AMD Phenom II x4 965 Black Edition for Gaming?

[dg1598]

Hello, this is my first post on this website!

Anyway, I am looking to build a gaming computer! But I don't particularly want to go over €850, but preferably stay under €800!

So anyway, I can get the processor for €102.95, and also I might get the MSI GTX660 Ti,

So anyway, onto my question!
Will this CPU bottleneck the GPU?
I've heard of a few people "unlocking" cores, and I was wondering is this possible on the said CPU?
Has anyone had any previous experience with this CPU, could they give me a short review?

Anyway, I know this is a fairly old CPU, but on most of the benchmarks I've seen it performed better than the new bulldozer range, and at the moment my budget isn't really stretching to be able to afford the i5 2500k as I originally planned!

Thank you very much!
Dylan

 

[-Fran-]

Well, depending on the type of games you'll be playing and the time you would need to get some more money, is the thing you should do IMO.

For instance, you could still get an Intel gaming rig (if you really want to), using a cheaper CPU from Intel, but keeping a good Mother Board (the Asus Sabertooth Z77, for example).

When you have enough money down the road, you could get an i5 2500k (or it's IB sibling) or even an i7 2700k if you find one and sell your current CPU for cheap.

On the meantime, I can assure you that an i5 2300 would be enough to push that GTX660ti with no problems in most games.

If you can't and have to do with what you have now, the 965 is a very good CPU for what its worth, but you'll have to do some overclocking to really make it worthy. I have mine at 3.97Ghz pushing a GTX670 and it does seem to cut the max frame rate by a lot, but still manages to give me smooth gameplay all the time.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

 

[dg1598]

Well, depending on the type of games you'll be playing and the time you would need to get some more money, is the thing you should do IMO.

For instance, you could still get an Intel gaming rig (if you really want to), using a cheaper CPU from Intel, but keeping a good Mother Board (the Asus Sabertooth Z77, for example).

When you have enough money down the road, you could get an i5 2500k (or it's IB sibling) or even an i7 2700k if you find one and sell your current CPU for cheap.

On the meantime, I can assure you that an i5 2300 would be enough to push that GTX660ti with no problems in most games.

If you can't and have to do with what you have now, the 965 is a very good CPU for what its worth, but you'll have to do some overclocking to really make it worthy. I have mine at 3.97Ghz pushing a GTX670 and it does seem to cut the max frame rate by a lot, but still manages to give me smooth gameplay all the time.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

Hello! Thanks for you're reply! I'd be looking to play some Left 4 Dead 2, Battlefield 3, GTA IV and also some CoD, can I ask you what FPS you get in the games you play?

 

[-Fran-]

I don't have BF3 (hate Origin), but in all the others, capped at 60 all the time (vsync on). GTA IV gets a little choppy sometimes, but nothing un-playable.

Cheers!

 

[bryonhowley]

The Phenom II is pretty good for gaming. I had a Phenom II X6 1090t in my rig before I upgraded to the FX-8120 and it did really good. I built a rig for a friend that used the 965 and it was able to keep up with the 1090t in most games so you should not have any problems fitted with a good GPU you could have a really good gaming rig. As for the FX I have found it to be much better in every way than my 1090t.

 

[nekulturny]

Sabertooth Z77s are stupidly overpriced, you can get a board much cheaper with the same exact features in an Asrock Z77 Extreme 6.

But in answer to your question, an overclocked Phenom II will keep up with a 660 TI most of the time.

 

[nekulturny]

Hello! Thanks for you're reply! I'd be looking to play some Left 4 Dead 2, Battlefield 3, GTA IV and also some CoD, can I ask you what FPS you get in the games you play?

All of the COD games are easily maxed out and played at well over 60FPS, these are not very demanding games.

Left4Dead is not that demanding either, GTA IV, shouldn't run into problems, none of these games are really that CPU intensive. Yes some say GTA IV is, but its a 4 year old game... BF3 is more GPU dependent that CPU dependent.


---

When you have enough money down the road, you could get an i5 2500k (or it's IB sibling) or even an i7 2700k if you find one and sell your current CPU for cheap.

On the meantime, I can assure you that an i5 2300 would be enough to push that GTX660ti with no problems in most games.

