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Athlon dual core to quad core, worth it?

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I currently have an Asus M4A88TD-M/USB3 motherboard with 4 gigs of RAM and an Athlon II x2 260 Regor 3.2 ghz Processor. What would the cost benefit be to upgrade to an Athlon or Phenom Quad core processor with at least the same clock speed? I don't plan on overclocking so I don't need a black addition. I mostly surf the web and play flash games on Facebook and games like Civilization II, but no action games. One reason I'm considering the upgrade is that besides using Norton Internet security 2012, I'm also running Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5. Dragon uses quite a bit of CPU power, and sometimes runs slow in certain games and situations. I'd like to keep the cost down as low as possible.

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CPUs Master

GBC said:
I currently have an Asus M4A88TD-M/USB3 motherboard with 4 gigs of RAM and an Athlon II x2 260 Regor 3.2 ghz Processor. What would the cost benefit be to upgrade to an Athlon or Phenom Quad core processor with at least the same clock speed? I don't plan on overclocking so I don't need a black addition. I mostly surf the web and play flash games on Facebook and games like Civilization II, but no action games. One reason I'm considering the upgrade is that besides using Norton Internet security 2012, I'm also running Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5. Dragon uses quite a bit of CPU power, and sometimes runs slow in certain games and situations. I'd like to keep the cost down as low as possible.


Switching to a PhenomII quad core Black Edition would be worth it but not to switch to another Athlon.
CPUs Master

If dragon is draggin then a quad core would be a good upgrade.
Newegg has a phenom II x4 955 for $90 (back up to 100 on the 20th) which is probably thebest deal right now. Even the athon II x3's are $80+...
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CPUs Master

rolli59 said:
Well you gain two more cores for multitasking so I say it is worth it. The 965BE has been on a good deal at newegg.


agreed on the upgrade but even an athlon II x4 would be worth it. i recently put together two PCs using the athlon II x4 640 and the phenom II x4 830. the PCs where for everyday use (MS office, skype, web browsing) and while the athlon II x2 is capable for all that, the extra two cores help give a smooth operation to the PC as you multi-task while the athlon II dual core can get tied down.

My current CPU only uses 65W, the Phenom 965 uses 125W. Would there be any noticeable difference in the amount of power used and heat added to my system? My computer is on about 12 to 14 hours a day. I noticed there are some 95W Phenom's. How do they compare with the 125W versions?

Does AMD even make Athlons and Phenoms anymore?
CPUs Master

I don't think there will be a huge noticable difference in power consumption. What size is your PSU now? No AMD doesn't make Athlons or Phenom II's anymore. They have been discontinued in favor of the Bullcrapper.
CPUs Master

I agree with most of the others, and especially ct1615. I used to have a Athlon II X3 455. When I unlocked the dormant core, it made a rather significant difference in my gaming benchmarks. The Phenom IIs have the added benefit of a nice size L3 cache to help even more. And if you ever get the urge to game, the Phenom II X4 will make most any graphic card you use more efficient.

Of course, that generation of new AMD processors is getting scarce. Newegg has the 965 at a nice price now. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

rds1220 said:
I don't think there will be a huge noticable difference in power consumption. What size is your PSU now? No AMD doesn't make Athlons or Phenom II's anymore. They have been discontinued in favor of the Bullcrapper.







I have an Antec 500W power supply.
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