What cpu for me?

[Naeeldar]

I've done some upgrading to my system this week and the last thing that needs to be upgrades is the processor. Going to do that for xmas as a gift but I need to choose the processor now. I've been thinking about going with the Athlon 64 4000+ as all the system is mainly for is gaming. Is there any need or reason why I should og with something different like an opteron or dual core?

Here's my current system:

EPOX 9NPA+Ultra
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice
XFX Geforce 7800GTX 256mb
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 SATA NCQ ST3160827AS 160GB 7200 RPM
2x1gig DDR 400 ram
External Audigy 2
Antec TruePower 2.0 TRUECONTROL II-550

thanks in advance.

 

[o1die]

You don't need to upgrade if you're overclocking. You might as well try it unless you've got a buyer for your old cpu. If you've got a bad overclocker (cpu), then an upgrade would improve performance.

 

[Naeeldar]

Originally posted by: o1die
You don't need to upgrade if you're overclocking. You might as well try it unless you've got a buyer for your old cpu. If you've got a bad overclocker (cpu), then an upgrade would improve performance.

I've never been bic on overclocking but is it possible to push this chip to the same levels I would get out of a normal 64 4000+ or X2 4200?

 

[rs1089]

you could possibly oc to A64 4000 levels if you have a good chip. A dual core purchase would only be useful if you multitask a lot. As for gaming, you wont see any big advantages, but some games are starting to become multithreaded so it doesnt hurt to be prepared . I know you have your sights set on an athlon 4000, but go with an opteron single core. Opterons are generally very great overclockers and i think that would be a good purchase. You could try OC'ing your athlon 3000 venice because they are decent overclockers. I think your mobo is also a good overclocker, so have fun. If you're satisfied with your overclock, i'd say stick with it unless you want to go higher. It's your choice. And as o1die said, if its a bad overclocker, upgrade it.

 

[gplracer]

If you go single core look into an opteron while they are still around.

 

[Naeeldar]

If I'm not planning on ocing or only doing mild ocing won't I just get better performance outo f the 4000 or x2 4200? Maybe I'll try ocing the 3000. If I am able to run the games I play I'll be happy with that and get a 5.1 surround sound for xmas for the comp and then upgrade in april.

Really unsure now.

 

[Skott]

Originally posted by: Naeeldar
If I'm not planning on ocing or only doing mild ocing won't I just get better performance outo f the 4000 or x2 4200? Maybe I'll try ocing the 3000. If I am able to run the games I play I'll be happy with that and get a 5.1 surround sound for xmas for the comp and then upgrade in april.

Really unsure now.

If you are not going to OC then the old addage of 'buy the most cpu you can' still applies. The single core chips still rule when it comes to gaming only (read: gaming only) with the possible exception of running BF2 and FEAR. Many say these two games take advantage of dual core chips now. Next year sometime (I'm guessing latter half) we'll know if dual cores will supplant the single core chips for gaming.