
0
Originally posted by: soonerproud
Just spend the extra cash and get the Phenom X3 720 for that mobo. You get a unlocked multiplier to over clock to your hearts content and in some cases a fourth core will unlock with ACC set to auto. That should scratch that itch for quite some time if you happen to get lucky and get a quad for the price of a tri core. If not, then you still get a awesome processor that can beat even the Core i7 920 in some single threaded gaming benchmarks.

EXACTLY what I was thinking as I read the OP, CPU the magazine has a list of the motherboard that will unlock. Plus google is yer friend too.
Regards!
 

Fox5

Diamond Member
Jan 31, 2005
5,957
7
81
Unlocking the 4th core isn't 100%, my friend got one and it didn't. I wouldn't bother with anything that isn't a quad core coming from a fast dual core, and at the moment it seems AMD is slowly eeking out higher and higher clock speeds, so it'd probably worth it to wait.
 

jaggerwild

Guest
Sep 14, 2007
430
0
0
Originally posted by: Fox5
Unlocking the 4th core isn't 100%, my friend got one and it didn't. I wouldn't bother with anything that isn't a quad core coming from a fast dual core, and at the moment it seems AMD is slowly eeking out higher and higher clock speeds, so it'd probably worth it to wait.

If it were to DOA, thats why they have RMA. I'm not buying one, if I did i would buy a three core then unlock it for the fact thats why I use computers to begin with. Only fear in computers I have is running out of money, witch I'm currently going through. Computer with drawls, i need an I7 fix! :frown:

But in keeping with the title, yeah save yer money as everything that is new now will be cheap tomorrow, just da nature of DA BEAST.
:thumbsup: