Athlon II x2 270 vs FX-4100 vs FX-8150 vs Phenom II

[nekomastermax]

So now that I got a job working at Canada Computers, I now have money to upgrade my computer with quality parts for once, though I still like to save money.

Theres no way in hell I'd have the money to pay for a Intel system, especially when my Dad's i5-2500K with 16GB Hyper X blu 1600MHz RAM and a Nvidia GT550Ti costed over $1600, not including the monitor.

Anyways, since I work at Canada computers I get an employee discount, but I'm a little scared that even with the cheaper price I'd be wasting my money on a bulldozer when I could wait for a piledriver or order a phenom II if I can find a place that sells them (Or if a online place will take my TD Bank card with visa on it)

So right now I have a Athlon II x2 270, its stock speed is 3.4GHz but I overclock it to 4.1GHz (which it, and everything else takes without a hitch ie. no BSoD's), and of course, Im thinking of getting a new CPU at the end of this week (which is when I should get at least 500 bucks) and I want a good opinion on my choices

Currently we have...

FX-4100 Quad Core (3.6GHz) for $109 Bucks
FX-8150 Eight Core (3.6GHz) for $189 (wish I had money now, its on sale till the 6th for $179)

and those compared to a 3.40GHz Phenom II X4 965 (currently on sale for $109 on tigerdirect)

BTW, I also plan on doing some decent over clocking, probably bringing all three choices up to 4GHz, so I would also like to know how hot they will get (I currently have a ASUS Triton 70 but I could buy a Hyper 101 for 16 bucks or Hyper 212 for 40 bucks)

 

[esrever]

what is the use of your system?

 

[nekomastermax]

I use my computer for gaming, like Black Ops, Skyrim, Far Cry 3 (I've been playing it for days now, not many people around me even have the game yet). I also do virtual machines and game console emulation (like the GameCube and the PS2). As far as I know, PCSX2 needs a good powerful multi-core cpu to run games fast

Im also planning on running the CPU along with 8GB of 1600MHz Hyper X Blu, and a Sapphire HD 7770 (The 7870 and 7970 are too expensive at the moment)

 

[esrever]

I would get the phenom II in this situation. And try to get at least a 7850 1gb. This setup should be great for gaming performance.

 

[nekomastermax]

Like I said, a 7870 is a bit pricey for me at the moment, out of that 500 bucks I need to spend 90 bucks to pay for bank fees (account fees + account re-opening) and get a stupid 50 dollar background check from the Durham Regional Police (Im clean but all companies enforce it)

Also, if I can't get a Phenom II, since they're only available online now (and I hate waiting for anything), would the FX-4150 or the FX-8150 perform better then my Athlon II x2 270 OC'ed to 4.1GHz

 

[esrever]

well, its definitely not worth it for the 8150 but I would really suggest getting the phenom online over the FX4100. Also a 7850 is only $170 on newegg.

 

[nekomastermax]

Oh, I forgot to mention, I'm thinking of getting a 500GB SATAIII WD Black for my computer which is about 70 bucks at work, less so with my discount.

I did mention I get a discount at work right? Kinda wish I know the factory prices on stuff.

 

[esrever]

What price is the 7770 at work?


the phenom II 965 is a better cpu than the FX 4100 so its the better buy if you payed the same price.

I think you can still buy things cheaper online even with your discount.

 

[JKatwyopc]

For get the Bulldozer chips (FX-8150, FX-8120, FX-6100, FX-4100, FX-4170) the only one that is any good is the FX-4170 and that is only by virtue of its 4.2Ghz clock. Go with a Piledriver instead (FX-8350, FX-8320, FX-6300, FX-4300). They are clocked higher, perform better and are not overpriced despite the fact that they were released only about a month and a half ago. The FX-8320 should be adequate for your needs and it is listed at $179.99.

 

[nekomastermax]

Cheapest that 7870's go for around here (not just at work) is around 230 bucks. In fact they're more expensive on Tigerdirect (newegg doesnt like canadian visa debit)

At least tigerdirect has the Phenom II x4 I'm looking for.

Do phenom II's overclock well? Im running everything on a 550w CPU and today I built a more powerful system with a 7870 and it should run under 480w at full load and 50% capacitor age

 

[maxalge]

Cheapest that 7870's go for around here (not just at work) is around 230 bucks. In fact they're more expensive on Tigerdirect (newegg doesnt like canadian visa debit)

At least tigerdirect has the Phenom II x4 I'm looking for.

Do phenom II's overclock well? Im running everything on a 550w CPU and today I built a more powerful system with a 7870 and it should run under 480w at full load and 50% capacitor age

Like esrever said:

Your best bet would be to nab the phenom 2 965, get an aftermarket cpu cooler and go for 4ghz.

