Opteron or Athlon? Hmm...

[BlueEcho]

You can see my rig below in my sig, and I figured the best upgrade path for me would be a new processor (Looking for gaming performance) and I found this :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103598

Would I be better off with the opty for gaming? or should I go with a X2 3800+ (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562) ? id prefer to save the cash but if the X2 will be alot better than ill go with it.

Thanks for any advice

Beau

 

[BlueEcho]

bump

 

[Antikristuseke]

Hmm, id recomend you go for an opty 165 instead of the x2 3800+ if you do decide to go the dualcore route, should cost less and generaly overclock better. Dont really think it would be worth moving from the proc you have now to a single core opty, though they are exelent overclockers aswell.

 

[BlueEcho]

Thats what I was thinking, but my budget cap is about $150, id also like to upgrade my ram but I dont think ill be able to pull that off with the money available.

 

[ayabe]

If you are looking for more horsepower for gaming I don't think either of these choices is the way to go. Upgrading your CPU isn't going to do much for you, while you don't have a top of the line CPU it's not holding you back; upgrading your videocard would be a much better investment, I think you can get a real nice mid range card for $200 or less.

But if you still feel you must go with a new CPU, go dual core whether X2 or Opteron.

 

[BlueEcho]

The only problem with the video card upgrade route is that I cant really afford another $200 upgrade, and id be stuck getting an AGP card... whereas im better off just getting a PCI-E system down the road.

Im looking for a short term (6 months to a year) upgrade that is less than $150 (Preferably under 100) for my computer to play current games better.

 

[yh125d]

if you want a single core, go for this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103037

and oc it to ~3gHz

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

You have an Athlon 64 @ ~2.4 GHz, yes? Upgrading to anything with a single core is going to give you very little in performance. However, the cheapest s939 dual-core CPU costs more than $150, which is beyond your budget.

However, Fry's B&M periodically offers combo deals for OEM dual-core CPUs with an ECS motherboard supporting AGP and DDR-400. Right now it's a Pentium D 945 for $150, which is too expensive for your budget. You would need a deal for $125 or less, allowing for tax and the purchase of a cooler. The ECS board can overclock somewhat, so I hear.