What AMD CPU

[james1701]

I am building a budget gaming rig for my son. I have an 890FX mobo, and my old 4890. I am looking at spending about $100.00 on a cpu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103912

Would this be a good choice for this rig? Does it have a good unlock history? I checked the site benchmark section, nothing really jumped out at me.

I plan on using the stock HSF, and putting it in a CoolerMaster 912 or 922. Is there a better choice for an AMD cpu in this price range without buying a Thurban? It will be used only for games, and web surfing, web games. I plan on ordering this week, thanks.

 

[Dice144]

I really did not notice the lack of L3 in the AMD 640. This way you know all 4 cores work. But I am sure some will say that you need the L3.

 

[Ultralight]

For $15 more than the dual core you get a quad with L3 Cache: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103916

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

The unlocking is by no means guaranteed. The chances are probably higher now, though, since yields are high enough that AMD no longer really needs to close off 2 cores to make a working product. If you can get it unlocked, you probably won't get better value from anything else. But if you don't, then it's still a fairly decent processor, though it'll obviously be only a dual-core. An alternative is the Athlon II X4 645; performance suffers because it has no L3 cache, but it's got 4 cores native and it'll probably clock higher than an unlocked Phenom II X2 anyway.

 

[richierich1212]

The 565 can most likely go over 4GHz overclocked, but unlocking isnt guaranteed. The 645 is a decent alternative like Mr. Pedantic mentioned and is a quad-core. It won't be able to overclock as well though.

 

[SickBeast]

Try to find a Phenom II with the full 8mb of cache for around $100. I got my 905e for $150 including a motherboard from NCIX. They have sales on them every so often, so maybe have a look there.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

If you can live with the fact that there's only 4MB of L3 instead of the full 6MB, there's this OEM X4 820 for $99 shipped. I don't think anything can beat that in this price range, since the Athlon IIs completely lack L3 and you're getting four known working cores instead of two.

Of course, it's a C2 Phenom and probably won't overclock as well as a C3, but since you're running stock that shouldn't be a big deal.

If you don't have a heatsink on hand though then I'd go with the 640. My little X2 255 handles everything I throw at it, including games (even handles GTA4 well enough to my standards, though having played the game on the console my standards are probably diminished).

 

[flexcore]

chub's pick is very good for a strict $100 budget, but as noted overclocking with the c2 is not as good as the c3 rev. of the deneb core. Thats not to say that it's bad/won't OC. For $125 the Phenom II X4 925 is what I would go for, but they are both 2.8ghz stock and I'm sure either would be a good choice. But then I start playing the 'well the 955 is only a little more..'. The 820 will be a good chip.

 

[Dark Shroud]

Well if looking to do core unlocking there is this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103846

Even if you are only able to unlock one core it's still a good deal.

 

[f4phantom2500]

i have an athlon ii x3 435, and although it doesn't unlock, i honestly don't even have a need to overclock it, though it hits 3.5ghz easily; i just didn't really notice a difference. then again i don't game *that* much, mainly just whatever looks good and is on sale on steam.

if you have a HSF already i'd agree that 820 looks like a great deal. if not then you may want to look at the athlon ii chips. that way even if it doesn't unlock you still have 3 cores. either that or the athlon ii x4 at $100 is a good deal as well. i can't personally say how significant the real-world differences are regarding the L3 cache, but from what i've read it doesn't seem as drastic as a lot of people say they are.

basically, i really couldn't justify getting a phenom ii x2, even though the odds may be pretty decent that it'll unlock to 4 cores, even better that it'll unlock to 3 cores. but worst case scenario neither unlocks and you have a dual core...a fast dual core with a buttload of L3 cache, but you could save money and be guaranteed 3 or 4 cores. especially that 820...still get L3 cache, nice!

as dark shroud said, though, i don't think there's any reason to get the more expensive phenom ii x2; might as well get the cheaper one and, if nothing else, spend the $ saved on a nice aftermarket HSF.

 

[james1701]

I have no plans to overclock this setup. How about something like this,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103911

How do the tripple cores fall in line? This should be a little faster than a 640, clock for clock.

