Phenom II x3 740 Unlocked or Phenom II x4 965

[meddler66]

Hey all, as im approaching the last phase of my build just now me and my friend were talking about the CPU choice and we thought about Phenom II x3 740 (3.0Ghz) and unlocking the 4th core which my motherboard supports, the cost is about 50% of x4 core and essentially you get the same performance. With this x3 being so much cheaper i could then for example buy Cooler Master V8 and enhance my cooling + overclock it to at least 3.4Ghz which is what the Stock 965 is running. what do you guys think of that resolution? it ends up being 20$ cheaper and i get better cooling. thanks for your opinions.

 

[mosox]

Both are very good, the best bang for the buck is the triple core.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Phenom+II+X3+740
Even if you can't unlock it it's a great CPU. For the cooler you can get the cheaper CM Hyper 212 +.

You can easily OC it to 3.6 GHz with a voltage bump.

 

[Herr_Koos]

Keep in mind that there is no guarantee the 4th core will be stable when unlocked. You may have to settle for 3 cores in the end.

 

[duk3]

The 4th core unlock should be seen as a bonus only, if you need 4 cores buy 4 cores.
It only works on about half of processors, and then it is usually less stable than the other cores which limits overclocking.

Also, the CM V8 is a pretty bad CPU cooler for the money, the CM Hyper 212+ is much better at the price.

 

[hell_storm2004]

Get the pure Quad Core 965BE. The 740 being unlocked is not a guarantee at all and if it did it staying stable is also not a guarantee. Too many things too ponder about. So the 965BE is the best option.

 

[meddler66]

what are your exact plans of usage for this unit, heavy gaming or heavy threaded multi-tasking.?

mainly gaming, thats what i have in mind

 

[meddler66]

Get the pure Quad Core 965BE. The 740 being unlocked is not a guarantee at all and if it did it staying stable is also not a guarantee. Too many things too ponder about. So the 965BE is the best option.

is there really that big of a probablity that it wont unlock or be stable? ive read quite a few reviews and about all of them are 100% positive saying that it runs stable but is that really the reality?

 

[meddler66]

gaming only, how about heavy threaded task like video rendering.?
and when gaming are you solely going to game, meaning what will you have running in the background if anything
including email, music or video ripping/burning.?

Ohhhh sorry i must of not understand your question right.. so well yeah while gaming im proablly gonna have running music vent/skype sometimes movies but i try to limit the stuff, probablly the internet browser too and im not sure what you mean by video rendering?

 

[meddler66]

I see i know that x4 would be better but at the same time i wanna try unlocking the 4th one and actually seeing how it is, ive been reading reviews on newegg.com of people who have done it and they say that it runs pretty stable but im not sure yet def something to think about

 

[meddler66]

Yeah i mean i was a little afraid of the performance after unlocking but its one of my choices...i really have to think about this now, thanks for help though!

 

[meddler66]

Honestly the only reason that we came up with the idea of unlocking x3 is because its 89$ and than i could get a good cooler and "boost the performance" for the same money, but im really just waiting for friday and hoping for good sales

 

[RailGun88]

What kind of games? Most games only use three cores max, and the L3 cache is the same throughout all those processors. Go with the X3, overclock it, and use the extra $ to get a better cooling solution like you planned. I personally used my Phenom II X2 560 unlocked both as a X3, and X4. The X4's performance boost in games is barley noticeable.

Edit: Also, with boards that do unlocking. What happens is if one of the locked cores does not work, is your computer will restart and tell you the core doesn't work.

 

[rattman169]

no one on newegg will say they got a defective CPU, or one that doesn't unlock, they usually RMA it and try and get a good one, but working in that type of settings (building 6 PC's a day each, 5 guys = 30 a day) I have seen my fair share of CPU's and it's more like 40% unlock but are NOT overclockable at all. only about 5%, 1 in 20, can unlock and OC the CPU, most of these are the Phenom II X3 CPU's. Get better chances unlocking and OC'ing the Athlon II X3 at about 10%. You may get one and all the luck if you do, but your chances are slim, get a Phenom II X4 955BE, cheaper then 965BE and can easily OC to 3.6Ghz (using the Asus OC I was able to get my 955BE to 3.93Ghz stable). Good luck either way, but I doubt you will get an X3 that does both, sorry.

 

[meddler66]

What kind of games? Most games only use three cores max, and the L3 cache is the same throughout all those processors. Go with the X3, overclock it, and use the extra $ to get a better cooling solution like you planned. I personally used my Phenom II X2 560 unlocked both as a X3, and X4. The X4's performance boost in games is barley noticeable.

Edit: Also, with boards that do unlocking. What happens is if one of the locked cores does not work, is your computer will restart and tell you the core doesn't work.

