Need help deciding on new CPU

[Lukozer]

Having been a frequent browser of these forums, i think this would be a good place to ask this question. I am in the process of upgrading my current PC and due to the excessive price of the FX55, have been forced to forget about buying my first choice CPU and am going with either the 4000+ or the 3800+.
Having read the review of the 4000+ here, which called into question the actual PR rating of the CPU, i am wondering if it is worth it to go with this CPU, or going with the cheaper 3800. The main uses for the new system will be music composing/mixing, video editing, online server (FTP) and i dare say some gaming will be done on it too. With this in mind, which do you recommend and why?

Cheers...

 

[Gamer X]

Actually I would recommend you to get the 3500+;it is much cheaper and you don't lose
much performance.The 3800+ and the 4000+ are overpriced for now.But if you insist
on one of those,I advise you to get the 4000+ because it's got 1 mb L2 cache;more cache
helps especially in games.The 4000+ is the only S939 athlon 64(non FX,I mean) with 1mb L2 cache.

 

[RussianSensation]

A64 4000+ 2.4ghz 1mb cache = $620
A64 3800+ 2.4ghz 512mb cache = $410
A64 3500+ 2.2ghz 512mb cache = $269 (90nm)
A64 3200+ 2.0ghz 512mb cache = $168 (90nm)

If you are into extreme overclocking, A64 3200+ is the sweet spot.
If you are into some overclocking A64 3500+ is a safer bet
If you don't want to overclock at all A64 3800+ is your choice if you are willing to spend the money.
However, just because you can afford something doenst mean you should throw away money at it. 4000+ is like 5% faster for $210 more. Does that sound like a good deal for processors to you? You can get another A64 3200+ and go for dinner.

Also you could always get A64 3500 + for $269 and something like WaterChill KT12A-L30 Kit for $380 US for a total of $650. This will allow you to overclock 3500+ past what 4000+ will get on air and also your videocard, while keeping your system cooler.

 

[Lukozer]

I appreciate the replies, but i'm not in the US, i'm in the UK, so those prices don't really apply to me. I am not into extreme overclocking, i'll only do it in moderation, but since i am going to be doing such CPU intensive tasks as video editing, i don't want to have any kind of instability, so i would prefer not to overclock at all until i find myself in a position where it's either overclock or upgrade. For the same reason, i won't be doing any water cooling, plus i simply do not trust myself enough to setup a water cooling system, i've never seen one outside of online reviews, let alone used one.

I can actually afford the FX55, but in light of the recent price cuts from AMD, the FX55 is now just over £150 more than the 4000+, so i can't justify that kind of price gap. While the price difference was around £60-70, it was fine, i'd just spend the extra. My main aim to get as powerful a setup in terms of core components as i can afford without overclocking or paying through the nose un-necessarily. While i think the FX55 may be just that, i still think the 4000+ and 3800+ are reasonable for what i want. It's a case of deciding between those two though. I'm not really looking at any other CPU....

 

[imported_stuck]

As stated eariler, go for the 4000+ it has twice the lv2 cache.

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: stuck
As stated eariler, go for the 4000+ it has twice the lv2 cache.

Which doesn't equate to much of any real performance gains in video work as ge stated he will be doing...

Dont waste the money!!!

Get the 3500+ oc it to an easy 2.4ghz and call it money saved....Spend the saved money on more ram or faster drives......

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: Duvie

Originally posted by: stuck
As stated eariler, go for the 4000+ it has twice the lv2 cache.

Which doesn't equate to much of any real performance gains in video work as ge stated he will be doing...

Dont waste the money!!!

Get the 3500+ oc it to an easy 2.4ghz and call it money saved....Spend the saved money on more ram or faster drives......

Exactly ! I have a 3000+ that won't do more than 2250, but thats still 450 mhz ! I an sure you could get 200 mhz out of a 3500+ easy with good memory !!!!

 

[RussianSensation]

Just to maybe help your decision, here are the latest reviews with the 2 processors you have in mind in a variety of applications:

Review 1
Review 2

 

[clarkey01]

Zero point. Really.

Its daft.