Phenom II x4 925, 945, or 955BE??

irish88

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I'm working on my first build and am trying to figure out which CPU to get

I'm pretty about getting one of the three below but am open to suggestions as well

(I am using a AM3 MoBo: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128397)

AMD Phenom II X4 925 Deneb 2.8GHz 95W $140.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103656


AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 125W $165.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674


AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz 95W $165.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103696

I've never overclocked before but won't rule out playing with it in the future.
Does anyone know if the stock cooling is sufficient for the phenom II CPUs?

I think any one of these will be overkill for the tasks I will be performing (no gaming) but is it worth the extra $20 to get the 945 or 955?
Also would a 95W CPU be better simply for cooling purposes. I am using a Micro ATX MoBo, so will that contribute to any heating problems. I haven't heard/read anything about that but with the components in a smaller area, I figured it may make a difference.


Thanks for any help
 

irish88

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This is most of what I will be using the computer for:
web (school, Hulu, basic stuff), Matlab, PSPICE (circuit simulation software), visual studio, itunes, word/excel/pp, and maybe some other simple code compiler or circuit simulator.

I do end up doing a good amount of multitasking and the Quad cores are getting cheaper so I figured quad was the way to go.
 

AMW1011

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The Phenom II X4 925 is plenty fast and will do gaming and apps just fine. The reason it is so much cheaper is that it does not have an unlocked multiplier, but it still will be able to do 3.6-3.8 GHz when overclocked and may do 4.0 GHz too if your lucky.

Since you don't do many intensive tasks and no gaming you should probably opt for the Athlon II X4 620 which is only $100 and only sacrifices the L3 cache which makes very little difference and can do intensive tasks and high end gaming as well when overclocked.
 

BadTrip

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Since when is Matlab not CPU intensive?
 

BadTrip

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Get the best one you can afford.
 

irish88

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I had also looked at the Athlon II X4 620 and 630. I tried looking around this and other forums to find benefits of the L3 Cache and couldn't really find anything solid as to how much it helped so I figured I would be safe a get a CPU with it.

If you don't mind, what are the benefits of it?

If I do go with an Athlon, should I opt for the 630 to get 2.8 GHz for the extra ~$12 (I think it was $12 on newegg)
 

irish88

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Good Point. I just figured that I don't game, so the CPU won't be getting as much of a workout as most people building gaming systems and running pretty demanding stuff for several hours at a time.
 

irish88

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Any thoughts on 95W or 125W CPUs?
I had gotten an impression that the 95W CPUs come out later and that allows AMD to make any small adjustment to better the CPU if needed. I had read that somewhere today ... but there's a lot of stuff on the internet. I didn't know if there was anything to it. Plus they should run cooler right?

Stock cooling any good? Different CPUs seems to get mixed review with loud fans mentioned on some.
 

AMW1011

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I hadn't read that post when I posted. Besides if he clocks either the Athlon X4 620 or Phenom II X4 925 to at least 3.0 GHz, and possibly much farther, he will do fine in Matlab.



The $12 isn't really worth it. Get yourself this heatsink and overclock like hell! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-CPU+Cooling-_-XIGMATEK-_-35233003
 

irish88

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I had been leaning toward the 95W, so then the 945 would be your recommendation? Does it offer $20 worth of improvement over the 925?

For no overclocking, stock should be okay then?

Can I use the stock cooler for a while then change it if/when I decide to overclock, or is it impractical to fight with the adhesive to change it out?

Sorry to ask a bunch of questions.
I appreciate you help.
 

BadTrip

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I would say it would be worth the $20. I wished cjl was here tonight to help with the cpu since he runs matlab.


The stock cooler will be fine for running stock or a slight overclock. It can be easily changed when overclocking temps become an issue.

No problem with the questions. Thats what this forum is for.

 

irish88

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So

Option 1:
Athlon II x4 620 + heatsink & overclock for sure (need to learn), $100 + 23 (after MIR) =$123

Option 2:
Phenom II x4 925 (possible overclocking, but would need heatsink), $141 (+$23?) = $141/164

Option 3:
Phenom II x4 925 or 945 (possible overclocking, but would need heatsink) =$166 (+$23?) = $166/189

Option4: ???

performance is more a a driving issue than money as the phenom II is within my budget (though I wasn't planning on a heatsink as well but that sacrifice can be made if need be) but if the phenom is way too much overkill already then I wouldn't bother overclocking or upgrading to the 945 or 955.

I'm just trying to get something that will cover my needs/wants of my computer, and I don't know how much is too much.
 

irish88

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The 955 BE is only 125W right now. Maybe a dumb thing to focus on but does that make any difference?
 

pleasenoname

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I sucks up more wattage when you overclock it. If you downclock it, it will take less wattage.

In my opinion 945 is sufficient, but I'm building my first, so I have no idea.
I'm thinking of getting the 945 and 955BE also.

 

BradyT88

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I have the PhII 925 and I ran it on the stock cooler for a while and it should do you just fine for what you are running. I haven't ever used matlab but my old Athlon64 x2 4400+ that ran at 2.3GHz never gave me any troubles with my programming or gaming and that is much faster than our lab computers that they teach matlab on.

I bought a Corsair H50 and got it clocked up to 3.78 GHz. Doing a mild OC (~3.1 GHz)on the stock cooler at stock voltage should be no problem at all. Just make sure your ram is decent, maybe some 1333 or 1600 @ 7-7-7-24.