If the 820 is the best option, I guess I could forget about the 912 case, and pick up another H50 and mount on it, and reuse my antec 900 case.

I have never had an AMD system before, and have never kept up on their releases.

 

[Dark Shroud]

pick up another H50 and mount on it

If you're going to use an after market cooler and not OC then:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103679

 

[james1701]

If you're going to use an after market cooler and not OC then:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103679

That will work in my mobo?

 

[Dark Shroud]

That will work in my mobo?

It should, check your mobo's manual just to be sure.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

It should, check your mobo's manual just to be sure.

Nope, it won't work. You can drop a socket AM3 CPU into a socket AM2+ motherboard (as I have), but you can't drop a socket AM2+ processor into a socket AM3 motherboard.

If you want the full 6MB L3 cache and want to take a chance at unlocking there's this X2 545 for $70 shipped. Again, it is OEM so you will need to supply your own heatsink.

 

[flexcore]

If you won't OC then I would get the fastest x3 that you can. This X3 is the fastest the egg has. And you won't need an aftermarket HSF unless you want less noise. This is going to be the best you can do. If you need a HSF, the Hyper 212+ is good for cheap, no need for H50 if your not going to OC.

 

[SickBeast]

I have no plans to overclock this setup. How about something like this,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103911

How do the tripple cores fall in line? This should be a little faster than a 640, clock for clock.

If the 820 is the best option, I guess I could forget about the 912 case, and pick up another H50 and mount on it, and reuse my antec 900 case.

I have never had an AMD system before, and have never kept up on their releases.

AFAIK you have a good chance of unlocking a triple core into a full fledged quad core Phenom II with the full 8mb cache.

Even if it doesn't unlock, those chips are a good price.

At the same token, I would be tempted to go with a Sandy Bridge i3 setup instead.

 

[Stuka87]

I paid $90 for my 550BE (3.1GHz, 6MB L3) a year ago which I have running at 3.56GHz (With no mods, just multiplier change, stock cooling). And it really performs pretty decently. I am CPU limited in games like BF:BC2, but I still average 40-60FPS at 1680x1050 (According to FRAPS) with a HD5750. This is with a 790GX mobo.

Since you have an 890, make sure its an AM3 CPU.

I have tried clocking it higher but it wont go any higher without some voltage mods (That I have never gotten around to doing).

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

X3 740 BE if you can find one. Dirt cheap, 85% chance of unlocking 4th core (literally - I had only 2x that wouldn't unlock out of 12x), OCs well (all hit 3.6GHz Prime95 stable @ 1.34Vcore, even the unlocked ones, although they needed significanty more voltage to hit 3.8GHz - 1.425Vcore).

Not sure if newEgg still has 'em. Much cheaper than the X2 555 BEs and you get an extra core from the get go. The only thing bad about them is that they're C2 stepping chips, but C3s don't seem to do very much better on air anyways.

 

[Gigantopithecus]

If you won't OC then I would get the fastest x3 that you can. This X3 is the fastest the egg has. And you won't need an aftermarket HSF unless you want less noise. This is going to be the best you can do. If you need a HSF, the Hyper 212+ is good for cheap, no need for H50 if your not going to OC.

I've put this chip in two friends' gaming rigs recently and they've been very pleased with the performance. The stock hsf is also not very loud; it's inaudible over the gpu hsf.

Plus, good things come in threes... 3 cores, 3.3ghz!

 

[james1701]

Thanks for all the advice. In the end, I ended up ponying up the extra $79.00 for a 1055T. With no tax, free shipping and a free Darksiders game, it will work better next year when I hand down my 5870's when I upgrade. Also, next winter when I am bored, I can play around overclocking it. Thanks again.

 

[wayliff]

I was going to suggest this but you already made your mind...
here it is anyway.
http://www.directron.com/hdx945wfgmbox.html

I just ordered one myself. It is the 95w stepping.

 

[ethebubbeth]

I was going to suggest this but you already made your mind...
here it is anyway.
http://www.directron.com/hdx945wfgmbox.html

I just ordered one myself. It is the 95w stepping.

I'm running that in a socket AM2+ Biostar board. Had to make sure to carefully select it since the 120W model would not work. It's a great chip thus far.