Which Chip?

[EndGame]

Going to do a bit of upgrading and have decided to ask some questions before making the purchase because many opinions are better than one!

I currently have a 3200+ Winny I'm going to sell or, perhaps maybe even keep and build around. Anyhow, I've been looking at the 3700+ San Diego and the X2 3800+. I do some gaming, some DVD encoding and photo work, but niether are constant or what I would consider a lot. At least 60% of the time I'm just in forums, reading, searching and selling my wifes crap on EBay. Which would be the most logical choice in your opinion?

I also have 1GB of high end Corsair XMS XLL 2-2-2-5 PC3200 I'll either keep, sell, or save for another system. Again considering my use, which would be a good ram to go with and should I go for 2GB or stay with 1GB?

Thanks for your opinions.....

 

[DrMrLordX]

I'd go with the X2-3800+, whether or not you plan on doing any overclocking. It'll help your DVD encoding and photo work immensely. As far as gaming is concerned, you'll do well as long as you have a good video card.

 

[EndGame]

So there's that much difference going to a DC huh? I wasn't sure if the differences would be appreciable enough to justify the cost.

I'm currently running a X850XT in a AN8-E. I've had the 3200+ Winny up to 2.6 with my XP 90c and a 92cm Pannaflo with no problems whatsoever. I was actually considering the 3700+ San Diego because of the good Overclocking results I've seen.

 

[Ranulf]

Originally posted by: EndGame
So there's that much difference going to a DC huh? I wasn't sure if the differences would be appreciable enough to justify the cost.

I'm currently running a X850XT in a AN8-E. I've had the 300+ Winny up to 2.6 with my XP 90c and a 92cm Pannaflo with no problems whatsoever. I was actually considering the 3700+ San Diego because of the good Overclocking results I've seen.

A good set of charts for cpu comparisons. A lot of encoding/video apps etc. will make use of the dual core.

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html?modelx=33&model1=241&model2=247&chart=68

 

[EndGame]

Originally posted by: Ranulf

Originally posted by: EndGame
So there's that much difference going to a DC huh? I wasn't sure if the differences would be appreciable enough to justify the cost.

I'm currently running a X850XT in a AN8-E. I've had the 300+ Winny up to 2.6 with my XP 90c and a 92cm Pannaflo with no problems whatsoever. I was actually considering the 3700+ San Diego because of the good Overclocking results I've seen.

A good set of charts for cpu comparisons. A lot of encoding/video apps etc. will make use of the dual core.

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html?modelx=33&model1=241&model2=247&chart=68

OK, the differences I see in that comparrison (which is very usefull, thanx!) actually almost make me want to go with the 3700+ San Diego. I carefully went over each and the differences almost weigh out. Also, what about the problems I've read about with the X2's in gaming, etc.? Are these a big deal?

I'm thinking of going with the Mushkin Xtreme or Corsair XMS PC4000 2X1GB kit either way. I've read in several threads and reviews that this option will get the most out of overclocking easiest.

Mushkin

Corsair

 

[Tweakin]

I would also recommend the X2. I came from a 3200 Winnie@2.5 and I'm running my X2 3800+ at 2.5 with a vcore of only 1.37...much cooler which allows me to run the system in "quiet" mode.

Speed for speed there is little difference between the DC and SC chips, but with the DC chips you gain all the benefits of multi-threaded apps running in the background.

 

[TrevorRC]

First and foremost--if you aren't multi-tasking with CPU heavy stuff (I.e.; video encoding while gaming) If you were a professional doing it several times a day, I'd tell you to grab an Opty or an X2... but if you aren't doing it constantly, it really doesn't justify the cost. A 146 or a 144 will outclock a DC any day, and that'll be better in single-app scores.


So, go for a single core--buy a 146. When 165 prices drop in March/April, you can grab one then, and you won't lose too much on it.


Also.
Just bought a $200 2GB RAM Kit (G.Skill HZs) can't BEGIN to tell you how much better/smoother everything is, games included.
-T

 

[EndGame]

Originally posted by: TrevorRC
First and foremost--if you aren't multi-tasking with CPU heavy stuff (I.e.; video encoding while gaming)
Go for a single core--buy a 146. When 165 prices drop in March/April, you can grab one then.

Also.
Just bought a $200 2GB RAM Kit (G.Skill HZs) can't BEGIN to tell you how much better/smoother everything is, games included.
-T

That's what I was thinking as far as SC/DC chips. I'm more the type that sits down and does what I need/want on my system. I may listen to music while surfing or working in photoshop/encoding, but that's be about it. When I game/surf, I do that, when I work, I work. Also, is there really that much difference between the A64's and Opterons? I've had good results with A64's.

As far as ram again, after reading a bunch of reviews, it looked like going with Mushkin/Corsair, maybe OCZ was worth it. Read a lot of end user and site reviews talking about problems with "lesser known" brands. Am I/are they wrong? I've always run Mushkin/Corsair/Crucial (Crucial in the SDRAM days) and never once had ANY problems with ANY ram I've purchased. I'd like to keep it that way...

 

[Tweakin]

Originally posted by: TrevorRC
First and foremost--if you aren't multi-tasking with CPU heavy stuff (I.e.; video encoding while gaming) If you were a professional doing it several times a day, I'd tell you to grab an Opty or an X2... but if you aren't doing it constantly, it really doesn't justify the cost. A 146 or a 144 will outclock a DC any day, and that'll be better in single-app scores.


So, go for a single core--buy a 146. When 165 prices drop in March/April, you can grab one then, and you won't lose too much on it.


Also.
Just bought a $200 2GB RAM Kit (G.Skill HZs) can't BEGIN to tell you how much better/smoother everything is, games included.
-T

These are good thoughts...but with the Opty it's a hit or miss. For the large part, most will clock around 2.6~2.8 on air. Most 3800 X2's will hit 2.5~2.7 on air, and for the difference of 200 Mhz, I don't think you will see any difference in gaming. The biggest gain could come from Windows Vista as it should use the Win3k core which will allow you to assign applications to specific cores. At this point, there would be a difference due to the time alloted to the specific thread. I just think the X2 is more future proof while not loosing ground compared to any current processor.