San Diego vs Clawhammer 4000+ Athlon64?

dizman

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My roommate is looking to build a new computer right now and he's a gamer but not into a real fancy computer and he doesn't overclock or things like that. He plays World of Warcraft the most though and occasionally other games.

So anyway he seems to narrowed it down to a Athlon64 4000+ S939 (upgrade from a AthlonXP 3200+ Barton) but doesn't know (and I don't) the difference between the San Diego and the Clawhammer core, the Clawhammer is $70 more currently on newegg

So I was wondering if anyone could tell me the different and which would benefit him more if any?
 

Vile

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I heard it's like this:

San Diego > Venice > Clawhammer

I'd go for the 3700+ San Diego (same core as the FX55), plus, if he's a gamer, he should consider changing his gfx over his processor. Even a 3200+ could handle games correctly. What gfx card is he currently using?
 

dizman

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He's running a 6200 now, he's upgrading to twin 7800GT's in SLI. He's building a whole new system. He's up in the air on what mobo atm, but he getting those cards, and 2GB of OCZ Plat DDR400 ram. And trying to figure a CPU, doesn't believe-in/want a dual-core and wants a fast but not over expensive (seems to be in the 400-500 range though more towards 400)
 

Vile

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endyen

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Diferences between clawhammer and SanDiego cores
1 The San Diego is newer
2 The clawhammer is 130 nano, the San Diego is 90 nanos
3 The San Diego has SSE3 support
4 The SD has a better on die memory controler
5 The SD OCs better
6 The SD runs cooler
7 The SD may run on lower voltages (stock voltages are a lower range for SD)
 

avatar3k

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If he's not into gaming, don't buy two 7800GTs. Instead, put half the money into a really really REALLY good case, and he probably won't even notice the difference on the graphics card. Why buy a dual core processor if its not necessary? If you guys can oc, just buy the sandiego 3700+, as vile already suggested in his first post. CPUs tend not to be bottlenecks.
 

dizman

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Well he does NOT want a dual-core, and does NOT want to overclock (just doesn't want to bother), and he could care less about what is considered a good case, as long as he likes how it looks he is happy.

He wants a fast computer for games and he's on a semi-budget sorta. He mostly plays WoW but he does play others like FPS and RTS
 

Vile

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I'm just saying 2 7800GT are a waste of money if you're going to play WoW, I mean, even ONE 6800GS would play WoW at max settings. Also, do remember that SLI can make the case air hotter, etc, etc. Both the 3700+ and the 4000+ CPUs are excellent and they'll handle anything you throw at them very well.
 

dizman

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Yeah he's a bit crazy, I tried to tell him what you guys have said and he claims he plays other games like Doom3 (when it first came out) and AOE3, that's about it.

Part of it comes down to is me and him are both building new systems at the same time and he has a bit more money than me so he's trying to one-up me.

But he doesn't believe in dual-cores or overclocking (doesn't really know much about them in depth is why) so he can have his S939 Athlon64 4000+ San Diego. I've order my Opteron 165 with Zalman CNPS9500, 2GB OCZ Platnium Ram, XFX 7800GT (yea just one, that's where he has a bit more money), and soon ordering the mobo a DFI UT NF4 DR SLI Expert, plan to eventually get up to 2.8-2.9GHz on that Opteron! hehe

We'll see who has the last laugh, Wha ha ha ha ha! :lol: