Seeking opinions regarding AMD CPUs

pevkovic

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Hello guys,
I ve been watching tomshardware for a while now and this is my first time getting into the mix after a great deal i came across, any advice is welcome.

Some info about the situation.
In light of my new Corsair 500R case i ve decided to not let my old one go to waste and instead build a budget desktop for my younger brother.
The thing is that after a bit of searching i caught a deal on a decent mobo (imho) for only 24 € cause it was repaired. MSI 970A-GD45 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130637&Tpk=msi%20970 ). So now i m confused as which AMD CPU is worth
the money compared to the "better" intel ones.

Since here (in Greece) the prices vary a lot i ve provided some of the available CPUs and their prices.
Here we go:

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition - 97 €
AMD A8 3870K - 112 €
AMD FX 4100 - 110 €
AMD FX 6100 - 120 €
AMD FX 8120 - 162 €
AMD FX 8150 - 195 €
Intel Pentium G860 - 81 €
Intel Core i3-2100/2120/2130 - 110/120/130 €
Intel Core i5-2320 - 173 €
Intel Core i5-3450 - 180 €
Intel Core i5-2500K - 212 €
Intel Core i5-3570K - 219 €

I m eager to hear your opinions about which deal is better and i should go for given that Intel is more popular these days, but i got
about a 60 € bonus from the motherboard so i hope that is a good reason to buy AMD.

Pevko
 

pevkovic

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Double post :(

Forgot to state that i m looking to up the clocks to a mid range overclock as per my 2500k @ 4.4Ghz.
 

