CPU choices

[geezerone]

Hello

Am looking to upgrade the kids' ancient AMD 754 2800+ computer.

Have an AMD mobo identified but looking for processor. Choices seem to be x2 555BE and hopefully unlock some cores, AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 640 CPU and don't want to spend more than £80 to be honest.

May consider also upgrading my rig too but again don't want to spend too much. Will be used for occasional gaming, web stuff and GNS3 (not sure if more cores help with dynamips)?

Already have an ATI 4830 from my rig to transfer to their PC (19" screen).

Thankyou.

[simonw]

Don't forget the Athlon II X3, a decent cpu for the price, and you may get lucky unlocking the 4th core too.

[geezerone]

Is the likelihood for unlocking 4th core on tri-core cpus better than the odds (which appear low) for x2 555BE?

I hear that AMD Bulldozer is coming out as well. Anyone know when and whether the prices of older models will drop. I guess 'bulldozer' will be highly priced to compete with i7.

Thanks

[Queelis]

I doubt you would have high odds of unlocking a 555BE, since demand for them isn't very high, so AMD are probably doing fine with the defective chips only, and not simply disabling two cores.

Bulldozer is supposed to come out next year, but further from that, the date is vague.

Again, as I've recently said, I would go for an Athlon II 640 - quad core gives you a bit of future proofing, and the loss of L3 cache isn't that big of a deal.

And why do you say RAM options are limited? As far as I'm concerned, you might just as well go with any 4GB RAM kit. If the RAM itself isn't defective, I doubt you would encounter any problems (correct me if I'm wrong, of course, but that's my semi-informed opinion )

[geezerone]

My mistake, meant to say the chances were high that the extra cores could be unlocked on the X2 Athlon 555BE I know it's a gamble but a lot of people are saying it works just looks like a good chip even compared with the budget x4 AMD cpus.

The ram limitations was by entering support on the gigabyte and corsair websites for the stated motherboard.

[Pob255]

I would agree with simon on considering the Athlon II X3, even if you don't unlock the extra core, it's still a solid performer.

However the 555be is probably the best dual core amd have produced, so even without unlocked cores it will be decent.

I'm always a bit wary of the unlocking extra cores, mainly because many people to fully test the cpu afterwards because it might seem stable when it is not.
Prime95 seems to catch errors te best, but it's not the only test you should run.
Just understand that unlocking core is a risky business and nothing is garrantied, if you want quad core buy a quad core, only consider unlocking extra cores as a happy bonus not a given.

[geezerone]

Yes the extra core(s) would be a bonus. Is the x4 640 much different to the x4 955 apart from the price?

[Biscuit]

the 555 is the PII X2 BE chip, do you mean this one or one of the other AII X4 chips?

[geezerone]

Sorry meant 955 quad

[Biscuit]

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/d...2407.html?prod[4442]=on&prod[4446]=on

There's a comparison from the Toms Hardware charts. Most benchmarks show less than 10% difference

[geezerone]

Thanks everyone

[scaryjim]

The Athlon II quads have no L3 cache, whereas the Phenom II Quads have 6MB (generally!). The best way to see the difference is in a direct comparison at the same clock speed, like this one from Anandtech bench, which compares the 2.8GHz Athlon II X4 630 to the also 2.8GHz Phenom II X4 920. It appears that in some tests the L3 cache makes no difference at all, while in other tests it makes a fairly significant difference. Personally, I'd always go for the best processor that you can fit in the budget without compromising other components, so if you can stretch the budget to fit a Phenom II x4, then go for it. Otherwise, go for the Athlon II x4 - it is still a very capable processor

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The 3.3GHZ Phenom II X2 560BE is now available for around £80. The 3.1GHZ Athlon II X3 445 is available for around £55 to £60 and the 3.2GHZ Athlon II X3 450 is available for around £70. In many cases the Athlon II X3 processors can be faster in games because they have a higher clockspeed than similarly priced Athlon II X4 processors.

In some cases an Athlon II X3 can be unlocked to a Phenom II X4.

[geezerone]

Thanks for that. I don't seen the x2 560BE on Scan's website. Discovered that other hex cores are due out in September which look attractive and will put downward pressure on prices of other AMD cpus.

[Queelis]

Thanks for that. I don't seen the x2 560BE on Scan's website. Discovered that other hex cores are due out in September which look attractive and will put downward pressure on prices of other AMD cpus.

Hexacores are already available, they have been for what, a month already? I wouldn't wait for any significant price cut.

[Biscuit]

upgrading from an old 754, even the base model athlon II will seem like a whole new ball game. With that in mind, waiting for a month or two for the prices to drop 5% probably wouldnt be worth the time spent checking for them to be released.

There is always something new round the corner.