Athlon II x4 651K+Hyper TX3 or i3 2120?

axew

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Mar 25, 2012
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Hello, i want to buy a new CPU. I can get the FM1 Athlon II X4 651K and HyperX TX3 EVO cooler for about the same price as i3 2120. I will use my PC mainly for gaming.
I know that FM1 is a socket with no upgrade path but i won't be upgrading for about 5 years so any current socket should become obsolete by then.
So if i manage to OC the athlon II to 4-4.3GHz+ will it be better than i3 2120? I will use an Powercolor (is it a good brand?? i hear lots of bad stuff about them) hd 6850 and will game on 1440x900 res.
 

vitornob

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Jun 15, 2008
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I think that even in heavily threaded games the Athlon X4 won't catch the i3 2120.. can't confirm that but I'll hunt the internetz for info!
 
I'd get the i3. Even if you could overclock an Athlon II enough to catch up to it, your power use (and heat, hence fan noise) would be a lot higher. Furthermore, although you don't plan to upgrade for five years, it is better to have the option and not need it, than need it and not have it. With socket 1155, you have a couple of processor upgrades you could install if needed, but with FM1 you'd be essentially stuck.
 

axew

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Mar 25, 2012
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The thing is my friend bought a new PC a few weeks ago and he keeps talking about how his PC (PII X4 960T /HD 6790) is so much better than mine (Phenom 9500 Quad/Nvidia 7025/nForce 630a). So i m getting a new PC just so i can have a better one than his :D. So im looking for a better CPU than Phenom II x4 960T with unlocked 2 cores and a GPU better than HD 6790. So i don't think he will think my PC is better if i get a Dual Core CPU (He just thinks the more cores and GHz, the better).
 

teh_gerbil

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(He just thinks the more cores and GHz, the better).

For multithreaded optimized games, that is actually the case.

I have an X6 unlocked 960T coupled with a 6870 and it can handle everything I can throw at it.

If you wished to have actual bragging rights, an I3 would not suffice, I would go for an I5 plus 7850. That would be a 'f*ck yeah' computer.

But dependent upon the resolution of your/his monitor, as this setup (x6+6870 on 1280x1024) will perform pretty much identically to an i5 + 7850 on 1280x1024 as they will both acheive over 60fps on most games, even with very - high settings.

TL:DR: what's your monitor size?
 

axew

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Mar 25, 2012
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Well since his monitor is 26", i just bought a 32 inch monitor yesterday XD.
So il probably play @ 1080p, but i m thinking of 1440x900. i don't see much difference between them and the extra performance @ 1440x900 over 1080p is nice.
I m thinking of going with the FX 6100 or 8120. 8 cores @ 4.5GHz would be nice, but i doubt they would outperform the phenom.
i5 is overpriced in my country ($ 260 FOR 2500k...in fact, everything is...$220 for HD 6870... :( )