[CPUs] Hardware noob question

tomacco0

May 5, 2008 10:31:57 PM

Tom has $290 to spend and he can't decide between one of two options. Please help dumb dumb decide

Brief overview of what I currently have:
Mainboard: Asus M2V-TVM
CPU: AMD Athlon 3500+

Yes I'm desperate. XD

Option 1:
AMD - Phenom X4 9500 // $280

Option 2:
One of the Intel Core 2 Duos sockected into a new mainboard for under or just above $290.

I'm purchasing from http://www.thediscshop.com.au/ I have no choice ><
You can view their products from the menu on the left hand side.

Hope someone can make a helpful suggestion as to where this 16 year old should take his money..

More about : cpus hardware noob question

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Mondoman

May 5, 2008 10:39:34 PM

Neither is of any use without many more components. What did you have in mind, exactly?

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outlw6669

CPUs Expert

May 5, 2008 10:48:00 PM

Second Mondoman.

What are you planing to do with your machine?
I would be leaning towards the C2D setup, though.
The Phenoms are not bad but very under powered compared to much of Intel's offerings.

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rsetter1

May 5, 2008 11:06:26 PM

Can you put a Quad on Asus M2V-TVM?

You will need MB with both choices.

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chookman

May 5, 2008 11:43:39 PM

If you are only doing number crunching then either would be a great upgrade, however, if you are gaming you wont notice diddly difference as most games are GPU dependant.

By the way that mobo doesnt support AMD quads
http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

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dragonsprayer

May 6, 2008 12:01:21 AM

depending on the apps

if your encoding or photoshop get a quad

otherwise get a minimum of 2.8ghz dual core - weather you clock a 2.4 to 2.8

or buy a 2.8ghz chip if you can not oc

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tomacco0

May 6, 2008 3:50:51 AM

outlw6669 said:

Second Mondoman.

What are you planing to do with your machine?
I would be leaning towards the C2D setup, though.
The Phenoms are not bad but very under powered compared to much of Intel's offerings.

Games, rendering/encoding - everyday brings something new to my interest!

chookman said:

If you are only doing number crunching then either would be a great upgrade, however, if you are gaming you wont notice diddly difference as most games are GPU dependant.

By the way that mobo doesnt support AMD quads
http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

Hot damn.. didn't know that was even there hehehe

--

Ok, well I guess my mobo is ready for a replacement.. I'm still using a 7300 GS sooooo.. hmm. Perhaps I spend $230 on an X2 6000 then save the rest for a decent mainboard that won't go ut of style too quickly and go from there.

Money doesn't flow through my bank account like water.. Kinda like sand