Intel E7400 or AMD Phenom 2 X3 710

[xsever]

Hey everyone,

I am going to be building a new system soon.

I had the E7400 in mind, but saw the price of the X3 710 (@ 120$) and thought I should consider it.

I will be using the system for gaming, and the other routine stuff (browsing, light photoshop, encoding, extracting/compressing)

I will also be able to overclock the E7400 to an easy 3.2 Ghz.

Which CPU do you think is a better bang for the buck since I do not want to spend more than 120$ on the CPU.

My GPU is probably going to be the ATI HD4830.

Thanks in advance,

 

[Dekasav]

I'd go for the X3 710. It overclocks well like the E7400's and has a third core. Go with the third core.

 

[spathotan]

Go with the X3.

 

[sid_nag17]

go for the x3 720 its got an unlocked multiplier and overclocks like hell and takes on the e8400 and beats in some benchies and why go fot the 4830 when u can get the 4850 for a few xtra bucks??? happy gaming!

 

[xsever]

Thanks guys. Any specific motherboard for 100$? I read about the 4th core unlocking and I would like to have a motherboard that is capable of doing it.

Could you please suggest me some?

 

[sid_nag17]

the 4th core unlocking is mostly rumored to be on biostar mobos any way if u dont plan on crsfx then the gigabyte GA-MA78GPM-DS2H should suffice its a very good board and u can use the onboard graphics for hybrid crossfire here is the link

http://www.gigabyte.in/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ClassValue=Motherboard&ProductID=2859&ProductName=GA-MA78GPM-DS2H

 

[The Third Level]

I recommend you bump the X3 up to the 720 BE, it's got an unlocked multiplier, it overclocks very well, it has the extra core over the 7400, and its only $20 more.

 

[xsever]

So an AM3 socket processor would work perfectly fine with an AM2+ motherboard ( with the latest bios update for sure)?

Could you guys give me some more info on the stock heatsink/fan that comes with the new AM3s and the idle temps?

 

[sid_nag17]

+1 to third level the x3 720 is a black edition and u can overclock it like hell and yes all am3 cpu's are am2+ compatible.
will check out and let u know about the idle temps.

oh btw the 720be when oced beats the e8200 as well!

 

[sid_nag17]

sorry e8400

 

[The Third Level]

Yeah the AM3 Phenom IIs are backwards compatible with AM2+ mobos and can use DDR2 as well.

 

[xsever]

That is great. Being backward compatible and able to use DDR2 is really convenient.

I am asking about the idle temps because I plan on overclocking with the stock heatsink/fan. The only thing I will change is the stock thermal compound to ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 for 7$.

I will look for idle temps on google, but try to give me an idea guys.

Thanks,

 

[xsever]

What do you guys think of the GIGABYTE GA-MA780G-UD3H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G instead of the DS2H.

The UD3H is a bit cheaper and seems to have better reviews than the DS2H.

Any comments on this?

 

[spathotan]

Wow, that didnt take long.

Dont go buying this chip thinking you can just "bump" it to a X4. If thats youre reason for wanting this chip then just dont buy it.

 

[xsever]

Nope. I am perfectly fine with 3 cores. As you can see, I am looking at Gigabyte motherboards which cannot unlock the 4th core!

 

[sid_nag17]

both mobos are very good it depends on how much u wanna splurge on them!!!

remember more the sugar sweeter it is!

 

[sid_nag17]

go for the 720be its a beast of a proccy if u r still unsure check out this review to be absolutely sure

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/phenom_ii_x3_720be/3.html

hope this helps and happy gaming!

 

[xsever]

Thanks for the link. Seems to be a solid CPU.

Any word on temps and how far it can be pushed with stock HSF and ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 for example?

 

[The Third Level]

I've heard it can go 4.2 on air.
Now I highly doubt that it's going to happen for everyone, but i think if u invest about 20 bucks in an aftermarket cooler you can OC that sucker up to 3.7-ish.

 

[sid_nag17]

so wat are u still thinking about order that baby!

 

[sid_nag17]

oh do get the 4850 and post some benchies!

 

[xsever]

I am not going to start building until a month from now. I am buying some of the components as they are on sale. I got an Antec Earthwatts 500W for 40$ (70 regular). I do not want to buy any of the serious components since prices might drop till then. I just want to have an idea of what is going to be a better bang for the buck.

 

[The Third Level]

Yeah.

Now let me tell you something, even with OCing I recomming sticking with one good vid car as opposed to two mediocre ones in an SLI/CF setup. The reason is, the Phenom II is great, but not insanely amazing performance wise - which makes sense, considering its price. It'll bottleneck dual GPUs . With a single GPU + OC'd 720, you'll be a happy man.

 

[xsever]

I am planning on buying the 4830 unless the 4850's price drops a month or two from now. I will start my build as soon as my semester is over, which means late April. Till then, I can research everything pretty well, so that I have a list of options to go with at the end. I will not be going the SLI/CF way though for sure.

 

[sid_nag17]

u r right but the 720be is good enough to handle 1 single 4850!

and u know wat i ran my 9600gt on a p4 3ghz which bottlenecked it by only 5% compared to c2d proccessors so u need not worry about bottlenecking and 4850 prices will drop soon as the new 4950,4970 and 4970x2 will be launched in march ny ati!