[Solved] Best Budget AM3 Processor

Alright, i need a new budget core for a gaming rig i have. physically busted my old AMD 7750 (we all make mistakes), so i need a replacement, however, since this was not planned upgrade, I'm on a short list.

heres my system:
Gigabyte ga-ma78gm-us2h motherboard
2 x 2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800 RAM
9600GT (have a 9800gtx+ i may put in when i get something new in a different system)
500GB Hitachi deskstar HDD
OCZ 700W Modular PSU
Windows XP Pro SP3

I need a suitable PC, and I have a lot of options:
Phenom II X3 710 - $133.30
Phenom II X2 550 - $133.29
Phenom II X2 545 - $127.92
Athlon II X3 435 - $123.16
Athlon II X3 425 - $113.65
Athlon II X2 250 - $95.89
Athlon II X2 245 - $84.74

These are all the possible option i have, though i don't really want to be spending too much more than 100$ unless it is really worth it. these are all in canadian dollars. They are all great value processors, but what is the best bang for my buck here?

thanks in advance guys!

I agree. It's cheaper than the x3 Athlon IIs you have listed and is a quad core. It's only clocked 100MHz less than the x3. Appearently, it also does well with overclocking. Canada Computers has it on for $108 last time I checked.

The x3 is great but they seem to be so overpriced you might as well get an x4.

If you want something that will perform a bit better than your old processor as opposed to upgrading with this buy, go for the Athlon IIx2 240 at 2.8GHz. Canada Computers has it on for $67.99 last I checked.

Both processors will be fine with gaming on your current build.
http://canadacomputers.com/

Get a Athlon II X4 620 and OC it to ~3.2ghz

OR

Get a Phenom II 550BE and OC it to ~3.8ghz

If you are mostly gaming the 550BE will give you better performance for a good while until more games get quad core optimized, and actually utilize it more. Not to menion the 550 is better clock for clock, core for core as well cause of the L3.

+1 on the x4 , get it and oc' to 3.2 .

So the choice is either a phenom ii 550 or athlon ii x4 620. I don't think I'm even able to unlock the third or more cores. I'll definetly be overclocking as much as I can. Do you guys still think either one of those twoprocessors would be the best choice. Thanks!

+1 X4 620, keep it stock unless you Really need the extra juice


Where in Canada are you located ?
If you are within 1 hour of montreal I can get you some good prices without shipping.

You wont necessarily be able to unlock the cores on the PII, dont buy it and expecting 100% that you'll be able to unlock the cores because alot of them cant. I would go for the AII 620 and overclock the hell out of it.

I'd go with the 620 of the 2 choices listed. Keep an eye out for the PhenomII x3 720 though, if it drops within your budget i'd go that way.

^ good news, good price and a good CPU.