Phenom x2 or x3?

[kYza]

Hi, i'm currently building my new rig and have a dilemma in choosing which AMD Phenom II processor i want, here's what i can't decide between:

AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 550

or

AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720


the Tri core is roughly +£15-20 more than the Dual core.

What would you go with, and why?


Thanks

Kyza

[hermeticist]

What do you want to do with them, game, video editing...?

[kYza]

Gaming(mostly), watching movies maybe overclock a few times etc.

[Blaineoliver]

Then i would say its your choice between a phenom II x2 Black edition 550 or a Phenom II x3 BE 720.

[kYza]

OK, so i'm back where i started

[simonw]

My advice would be to look up some gaming benchmarks, and check if the extra core of the X3 will give enough of a boost in performance to justify the extra £15-20 that you will spend on it.

[Blaineoliver]

£15 for an extra core seems worth it to me, with the right mobo will get a quad core out of it.

[hermeticist]

At the moment gaming seems better on two cores (probably because the X2s are usually clocked higher for the price and the games generally aren't coded for multi-cores), however this will change at some point. The X3 will probably be better on a day to day basis - general use. And of course if you're gaming at medium resolutions the difference is probably irrelevant anyway (on most games).

Can you still unlock the fourth core, I thought that the tri-cores were mostly crippled now?

[Kumagoro]

if you can unlock the three core you should be able to do the same to the dual one.

[Blaineoliver]

True, you can unlock both, better chance of 1 extra core working than gambling on two extra working IMHO. My 720, with the extra core unlocked can work at 2800mhz and doesnt limit a 4850, even at 1600 minimally limits a 4850.

[Domestic_Ginger]

720 for the extra core for £15.

I would think about an athlonII x4; smaller cache but looks attractive for the same price as the 550. They are meant to be on a par with the
intel 8200(?) so can check benchmarks etc.

I imagine if the market for 720s is quieting down then there will be less 'free' cores on 720s and even 550s as they do not have to bulk up their quota.

[Georgy291]

id got for the 3 core one since it might seem as £15 now, but later in few weeks/month time you will be wishing for that extra core

[kYza]

Thanks for all the replies guys, i think i'm gonna go with the x3 720 .