AM2 x2 3800 and x1900xtx?

[corvetteguy]

OK, i was going to get a 4600 all along but now all of a sudden i have a reduced budget. I was also getting a 1900xt but they are now unavailable at the cheap price so i'm getting a good deal on an xtx for $20 CAD more.

Now my question is simple. Will that 3800 bottleneck my gpu in games. Say at 12x10 or 16x12. I think it will be fine but i've read some reviews that are saying not a good choice for gaming, however i'm not a person who counts the frames by 1 either and don't need anything like an x6800. So what do you think. I will be overclocking and i figure i can get from 2ghz to 2.4ghz on stock voltage with a zalman 9500 led hsf.

 

[prozac26]

X2 3800+ is fine. 4600+ and X1900XTX might get you one or two mroe framerates than a 3800+ and X1900XTX.

X1800XT/X1900GT/7900GT could be better if you want to spend little less, but if you can go for a X1900XT(X), then by all means go for it.

 

[qwertycopter]

No the X2 3800+ will not bottleneck at all. However, because very few games currently utilize multicore processors (Quake 4 does, with a patch), you're better off getting a single core if all you're doing is gaming. The single core can produce slightly better results in single-threaded games (which most games are). But you don't watch frames so you won't notice the difference. What you will notice is a heavier pocket book. Also, atleast in the states the SAPPHIRE X1800XT is a steal right now at $200. I think your decreased budget will hold it better. Oh, and since you plan to overclock, don't bother with the 4600+. Instead, overclock your single core 3800+ to 4600+ speeds. Booya!

If you're megamultitasker, then well you probably do need an X2. If you go single core now, you can always upgrade to dual later down the road.

 

[corvetteguy]

No the X2 3800+ will not bottleneck at all. However, because very few games currently utilize multicore processors (Quake 4 does, with a patch), you're better off getting a single core if all you're doing is gaming. The single core can produce slightly better results in single-threaded games (which most games are). But you don't watch frames so you won't notice the difference. What you will notice is a heavier pocket book. Also, atleast in the states the SAPPHIRE X1800XT is a steal right now at $200. I think your decreased budget will hold it better. Oh, and since you plan to overclock, don't bother with the 4600+. Instead, overclock your single core 3800+ to 4600+ speeds. Booya!

If you're megamultitasker, then well you probably do need an X2. If you go single core now, you can always upgrade to dual later down the road.

The funny part is that almost all the single cores are more exspensive than the x2 3800 on the site i'm buying from. I think i'll stick with the 1900xtx. Mainly because i want to play oblivion(among other fps games) and thats a beast and is multithreaded and so will all new games.

Just glad it won't bottleneck, thats all i needed to know.

 

[shawnpaul3]

You're definitely on the right track. The bottleneck in gaming in most cases, if not all, is the GPU. You are getting a kick-butt GPU, so you'll be rock'n and roll'n for a good long while...a good 2 - 3 years.

 

[purdueguy]

Think about getting a 4200+? Here's an article on it being OC'd. It's socket AM2. Do you have socket 939 or AM2?

AMD 4200+ X2 Overclocked

It's not that much more than a 3800+, at least the AM2 version.

Anandtech had the X2 3800+ socket 939 going to 2.7GHz unlike the 4200+ AM2 above going to ~2.9 GHz. I've read where some people get lucky and get it to run stable at 3.0 GHz.

X2 3800+ Socket 939 OC'd

Don't know if the socket 939 version will OC as well as the AM2 version.

Even though the following uses the X1900XT in Xfire mode, it shows trends for various CPU's and the trend would roughly be the same for the single X1900XT.

CPU comparison with X1900XT in Xfire

Even though better performance is gained with better CPU's, the playability will be fine for "medium" settings. I'm sure once all the bells & whistles are turned on for some games, the CPU will become the limiting factor somewhere but hey, Oblivion stresses out even the X6800 & GX2.

Sweet deal on the X1900XTX!!

 

[bliq]

I can tell you that Oblivion plays at all high settings pretty well at 16x12 on a X1900XT and a X2 4200+

You do need a patched driver to turn HDR and AA though. (the "chuck" patch I believe it's called).

 

[corvetteguy]

Just thought I'd update this thread.

I missed the sale because they didn't get back to me about availability about my case in time, turns out they won't have any more. So i was mad, but then a new sale,(I completely forgot about labour day), came and the xtx went down from reg $460, to $430 then $420, and i'm like sweet ten less bucks lol. Then i look farther down, and i see a saphire lite retail x1900xt for $370, WOW, thats down from $500 overnight and down from the $416 of the discontinued ati version. Also the 3800 and 4200 went down the 3800 is $179 from $200 and the 4200 is $219 from $230. So i think i'll get the 3800 and xt like i was before only for cheaper lol. Anyways thanks for the help, i know about stuff like this but wasn't sure about the xtx 3800 combo cuz i've never seen a combo like that, low end cpu, uber gpu lol. Anyways thanks.