AMD Phenom II x2 with a ATI 5850??

[gidgiddonihah]

1.) Will the Phenom II x2 555 bottleneck the ATI 5850? I have a sucky build right now and want to play games with maxed settings.

1a) If it will bottleneck, if I unlock another core will that relieve the bottleneck?

2.) I'm also looking for a solid AM3 mobo:

70$ Range:
100$ Range:
150$ Range:

3.) And the Bulldozer will be on the AM3 socket right?

I'm hoping to get nice parts for everything except the CPU. Then when Bulldozer comes around I can grab one, and maybe grab another 5850.

My Current Build:
Dell e510
Pentium D 945 3.4 Ghz
3GB RAM
9600GT (OC'ed)
1TB HDD
500 Watt Power Supply

What im looking at:
AMD Phenom II x4 555 (Then a Bulldozer)
2-3GB RAM (Will pick another GB or two when i grab a Bulldozer)
ATI Radeon 5850 (Maybe Crossfired later on)
250-500GB (Up to 1TB when i pick a Bulldozer)
500 Watt Power Supply (I might upgrade later...)

 

[Timop]

1) Yes and No, depends on what games you play really.
1a) of course, basically a (55, it should even handle CPU-intensive games fine.

2)
$70: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157195&cm_re=770_extreme3-_-13-157-195-_-Product
$100: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198&cm_re=ASRock_extreme3-_-13-157-198-_-Product
$150:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131655

3) Not really. As of now its set to be on AM3+, which will be compatible with AM3 CPUs but not vice-versa.

Honestly, its a smart idea to grab a a Athlon II X3, a bargain basement AM3 board (like this) invest in a nice cooler (rg. 212+) and fiddle around with OCing. Then grab a HD6870 next week when it comes out. Then when BD comes out, get a nice CPU+Mobo. This way, no incompatibility, and you can change your mind if you cant wait for BD and want to get SB instead.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

Thanks for the quick reply! Im not sure what ill be doing any more :lol:, but im going to see what prices look like after the 6850/70 come out.

 

[jasonp12]

also id get 2x2xGB of RAM and u will be set for future builds

cuz as it is now most games dont use over 4gb ....ur PSU u will need a better one if u wanna Crossfire....also make sure your PSU is good quality u dont want it frying components.....

a Phenom II X2 can be a bottlekneck but not to 1 5850....maybe if you had 2 5850s then forsure....but the bottleneck of a Phenom II X2 wouldnt be noticeable on a 5850 u should still be able to max out most games....the diff is with it maxes youll have say like 50-60fps whereas some1 with a better cpu will have 80-90fps (which is not noticeable)

Your best bet is to post your budget and what you need there is a stickied topic to follow in the system build section

 

[Herr_Koos]

Don't bargain on unlocking cores; it doesn't always work. Grab an X3 or X4 from the word go.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

So an AM3 motherboard would fit a AM2+ or an AM2 CPU?

 

[Herr_Koos]

So an AM3 motherboard would fit a AM2+ or an AM2 CPU?

NO, definitely not. AM3 CPU's will fit in AM2/2+ boards. BUT Socket AM3 has two pins less than AM2/2+, so you cannot put an older CPU in there without breaking two pins off..

 

[gidgiddonihah]

Best answer selected by gidgiddonihah.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey