Is phenom really better than athlon?

[jordan009]

is phenom really that much better than athlon in games? like would it increase performance if i upgraded from a athlon x2 245 to a phenom X2 BE 555

 

[ares1214]

the phenoms have l3 cahce, which makes them a bit faster in gaming an other things. also, the 555 can unlock into a quad core. however, this is probs a better upgrade:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103702&cm_re=635-_-19-103-702-_-Product

but it all depends on what u do most.

 

[enzo matrix]

is phenom really that much better than athlon in games? like would it increase performance if i upgraded from a athlon x2 245 to a phenom X2 BE 555

That depends on a. the games you play and b. the graphics card you have. However, if you plan to upgrade, the difference would not be worth the cost. If you plan to upgrade, upgrade to a phenom IIx3 or better.

 

[jordan009]

well i mostly do gaming (rts and rpg games) like would the 555 or the one you recomended improve performance in. sup com 2 (starcraft 2 when it comes out) WoW and medivel 2 total war and napeleon total war

 

[jordan009]

well i have a xfx 5770

 

[ares1214]

also, here some benchmarks:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

http://www.cpu-world.com/news_2010/2010050301_Athlon_II_X2_benchmarks_1.html

since they are both just dual cores, no a massive jump, but if u got the quad core, yes, it would be a large performance increase in some things.

 

[jordan009]

well by some things is one of them gaming?

 

[ares1214]

most games dont use more than 2 cores, but we are getting a lot more 4 core games that are coming out. so for future proofing, a quad core is definitely a good idea. oc the 635 to 3.4 GHz+, and u have a very nice gamer too.

 

[jordan009]

ok cool so really a phenom isnt really that much better?

 

[ares1214]

not really. what is better though would be a 635, or a 445, or unlocked 555.

 

[jordan009]

well im not sure if i can unlock a 555 since my motherboard is a gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H and i dont know ifi can unlock on it

 

[jordan009]

ok well can you overcloack on stock cooling? and if you do doesnt it make your hradware degrade faster?

 

[jordan009]

ok well whats a good aftermarket one for around 20-35 canadian dollars?

 

[jordan009]

um wont let me see them...

 

[ares1214]

for under $30CA, these two are solid

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185096

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

hmmm, love the suggestions, newegg really is the best place to buy, no need to put it twice :lol:

 

[jordan009]

D:

 

[jordan009]

well in any of your opinions getting a athlon quad core is more good than getting a phenom? or do phenom's really like boost your performance?

 

[richdrizzy]

get phenom x4 965 and call it a day

 

[ares1214]

if anything get the 955.

 

[loneninja]

The extra cores in an Athlon II X4 help out a lot more than the 6mb L3 cache found in Phenom. But a Phenom II X4 would be even better than the Athlon II X4 because it has the cores and L3 cache.

 

[ares1214]

yeah, but more and more games are being released that can use 4+ cores, so id say thats about to change

 

[ares1214]

dragon age origins, bfbc2, devil may cry 4, flight simulator x, company of heroes, supreme commander. a lot more games can use more than 2 cores however, i believe DiRT and farcry to name a few. but im not saying all games use 4 cores now, im saying a lot of new games that will be released in the near future will.

 

[JDFan]

IF you want the l3 cache then the X3 720 (link is to US site but .ca has it for $106.99CA) is a good choice - it is a triple core processor so is better than a dual core and some can be unlocked to a quad core and has the full 6mb of l3 cache of the PII CPUs (so when used as a triple core has more cache than the quad core PIIs) -- just remember this is an OEM CPU and therefore has a limited warranty and no Heatsink\Fan included (but you don't really want a stock hs\fan anyway !) and for $107 Ca is a good buy for the performance.

 

[ares1214]

im not saying you cant, you can game with a single core if u really wanted to. however when u can get a quad core for 99$ vs. a dual core for 99$, id take the quad. not only can u just oc the quad for equal gaming as the dual, or better. and new games and programs are starting to be able to utilize quads. so the question isnt why buy the 635, the question is why wouldnt you?

 

[ares1214]

thats fair, but i thought u were saying go with the 555 over the 635. and actually, for some reason i believe the 440 can unlock into a quad core, and be labeled as a 940. so as far as price to performance goes, the 440 or 635 is definitely the way to go.