I have a Phenom II 710 in my PC which has only 3 cores (couldn't unlock a 4th) and is running at stock speed (I'm not much of an overclocker and my limited attempts failed to gain any significant speed). The PC has an AM2+ motherboard (Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4).
Recently I encountered some cases where the 710 was just too little for me. I'm working from home and was running simulations which are single core but sometimes I ran more than one at a time. I got to where my PC slowed down (because all cores were at 100%), and I could also use a faster single core speed so they finish faster. While my usage has changed somewhat in recent weeks (more remote work instead of local), I still think it's worth getting an upgrade.
I was hoping that the Phenom II X6 1090T will drop in price once Bulldozer appears, but since that got postponed, and I have someone to bring me the CPU from the US if I order right now, I thought it might be a good opportunity (especially since my birthday is coming up next month). $180 is a little more than I hoped to pay, but not really that bad.
Still, I'd like to get some opinions about this.
The benefits I see:
- Compatible with my current PC, no need to upgrade anything else, saving money and time.
- Double the cores, which is good for when I need that.
- Higher core speed: 3.2GHz (3.6GHz with turbo) vs. 2.6GHz.
- Black Edition, so easy to overclock if I want it.
- Will cost less than the 710 cost me two years ago if I buy it in the US.
Down sides:
- Old CPU tech, slower than Intel's or the upcoming Bulldozer.
- It will be harder to make an excuse for a new PC any time soon, especially to my wife.
What do you think?
Recently I encountered some cases where the 710 was just too little for me. I'm working from home and was running simulations which are single core but sometimes I ran more than one at a time. I got to where my PC slowed down (because all cores were at 100%), and I could also use a faster single core speed so they finish faster. While my usage has changed somewhat in recent weeks (more remote work instead of local), I still think it's worth getting an upgrade.
I was hoping that the Phenom II X6 1090T will drop in price once Bulldozer appears, but since that got postponed, and I have someone to bring me the CPU from the US if I order right now, I thought it might be a good opportunity (especially since my birthday is coming up next month). $180 is a little more than I hoped to pay, but not really that bad.
Still, I'd like to get some opinions about this.
The benefits I see:
- Compatible with my current PC, no need to upgrade anything else, saving money and time.
- Double the cores, which is good for when I need that.
- Higher core speed: 3.2GHz (3.6GHz with turbo) vs. 2.6GHz.
- Black Edition, so easy to overclock if I want it.
- Will cost less than the 710 cost me two years ago if I buy it in the US.
Down sides:
- Old CPU tech, slower than Intel's or the upcoming Bulldozer.
- It will be harder to make an excuse for a new PC any time soon, especially to my wife.
What do you think?
Facebook
Twitter