Which AMD for gaming?

[reddragon0000]

ok guys I'm sure people have asked a hundred times...lol

I want to get an AMD cpu for gaming. Here are the 2 cpus i'm considering


Phenom X4 9850 quad core 2.5ghz

or

Phenom II X2 (duel core) 550 Black Edition 3.1 ghz

 

[randomizer]

Nothing else considered get the second one.

EDIT: Oops, missed the dual core part. Maybe go for a lower clocked Phenom II X4.

 

[mindless728]

i have a Phenom II X4 810, and it works great (undervolted to 1.2, normally 1.325 and stable)

also OC's well, can reach ~3.2ish pretty easily

 

[reddragon0000]

I'm not into overclocking, so I figured maybe the 3.1ghz would be better? or the ghz does not matter for gaming purposes

 

[loneninja]

Even though its only a dual core, that Phenom II will out perform the Phenom in most tasks due to the higher clock speed, and that includes most games.

 

[jennyh]

Get the 720 x3 which costs a bit more, or just go with the x2 550 if you really can't afford another $20 or so.

 

[reddragon0000]

The chip I am going to get later is the Phenom II X4 940 quad 3.0ghz, but I have to wait for the price to drop it is a but pricey right now at about $189.00, plus I heard right now quad cores are useless as Vista and most games only read 2 cores, is that correct?

 

[jj463rd]

Vista can fully utilize 4 cores.Most software (games) are not optimized for quad core CPU's but a select few titles are (Microsoft Flight Simulator X being one of the best examples).
The Phenom x4 9850 BE was AMD's last year CPU and you're much better off with the Phenom II series.The Phenom II x3 720 is a very good choice (bang for the buck) and so is the Phenom II x4 940 as well as other Phenom II CPU's.

 

[reddragon0000]

ok, decided to get the Phenom II X2 (duel core) 3.1ghz 550 BE for now. Once they roll out more games that are quad ready, i'll updgrade to a 3.0ghz quad core

 

[megamanx00]

Definetly Phenom II X2 (duel core) 3.1ghz 550 BE. The higher clock speed and newer architecture (slightly updated from older phenoms) will be of more use to you in games. It also runs cooler and uses less power . When it comes time for you to need even more power I hope you will consider overclocking it as the unlocked multiplier makes it easy to do.

 

[ssguy24]

its DUAL. DUAL means two DUEL means your CPU is facing off itself in a fight.

 

[reddragon0000]

I got the CPU,and it runs great! I did try overclock it using the multiplier only to 13x and my computer screen went blue and shut down...lol I think i'll have to leave it at 3.1ghz. Maybe this mother board (ASUS M3A78) is not good for overclocking.

 

[rooseveltdon]

I got the CPU,and it runs great! I did try overclock it using the multiplier only to 13x and my computer screen went blue and shut down...lol I think i'll have to leave it at 3.1ghz. Maybe this mother board (ASUS M3A78) is not good for overclocking.

wow only at 13x and it BSOD? did you disable spread and cool n quiet? sometimes those get in the way of a proper overclock

 

[reddragon0000]

did think about disabling that cool & quiet thingy...let me give it a shot XD

 

[AKM880]

Yep when you overclock don't run Cool & Qiuet.

 

[reddragon0000]

Sweeeet. I overclocked the multipler to 18x, got the GHz from 3.1 to 3.6ghz. My vista score went up from 5.6 to 5.8 XD. My CPU temp is 42-44c with no game play, not sure what it will go up to during game play. Disabling that cool & quiet worked, now do i attempt to get to 3.9ghz...ponders. I just don't want to mess with the voltage

 

[AKM880]

Remember to run stress tests.

 

[rooseveltdon]

Sweeeet. I overclocked the multipler to 18x, got the GHz from 3.1 to 3.6ghz. My vista score went up from 5.6 to 5.8 XD. My CPU temp is 42-44c with no game play, not sure what it will go up to during game play. Disabling that cool & quiet worked, now do i attempt to get to 3.9ghz...ponders. I just don't want to mess with the voltage

It is possible to reach 3.9 on a good cooler however for the 550 from what i have seen 3.6/3.7 is the sweet spot make sure you test the system and check the temps under heavy load as well,glad i could help.

 

[reddragon0000]

Thanks for all the advice, diffently comes in handy. I love this board, get some good advice here ^^

 

[witcherx]

keep it low... and save energy...3.0 stock or 3.6 does not make real difference to us users unless you doin a lot of photo/sound/video editing..... you can do all you can @ 3.0 what 1 can do @ 4.0... that is just a braggin right... its a great cpu.. surprise you already got 1 so early... after posting... have a great time with it...
i am planning to get that lower AMD 905e which is very energy efficient....
Cheers..

 

[mindless728]

^that right there is the reason for my htpc build im underclocking/undervolting that and to keep the heat down in a mATX slim case

 

[reddragon0000]