Best CPU for this PC

bitspirit3

Honorable
Sep 10, 2012
34
0
10,540
I want to know the optimal CPU for this PC, what I want to do is just use it as an everyday machine 24/7 and play some games at either 1280x1024 or 1152x864 at low-mid settings. I can choose from

1. AMD Athlon II X4 640 Quad Core (81$)
2. AMD Athlon II X3 450 Tri Core (76$)
3. AMD Athlon II X2 270 Dual Core (55$)

Keep in mind I want to spend as little as possible because this whole system will need a replacement soon anyway so if the performance difference is not significant I'd rather go with the cheaper choices.

My spec are :

PSU : 450W
GPU : NVIDIA GeForce GT 640 (512 MB GDDR5)
RAM : 4GB DDR2 800Mhz
CPU : DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2700 MHz (13.5 x 200) 5200+
 
If the system is not designed to last long, a dual-core should satisfy. Judging by your system, a more expensive CPU will not make much difference to frames in game. In general usage you may see some difference (loading times, etc) but otherwise it may not be worth the extra spend.
 
The best CPU out of the three specified is the X4 640 as it is faster than the other two, and at the end of the day the $5 difference between the X3 makes it ridiculous to not go for the X4. The problem is all of those processors are pretty old, but at the end of the day the quad core will give you the best performance.
 


So would you say in a CPU intensive game like for example Planetside 2 the x4 640 and the x2 270 will preform similarly because of the rest of my systems low specs ?
 


I'm not entirely sure how intensive Planetside 2 is. However, you do not have that much RAM, and your GPU isn't exactly very powerful either. A better CPU may make a difference, but I am unable to clarify how much.