Which CPU should I purchase?

[kly91]

Hi there i can't decide over:

------Intel i3 540
------AMD Phenom II x4 945

I will use my pc for photo editing while surfing the net, office apps,watching HD videos and sometimes but not that often play games like Mass effect 2, Monday night madness, and Need for speed Hot Pursuit.

I will also Purchase:
-MOBO
For the AMD: ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 AMD 870 / SB850 DDR3
For the Intel: GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H HDMI/GLAN /DDR3
-2 GB Geil DDR3 1333mHz
-ATI HD 5570 1gb Graphics card
-600w PSU

I plan to stick with the processor's stock fan if its good.

Can anyone help me decide between the 2 processors and suggest anything that might be better at the same budget. Can you please comment on their stock fans and the motherboards too.

Thank you so much for the help..

 

[evilgenius134]

Phenom II x4 945 is a more powerful CPU. It runs pretty cool assuming you are getting the 95W version, though the 125W is good as well.

I would advise getting at least 4GB of memory though since that will help at lot it you ever find yourself doing more than one thing at a time.

 

[kly91]

Thnx for the Advise..I was really thinking of that RAM upgrade but my budget is short so maybe i could take the 2gb first then get another 2 in the near future.

What do you think about the Processor's stock CpU fan and heatsink?

 

[simon12]

I think an Athlon x 3 440 + 4GB RAM is better than a Phenom x4 with 2GB unless you are running XP 32bit even then its close. +1 for the 945 is better than i3 for most things but its up and down this link compares the 940 to the 540 http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/80?vs=143&i=2.3.4.5.6.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.35.36.37.38.39.40.41.42.43.44.45.46.47.48.49.50

 

[kly91]

Phenom II x4 945 is a more powerful CPU. It runs pretty cool assuming you are getting the 95W version, though the 125W is good as well.

I would advise getting at least 4GB of memory though since that will help at lot it you ever find yourself doing more than one thing at a time.

Thnx for the Advise..I was really thinking of that RAM upgrade but my budget is short so maybe i could take the 2gb first then get another 2 in the near future.

What do you think about the Processor's stock CpU fan and heatsink?

 

[sturm]

If your not going to overclock the stock fan and heatsink will be fine with a properly ventilated case.

What OS are you going to run? If windows 7 64 bit, then get 4 gig right away.

 

[tetracycloide]

You could probably save a few bucks getting a smaller PSU too. 600W is some serious overkill for the specs you've got so far.

 

[kly91]

You could probably save a few bucks getting a smaller PSU too. 600W is some serious overkill for the specs you've got so far.

Yup..planning to change that one with a branded psu..What wattage would you suggest?

 

[tetracycloide]

I use this tool to help me with PSU wattage myself: http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

Just plug in your parts and calculate. Set Capacitor Aging to 20% if you plan on using the same PSU for a few years and it should give you a pretty safe wattage to shoot for.

It's not perfect, however, and there are some important pieces of information it doesn't list like how many amps you need on the 12v rail but it does a reasonably good job. My brands of choice are SeaSonic and Corsair (which are all pretty much re-branded SeaSonics).

 

[kly91]

Hi again.. I think i'll changed my mind on the phenom II:
I am Thinking of

Processor: Athlon II x4 640 3.0GHz 2.5mb
Mobo: Asus M4A88T-M
RAM: 4gb Geil DDR3 1333MHZ with Heatsink
ATX: Trendsonic Vision
PSU: Gigabyte Superb P 460 watts

By the way I already Have a ATI HD 5570 Graphics card that i could use for the new rig

What can you say with the parts? Kindly help me decide if these are all ok. By the way i would stick with the stock heatsink and fan of the AMD for now.

 

[jerry6]

1100t for 240 , a good deal for a x6 cpu

 

[kly91]

1100t for 240 , a good deal for a x6 cpu

Yup, it's a great deal sir but it's way out the budget..tnx anyway

 

[jerry6]

phenom II 1100t goes for $240.00 or less , good eal on a x6