X3 710 -> x4 965

[nFeF]

How much of a performance increase would I see upgrading from a Phenom II X3 710 (3 cores @ 2.6) to a X3 965 BE (4 cores @ 3.4)?

This would be on a M3A78-EM and I would be keeping my 4870 1gb and DDR2 1066. I ask from a gaming point of view because I get the feeling my CPU is holding me back a lot. I get lower FPS than I should in games (WoW, i'm talking 10 FPS in dalaran) and yes my card is getting old but it's not bad by any means.

tyia

 

[slag]

Check this out.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/84?vs=102

 

[fffblackmage]

You could try overclocking. I'm not certain WoW really uses that extra core.

 

[Arkaign]

If you're looking at current PhII X4, just look for the cheapest Black Edition. The unlocked multi gives you the ability to just crank it up to 3.6+ without a sweat. Use the savings on a better air cooler or whatever. Eg; 955BE is $20 cheaper than 965BE, but both will probably hit around the same exact ceiling of 3.8-4.0 with good cooling and settings on a decent mobo. Any 955 will hit 3.4 of course on stock cooling just by changing the multi. As has been noted, 3 cores vs 4 wont be a game changer in WoW, but hitting higher clockspeed will be. Your current CPU is a little trickier to OC, but read some guides and see if you can't get it into the mid 3ghz range. You will probably have to lower memory and HT clocks to compensate for the bus speed jump.

 

[gammaray]

IMHO, you would get a 30% increase. But if all you do that is demanding for your cpu, is to play WoW, you would be better off with the Athlon II x2 3.3 Ghz you would get about 25% increase for 70$ less than a 965BE.

 

[nFeF]

You could try overclocking. I'm not certain WoW really uses that extra core.

Not until the last patch (two weeks ago), now it does but I saw zero performance increase.

30% increase looks pretty worth it. I appreciate the advice on overclocking but I don't really like to mess with that past bumping up a multiplier. When it comes to adjusting voltages and memory, aftermarket cooling etc, it just becomes not worth it to me because I can't easily replace anything if something gets screwed up with my financial situation.

I play a lot more games than WoW I just mentioned that because it seems Blizzard games are notorious for being more heavy on the CPU than on the video card. I experienced the same problems with SC2.

 

[BD231]

Not until the last patch (two weeks ago), now it does but I saw zero performance increase.

30% increase looks pretty worth it. I appreciate the advice on overclocking but I don't really like to mess with that past bumping up a multiplier. When it comes to adjusting voltages and memory, aftermarket cooling etc, it just becomes not worth it to me because I can't easily replace anything if something gets screwed up with my financial situation.

I play a lot more games than WoW I just mentioned that because it seems Blizzard games are notorious for being more heavy on the CPU than on the video card. I experienced the same problems with SC2.

Sorry but if you're already replacing your x3 there's no chance on earth you'll be able to kill a new chip via overclocking by the time you're ready to replace it, that much is certain. You're missing out, any Phenom II is said to be safe up to 1.55v by AMD themselves and as of late you don't need anywhere near that amount of voltage to reach high overclocks.

I just built a system for a friend with a 955. The voltage is sitting at 1.44v and it's stable at 3.9ghz. Well below AMD max voltage spec and the performance increase in games is huge.

Don't be scared to overclock, you won't harm a thing.

 

[nFeF]

Sorry but if you're already replacing your x3 there's no chance on earth you'll be able to kill a new chip via overclocking by the time you're ready to replace it, that much is certain.

Touche, I suppose you have a point here.

You're missing out, any Phenom II is said to be safe up to 1.55v by AMD themselves and as of late you don't need anywhere near that amount of voltage to reach high overclocks.

I just built a system for a friend with a 955. The voltage is sitting at 1.44v and it's stable at 3.9ghz. Well below AMD max voltage spec and the performance increase in games is huge.

Don't be scared to overclock, you won't harm a thing.

I haven't messed around with overclocking since I had like a XP 2600.. is there a good guide you could direct me too? Googling turns up a lot of results but the majority of it is discussion of small things between people who already know what they're doing. Is it as easy as bumping up the HTT through bios and adjusting voltage when it gets unstable?