Athlon II x3 vs old dual core?

[ohiou_grad_06]

Hey guys, I asked a question a couple of weeks ago regarding putting a quad into my old motherboard.

I have this board

http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2539#ov

Haven't jumped yet, looking at budgets, etc. I found I can pick up an Athlon II x3 for about 50 bucks.

Right now I'm running....

The above board
Athlon x2 5400+
4gb ddr2
Ultra LSP 650 watt PSU with 38 amps on the 12v+ rail
GTS 450 1gb
1tb Seagate Hard drive
DVD burner

I guess what I'm asking, to go from this chip to an Athlon II x3, would it be worthwhile? Pretty much if I grab an x3 or x4 this board is going to be maxed out as I save for another build later. For gaming, etc, would an Athlon II x4 really be that much faster or should I just grab the x3 and call this system good?

 

[geekapproved]

Depends on what the speeds are of the X3/X4's that your referring to. If the X3 is slower clocked than the 5400+ you have now, then no, it won't be much different.

A higher clocked X3 would be better than a slower X4 in nearly any game. 3 cores is enough for all but a few games out there.

What models are you referring too and are you sure your motherboard supports them?

 

[mgf derp]

Read this http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu,2951-5.html as it looks on that chart it would be a worthwhile upgrade.

 

[shening]

I would get a Phenom II x4 955 BE

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

Unless u can find a Athlon x4 for under 80;

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Therein is the trouble. The board will not take more than a 95 watt chip.

Maybe looking at this...

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-AMD-Athlon-II-X3-440-Socket-AM3-/120725123516?pt=CPUs&hash=item1c1bc731bc

Though at that, maybe this one....

http://cgi.ebay.com/AMD-Athlon-II-X4-635-2-9-GHz-ADX635WFK42GI-Processor-/130522390106?pt=CPUs&hash=item1e63bd9e5a

Only question becomes, I've still got the 5400+...will the stock heatsink on that cool one of these until I could get a better cooler?



Thanks for the help, according to the chart, looks like it would be a significant upgrade. I know I looked over on anandtech.com on their benchmark section and with an x3 there was like a 10 frame difference in some games.

Edit...here's the CPU support list.....



http://www.gigabyte.us/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=2539

 

[mgf derp]

The stock coolers that come with the Athlon II x3's are pretty small and simple. There just the classic AMD aluminum finned block with a fan on top so if you have a heatsink like that you should be fine.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Yeah, I talked to my buddy who just got a Phenom II 840 and he said the stock cooler didn't look like much, thanks for the tips guys!

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Best answer selected by ohiou_grad_06.