CPU to max out Radeon X1900XTX?

[Aepheme]

Which CPU will max out the Radeon X1900XTX (in typical gaming usage... like Oblivion or HL2)?

3700+ San Diego 2.2Ghz: $235
3800+ X2 Manchester 2.0Ghz: $297
4200+ X2 Manchester 2.2Ghz: $357

I plan on using the stock heatsink. Will overclock, but only what I can achieve easily with the stock.

I'd like to spend the least amount of $$$ possible.

Thanks!

 

[Witchfire]

Of those three, I'd have to say go with the X2 3800+. The 4200+'s aren't all Manchester Cores.. some are Toledo's that didn't pass all the tests in the cache, so AMD disabled the offending cache, and call them manchesters.

The 3800's are generally known to be decent clockers, and with some luck & skill, you ought to be able to get the 2.4GHz out of it w/ stock cooling, possibly higher.

On the other side of your question... maxing out an X1900XTX? I'd have to say that even at 2.4GHz, you might still slightly be CPU bottlenecking your video card. But by most accounts, a 2.4GHz minimum CPU speed should leave the path wide open for your card.

For the minor difference in price, I see no good reason to go with a single core CPU in your situation. Personally, I'd lean more towards a comparable Opteron 939, like a 165 or 170 with good steppings. Still in the same price range, but with twice the cache memory, and generally better overclocks compared to their X2 brethren.

 

[buzzsaw13]

get an OEM Opteron 144 from Monarch and you should be able to get it to at least 2.4ghz

EDIT: Oh yeah, forgot to mention get a stock Opteron HSF with the heatpipes.

 

[Aepheme]

Originally posted by: buzzsaw13
get an OEM Opteron 144 from Monarch and you should be able to get it to at least 2.4ghz

EDIT: Oh yeah, forgot to mention get a stock Opteron HSF with the heatpipes.

They Opteron 144 is $140 cheaper than the X2 3800+. Would I be able to get equivalent single core performance w/ the stock HSF and overclocking? I know nothing's 100% certain with overclocking... what probability would you give that?

 

[ender11122]

If you are gonna shell out some money (which apprently u did with x1900xtx), then get a dual core. In games, for now, there is not considerable difference between single core and dual core, but in the very near future, it should make a difference.