Decisions...decisions

[mad-dog]

Hypothetical situation, you're working with a AMD based system incorporating DDR2 and a Athlon 64 X2 4200+ AM2 CPU.
One day you decide that your no longer satisfied with your processor and you begin the hunt for more speed and more processing power.
On the same note you also know there are better options available than AMD, (Intel C2D) but a change in motherboard and RAM is out of the question for obvious reasons.
Of the following CPU's which one would you choose to upgrade too..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCompare.asp?Category=34&Brand=1028&N=2010340343+50001028+1051720996+1302820275&Submit=ENE&Nty=1&SubCategory=343&CompareItemList=N82E16819103759%2CN82E16819105018%2CN82E16819105019
Where does the line of diminishing results start and end and what's more important, L2 cache or processor speed...?

Thanx in advance for your opinions and replies.

 

[shinigamiX]

I'd get any one of the Opterons.

 

[4745454b]

Why am I no longer happy with my system? Due to the IMC, the extra L2 cache won't help much for most situations. The difference of 200MHz to 400MHz can be overcome with either overclocking or ignore the small difference of 200MHz. Considering that either of the two options will run me over $300, why do I need to spend this much for so little gains?

Removing spyware/virus/crap from your computer and overclocking will give you more speed. Spending the $300+ on a new harddrive for storage space or a newer faster video card will give you more FPS then the CPU upgrade. (without having the system specs however, I'm only guessing here. Providing system specs and the why the new CPU is needed would be a help.)

 

[WR]

None. I'd overclock the 4200+, which should reach 2.6GHz at the least and probably 2.8 or 2.9GHz with a top air cooler. The difference in L2 cache is minimal due to the K8 design of direct memory access and exclusive L1 cache.

The next worthwhile AM2 CPU upgrade is not due till around next summer.

There are other system components which can greatly affect performance... limited RAM (check task manager), slow/cluttered hard drives (use 10k RPM, NTFS), graphics card for games... not to mention software misconfigurations and leaving unnecessary background tasks running.