jay_nar2012

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Processor Core Name CPU Code CPU No FSB CPU Speed L2 L3 Stepping Wattage Result
Athlon II Sargas AD170UEAK13GM 170u 200 2.00 1M N/A C3 20 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor AD235EHDK23GQ 235e 200 2.70 2M N/A C2 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor AD240EHDK23GM 240e 200 2.80 2M N/A C3 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor AD240EHDK23GQ 240e 200 2.80 2M N/A C2 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor AD245EHDK23GM 245e 200 2.90 2M N/A C3 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor AD250EHDK23GM 250e 200 3.00 2M N/A C3 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor AD250USCK23GQ 250u 200 1.60 2M N/A C2 25 7693v15.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor AD255EHDK23GM 255e 200 3.10 2M N/A C3 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor AD260USCK23GM 260u 200 1.80 2M N/A C3 25 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor ADX215OCK22GM x215 200 2.70 1M N/A C3 65 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor ADX215OCK22GQ x215 200 2.70 1M N/A C2 65 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor ADX220OCK22GM x220 200 2.80 1M N/A C3 65 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor ADX225OCK22GM x225 200 2.90 1M N/A C3 65 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor ADX240OCK23GQ x240 200 2.80 2M N/A C2 65 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor ADX245OCK23GM x245 200 2.90 2M N/A C3 65 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor ADX245OCK23GQ x245 200 2.90 2M N/A C2 65 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor ADX250OCK23GM x250 200 3.00 2M N/A C3 65 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor ADX250OCK23GQ x250 200 3.00 2M N/A C2 65 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor ADX255OCK23GM x255 200 3.10 2M N/A C3 65 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor ADX255OCK23GQ x255 200 3.10 2M N/A C2 65 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor ADX260OCK23GM x260 200 3.20 2M N/A C3 65 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor ADX265OCK23GM x265 200 3.30 2M N/A C3 65 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor ADX270OCK23GM x270 200 3.40 2M N/A C3 65 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X2 Regor ADX275OCK23GM x275 200 3.50 2M N/A C3 65 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X3 Rana AD400EHDK32GI 400e 200 2.20 1.5M N/A C2 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X3 Rana AD405EHDK32GI 405e 200 2.30 1.5M N/A C2 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X3 Rana AD405EHDK32GM 405e 200 2.30 1.5M N/A C3 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X3 Rana AD415EHDK32GM 415e 200 2.50 1.5M N/A C3 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X3 Rana AD420EHDK32GM 420e 200 2.60 1.5M N/A C3 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X3 Rana AD425EHDK32GM 425e 200 2.70 1.5M N/A C3 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X3 Rana ADX425WFK32GI x425 200 2.70 1.5M N/A C2 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X3 Rana ADX435WFK32GI x435 200 2.90 1.5M N/A C2 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X3 Rana ADX435WFK32GM x435 200 2.90 1.5M N/A C3 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X3 Rana ADX440WFK32GI x440 200 3.00 1.5M N/A C2 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X3 Rana ADX440WFK32GM x440 200 3.00 1.5M N/A C3 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X3 Rana ADX445WFK32GM x445 200 3.10 1.5M N/A C3 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X3 Rana ADX450WFK32GM x450 200 3.20 1.5M N/A C3 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X3 Rana ADX455WFK32GM x455 200 3.30 1.5M N/A C3 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X3 Rana ADX460WFK32GM x460 200 3.40 1.5M N/A C3 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus AD600EHDK42GI 600e 200 2.20 2M N/A C2 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus AD605EHDK42GI 605e 200 2.30 2M N/A C2 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus AD605EHDK42GM 605e 200 2.30 2M N/A C3 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus AD610EHDK42GM 610e 200 2.40 2M N/A C3 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus AD615EHDK42GM 615e 200 2.50 2M N/A C3 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus AD620EHDK42GM 620e 200 2.60 2M N/A C3 45 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus ADX620WFK42GI x620 200 2.60 2M N/A C2 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus ADX630WFK42GI x630 200 2.80 2M N/A C2 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus ADX630WFK42GM x630 200 2.80 2M N/A C3 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus ADX635WFK42GI x635 200 2.90 2M N/A C2 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus ADX635WFK42GM x635 200 2.90 2M N/A C3 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus ADX640WFK42GM x640 200 3.00 2M N/A C3 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus ADX640WFK42GR x640 200 3.00 2M N/A E0 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus ADX645WFK42GM x645 200 3.10 2M N/A C3 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus ADX650WFK42GM x650 200 3.20 2M N/A C3 95 7693v10.zip
Athlon II X4 Propus ADX655WFK42GM x655 200 3.30 2M N/A C3 95 7693v10.zip
FX-Series Zambezi FD4100WMW4KGU FX-4100 200 3.60 4M 8M B2 95 7693v12.zip
FX-Series Zambezi FD4130FRW4MGU FX-4130 200 3.80 4M 4M B2 125 7693v15.zip
FX-Series Zambezi FD4150WMW4KGU FX-4150 200 3.90 4M 8M B2 95 7693v15.zip
FX-Series Zambezi FD4170FRW4KGU FX-4170 200 4.20 4M 8M B2 125 7693v12.zip
FX-Series Zambezi FD4200FRW4KGU FX-4200 200 3.30 4M 8M B2 125 7693v15.zip