I've had an i5-2300. A Phenom II @ 4.0GHZ outperforms it. As far as buying a CPU now with the intention of upgrading it later.. Well... its bad enough when people buy an i3 and upgrade it to an i5, buy the CPU that meets your needs in the first place, instead of wasting money like that.

 

[nekulturny]

I've heard of a few people "unlocking" cores, and I was wondering is this possible on the said CPU?
Has anyone had any previous experience with this CPU, could they give me a short review?

There are no cores to be unlocked on the Deneb x4 Phenom IIs. Yes, there are some models which allow you to unlock disabled cores on the die, for example 960T Phenom IIs can often be unlocked into a full 6 core processor, since the Thubans have 6 cores on the die and the 960T ship with 2 disabled.. But in the case of the Deneb quad cores like the 965, there simply is nothing physically there to unlock.

You might be approaching this the wrong way though. You could get an i5-3450 if it fits your price range, no it can't be overclocked, but it really doesn't *need* to be in order to keep up with a 660 TI.

 

[dg1598]

The Phenom II is pretty good for gaming. I had a Phenom II X6 1090t in my rig before I upgraded to the FX-8120 and it did really good. I built a rig for a friend that used the 965 and it was able to keep up with the 1090t in most games so you should not have any problems fitted with a good GPU you could have a really good gaming rig. As for the FX I have found it to be much better in every way than my 1090t.

Thanks very much! Did you overclock it? If so how was your experience with that, was it particularly difficult? I'm planning on going with the ASRock Extreme3 Mobo? Is this a good choice? It's very cheap at only €83, so this is the reason I picked it!

 

[dg1598]

I don't have BF3 (hate Origin), but in all the others, capped at 60 all the time (vsync on). GTA IV gets a little choppy sometimes, but nothing un-playable.

Cheers!

Thanks very much for your help! I shall stick to the planned €800 gaming rig!

 

[dg1598]

I've heard of a few people "unlocking" cores, and I was wondering is this possible on the said CPU?
Has anyone had any previous experience with this CPU, could they give me a short review?

There are no cores to be unlocked on the Deneb x4 Phenom IIs. Yes, there are some models which allow you to unlock disabled cores on the die, for example 960T Phenom IIs can often be unlocked into a full 6 core processor, since the Thubans have 6 cores on the die and the 960T ship with 2 disabled.. But in the case of the Deneb quad cores like the 965, there simply is nothing physically there to unlock.

You might be approaching this the wrong way though. You could get an i5-3450 if it fits your price range, no it can't be overclocked, but it really doesn't *need* to be in order to keep up with a 660 TI.

Thanks for your multiple posts/replies, I have decided to go with the following parts;

CPU - AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4Ghz Black Edition
GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB
RAM - Corsair XMS3 DIMM 8GB 1600Mhz
MOBO - ASRock 970 Extreme 3
PSU - Corsair Enthusiast TX750 V2
CASE - Thermaltake V4 Black Edition Mid Tower

Some extras
------------------
Extra Fan - Scythe Slip Stream 120mm 1600rpm
CPU Cooler - Coolermaster Hyper Evo 212 - 120mm
DVD Burner - Asus 24B5ST

Total Price is;
€802.15

Do you have any input on this? I would really like to keep the price at around €800 though, and upgrading to a 670 isnt an option as its too pricey!

 

[nekulturny]

Its not a bad setup, uhh.. you don't really need the extra fan. Also, you would be just fine with a TX650 V2, should be a little cheaper than the 750. Yes, I have a 750 watt version, but I did that mainly because I got it on sale. The 212 Evo is a great CPU cooler, I would keep that.

 

[sarinaide]

You should be fine with a 965BE

 

[dg1598]

Its not a bad setup, uhh.. you don't really need the extra fan. Also, you would be just fine with a TX650 V2, should be a little cheaper than the 750. Yes, I have a 750 watt version, but I did that mainly because I got it on sale. The 212 Evo is a great CPU cooler, I would keep that.

I thought the fan would improve the air circulation, also its only €16? Also, I got the 750 watt because it has 2 6pin plugs, does the 650 watt have that too?

Thanks a lot! You're help is really appreciated!

 

[-Fran-]

All of the COD games are easily maxed out and played at well over 60FPS, these are not very demanding games.

Left4Dead is not that demanding either, GTA IV, shouldn't run into problems, none of these games are really that CPU intensive. Yes some say GTA IV is, but its a 4 year old game... BF3 is more GPU dependent that CPU dependent.


