Will my CPU bottleneck my whole system?

[ninelivesproductions]

I'm planning to get a Phenom II x2 555 and I want to unlock the 2 cores... but if it doesn't work will it lower the performance of my HD 5770?

I hear that you can lose a good 20 fps in gaming if you dont have a good quad core processor for the most recent games...

Should I take the chance or drop another $60 on a quadcore?

 

[hunter315]

Who told you that?

Most games run perfectly fine on a dual core, the only game i know of that really requires a quad is GTA IV because it was poorly coded. Even if your PII 555 is bottle necking you it will be over 60 FPS so it wont really matter.

 

[Henry Chinaski]

I'm planning to get a Phenom II x2 555 and I want to unlock the 2 cores... but if it doesn't work will it lower the performance of my HD 5770?

I hear that you can lose a good 20 fps in gaming if you dont have a good quad core processor for the most recent games...

Not at all. It will work fine.
Anyway, that cpu overclocks very well and it's a pitty not to do it.
Moreover, You have a lot of probabilities for unlocking those 2 extra cores.
The Phenom II x2 555 is a great choice.

 

[ninelivesproductions]

Cool thanks for the replies both of you! I got the black edition (Its only $4 more ahaha) so I can try unlocking the 2 extra cores (I do lots of video editing on a pentium 4 which takes hours) so its more of a bonus to get a quad core for $100 because Im used to a single cored 2.6ghz processor.

3.2 ghz is FAST and theres two of them!!!

 

[ninelivesproductions]

If I do unlock the two cores I cant really afford to overclock as the aftermarket hsf wont take it very well, and I want to have a cold cpu. I might very SLIGHTLY overclock (To 3.4-3.6ghz) if I cant unlock the cores.

If I dont overclock should I be okay still? (Stock speed is 3.2ghz btw)

 

[ninelivesproductions]

Sorry This is my last question what is the speed of light in GHz? What is the highest possible speed of a cpu before it reaches that speed?

I dont know if that makes sense, but Im curious to know when I'd need to make another upgrade too in the future.

 

[Henry Chinaski]

If I do unlock the two cores I cant really afford to overclock as the aftermarket hsf wont take it very well, and I want to have a cold cpu. I might very SLIGHTLY overclock (To 3.4-3.6ghz) if I cant unlock the cores.

If I dont overclock should I be okay still? (Stock speed is 3.2ghz btw)

Don't worry. It will already work fine.

Here you have some interesting links:

http://www.vortez.co.uk/contentteller/articles_pages/amd_phenom_ii_x2_555_black_edition_processor_review,7.html
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/pii_555/8.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-ii-x2-555,2540-8.html

 

[Raidur]

Hell, a 3ghz Athlon II X2 probably wouldn't even bottleneck a 5770 (in most games). Let alone a Phenom II.