FX-Series Zambezi FD6100WMW6KGU FX-6100 200 3.30 6M 8M B2 95 7693v12.zip
FX-Series Zambezi FD6120WMW6KGU FX-6120 200 3.50 6M 8M B2 95 7693v15.zip
FX-Series Zambezi FD6130FRW6KGU FX-6130 200 3.60 6M 8M B2 125 7693v15.zip
FX-Series Zambezi FD6200FRW6KGU FX-6200 200 3.80 6M 8M B2 125 7693v14.zip
FX-Series Zambezi FD8100WMW8KGU FX-8100 200 2.80 8M 8M B2 95 7693v12.zip
FX-Series Zambezi FD8120FRW8KGU FX-8120 200 3.10 8M 8M B2 125 7693v12.zip
FX-Series Zambezi FD8120WMW8KGU FX-8120 200 3.10 8M 8M B2 95 7693v12.zip
FX-Series Zambezi FD8140WMW8KGU FX-8140 200 3.20 8M 8M B2 95 7693v15.zip
FX-Series Zambezi FD8150FRW8KGU FX-8150 200 3.60 8M 8M B2 125 7693v12.zip
Phenom II X2 Callisto HDX545WFK2DGI x545 200 3.00 1M 6M C2 80 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X2 Callisto HDX545WFK2DGM x545 200 3.00 1M 6M C3 80 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X2 Callisto HDX550WFK2DGM x550 200 3.10 1M 6M C3 80 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X2 Callisto HDXB59WFK2DGM XB59 200 3.40 1M 6M C3 80 7693v14.zip
Phenom II X2 Callisto HDZ550WFK2DGI z550 200 3.10 1M 6M C2 80 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X2 Callisto HDZ555WFK2DGM z555 200 3.20 1M 6M C3 80 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X2 Callisto HDZ560WFK2DGM z560 200 3.30 1M 6M C3 80 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X2 Callisto HDZ565WFK2DGM z565 200 3.40 1M 6M C3 80 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X2 Callisto HDZ570WFK2DGM z570 200 3.50 1M 6M C3 80 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X3 Heka HD700EOCK3DGI 700e 200 2.40 1.5M 6M C2 65 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X3 Heka HD705EOCK3DGI 705e 200 2.50 1.5M 6M C2 65 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X3 Heka HDX710WFK3DGI x710 200 2.60 1.5M 6M C2 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X3 Heka HDX720WFK3DGI x720 200 2.80 1.5M 6M C2 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X3 Heka HDZ720WFK3DGI z720 200 2.80 1.5M 6M C2 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X3 Heka HDZ740WFK3DGI z740 200 3.00 1.5M 6M C2 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HD900EOCK4DGI 900e 200 2.40 2M 6M C2 65 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HD905EOCK4DGI 905e 200 2.50 2M 6M C2 65 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HD905EOCK4DGM 905e 200 2.50 2M 6M C3 65 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HD910EOCK4DGM 910e 200 2.60 2M 6M C3 65 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HD960TFBK4DGR 960T 200 3.00 2M 6M E0 125 7693v15.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX805WFK4FGI x805 200 2.50 2M 4M C2 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX810WFK4FGI x810 200 2.60 2M 4M C2 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX820WFK4FGI x820 200 2.80 2M 4M C2 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX830WFK4DGM x830 200 2.80 2M 6M C3 95 7693v12.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX840WFK42GM x840 200 3.20 2M N/A C3 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX850WFK42GM x850 200 3.30 2M N/A C3 95 7693v12.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX910WFK4DGI x910 200 2.60 2M 6M C2 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX925WFK4DGI x925 200 2.80 2M 6M C2 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX925WFK4DGM x925 200 2.80 2M 6M C3 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX945FBK4DGI x945 200 3.00 2M 6M C2 125 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX945WFK4DGI x945 200 3.00 2M 6M C2 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX945WFK4DGM x945 200 3.00 2M 6M C3 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX955FBK4DGI x955 200 3.20 2M 6M C2 125 7693v12.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX955FBK4DGM x955 200 3.20 2M 6M C3 125 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX955WFK4DGM x955 200 3.20 2M 6M C3 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDX960WFK4DGM x960 200 3.30 2M 6M C3 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDZ955FBK4DGI z955 200 3.20 2M 6M C2 125 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDZ955FBK4DGM z955 200 3.20 2M 6M C3 125 7693v12.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDZ965FBK4DGM z965 200 3.40 2M 6M C3 125 7693v12.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDZ970FBK4DGM z970 200 3.50 2M 6M C3 125 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDZ975FBK4DGM z975 200 3.60 2M 6M C3 125 7693v12.zip
Phenom II X4 Deneb HDZ980FBK4DGM z980 200 3.70 2M 6M C3 125 7693v12.zip
Phenom II X4 Zosma HD840TWFK4DGR 840T 200 2.90 2M 6M E0 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X4 Zosma HD96ZTWFK4DGR 960T 200 3.00 2M 6M E0 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X6 Thuban HDE00ZFBK6DGR 1100T 200 3.30 3M 6M E0 125 7693v12.zip
Phenom II X6 Thuban HDT35TWFK6DGR 1035T 200 2.60 3M 6M E0 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X6 Thuban HDT45TWFK6DGR 1045T 200 2.70 3M 6M E0 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X6 Thuban HDT55TFBK6DGR 1055T 200 2.80 3M 6M E0 125 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X6 Thuban HDT55TWFK6DGR 1055T 200 2.80 3M 6M E0 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X6 Thuban HDT65TWFK6DGR 1065T 200 2.90 3M 6M E0 95 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X6 Thuban HDT75TFBK6DGR 1075T 200 3.00 3M 6M E0 125 7693v10.zip
Phenom II X6 Thuban HDT90ZFBK6DGR 1090T 200 3.20 3M 6M E0 125 7693v10.zip
Sempron Regor SDX180HDK22GM x180 200 2.40 1M N/A C3 45 7693v10.zip
Sempron Regor SDX190HDK22GM x190 200 2.50 1M N/A C3 45 7693v12.zip
Sempron Sargas SDX140HBK13GQ x140 200 2.70 1M N/A C2 45 7693v10.zip
Sempron Sargas SDX145HBK13GM x145 200 2.80 1M N/A C3 45 7693v10.zip

