best $100 processor

[leckig]

I am putting a system together for a friend, he does some gamming but this will be lower midrange system, most probably with GT 7600 or maybe 7900 GS card ( card budget about $150-$200). what processor to get for it? I am lost now with all this conroe hype... I thought to spend not more then $130 for the CPU.

Thank you guys for help with this.

 

[happy_fanboy]

I'd recommend a single core socket AM2 Athlon 64, youll spend less than 100 for one of those and they work awesome for games and conventional computing. You can save some cash by buying a Geforce 6100 motherboard too, those are really good chipsets and run much cooler than the Nforce 500 series. Only drawback is no SLI but thats a pipe dream anyways.

Processor

Motherboard

 

[purdueguy]

Well, if the card budget is $200, then I'd suggest getting this X1900GT. It's $202.12.

For under 100 bucks since that was your title, this Pentium D 805 Smithfield will overclock like crazy. It might be "old", but it's dual core.

Do you already have a mobo picked out? If not, just make sure it will support C2D also. That way when you friend wants to upgrade, it'll be very easy for him to get something much better.

 

[brick88]

id recommend getting an athlon 64 3000+. its about 70 or 80 dollars. spend the remainding 20 dollars on a good aftermarket heatsink/fan. my friend has a 3000+ and it is extremely overclockable.

 

[losergamer04]

I like the 805, then you can get a good HSF or cheat watercooler and OC later.
A X1900GT is the videocard I would get.
Make suer the Mobo can do C2D.

 

[aequalsb]

The best processor in the 130 range is the AMD64 X2 3800+. This is dual core, you may find a single core slightly faster clock, and speed but any multi-threaded software would not perform as well as the X2

I dunno, I mean like so many things run in the background that having that extra core seems to help. Sometimes when i'm playing bf2 and stupid norton wants to run a scan it wont even slow my comp. down. When i was running single core, good luck. The dam thing would most often lock up.

Andy

 

[aequalsb]

yeah yeah, i know, Norton :roll:

 

[o29]

Well, while Core 2 is a very good processor, if you're on a tight budget, you're only going to be able to afford a low-end motherboard, and I speak from experience when I say that low-end motherboard are generally cheap for a reason.

Also, the 805 isn't really a good choice. There are better AMD processors for the same price (even if you consider overclockability).

 

[aequalsb]

Well, while Core 2 is a very good processor, if you're on a tight budget, you're only going to be able to afford a low-end motherboard, and I speak from experience when I say that low-end motherboard are generally cheap for a reason.

Also, the 805 isn't really a good choice. There are better AMD processors for the same price (even if you consider overclockability).

I agree about the 805 not being a good choice. I think the amd's mentioned above are good as long as they are dual core.

I have 7 systems running on "cheap" boards and they are all fine. Three are C2D's and haven't had any problems yet. The E6300 w/mobo for 169.00 is a totally awesome deal. If you can swing it, go for it. Downside is that it only takes a AGP. Maybe a 6800 or 7600 for around 150.00 to go w/ it.

Cant go wrong w/ a E6300. Good luck man.
E6300 for $169

 

[o29]

Yeah, I'll admit that I've actually heard mostly good things about the low-end Core 2 boards. I've never had one, but as far as low-end AMD boards go, I've had a lot of problems with them. Maybe I just had some bad luck, but I'm never going back to budget motherboards (regardless of overclocking).

 

[leckig]

Thanks guys thats plenty of tips! i am thinking maybe going for single core Athlon 64 could be good idea, probably on AM2 board. Someone suggested getting Pentium D, is this really good idea? maybe rather single core Pentium? I am really bad in intel processors as I always supported AMD, even during the K6 times - you guys may not remember this .

 

[o29]

You should go AMD if you're not going to go with Core 2. The only worthwhile offering from Intel right now is Conroe.

For $100 you could go with an Athlon or Opty. Whether you want single or dual core is really up to you, but I personally would recommend dual core.

The Opteron 148 is a very good single core processor for $106.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103596

It has excellent overclocking capability, and even if you leave it at stock speed, it should still be fast enough.

Unfortunately, it's socket 939. I don't know if you're willing to go with 939 or not. If you're going with AM2, you're going to want something like the Athlon 3200+ (there aren't many AM2's for under $100), which is a good processor, but the Opty is faster, more reliable, and will overclock better. It depends on how willing you are to buy another motherboard next time you want another processor upgrade. You'll need one if you go with 939, but with AM2 you might not.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103637

If you want to venture into dual core, the 939 3800+ X2 is only $108 right now. It's an excellent deal, and I think that's ultimately your best bet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103531

Again, though, that's socket 939, so take that into consideration regarding future upgrades.

Unfortunately, the AM2 3800+ X2 is a good $61 more expensive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103735

EDIT: Ok, I was accidentally looking at the single core 3800+ instead of the dual core X2. Sorry for that mistake. The 939 X2 3800+ isn't actually on sale at NewEgg right now. AMD discontinued the manufacturing of them, so I guess they're finally running out. I'm sure you could find one somewhere else, though, but it'll probably be around $150, so that kind of invalidates my point about the 939 vs AM2 pricing. $108 did seem rather cheap...

 

[Newf]

I am putting a system together for a friend, he does some gamming but this will be lower midrange system, most probably with GT 7600 or maybe 7900 GS card ( card budget about $150-$200). what processor to get for it? I am lost now with all this conroe hype... I thought to spend not more then $130 for the CPU.

