Phenom ii x3 720 or athlon ii x3 455 for Gaming ?

[hameem 1]

my system:
gtx 460 SLI
4G RAM
XFX nForce 750a SLI (MDA72P7509) Motherboard
and am looking for the best processor that will work in my mobo and work fine with my 2 gtx 460 1g
and i found the phenom ii x3 720 at the supported amd cpu for my mobo :

http://www.xfxforce.com/en-us/prod [...] st-AMD.pdf

and i also found the athlon ii x3 455 in the best cpu for the money article because my budget 60~100.
the mobo support am2+ .. dose am3 cpu work at am2+ mobo ?
just give me your recommendations .. thatx

 

[sadams04]

Depends on how you feel about overclocking / unlocking. The 720 BE will easily overclock to 3.5GHz with an aftermarket cooler and the L3 cache is nice to have. The X3 455 will overclock also, but it isn't a Black Edition and you will be increasing the FSB to do so. Not extremely difficult, but more to consider as the memory and other components will be impacted also. If not overclocking, go with the higher clock speed of the x3 445.

NOTE: The 720 BE on NewEgg is an OEM CPU which means you will need to pick up a CPU cooler. The CPU + Cooler would still come in at / under $100.

 

[imaurer269]

looking at this thread you can use either might need a bios update: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/287015-31-1055t-nvidia-750a
link in the thread to cpu support list: http://www.xfxforce.com/en-us/products/motherboards/NVIDIA%20GeForceseries/~/ecms.ashx/XFXCPUCompatibilityList-AMD.pdf

google around I don't know how well it would unlock/overclock only being a 95 watt board but go with the phenom II x3 720 for the extra few bucks

 

[hameem 1]

i don't want to overclock or unlock any thing , i am more worry about compatibly
and whats mean OEM ? if i would need a heat-sink or some thing .. i don't want it
the athlon ii x3 455 come with Heatsink and Fan included for $80 ..

if the athlon ii x3 455 is compatible with my (mobo support am2+) then i will buy it because its faster 3.3ghz and i don't know if its better at Gaming,and what the "black edition" will perform better .. what you think ?

 

[monkeysweat]

if you are going for ease of use, go with the 455

the phenom is only better if you overclock it to at least match the 455 (phenom has l3 cache) - plus the phenom will need a cooler,, but you can reuse the old cooler in your case (i would recommend something new regardless of what processor you purchase.

the AM2+ should not be an issue - however the XFX website I cannot find your board, spec or bios releases, Newegg website has people mentioning issues with some of the higher end processors, but they are mentioning 125W parts,, the 455 is a 95W part... worst case is that it doesnt work and you'll have to get a new MB & Ram that will work (about another 100) but you'll have more as well.

 

[hameem 1]

am gonna buy phenom ii x3 720 unless the 455 will work at this mobo
what do you think ?

 

[monkeysweat]

this is really an either or kindof setup, you can go with whatever one you like really,,, the phenom will perform better if you overclock it, but if you don't want to overclock, go with the 455,,, just remember to have a cooler or get one if you go the phenom route. You can always replace the stock heatsink on the 455 later.

 

[ps3hacker12]

the phenom seems to be better even without an OC:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/202?vs=83

but with an OC it will be great!

 

[hameem 1]

Best answer selected by hameem 1.

 

[hameem 1]

thanks ps3hacker12, i think i will get the phenom OEM with $10 CPU cooler

 

[ScrewySqrl]

a $10 cooler may be insufficient. Go big: Hyper 212+ is $25 through amazon, and will allow a solid overclock

 

[monkeysweat]

212 is OK, but the scythe Katana is better for AMD systems, throws heat to back of case and no modification to the bracket system.

phenom not really that much better without the OC,,, that is mostly a bunch of synthetics but not noticeable in real life,, phenom is better at overclocking and is the better choice if you have no issue with overclocking

 

[hameem 1]

i don't wan't to overclock any thing .. am gonna keep it stock,, what you think ?
or i should go for the athlon ii x3 455 ?

 

[monkeysweat]

you can go either or,,, doesn't matter too much,, but don't go with a $10 cooler, you'll just find it too loud or cheap sounding. the 2 processors are about even if nothing is changed from stock.

 

[ps3hacker12]

the Rosewill RCX-Z80-AL cooler hes talking about has some great reviews both on newegg and off newegg, it will even allow for a little OCing too,:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=35-200-042&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=2&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29#scrollFullInfo

 

[hameem 1]

what if i want to OVER clock the CPU ?

 

[ps3hacker12]

what if i want to OVER clock the CPU ?

the phenom would be better for that since its a black edition processor and the aftermarket cooler would allow for a higher OC than the stock.

 

[hameem 1]

did you heard about AMD vision black ?
i heard that if your amd cpu has vision black, it will be better in gaming !!
i think the 720BE has vision black :0