Then look for a 7850 1gb, those suckers can be had for a decent price.


Wow you dad got shafted.... No offence...

 

[nekomastermax]

Your best bet would be to nab the phenom 2 965, get an aftermarket cpu cooler and go for 4ghz.

Then look for a 7850 1gb, those suckers can be had for a decent price.

I already have a CPU cooler in a push pull config (with 92mm fans). At 4.2 GHz it keeps my Athlon II x2 270 under 45*c even when playing Black ops, MW3, Battlefield 3, Skyrim, etc etc.


Theres also a black edition of the Phenom II x4 965 for 103 bucks, but some people were complaining about it crashing windows 7 x64 and slowing their systems down


Also some people where saying the 7770 is pretty good, one guy was playing Skyrim and Battlefield 3 on high/ultra settings with 30-40FPS (Im not one of those frame junkies that need 10000000 FPS to be happy, but I'd like at least 29 FPS (NTSC anyone?))

I think I may try buying the 7770 or 7870 at work, since at least I get either for 130-228 bucks, plus my employee discount.

 

[esrever]

the 7850 1gb is the most economical card right now. if you can fit it into your budget, its a very good value.

Also the phenom won't be the problem if things crash, its an excellent cpu.

 

[nekomastermax]

BTW, to the guy that said my dad got ripped off, I'm the one that built the computer. I put his money into stuff I know would be good for a while.

Mobo : ASUS P8Z68-VLE
CPU : Intel i5-2500K
RAM : 16GB (4GBx4) Kingston Hyper X Blu 1600MHz
Video : ??? (I think I put a GTX550Ti in, all I can remember is it had 3GB ram and 3 fans and barely fit into a Antec Sonata case)
FANS...
- Back : 120mm Blue LED Fan ($20)
- CPU : 120mm x 2 (Plus a Hyper 212)

SATA1 : DVD-R\W +\- SATA II Drive
SATA4 : 60 GB OCZ SATA III Solid State Drive
SATA5 : Western Digital Black 1TB SATA III

 

[esrever]

well it depends on when you bought the parts but
2500k - 220
mobo - 120
550ti - 120
16gb ram - 80
case - 100
hdd - 100
ssd - 100
windows - 100

= less than $1000

 

[geraldfryjr]

I would considor an FX-6300 of $139 than any of the older AMD cpu's and if you have the extra $70 go for the FX-8350 or FX-8320.

I have a FX-6100 at 4.75Ghz but will run at 4.95Ghz all day on four cores.

For a new AMD build or an upgrade from the older ones the Piledriver Vishera series is the way to go over any of the Bulldozer stuff or Pihenom II's.

FWIW

jer

 

[nekomastermax]

well it depends on when you bought the parts but
2500k - 220
mobo - 120
550ti - 120
16gb ram - 80
case - 100
hdd - 100
ssd - 100
windows - 100

= less than $1000

2500K=Same
Mobo=150
Video Card=300+ (I bought one of those ones with the triple fans, 3GB GDDR5 and i think 900+MHz GPU with a 1400+MHz Shader Clock)
16GB RAM = Same
Case = 0 (Recycled Antec Sonata)
PSU = 100 (Forgot to mention this on)
WD BLack 1TB = 160+Taxes (costed more in the summer due to that flood in Thailand or something, and ontario has a stupid environmental tax on HD's)
OCZ SSD = 120+
Windows = ...I have never bought windows once in my life ._.
Cooler = 40 Bucks
2x120mm FANS : 60 Bucks (high performance 86CFM fans)

Monitor : LG 22" LED Monitor with DVI, VGA, and HDMI, as well as energy saving stuff in it = 250
Kb&Mouse : 30
75 Foot Cat5e cable = 45

Still probably less then 1600-1700, I just can't remember the total. I just know it costed a lot but this thing can slice through BF3 on max AA/AF with Ultra graphics, same with GTA4, Mass Effect 3, Crysis 2, FarCry 3

 

[esrever]

it must have not been a 550 ti, probably a 570 or even a 580 judging by the price.

those are pretty normal prices.

you'd do well with a phenom II and a 7850, the 7770 is about $50 less but is much slower. probably about 40% slower.

 

[nekomastermax]

Anyways, back to talking about cpu's..

Should I go with a black edition 965 or a regular 965? theres a price difference of 6 bucks with the black edition actually being cheaper

 

[esrever]

the 965 are all black editions.

 

[sftbllfvr]

AMD FX 4130, ASUS M5A97 le 2.0,Corsair xms3 DDR3 12GB@1333, XFX Radeon HD 6570, Ultimate 750 psu, Thermaltake Commander Snow ed. case, Logitech7.1 srnd (5 spkrs + SW) , WIFI keyboard + mouse, 24" monitor.
Never a problem