Best Athlon X2 CPU ?

[sprite]

Looking to upgrade to a dual core and was planning to get the Pentium D 805 but would need new motherboard, HS/F and DDR2 RAM.

Therefore im looking to get an Athlon dual core and was just wondering which one is the best ? Would be willing to overclock and i game quite a lot etc...

Also what about the Opterons on the S939 side ?

 

[teh_squaterer]

What is your budget?

 

[sprite]

Seeing as im a 15 year old kid it isn't much, to be honest im looking to spend as little as possible so i want the "biggest bang for the buck" factor. I'm also financing this myself so i cant nick some off my parents, however my exams are soon and if i get good grades i should get some money but i'll also be buying a new case and possibly some more RAM / a new graphics card.

 

[teh_squaterer]

Seeing as im a 15 year old kid it isn't much, to be honest im looking to spend as little as possible so i want the "biggest bang for the buck" factor. I'm also financing this myself so i cant nick some off my parents, however my exams are soon and if i get good grades i should get some money but i'll also be buying a new case and possibly some more RAM / a new graphics card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562
That's the cheapest dual core CPU that AMD sells. I'm not sure if it is within your budget (it's $300), but if you can afford it, it will perform very well.

 

[sdrawkcaBgoD]

Seeing as im a 15 year old kid it isn't much, to be honest im looking to spend as little as possible

Go with the X2 3800. It'll hold it's own in gaming and can OC fairly well, getting you up to at least X2 4200 speeds if not more.

 

[mesarectifier]

3800 has the best price/performance reputation of the X2 CPUs.

 

[nannerla]

no way guys get an opty 165 for like30 bucks more and oc it too like 2.4 , 2.6 and have yourself a killer proc.

 

[BarnicleBill]

Get and OEM opty 165 at Monarch for $280 and buy a nice HSF for about the same price as Athlon X2

 

[CallumN]

Get and OEM opty 165 at Monarch for $280 and buy a nice HSF for about the same price as Athlon X2

And get no warranty? Whats the point? The HSF with the X2's (if its AMD's new heatpipe one) holds its own, especially with its "free".

 

[Primitivus]

The Opteron overclocks better but there's always a risk involved if you're not uber-experienced. For good performance right out of the box and for great bang-for-the-buck the X2 3800+ is a no brainer

 

[CallumN]

I fully agree, im ordering a 165 on 939 when sAM2 comes out, i was on about the OEM part. Why buy an OEM when there is no warranty on them, and the HSF on the retail boxes is more than sufficient? Thats a no brainer.

But if I were you then i would be saving my pennies and wait till you can afford a 3800+.

 

[bilbo3660]

The opty 165 starts out 200mhz slower than the X2 3800 but overclocks at least as well and has twice as much cache. Both chips should reach FX 60 speeds but your mileage may vary. The stock cooler is very good.

 

[spiritbreaker22]

I agree that the 3800+ would be a good value. I just upgraded to a 4400+ because I wanted the extra L2 cash because my computer is for many things not just gaming. However, I just read that article posted on this site about the insane OC ability of the 805D and how cheap it is. I know that you need to change more then you wanted but that would meet your OC requirement and give good value.

 

[Newf]

No value there I'm afraid.
The 805 is about $160 less than an X2 3800.
Buy a mobo and ram and the $160 is gone.
Now you are left with a sloooooooow proc that must be insanely overclocked to compete with a stock X2 3800.
Are you smoking the good stuff or what?

 

[jaguarskx]

The X2 3800+ offers good bang for the buck. The Opteron 165 is for overclockers.

While the 805D is cheap it also doesn't perform very well against the X2 3800+.