Thank you guys for help with this.

If you do this on the cheap:
MSI P965 Neo-F LGA775 965 ATX Conroe $93+6 10/15/06
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130052
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=P965_Neo-F&class=mb
Intel PentiumD 805 $90+0 10/15/06
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116001

Then you can upgrade later to Conroe (or better) down the road.

 

[Guest]

I dont know if this site is legit or not, but the 3500+ AM2 is $83 HERE
. Its OEM, but I dont know the difference.
I just Froogled.

 

[Invader]

oem means if your lucky they hand you the item in a plastic bag and you get an install cd. Oem processors often come with no fan/heatsink and have only a 30 day warranty, rather than 3 years with a retail box, or whatever.

 

[choirbass]

If you want to venture into dual core, the 939 3800+ X2 is only $108 right now. It's an excellent deal, and I think that's ultimately your best bet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103531

thats for the 3800+ single core (2.4GHz)... the s939 dual cores are closer to the sAM2 dual cores prices, within a few dollars either way

as far as an opinion on performance... a single core will hinder performance all around (in both single and multithreaded apps), compared to a dual core or greater, simply because the OS can manage cpu usage better between multiple cores... making 'literally' every app perform smoother, gaming is probably an app where its most noticable/visible though, since things are constantly interacting and moving around, and pauses are much more appearant then.

 

[o29]

You're right. I'm retarded.

Sorry. :/

I thought that was quite a large price difference between 939 and AM2, but I figured it might have something to do with the fact that the 939 are now discontinued...

But there would probably be no real reason to drop the price even lower, as I'm sure they were selling just fine at ~$150.

So I was wrong. I'll edit my original post.

 

[choirbass]

its no big deal, we all make mistakes

 

[leckig]

thats for the 3800+ single core (2.4GHz)... the s939 dual cores are closer to the sAM2 dual cores prices, within a few dollars either way

as far as an opinion on performance... a single core will hinder performance all around (in both single and multithreaded apps), compared to a dual core or greater, simply because the OS can manage cpu usage better between multiple cores... making 'literally' every app perform smoother, gaming is probably an app where its most noticable/visible though, since things are constantly interacting and moving around, and pauses are much more appearant then.

this is what I thought, but then, if you look at the CPU tests on this site (charts) seems like most games still "prefers" faster single core processors. The question is - will this change soon? Dual core are around 50% mroe expensive (I noticed the mistake above as well)

 

[jimw428]

The best processor in the 130 range is the AMD64 X2 3800+.

Good luck finding one for $130. The prices for the X2 3800 have been trending upward lately since the supply is drying up. I recently searched for one and couldn't find anything under $150. If you want dual core for around $100, the Intel 805 is about the only thing in that price range.

If you're content with single core, AMD has several great products for around $100, the 3700+ being a very good choice at about $90.

Another thing to consider when thinking about AMD2 and LGA 775 CPU's is the cost of DDR2 memory. It's almost as bad as gasoline, with prices going up every day.

 

[choirbass]

thats for the 3800+ single core (2.4GHz)... the s939 dual cores are closer to the sAM2 dual cores prices, within a few dollars either way

as far as an opinion on performance... a single core will hinder performance all around (in both single and multithreaded apps), compared to a dual core or greater, simply because the OS can manage cpu usage better between multiple cores... making 'literally' every app perform smoother, gaming is probably an app where its most noticable/visible though, since things are constantly interacting and moving around, and pauses are much more appearant then.

this is what I thought, but then, if you look at the CPU tests on this site (charts) seems like most games still "prefers" faster single core processors. The question is - will this change soon? Dual core are around 50% mroe expensive (I noticed the mistake above as well)

well... it is dependant also on the individual users setup, so performance will change from user to user, if they have absolutely nothing else running other than the minimal amount of required processes, and the game itself... a single core will definetly suffice... but the more a user has running in the background, the more its appearant that their single core is being eaten up as far as usage, with even occasional peaks and such, and hiccups in performance will occur every so often... having lots of memory can help that matter too though

as far as multithreaded games with a dual core though too (typically benches are run under ideal conditions too), not only do you get the additional performance if its coded (depending also on how well the game was coded to take advantage of multiple cores, either by a patch, from the ground up, or otherwise), and you can get additional features too if theyre coded, (that a single core would simply be overburdoned by)... not to mention the removed performance hiccups due to extra processes and such. There are already a noticable few games that are multithreaded too, as you were asking, if you search on google, im sure you can locate a list. 4 games offhand that come to mind are AoE3, TES: Oblivion, B&W2, and BF2.

 

[losergamer04]

Here is my recomendation.


I know it aint the best, but the D805 can OC and be goof for future use. Buy it and later on buy a decent liquid cooling later. The new Gigabyte is suposed to be great for around $150.

Make sure the mobo can do C2D or C2Q. Spend the extra on the motherboard. That way you can upgrade after your D805 OC'ed is useless . Concider that you will have a liquid cooling at that point too.

Only get 2X512 memory. Intel does not take the preformance hit that AMD does when you populate all 4 slots.

The X1950 Pro just came out. It can do XFire without the dongle and is only supposed to be around $200. If it aint out yet, it will be soon.


This all may not be the best tech, it may even be old, but if you do it right, you can be ready for the better stuff when you need to be.
EDIT: Does anyone else find it funny that it is easier to tell someone how to spend their money and it is so hard to spend your own?