Nice so you unlocked 2cores, does it run stable? any problems with it? or anything else you can tell me about it?

 

[rattman169]

We have unlocked several X2 550BE CPU's, right to 4 cores stable and OC'ing, not a high over clock, but still capable of eeking a speed increase. You would be better off trying to unlock and OC the 550BE then the X3 CPU's. 1 in 3 is our current status with the 550BE for both unlocking and OC'ing. OC'ing is no issue without unlocking cores, and I would say a good 75% will unlock, but not necessarily OC. Or go with the Athlon II X4 630 CPU, Quad CPU with good OC'ing, and real cheap (did SO many of those) Oh, by the way, most of the OC'ing test were done with standard CPU cooler (and no issues with heat), but we tend to use the CM Hyper 212+ for all OC'ed systems. Best of luck with your choice, just giving a fair analysis based on the fact My team and I have built about a 4000 PC's already this year with 80% being AMD systems. The i7 920 is pricey in Canada, with a good board you pay $600 just those 2 pieces, where I built my whole Quad system for $800 tax in.

 

[meddler66]

We have unlocked several X2 550BE CPU's, right to 4 cores stable and OC'ing, not a high over clock, but still capable of eeking a speed increase. You would be better off trying to unlock and OC the 550BE then the X3 CPU's. 1 in 3 is our current status with the 550BE for both unlocking and OC'ing. OC'ing is no issue without unlocking cores, and I would say a good 75% will unlock, but not necessarily OC. Or go with the Athlon II X4 630 CPU, Quad CPU with good OC'ing, and real cheap (did SO many of those) Oh, by the way, most of the OC'ing test were done with standard CPU cooler (and no issues with heat), but we tend to use the CM Hyper 212+ for all OC'ed systems. Best of luck with your choice, just giving a fair analysis based on the fact My team and I have built about a 4000 PC's already this year with 80% being AMD systems. The i7 920 is pricey in Canada, with a good board you pay $600 just those 2 pieces, where I built my whole Quad system for $800 tax in.

thanks for lots of relevant info cosidering the probability of the stable unlock + overclock that you guys said i think im just gonna buy the x4 and get the better cooler some time later i mean i dont wanna be in deep *** stock with a x3 after all

 

[rattman169]

your welcome, and trust me, if you decide to go X4 but want to save a couple $$, go with the Athlon II X4 620, 2.8Ghz that can OC to 3.3 - 3.4Ghz (3.2Ghz the norm though). Have fun with it.

 

[meddler66]

Ehhhhh im not a fan of Athlons plus in my opinion they are alot worse than PhenomII which i could OC to at least 3.6Ghz i dont think it would be worth it but thanks for the idea anyway

 

[rattman169]

well I have the Phenom II x4 955 and it flies, in everything I do with it I see a big difference over my intel dual core.

 

[Guest]

Keep in mind that there is no guarantee the 4th core will be stable when unlocked. You may have to settle for 3 cores in the end.

OH ! u mean if we get Phenom 965 BE which is Quad Core , we should use 2 Cores of it & IF we decided to Use from rest of the Cores Our CPu wont be stable it , means : OR 2 Cores or No Stable CPU , so how do u calll this a QUAD CORE when it has Lots of COre Unlocking Trouble )

 

[Guest]

WHat if We GET i5 760 ? isnt it A Pure QUAD CORE , which bring 4 Cores Unlocked From FIRST & no Unstable CPU , we can use from whole 4 Cores , even forth Core is Working so Stable ! correct me if i am wrong about this CPU !

if we get Quad Core it means we want Whole Cores 100% unlocked & 100% fine . we dont get quad core to use only 2 or 3 Cores & by unlockiong 4rth Core ( with Trouble )
Get our CPU in Unstable Condition !

 

[Herr_Koos]

OH ! u mean if we get Phenom 965 BE which is Quad Core , we should use 2 Cores of it & IF we decided to Use from rest of the Cores Our CPu wont be stable it , means : OR 2 Cores or No Stable CPU , so how do u calll this a QUAD CORE when it has Lots of COre Unlocking Trouble )

a) This is not your thread. If you have a question, start your own discussion topic.
b) You seem confused and are not making much sense. But because I'm such a generous chap, I will try and answer your question. The 965 is a true quad with 4 stable cores, no unlocking required.

 

[Guest]

Oh thats great , U could only answer me not thread me like a Enemy , I know its not my Topic , but i wanted to know about what ur Saying , i wont Bother u anymore , Thanks for Answer !

 

[Guest]

& why u mentioned up there that : there is no guarantee the 4th core will be stable when unlocked. You may have to settle for 3 cores in the end !

U meant Phenom 965 BE ?

 

[jj463rd]

Also the OEM Phenom II X3 740 BE is on sale at newegg right now in the US or Canada (about $20) off.I just ordered one myself