Supports 125W CPUs.....
The A8 CPU you listed isn't in the list....
 


Most of them top out at 4 to 4.4 (if you're lucky) even with just a Hyper 212 Evo (basically the same performance level as a H60), because you hit the voltage wall.

The good part to that is that it's still better than a FX CPU.
 
although not a fan of cheap allinone water coolers(as they are essentially overpriced hsf performance at this end of WC) if its similar to a hyper 212+, you can get to somewhere around 4.0 usually
 

pevkovic

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Another one that came to mind.
Will the 965BE @ 4.0 Ghz bottleneck any of the new graphics cards that are around the 170-250 price mark? HD 6950, HD 7850, GTX 560 Ti, HD 6870 to name a few not that u need it :S
 


Nope. :)
 

pevkovic

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Hmm sounds like there could be a mild case of bottlenecking but that shouldnt sway me away from 965 as the price is cheap as hell for what it provides.

Also i checked out some benchmarks from 3DMark 11 and came to the conclusion that the bottleneck is indeed mild and it is only shown when u compare the 965 to the 8120 or 8150 which are double the price. Unless 3DMark 11 isnt reliable as it is but a basemark to what u should expect.
 
from what i've seen, the bottleneck only occurs on high end cards, and the difference is like 5 fps. it isn't the type of bottlenecking like using a dual core athlon on battle field 3 ultra where fps literally dips to half of what it is. Its essentially architecture speed that gives the slight fps difference. it on its own has enough power to work a single high end card.
 

pevkovic

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Alright, the 965BE is at the top of my list then but i m leaving the topic open for discussion cause 3 or 4 ppl's aint enuff imho to complete a survey. :)

Thanks for the quick replies guys. <3
 

dalmvern

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Well, dont think that just because 3 or 4 people replied that those are the only people who agree. I wasnt going to post because I agree with everything dudewitbow is saying, so to add my voice to the chorus...

Go with the Phenom x4 965 BE. With that Corsair cooler you will be able to OC it to 4.0 GHz, maybe a bit higher if you are lucky. With the overclock, none of the graphics cards that fall into the price range you mentioned are going to be bottlenecked. :)
 

pevkovic

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Dalmvern your voice increases the volume of the symphony, u have my appreciation.

About that graphics card, what would u suggest guys? I am kind of a new overclocker
but everything has worked out so far. So i d like a card that OC's well/easily. Maybe i d go as far as the 300 price mark if it was worth it. Being silent aint one of my priorities.

Oh and i ve been wondering for quite a while is it generally wise to go for a non reference cooled video card for a premium price of around 10-30 bucks? Or should one stick to the basic models/prices?
 

pevkovic

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Seems like the 78xx series is my best bet, out with the 6xxx's.
Any reason to w8 for the 7830 or 7790? Which ever one it is. *shrug*
 

pevkovic

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After some poking around i was given the impression that th FX 4100 (110euro) might be a better choice than the 965BE (97euro) given the fact that it can easily OC, usually higher than the phenom, and when it does i can get pretty good results for its price.

Any thoughts?

The gaming rig is primarily being set up with Planetside 2 in mind, but also to last 2+ years.
 


Easily OC'd, yes, but a 4.5Ghz 4100 = a 4Ghz 965BE, and both are about at the limits of what each can reach, so no real advantage to the 4100 there.

The 965BE is still the better choice, especially if you can get it higher than 4Ghz.

Is the 4100 a capable gaming CPU, if OC'd? Sure, but I can not allow myself to recommend it over the 965BE. If you want to try it, be my guest, but I would definitely go for the 965BE.