Is this a good budget gaming CPU?

[paololat125]

Is this a good budget gaming CPU? I'm kinda on a budget haha

AMD phenom II x4 955be im gonna OC it
nvidia gtx 550ti im also gonna OC it
3gb ram
windows 7 32 bit
1tb hdd

 

[o1die]

It will be more than adequate. I would not overclock unless you have a good power supply brand with a 12v rail rating of at least 40 amps.

 

[jemm]

You could get a better gaming experience with a bit more ram. Perhaps windows 7 64 bit is the way to go.

 

[lunyone]

He can OC the PhII x4 955 BE without any voltage adjustments (probably around 3.8-4.0 gHz at the most). All he has to do is change the multiplier setting in the BIOS and he should be fine. If he requires a voltage adjustment, than he'd be using more power to get the desired OC that he wants. A quality 400w or better PSU is all that he'd need, unless he wants to add more parts later than a 500w or better PSU should be required. I like Antec/Corsair/Seasonic/PCP&C PSU's for all of my builds.

Windows 7 64bit is a better option than the 32bit version, IMHO. You can use all 4 gb's of RAM and also upgrade to more RAM later. Currently Newegg is having 8 gb RAM kits for around $20-$40, so that would be good option to have, if your mobo supports it.

 

[paololat125]

thanks man. i already have the 32 bit disc and 3gb ram. can I still play games like bf3, mw3 at medium to high (not ultra settings)? at 800x600-1024x768 resolution?

 

[truegenius]

+1 jemm
it is good but you should consider 4 gb of ram

also if you can manage 45$ extra in your budget then you can get ph2 x4 980 which is far more better and is good for gaming
see this link

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007671%20600005574&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=343|19-103-808^19-103-808-TS%2C19-103-934^19-103-934-TS

also compare 955 and 980 in this link

http://www.cpu-world.com/benchmarks/?ind=1&c_part=AMD_HDZ980FBK4DGM&PROCESS=Select+CPU+or+family...

 

[tokadub]

If you already have 32 bit windows I guess your stuck with 3gb. Would be a lot better to go for windows 64 bit and use 4 or 8b ram @ 1600 MHZ.

955 will be fine for almost all gaming, especially if you overclock. Make sure you use aftermarket coolers like a CoolerMaster Hyper 212 plus for example (in case you need recommendation).

If you have the budget for a new Intel 2500k processor and z68 motherboard that is A WAY BETTER IDEA, if you want a faster future proof rig.

But the AMD 955 will be good enough for 98% of games right now. Not very future proof though. However, I would recommend you get a better video card though. The 550 is really going to hold you back. Get a gtx 460, 560, or 560 ti if your case can fit it and you have the power supply.

 

[truegenius]

If you already have 32 bit windows I guess your stuck with 3gb. Would be a lot better to go for windows 64 bit and use 4 or 8b ram @ 1600 MHZ.

their is no need to have a 64bit window to use all 4gb or more ram, you can use complete 8 gb (if 8gb is total installed ram) of ram in 32bit window also but in a different way.

 

[tokadub]

Hmm how so? Everything I have heard is that 32 bit is maxed out at 3gb memory. The 32 bit architecture physically can't use more I thought?

 

[truegenius]

Hmm how so? Everything I have heard is that 32 bit is maxed out at 3gb memory. The 32 bit architecture physically can't use more I thought?

1). do you know page file memory?
2). do you know ram disks?

if yes , then create a disk from ram which will act like a hdd in which you can create page file to use your extra ram
you can try this even if you do not have 4 gb or more ram by disabling some ram

edit

after a search in my history i got this

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-memory-upgrade,2778-4.html

 

[tokadub]

Hmm interesting, thanks for info I was unaware of this!

 

[truegenius]

no problem, few days ago i was also unaware of this.

so that means 'paololat125' can surely consider 4gb of ram or may be more if he wants a drive running at a bandwidth of 10gb/s

 

[clutchc]

thanks man. i already have the 32 bit disc and 3gb ram. can I still play games like bf3, mw3 at medium to high (not ultra settings)? at 800x600-1024x768 resolution?

Are you kidding? At that low resolution, you can play those games at max settings with the 560Ti and 955. And turn on all the eye candy. Heck, you can get a new monitor and play up to 1680x1050 and still use near max settings.

The 3GB memory might hold you back a bit, but you may not notice.

 

[paololat125]

Ok haha can you send me a link how i can use all 4gb ram? That would help mea lot

 

[truegenius]

the link is already on my third reply of this page

here it is (again)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-memory-upgrade,2778-4.html

but if you can access all your installed ram, then you need to disable some ram using msconfig.exe (use run/search to find it) to use it as a super fast hdd

 

[paololat125]

Haha thank you so much guys for helping! But would an asus radeon hd 6870 be better?

 

[truegenius]

6870 is (1.6 times) better than 550t