Buying a processor for new pc

George20

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Jun 5, 2010
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I have a question. I am building a new pc, and still yet to buy motherboard and cpu. I would like to know if the extra money is worth putting into the processor price/performance wise on this issue.


I noticed this processor for a very reasonable price.
AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103702&cm_re=athlon_ii_x4-_-19-103-702-_-Product

but i know phenom ii is top of the line
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674&cm_re=phenom_ii_x4-_-19-103-674-_-Product


Is it really worth the money to buy the phenom ii over the athlon ii? I am running a radeon 5770 in the new system. Also is overclocking a must nowdays or can i still enjoy games without doing it? I have console gamed for so long, i am just getting back into pc.

thanks for the help in advance.
 
Hi.

Well exist some factors to choose the CPU, the X4 635 is a tru quad core but this doesn't have the L3 cache memory that the X4 955 with that advantage of the X4 955 over the X4 635 the money for the X4 955 is a good investment.

Bear in mind this, if u want a quad core with L3 cache but u don't plan OC it, the X4 955 is a waste of money too, the X4 945 is more cheap and can do the same job that the X4 955.
 

user 18

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Apr 8, 2010
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Overclocking is definitely not necessary, but is a common option to get extra performance from a processor.

If you are not wishing to overclock, buying a Black Edition Phenom II is not worth the extra money. If, as the previous poster says, the 945 is 200mhz slower, you have to determine if that is worth the price difference.

That said, I personally have an Athlon II 620, bought on a tight budget, and I have found it more than adequate for low-level photoshop and video editing. I believe that these are more CPU-bound than GPU bound. There was a good article recently about how powerful a chip you need to properly enjoy gaming, and the answer was an Athlon II x3.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/athlon-ii-x3-440-gaming-performance,2619.html

Personally, for a gaming-only build, I would buy a cheaper CPU and put the money saved towards a good GPU, or towards the sky-high price of RAM these days.

Good luck choosing your components. Glad to see more people getting back into PC gaming.