Sempron 140 and gaming

[lishoymathew]

hey will the amd sempron 140 support latest games like assassins creed and nfs hot pursuit provided i have a 2 gb ddr3 ram and a amd 760 chipset?
if nt will adding a graphics card like the 9500gt do or is the processor nt meant for gaming at all?

 

[enzo matrix]

Today, a single core CPU like the sempron 140 is not meant for gaming. 1 core is simply no longer enough for a mainstream or even budget gaming system. All current games use 2+ cores. All more recent use 3+ and some use 4 cores.

If you can, an Athlon IIx3 is very worthwhile and the best budget gaming CPU.

That said, the sempron will work. Especially with a lower end video card. You will still be CPU limited but you will be able to get playable framerates in many games.
I just did a test with COD4 at 1280x720 and dragon age origins at 1920x1080. COD4 managed a minimum of 39FPS in the ship level with max details and no AA. This game is I believe from 2007. Dragon age, a newer games, suffered, but still remained playable at 1920x1080 with minimum details. I have an athlon IIx4 at 3.2GHz and for the test I limited it to one cpu core. My video card is a radeon 4850.
So, the sempron is not a gaming CPU, but it will work if you are that strapped for cash.

if nt will adding a graphics card like the 9500gt do
If you are currently using integrated graphics that came with the 760 chipset, that is a major limiting factor and no amount of CPU upgrade will increase your framerates.. You want a dedicated video card or you will never get playable framerates. What CPU do you currently have along with your integrated graphics and how much money do you have to spend in total? Perhaps I could suggest something.

 

[jaguarskx]

Yeah...

Generally speaking, you want a dual core CPU nowadays for gaming. I see some posts every now and then about someone who's still gaming with a single core P4 3.0GHz, but that CPU is more powerful than what the OP has.

 

[jj463rd]

A Sempron 140 Sargas is a LOT more potent than a 3 Ghz Pentium 4 by far.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=AMD+Sempron+140

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Intel+Pentium+4+3.00GHz

Sometimes it can be even unlocked to a dual core Athlon II X2 if one has the right motherboard and the CPU can be over clocked quite well as it is.

http://www.techpowerup.com/101389/Sempron_140_Unlocks_to_Athlon_II_X2.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Sempron-Second-Core-Unlocked-athlon,8447.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Sempron_140/

Some gaming benchmarks

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Sempron_140/10.html

If you check this video and especially the other ones to the right you can see a bunch of modern games being run on the Sempron 140 Sargas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhM-RElKiZI

Notice though that the user is using a HD 4670 card also which is a lower end graphics card so it could perform better with a better graphics card although it's a good match for it.Maybe a HD 5670 would be better especially if the Sempron was overclocked.

Now here is an over clocked Sempron 140 Sargas running COD 4 with 2 Radeon HD 4770's in crossfire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAzEWHFcV-s

To note these graphics cards are overkill and a bottleneck too with this CPU.

I would agree though that a low end single core Sempron 140 is not an ideal gaming CPU however it can game.
A Athlon II X3 would be ideal though.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Considering that the Athlon II X3 445 is only $75 at newegg, I'd have to concur with the other posters. The Sempron 140 is more for mainstream computer use and if you're upgrading from a Pentium 4 you will find it to be blazingly fast compared to what you had. As they said, it will work and it will work decently for many games. A single-core CPU will perform better with nothing running in the background so you can expect a performance increase if you don't have anything running in the background like a browser.

 

[jj463rd]

Here is what an unlocked extra core Sempron 140 Sargas lists as

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=AMD+Athlon+II+X2+4400e

Pretty good and strangely above the Athlon II X2 240 & 245

Here is someone who bought several of them unlocked the extra core and even overclocked it a lot

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=234261

Whoa over a 50% oc in addition to an extra core
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=709139

 

[CsG_kieran_2]

^+1. Unlocking that extra core is a great bones

 

[jaguarskx]

A Sempron 140 Sargas is a LOT more potent than a 3 Ghz Pentium 4 by far.

Ah, I was thinking of the AMD Sempron CPUs from long ago.

 

[jj463rd]

Ah, I was thinking of the AMD Sempron CPUs from long ago.

No problem basically the newest Sempron is an Athlon II X2 with one of its cores disabled.
By the way to the OP that Techpowerup website with the review on the Sempron 140 Sargas recommended using either a 9600 GT or a HD 4670 graphics card and said little would be gained otherwise unless one intends to unlock the other core (In which case a stronger graphics card would be advisable.
The 9600 GT and the HD 4670 are both significantly more powerful than the 9500 GT graphics card with the 9600GT leading just a tad.
So either of those cards paired with the Sempron 140 would be more balanced.The 9500 GT would be too weak for that CPU.

See here

Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-radeon-hd-6870-radeon-hd-6850,2782-7.html

 

[lishoymathew]

Best answer selected by lishoymathew.

 

[lishoymathew]

Firstly..thanks a lot for the detailed reply and ur.time.i thought i'd be lucky if i atleast got a single line answer
My budget for a graphics card is around 85$.i know its less.
Is the athlon II x240 better.for.gaming?

 

[lishoymathew]

Firstly..thanks a lot for the detailed reply and ur.time.i thought i'd be lucky if i atleast got a single line answer
My budget for a graphics card is around 85$.i know its less.
Is the athlon II x240 better.for.gaming?

 

[jj463rd]

Yes,it is much better for gaming.Quite adequate for playing some older titles or newer titles in lesser resolutions etc.Here are some gaming benchmarks with the Athlon II X2 240.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Athlon_II_X2_240/10.html

Myself I already have a Athlon II X2 240 CPU very low cost budget system.
Quite pleased with it too.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey