Need help Picking a CPU

[boscof15]

I need a good cpu that can play games and run professional rendering programs like Cinema 4D, Bryce 5.5, and Photoshop CS. i planed on getting the Amd X2 4200+ but i heard that it has problems running games. what do you guys suggest that i get?

 

[zarooch]

well, get Intel Pentium D 940/950, that'll do for your requirements!

 

[1Tanker]

Whoever told you that the X2 4200+ has troubles running games, is

full'a'poop'. Both the Pentium D, and the X2 will give you great performance.

Just try not to buy into the fanboyism if a bunch of guys responding to this

start shooting one or the other down.

 

[boscof15]

ok sweet thanks for the help. also to save money could i just get the x2 3800+ and just Oc it?

 

[jaguarskx]

I need a good cpu that can play games and run professional rendering programs like Cinema 4D, Bryce 5.5, and Photoshop CS. i planed on getting the Amd X2 4200+ but i heard that it has problems running games. what do you guys suggest that i get?

When people say The Athlon 64 X2 has trouble playing games they really don't know what they are talking about and their expectations are beyond optimistic. For example take the Athlon 64 3500+ and the Athlon 64 X2 4200+ or the 4400+, which has a core clock of 2.2GHz. So games should play faster on the X2 because it has two cores, right? Yes and no. Yes, if they game is multi-threaded to take advantage of more than 1 CPU or 1 core. No, if the game is not designed to take advantage of more than 1 core.

Some people think that games will run twice as fast because if you got two cores running at 2.2GHz, that's like a single core running at 4.4GHz, right? Ummm....Keep dreaming. Dual cores don't work that way. The purpose of dual core is to split everything that the computer does between the two cores. Maybe it's 50% for one core and 50% for the other. Most of the time it's not. The beauty of dual cores is that while one core is busy working on one thing, the other core can do something else. Say like rending something use Bryce, and instead of simply surfing the web or watch a movie on TV, you wanna play a game. Well with a single core you cannot do both at the same time, but with a dual core like the Athlon 64 X2 4400+ you can.

 

[waylander]

Please see the post that I have attached, within it I had posted links to CPU charts which will give you benchmarks with around 30 different applications (about the 7th post down).

Pick one.

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=184647&highlight=

 

[1Tanker]

also to save money could i just get the x2 3800+ and just Oc it?

Yes, that's a good solution also.

 

[konman43]

ok sweet thanks for the help. also to save money could i just get the x2 3800+ and just Oc it?

yes you can, but if you're going to go for a near $300 cpu i'd go with an opteron 165. i got one from monarch with the coupon they've been spamming around various forums for $276 shipped. add on a good heatsink/fan for about $40 and you got yourself a winner. they've been shipping the 608 and 610 steppings that can overclock to about 3.0GHz. mine i have now is running at 2.7, but i like to go to 2.8 every now and again for fun. i'm using an asrock mobo with ocworbench beta 7 drivers that allow me to set htt to 300+. only thing holding me back is the 1.4v max cpu voltage on this board. if you get a good opty (most oc to 2.4-2.5 anyways) you've essentially got yourself an fx-60 for 1/3 of the price.
then there's also the penium d 805 which have been known to overclock to a hefty 4.2GHz on a ASUS P5WD2. i have a thread on a good priced mobo/cpu combo for it that does just that. http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/opty-pentium-core-duo-ftopict184704.html
on air it can get to about 3.7GHz, but heat becomes an issue. if you plan to overclock the pentium d 805 is a much cheaper option as you can find one for $130 and a big typhoon goes for about $42 = a lot of cooling power for a super hot chip.

 

[pat]

well, get Intel Pentium D 940/950, that'll do for your requirements!

And they can have problem running games too..

It is a DUAL CORE issue.. not a brand one.

 

[zarooch]

well, get Intel Pentium D 940/950, that'll do for your requirements!

And they can have problem running games too..

It is a DUAL CORE issue.. not a brand one.

well Intel Pentium D 9xx Series is for sure Dual Core with 2 X 2 MB of L2 cache each!

 

[hacky_maximus]

Since I'm an AMD fan, I'll sugest you the Amd X2 4200+ because I don't thrust those who say that it has problems running games (let's get real- it'a a nonsense!).

 

[zarooch]

well.. first of all i don't need suggestion picking a cpu (AMD FanBoy!), and second of all i don't give a damn about amd problems running games etc...