---


I've had an i5-2300. A Phenom II @ 4.0GHZ outperforms it. As far as buying a CPU now with the intention of upgrading it later.. Well... its bad enough when people buy an i3 and upgrade it to an i5, buy the CPU that meets your needs in the first place, instead of wasting money like that.
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/198/i52300vphenomiiat4ghz.jpg

Here is my own testing as well 😛

Single threaded, the i5 2300 is better (thanks to the turbo) and in threaded, thanks to better scaling and lower turbo, the 965 is better.

And if you plan to OC the 965 in a serious way (past the 3.8Ghz), then you'll need good cooling (like a hyper 212 evo) and a good PSU. In the PSU department, I use a TT Toughpower 850W if you want a reference and a TT Frio for cooling; it never goes beyond 57°c.

Cheers!

 

[dg1598]

Here is my own testing as well 😛

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8247566/cine_3.98ghz_TuneUP_64bits.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8247566/cine_i5-2300_64bits.jpg

Single threaded, the i5 2300 is better (thanks to the turbo) and in threaded, thanks to better scaling and lower turbo, the 965 is better.

And if you plan to OC the 965 in a serious way (past the 3.8Ghz), then you'll need good cooling (like a hyper 212 evo) and a good PSU. In the PSU department, I use a TT Toughpower 850W if you want a reference and a TT Frio for cooling; it never goes beyond 57°c.

Cheers!

Already have the 212 in my cart! Hoping to get it up to 4ghz? Is this too optimistic..? Those results look great and for under €100 it seems like a brilliant bargain to me!

 

[Dangi]

Hello, this is my first post on this website!

Anyway, I am looking to build a gaming computer! But I don't particularly want to go over €850, but preferably stay under €800!

So anyway, I can get the processor for €102.95, and also I might get the MSI GTX660 Ti,

So anyway, onto my question!
Will this CPU bottleneck the GPU?
I've heard of a few people "unlocking" cores, and I was wondering is this possible on the said CPU?
Has anyone had any previous experience with this CPU, could they give me a short review?

Anyway, I know this is a fairly old CPU, but on most of the benchmarks I've seen it performed better than the new bulldozer range, and at the moment my budget isn't really stretching to be able to afford the i5 2500k as I originally planned!

Thank you very much!
Dylan

Bottleneck ? It shouldn't, but in some games at high res maybe... or in future games.

Also as you are using € I assume you are from Europe, in Amazon, at least at Amazon.es you can find AMD 965BE for 91,95€ and a very good mobo, Asus M599X EVO for 112,18€ this should give you more cash to spend on the GPU and also let you upgrade your CPU without switching mobos in a future.

Take into account a bit less than 50€ for the ram, 50-60€ for the case and 70-80€ for the PSU, CD 20€, HDD 90€ and you are still under 500€, 300€ left for the 660ti

 

[dg1598]

Bottleneck ? It shouldn't, but in some games at high res maybe... or in future games.

Also as you are using € I assume you are from Europe, in Amazon, at least at Amazon.es you can find AMD 965BE for 91,95€ and a very good mobo, Asus M599X EVO for 112,18€ this should give you more cash to spend on the GPU and also let you upgrade your CPU without switching mobos in a future.

Take into account a bit less than 50€ for the ram, 50-60€ for the case and 70-80€ for the PSU, CD 20€, HDD 90€ and you are still under 500€, 300€ left for the 660ti

Hello! Yes I'm Irish! Ordering on Amazon is no good due to shipping! On this website her komplett.ie I get free shipping due to the fact it's an Irish company in Ireland!

Heres the prices I'm getting;
CPU - 102
GPU - 309 (Includes borderlands 2, also I could get the superclocked version for €10 more but I dont see the point really)
PSU - 65
Case - 48 (Thermaltake v4 Black Edition Mid Tower)
RAM - 56 (8GB 1600mhz corsair)
MOBO - 85 (ASRock Extreme3)
CD - 29
HDD - 60
CPU Cooler - 38
Thermal Paste - 10

(All prices rounded off)

So that adds up to €802 and the actual price in the cart is €805.45

I have no monitor as I'm intending to use a 32" LCD TV through HDMI - Does anyone thing I shouldnt do this? I kind've have to at the minute as I dont have it in my budget for a monitor, also the TV is a Sharp and it will run at 1920x1080

