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Thread ID: 110929 2010-07-07 06:35:00 Which CPU is Best? icow (15313) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1116847 2010-07-07 06:35:00 Which CPU is Best(performance wise)?
-AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 550 Black Edition CPU, 3.1GHz (80W), 7 MB Cache
-AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 630, 2.80 GHz, 2 MB cache, 95W
-AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 555 Black Edition CPU, 3.2GHz (80W), 7 MB Cache
icow (15313)
1116848 2010-07-07 07:02:00 It depends, for multitasking or highly threaded apps the Quad would be best, but for most other things the dual cores will be best, personally I would go for a Quad core any day... Deimos (5715)
1116849 2010-07-07 07:42:00 Depends what you are doing, but with so many apps and a few games taking advantage of quads its had to recommend dual cores any more unless you are on a mega tight budget. Battleneter2 (9361)
1116850 2010-07-07 08:27:00 Also, the phenom 2 will be faster than the athlon 2, so if i was going to recommend one, i'd say go with the faster phenom 2 dual core. 8ftmetalhaed (14526)
1116851 2010-07-07 08:57:00 Also, the phenom 2 will be faster than the athlon 2, so if i was going to recommend one, i'd say go with the faster phenom 2 dual core.

Thanks, good to know.
icow (15313)
1116852 2010-07-07 10:03:00 Also, many programs are currently being optimised for dual cores, quad cores are only really useful for higher level users. They are great for programs that are threaded such as video compression and conversion and certain games, but many other programs have yet to take advantage of the capabilities of quads. This is the next step, but amd are brilliant when it comes to cross compatibilty. If you get an AM3 socket motherboard, they can handle anything from single cores to the latest amd x6 core cpu's. So you'll be able to update the cpu if you find it is a bit slow for your purposes in future. 8ftmetalhaed (14526)
1116853 2010-07-07 10:43:00 Also, many programs are currently being optimised for dual cores, quad cores are only really useful for higher level users. They are great for programs that are threaded such as video compression and conversion and certain games, but many other programs have yet to take advantage of the capabilities of quads. This is the next step, but amd are brilliant when it comes to cross compatibilty. If you get an AM3 socket motherboard, they can handle anything from single cores to the latest amd x6 core cpu's. So you'll be able to update the cpu if you find it is a bit slow for your purposes in future.

Not entirely true, if you have more than 4 apps open at a time quad will be way better than dual, you don't have to be a "higher level" user to run lots of apps all at once, all you need is 2 CPU intensive apps to kill performance on a dual core.
Deimos (5715)
1116854 2010-07-07 11:51:00 Quad core is better, modern games can easily utilize all cores at once.

I would get a Phenom II X4 though.

The Athlon II has no L3 cache, and the X2 variants of the Athlon II can't run DDR3-1333 which the X4 and all Phenom II can.
Agent_24 (57)
1116855 2010-07-07 21:55:00 Also, the phenom 2 will be faster than the athlon 2, so if i was going to recommend one, i'd say go with the faster phenom 2 dual core .

That's highly debatetable, Athlon 2 is "basically" just a Phenom 2 with 3MB cache .

I would favor the quad ability over a dual core with more cache any day when we are talking clock for clock .


To shoot myself in the head ill post this link I saw the other day before someone else does . I would like to say however there game selection is VERY poor . I can name 5 games off the top of my head where dual cores are struggling against quads . Seems they picked games "randomly" over investigating which titles benefit from quads .


. bit-tech . net/hardware/cpus/2010/07/05/how-many-cpu-cores-do-games-need/1" target="_blank">www . bit-tech . net

Crysis and Dirt 2 are they kidding me !!, well at least they got 1 of the five+ I know lol


With the increasing move to higher threaded apps and games, buying a dual core is a poor choice .
Battleneter2 (9361)
1116856 2010-07-07 22:37:00 Ok well yes if you can afford a quad core Phenom II go for that instead, the performance of that will be better.
That said, your choice should be affected by what you want to do with the cpu's though, while you gave us a good list of what you're looking at you didn't really tell us what you're doing with it, in either thread, other than that you want it to be cheap. A phenom II quad will give solid performance with good upgradability, for when you decide to add any extras to the build, whereas if you're simply looking at "cheap" then the athlon II will do.

Personally, i'd go with a phenom II quad. The duals are a nice mix of price and function but it will be rather out of date in about a year or so.


TLDR; i agree with the others in that a phenom 2 quad would be best, or the athlon 2 quad if you're really looking to scrimp.

Oh and this thread probably would have been easier to answer if it was in with the other one too... we can multi task here on the forums, you don't have to make a seperate thread for each individual component :)
8ftmetalhaed (14526)
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