thinking about going dual core

[robphelan]

i'm currently running an AMD3700+ and am thinking about making the jump.

what CPU do you recommend would give me the best return for the price over my existing chip?

thanks,
rob.

 

[n7]

An Intel C2D E6600.

But of course, that would require an entire switch of CPU/mobo/RAM, so if a serious upgrade isn't quite the plan, then you could look into basically any of the s939 A64 X2s.
Best bang for buck is almost always the lowest end of the line, which is the X2 3800+ (or Opteron 165, but AFAIK, it's still overpriced right now).
Now if you don't OC, then you need at least the X2 4400+ to match your 3700+...assuming it's a s939 3700+.

If it's s754, well then i might suggest considering the C2D route, depending on what other components you can re-use.

 

[smthmlk]

i made the jump from a 3700+ san diego to a 4200+ x2, but I use linux primarily, and I often do many, many things at once (and not trivial stuff like listening to music AND browing the web; more like converting a few flac albums to mp3 while playing quake3/ut2k4 and/or compiling some massive project, for example.) For me it was a breath of fresh air, but then I knew I could and would use of the second core before hand. You'll know when you need a multi-proc/core system. If you're unsure, you probably don't need it. That 3700 is a terrific processor (assuming it's the socket 939 san diego).

 

[gamefreakgcb]

Hows THIS for you? Opty 165 DualCore S939 Retail.

Known good steppings that are capable of 3ghz:
CCB1E 0550VPMW
CCBWE 0550UPMW (Some are crappy actually)
CCB1E 0605XPMW
CCB1E 0606VPMW
CCB1E 0608MPMW
CCB1E 0609FPAW
CCB1E 0609FPMW
CCBBE 0610DPMW
CCBBE 0615DPMW

Honorable Mention:
CCBWE 0530TPMW (2.9ghz avg.)
CCBWE 0546XPMW (2.85ghz avg.)
CCBWE 0609FPAW (Unconfirmed precise averages, but seems to be 2.8-2.9)

AVOID if you want to hit 2.8ghz+:
CCBWE 0534SPMW
CCBWE 0543TPMW
CCBWE 0546MPMW
CCBWE 0551 (Any packing code) (2.7-2.75ghz 1.55v)
CCBWE 0602 (Any packing code)
CCBWE 0607 (Any packing code) (2.65ghz 1.55v)

Ripped from FW