Heka Vs. Propus?

[CFTait]

Well, my 'expertise' on CPU's isn't all that great, but I would like to know which would be a better buy. the Phenom II X3 720(2.8 for $102.99 OEM) or the Athlon II X4 620(2.6 for $109.99)? Let me remind you, I currently have an Athlon II X2 250 from 3.0GHz to 3.5GHz(Max. without Over Volting)

I'm a gamer, so i believe that the Phenom would be beneficial to that, but I would also like to get into Video editing, soon, which the Athlon would be beneficial to, so you can see my problem here. I've been in the middle, after I saw this.

I'm also going to be Overclocking, to squeeze out the most performance possible, which the X3 would come out on top, I believe, as it's a BE and the possibility of unlocking the 4th Core, which sounds great or go with the guaranteed 4th core in the Propus, oi, computers can be so stressful

All help is appreciated and thank you in advance!



CFTait.

 

[EXT64]

Yeah, you do have quite a dilemma :lol: . From what I've seen, both chips should be good OCers, so that makes up for some of the clock differential. However, I'd probably suggest the X3 for its gaming performance gaming. It will still be good for editing/rendering, and a few extra seconds/minutes won't be a big deal. I wouldn't throw unlocking into the decision as that might not work, so think of it more as the "icing" if it does.

 

[Pro Llama]

Well, my 'expertise' on CPU's isn't all that great, but I would like to know which would be a better buy. the Phenom II X3 720(2.8 for $102.99 OEM) or the Athlon II X4 620(2.6 for $109.99)? Let me remind you, I currently have an Athlon II X2 250 from 3.0GHz to 3.5GHz(Max. without Over Volting)

I'm a gamer, so i believe that the Phenom would be beneficial to that, but I would also like to get into Video editing, soon, which the Athlon would be beneficial to, so you can see my problem here. I've been in the middle, after I saw this.

I'm also going to be Overclocking, to squeeze out the most performance possible, which the X3 would come out on top, I believe, as it's a BE and the possibility of unlocking the 4th Core, which sounds great or go with the guaranteed 4th core in the Propus, oi, computers can be so stressful

All help is appreciated and thank you in advance!



CFTait.

There is a regular and a BE 720. The Phenom II is a better architecture but the extra core of the athlon II will give you some head way in multithreaded apps. The higher the frequency the better it will perform in game in general. Do you know what video editing apps you will be using?

Another thing to keep in mind is that unlocking the forth core could limit your overclock due to the extra heat. The question is will you be gaming more or editing more? And which would you like better performance in?

 

[enzo matrix]

There is a regular and a BE 720. The Phenom II is a better architecture

I wouldn't exactly consider manufacturing the CPU without L3 cache enough to consider it a different architecture, but your point is the same.

From what I know, L3 cache can have up to 10-20% increase in performance for gaming, depending on who you ask and their system setup. The fact that there is a benefit is undeniable. Also, most current games do not use more than 3 cores. For that price, I would get the Phenom IIx3. Especially if it is a black edition.

I have an Athlon IIx4 overclocked on stock voltage to 3.25GHz stable. With my 3870, I can game anything that the 3870 can handle at the settings the 3870 can handle. So if you do go that route, depending on your video card, the CPU holding you back in gaming might not even be an issue, whichever you choose. What's your system setup and video card?

 

[CFTait]

My Video Card won't hold me back I have an XFX 5850 with 6GB DDR3 1066 @ 1248 RAM, ASUS M4A87TD EVO, Athlon X2 250 3.51GHz. My CPU is what is holding me back right now. I play at 1920x1080 and I do experience a bit of lag in BC2 as my CPU Load on both cores is around 70% when I'm NOT Moving

I wouldn't mind if the 4th core didn't unlock as I'm buying a triple core, not a Quad, as EXT64 said, it would be extra icing to the cake if it did. I'm not too sure which program(s) I would use, but I mainly use my computer to browse the interwebs and plays games, so I can save a few bucks and go with the X3. A couple minutes/ seconds won't hurt if I do start Video Editing.

 

[saaiello]

Phenom II x3 720 BE all the way the added L3 cache gives an added boost to gaming and the 4th core that might unlock which chances are pretty good that it will is an added bonus.

 

[enzo matrix]

In that case, get the 720.

 

[EXT64]

Let us know how the swap turns out, i.e. if you can tell a significant difference. i've been pondering a swap, however since my AII is in a "work" computer, I value its very low power consumption a lot.

 

[mosox]

I would get the 555 and unlock it. Actually I did that.

 

[CFTait]

Ya, but that's a Dual Core, I have a Dual Core, I wanted something with guaranteed cores, not possible cores. I don't mind if I only get 3, I'll be happy with it, but being stuck with 2 cores, is not what I'm looking for. Thanks for the suggestion though I have read a lot on the 555 BE, it's a good processor, but not for me

 

[EXT64]

Yeah, originally the impression I had was that unlocking was some amazing thing that almost all the chips could do, however since then I've heard enough failures/weird issues to think otherwise.

 

[CFTait]

Best answer selected by CFTait.