AMD Athlon II X4 620 - How is it for gaming?

[nitric0]

Hey guys I was looking into this quad core processor. Getting mixed input from reviews I've been reading. How is this processor for gaming? I am looking to get this for Starcraft 2 and other future PC titles. Will this hold up? Apparently the lack of L3 cache hurts it but a quad core for $90 is a damn steal, no? Or should I get another CPU in that price range <$95

 

[triplebug]

I don't own a AMD processor, but toms' review Best Gaming CPU is gonna help you.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-core-i5-phenom-ii,2620-3.html

 

[moody89]

Its true that the lack of L3 cache will mean it won't perform as well as the Phenom II X4 chips however I would say that this processor would be more than enough for gaming. As you said its a bargain at its price. Of course you also have the option of overclocking this chip. With good ventilation and an aftermarket cooler I've heard this chip can be overclocked up to 3.5GHz without any trouble. Gaming performance is determined more by the GPU nowadays so as long as you have a good GPU backed up by a solid CPU and RAm then you should be good to go. I don't think the Athlon II X4 will let you down.

 

[enzo matrix]

I have the Athlon IIx4 620 at 3.25GHz stock voltage and cooling and it is more than I will ever need with my Radeon 3870. Even 2.6GHz would be enough.

 

[xaira]

i could throw anything i could at the one i had and it would just smile and ask for more, its a gr8 cpu, and he c3 stepping is soooo easy to cool, it wudnt get to more than 41* even at 35* ambient under load, its wonderfull

 

[Computerrock1]

The Athlon ii's are great because they have a great amount of power, they use less power then the Phenom ii's, they are cooler, but best of all, are the least amount you will have to pay for a quad core.

 

[warmon6]

As everyone else said, it wont be as good as the Phenom II's but It's still very good cpu.

 

[nitric0]

Thanks a lot guys. I will tag this with a 9800 GT and 2GB ram for now and 2GB down the road. hopefully this lasts me a while

 

[nitric0]

I don't own a AMD processor, but toms' review Best Gaming CPU is gonna help you.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-core-i5-phenom-ii,2620-3.html

If I OC a 620 to 2.9 GHzis it basically a 635 or do they have different architecture?

 

[moody89]

Nope they have exactly the same architecure so yes if you overclock this you achieve the equivalent of an Athlon II X4 630 and 635. You should be able to accomplish both of these with ease. Best of luck!

 

[xaira]

actually if you oc the 620 to 2.9 it will actually give you better performance theoretically, because by raising the fsb, you also raise the memory speed, the ht and the nb clock

 

[moody89]

actually if you oc the 620 to 2.9 it will actually give you better performance theoretically, because by raising the fsb, you also raise the memory speed, the ht and the nb clock

Good point, I didn't actually think about that