AMD Athlon II X3 450 Rana 3.2GHz

[jaylim0512]

Hi I am a beginner so I do not know very much about overclocking or computers.

I am looking to build a cheap build and I was wondering if this was a good cpu to go with. Any better options for around the $75-100 range?

And if I do happen to go with this cpu how much can it be overclocked, and to my understanding I believe it can be unlocked to a quad core.

And which mobo would be the best at unlocking the this 4th core?

Thanks in advanced.

 

[WR2]

jaylim0512;

Are you looking for a gaming system? Or just a general purpose computer? Have you set a budget yet?

Athlon II X3 450 @ $80 is a good choice, especially if you're able to get the 4th core unlocked and stable.
The success rate at getting the 4th unlocked is pretty good, but never a guarantee. It's more the 'luck of the draw'
getting a good CPU than the choice of motherboard.

Unlocking and overclocking; if you do get a 4th core unlocked you might find it's unstable when you try overclocking.
So you'd be left with a choice of overclocking with 3 cores, or staying near stock speeds with 4 cores.
To get a good stable overclock on 4 cores you'd have to get lucky twice. Once to get the core unlocked, a 2nd time lucky
for it to be stable overclocked.

The X3-450 is not a Black Edition with an unlocked multiplier. So you'd need to increase the reference clock and CPU voltage to OC.
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/amd_phenom_1075t_970_560_athlon_645_450_265/3.htm
And the amount you're able to overclock can vary. If you look at the X3 450 owners feed back you'll see a lot of comments like:
"Was able to unlock and overclock. 3.7 on three cores and 3.4 on all four cores."
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103886


Here is a sample list of parts for an under $500 budget gaming system

AMD Athlon II X3 450 3.2GHz Triple-Core CPU HIS Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit G Video Card Combo deal $199 $30 rebate http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.594120

BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138283
Has the Advanced Clock Calibration (ACC) which supports core unlocking.

A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 RAM Kit $42
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211364

LITE-ON 24X SATA DVD burner $18
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

WD Caviar Blue 500GB 7200 RPM HDD $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Case / Win7 combo $140 $10 rebate
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.590989

CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 430W Power Supply $40 $20 rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139017

$544 before $60 rebates, any taxes and shipping

 

[imaurer269]

+1 on WR2's post for a good starting budget gaming build except I would go with this mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138179 has 4 slots for memory vs 2 on the A880G+ leaving room to toss in more in the future and its cheaper due to not having onboard graphics which you wouldn't need with a dedicated GPU.

P.S. I haven't had any luck unlocking a Athlon II X3 with the A880G+ I don't know if its the BIOS that came with the disk or I'm just extremely unlucky but I've gone 0/4. Can't get windows 7 64 bit to even try to load when trying to boot with 4th core active.

 

[WR2]

I did check the NewEgg customer comments to make sure people were having unlocking success with the A880G+.
It was the usual some did/some did not result you'll see on any ACC board it seems.
That A770E3 is a good choice, and less expensive too. Just update the BIOS before any unlock attempt.

 

[imaurer269]

I don't know if I ever updated the BIOS on the A880G+, I had a nightmare of an issue on the mobo of my 1st build ever. After I updated the BIOS on an Asus it stopped reading my core temps(I had tweaked a few things along with that BIOS update not sure what effected my temp readings) After that I haven't messed with BIOS updates unless I had too lol. I might have to update the BIOS on the couple of A880G+ I have sitting at home and retry unlocking those X3's now tho

 

[jaylim0512]

Best answer selected by jaylim0512.

 

[jaylim0512]

thank you for your suggestions and for anybody that's curious, they're selling them at office depot:

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/868587/AMD-Athlon-II-X3-450-320/

use coupon code 10170432

and it should come out to $65.75 free shipping.