 

[Dangi]

if you can add a 212 EVO into that so you can OC wihtout worries ( no hard OC )

 

[dg1598]

if you can add a 212 EVO into that so you can OC wihtout worries ( no hard OC )

It already is! Its the item listed for 38

 

[Dangi]

Then the only think I would teak is the mobo, as I said before try going 990X or 990FX so you can put later a new CPU without changing the mobo ( yours support BD ) and having more phases, 4+1 looks a bit poor for OC stability

 

[dg1598]

Then the only think I would teak is the mobo, as I said before try going 990X or 990FX so you can put later a new CPU without changing the mobo ( yours support BD ) and having more phases, 4+1 looks a bit poor for OC stability

I honestly would If I could but the only way I could afford it is by downgrading the GPU.. and I'd rather keep it to be honest!

 

[nekulturny]

Here is my own testing as well 😛


Single threaded, the i5 2300 is better (thanks to the turbo) and in threaded, thanks to better scaling and lower turbo, the 965 is better.

And if you plan to OC the 965 in a serious way (past the 3.8Ghz), then you'll need good cooling (like a hyper 212 evo) and a good PSU. In the PSU department, I use a TT Toughpower 850W if you want a reference and a TT Frio for cooling; it never goes beyond 57°c.

Cheers!

Yea, I never ran single thread on Max's computer, and he took it when he left me so its not gonna happen now. But, of course, I got 1.18 single thread too. They're pretty close, especially considering theres a $50 price difference between em. (the 2300 and 965), you can guess which one gets my vote.

As far as the PSU, a strong 500 watt PSU is sufficient to overclock, depending on the video card. You could go GTX 670 with an overclocked Phenom II on something like a Corsair CX500v2.

And yes, a 212 Evo is sufficient to max out a Phenom II OC (they tend to top out at 4.0-4.4GHZ area), a more aggressive cooling solution isn't necessary.

As far as a motherboard with a better Power Phase design, can you afford this one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131754R

Open box deal from newegg, and yes, I can confirm Asus does honor the warranty on them.

 

[dg1598]

Yea, I never ran single thread on Max's computer, and he took it when he left me so its not gonna happen now. But, of course, I got 1.18 single thread too. They're pretty close, especially considering theres a $50 price difference between em. (the 2300 and 965), you can guess which one gets my vote.

As far as the PSU, a strong 500 watt PSU is sufficient to overclock, depending on the video card. You could go GTX 670 with an overclocked Phenom II on something like a Corsair CX500v2.

And yes, a 212 Evo is sufficient to max out a Phenom II OC (they tend to top out at 4.0-4.4GHZ area), a more aggressive cooling solution isn't necessary.

As far as a motherboard with a better Power Phase design, can you afford this one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131754R

Open box deal from newegg, and yes, I can confirm Asus does honor the warranty on them.

After doing a bit of research Im going to downgrade the GPU from the 660ti to AMDs 7870 Ghz Edition I will save roughly 40 or 50 euro so I'll stretch out a bit more on the mobo! ill have a look on komplett.ie and see if that one is on it

 

[dg1598]

Yea, I never ran single thread on Max's computer, and he took it when he left me so its not gonna happen now. But, of course, I got 1.18 single thread too. They're pretty close, especially considering theres a $50 price difference between em. (the 2300 and 965), you can guess which one gets my vote.

As far as the PSU, a strong 500 watt PSU is sufficient to overclock, depending on the video card. You could go GTX 670 with an overclocked Phenom II on something like a Corsair CX500v2.

And yes, a 212 Evo is sufficient to max out a Phenom II OC (they tend to top out at 4.0-4.4GHZ area), a more aggressive cooling solution isn't necessary.

As far as a motherboard with a better Power Phase design, can you afford this one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131754R

Open box deal from newegg, and yes, I can confirm Asus does honor the warranty on them.

Unfortunately that mobo isnt on komplett, how does this one look? http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/amd_socket_am3(%2b)/20100963/asrock_970_extreme4_socket_am3%2b_atx/details.aspx If that one still isnt good enough, heres another for just €7 more; http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/amd_socket_am3(%2b)/20100964/asrock_990fx_extreme3_socket_am3%2b_atx/details.aspx

If none of those suit, try looking on the site and around the €100 price is the highest im willing to go or I amnt even saving money on the GPU cutback!!