Tom's Hardware > Forum > CPU & Components > CPUs > [CPUs] Finding the right CPU
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Deathstrike   05-24-2009 at 11:54:55 AM

Hi everybody,

I have not kept up to date on the latest CPUs and am thoroughly confused. The last CPU I bought was a E6400 during the summer of 2006 and it still works fine, playing the latest games and what not.

I'm now looking for the right CPU for my little brother that is entering college. I do not want to give him the short end of the stick, but I do not want to spend a fortune. I want a CPU that will last him a couple of years and will be able to play games decently for that time. I've been looking at the barebone configurations and combination that many online sites are offering, but that just adds to the confusion.

Here is one that I am interested in:
Athlon 64 X2 7750 + motherboard = ~$115-$130
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Spec [...] 051809_HPG

Is it sufficient for what I am asking? I feel that it's a bit on the low end side.

Should I venture into the Phenoms? They are relatively inexpensive and are the latest processors for AMD. (It looks like they start around $120 range) How are the present day C2D?

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mildiner86   05-24-2009 at 01:14:02 PM
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hmmm u have a C2D and are considering an amd Dual core personally i dont think its a good choice. if i where you id look at the phenom II's as in the future more cores will prolly be very hepful.

also is ur current motherboard able to support core 2 quads cause if so a q6600 may be a good option as they overclock happily to 3 Ghz

------------------------------ Q6600 @ 3Ghz
8800 Ultra
4GB OCZ 1:1 ratio
2 x 500GB WD RAID 0
Reply to mildiner86
NeilCar   05-24-2009 at 03:24:22 PM
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I appologize for highjacking this thread because I am new and I am probably asking the obvious. Why is the q6600 so popular? It is more expensive than the q8200, q8300, and q8400 and appears to be no faster and slower in the case of the q8400. What am I missing? The q6600 looks like it has actually increased in price over the last year even considering the new socket introduction which I figured would drop the price. Sorry for my ignorance.

Message quoted 2 times
Reply to NeilCar
Deathstrike   05-24-2009 at 10:37:17 PM
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AMD Phenom X4 9150e 1.8GHz, 4GB DDR2, 500GB HDD, DVDRW, Vista Home Premium 64-bit ~ $435
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] M975-10070

AMD Phenom X3 8400 2.1GHz, 3GB DDR2, 640GB HDD, DVDRW, Vista Home Premium ~ $445
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] =F12-20002

Definitely going to buy a video card, may need another power supply since I think 300W is what they give you.

How are those?

Reply to Deathstrike
Raidur   05-24-2009 at 11:41:14 PM
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Those CPUs are no good. The 7750 X2 you had picked out would walk all over these CPUs (in those computers you had picked out) in games, mostly because (most) games don't use 4 CPU cores and the 7750 is clocked a lot higher. And it's a steal at the price.

Check out Tom's Charts http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/ for CPU, that should give you an idea of performance levels of different processors.


Message edited by Raidur on 05-25-2009 at 12:12:11 AM
------------------------------ Intel Q9550 @ 3.6Ghz 1.23v / Abit Quad GT IX38 CrossFire / 4870 1GB /
2x2GB Gskill DDR2-1066 / WD Black 640GB / Rosewill 630w
 Reply to Raidur
ausch30   05-25-2009 at 12:17:36 AM
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NeilCar wrote :

I appologize for highjacking this thread because I am new and I am probably asking the obvious. Why is the q6600 so popular? It is more expensive than the q8200, q8300, and q8400 and appears to be no faster and slower in the case of the q8400. What am I missing? The q6600 looks like it has actually increased in price over the last year even considering the new socket introduction which I figured would drop the price. Sorry for my ignorance.



For future reference, start a new thread.

There are a lot of people out there with motherboards that fastest CPU their capable of using is the Q6600. Say for instance many of the 680i boards only support the 65nm quads and 1 or 2 of the 45nm dual cores like the E8400. Those people that don't have the money to upgrade their system but want to upgrade the CPU would be forced to buy one of the older, overpriced CPU's. The same thing will happen as the Q9650 gets a little older since it's the fastest, quad core, non extreme, socket 775 CPU that will ever be produced.


Message edited by ausch30 on 05-25-2009 at 12:18:08 AM
Reply to ausch30
mindless728   05-25-2009 at 12:30:39 AM
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if you are going AMD, go Phenom II X4 940 BE or X3 720 BE

Reply to mindless728
eklipz330   05-25-2009 at 12:46:24 AM
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the phenomII x3's shud be more than suitable for anything you need to get done... so get that for your bro with a cheap mobo and your set..


Message edited by eklipz330 on 05-25-2009 at 12:46:36 AM
Reply to eklipz330
buzznut   05-25-2009 at 05:52:50 AM
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I agree, the phenom II X3 720 BE is a champ that will actually use the 3rd core for games. Get a deal on a mobo combo and go to it!

Reply to buzznut
Curnel_D   05-25-2009 at 05:58:59 AM
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NeilCar wrote :

I appologize for highjacking this thread because I am new and I am probably asking the obvious. Why is the q6600 so popular? It is more expensive than the q8200, q8300, and q8400 and appears to be no faster and slower in the case of the q8400. What am I missing? The q6600 looks like it has actually increased in price over the last year even considering the new socket introduction which I figured would drop the price. Sorry for my ignorance.


And for a better answer, the Q6600 is probably the most documented and easily overclocking processor avaliable. This procc reaches 3.8Ghz with little to no effort.

Reply to Curnel_D
cjl   05-25-2009 at 06:05:11 AM
- 0 +

The 6600?

Nah. It'll reach 3.4-3.6 for a G0, but to go 3.8 reliably, you need a 45nm CPU, like the Q9550.

------------------------------ Asus P6T deluxe
i7 965 @ 4.2GHz (200*21), 1.384V
12GB Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600 CAS 7
 Reply to cjl
loneninja   05-25-2009 at 06:14:21 AM
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Q6600 is popular due to low FSB and higher multiplier than the Q8XXX series, price has gone up due to demand and the fact that it is EOL.

As to this debate, the original Phenom is only a good option if you need a cheap quad. The Phenom II X3 is in the same price range and will out perform Phenom in almost all tasks, your better off with a Phenom II X3.

Reply to loneninja
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