Debating between dual and quad

[jordan009]

im debating whether tp upgrade from a amd athlon 245 X2 to a amd phenom X4 955 black edition ( or upgrade to a phenom X2 555 BE). would it make an improvment in modern games to be using a quad cpu instead of a dual? or is dual enough for games today?

 

[Guest]

A quad core will definetely improve your performance in modern games, go for the x4!

 

[saint19]

Hi.

The big performance jump is with a tri-core, the Qhad core only give u a little more FPS but bear in mind that the game performance not only depends of the CPU u also need a good GPU and RAM.

 

[WR2]

Here is a comparison between X2 255 and X3 435. You can also plug in the other CPUs that interest you like the X4 955.
Helps show the differences in performance across different applications including a few games.

 

[jaguarskx]

It depends if games can take advantage of multiple cores. The games I'm playing right now X3: Reunion and X3: Terran Conflict (both space sims) unfortunately only uses one core so Dual or Quad doesn't make a difference if both are clocked at the same speed.




On the other hand, encoding video file using the X.264 codec and Handbrake utilizes all four cores in my quad. Unfortunately, encoding with X.264 is rather slow compared to other video codec because it is pretty demanding. Maybe I'll upgrade to an i7 CPU or wait for the next generation CPU.

 

[WR2]

Getting the right AM3 motherboard like ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 880G USB3 SATA6 gets you a chance to unlock the 3rd or 4th cores of the X2 255/X3 435.
You shouldn't count on being able to unlock an extra core - but it's a bonus possibility.

 

[gamerk316]

I declared Duo's dead a year ago, mainly on the point that games were starting to be better optimized for more CPU cores. That trend remains true. Unless building a super-budget PC, there is zero reason in my mind to by a Duo anymore.

 

[jordan009]

ok so i should get a phenom X3 or X4

 

[simon12]

It depends 3 main things to consider are, are you going to overclock it, what resolution are you playing games at & will you be upgrading the GPU in the future. If you are playing at high resolutions then you could be more limited by the card and you could just try a new cooler and an overclock.

 

[tehdrizzle]

I can say first hand as I went from an AMD X2 up to the 955 BE it was a HUGE gain. My gaming performance is better, let alone the multitasking. The 955 BE is very friendly as an overclocker as well and stays nice and cool! I've got my 955 running at a mild 3.41Ghz AND it's undervolted to 1.248v. With the Zalman 9900 heatsink I have an idle temp of 29c and under a prime heat test it doesn't go past 43c! Go with the 955, it's worth every penny!

 

[loneninja]

Getting the right AM3 motherboard like ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 880G USB3 SATA6 gets you a chance to unlock the 3rd or 4th cores of the X2 255/X3 435.
You shouldn't count on being able to unlock an extra core - but it's a bonus possibility.

Athlon II X2 is a native dual core, no cores to unlock. If you haven't noticed, it has more L2 cache per core than any other AMD processor. It's the X3 and Phenom II X2 processors that unlock.

 

[darkguset]

I am still using my E8400 @ 4.05GHz (dual core) and although it is up to the task today, if i was to buy a new CPU today i would definitely go for a quad core. The price difference between the 2 is so small... just go for the quad.

 

[enzo matrix]

What video card do you have?

 

[iqvl]

AMD sucks these days, even a hex(6-core) AMD at much higher frequency can't beat an Intel quad i7 in most cases. Get an Intel one if you want a quad.

However, AMD Phenom II X4 would be your best bet if you can't even afford an i5 750.
Their prices are lower or very close to the price of Intel dual core CPUs.

 

[jordan009]

uhh well you guys are all saying that a dual sucks for gaming oday? or its fine for gaming not just for multitasking? and my video card is a radeon hd 5770

 

[saint19]

Not all the dual sucks this depends of the game.

For Pac-Man and Quake the dual is more that enough. :lol:

Sorry was a joke.

With a tri core is enough since don't exist much games that use the 4 core. But if u think to future go with the X6 1055T or 1090T.

 

[jordan009]

lol well for like supreme commander 2 starcraft 2 gothic 3 umm crysis world of warcraft medivel 2 total war napeleon totl war.

is a dual enough for all those above listed games?

 

[saint19]

A good page for know if ur rig is enough or meets the minimum requirements for the game is this

IMO can run the games but not as good as a tri core or quad core.

 

[jordan009]

ok yet arent these games not designed for a quad core? if so couldnt a dual run them just as good?

 

[jordan009]

and im only using windows XP...

 

[saint19]

Yeah, few games like GTA IV takes advantage of the quad core the problem is L3 cache because the dual cores don't have it.

The OS usually isn't very important unless that the game only run in a specific OS.

 

[iqvl]

Make sure to get Windows 7, otherwise you can't use DX11 even HD5770 support it.

p.s. AFAIK, GTA IV and FSX are the only games that make use of all 4 cores

 

[saint19]

Vista also support DX11.

 

[jordan009]

ok well for now is windows XP fine? or should i upgrade to windows 7 first than buy new cpu?

 

[saint19]

Go with both CPU and OS since the next game generation maybe don't support XP.