Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: March 2010

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Ok, you've decided what tier you want to be on. Which platform do you choose, and why? A comprehensive comparative review of the currently available platforms (including the older AM2 and LGA775 for upgraders) would be useful.
 

blackjellognomes

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[citation][nom]jtt283[/nom]Ok, you've decided what tier you want to be on. Which platform do you choose, and why? A comprehensive comparative review of the currently available platforms (including the older AM2 and LGA775 for upgraders) would be useful.[/citation]
Including older platforms would make this article way too long. I'm sure you can find the kind of reviews you're talking about in the forums.
 

requiemsallure

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Umm is it just me or do they still have the i7-920 up there?

hmm it seems to me like that is a worthless recommendation unless you live near a microcenter. as the i7-930 has a higher core clock by about 200mhz and has a higher multiplier, for just $5-ish more. please change your list to reflect this or give a reason why it isn't on the list.
 

kokin

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I'm hoping the new hexa cores will be able to push everything else down a tier or maybe even see AMD fill in that empty first tier.
 

neiroatopelcc

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couple suggestions:
a) Be consequent in the specs! For instance the i3 series boards have mentions of cores/threads wheras the 1366 based i7 systems only state cores. Also teh i5 is missing qpi data.
b) None of the core i series processors have a mention of turbo mode speed nor is fsb listed for processors where it is relevant. Perhaps even add an 'unlocked multiplier' spec to the processors where applicable (black and extreme ed processors).
c) Maybe also mention the amount of pcie lanes and wether or not the processor has ecc support (if any of the recommended even support that? xeon w3520 does, and opterons do - both run in [some] desktop boards). You may argue that ecc support slows performance and therefore isn't wanted - but ecc support means cheaper access to 4gb memory modules.
4) that's perhaps a stretch, but add a spec that mentions which chipsets are supporting the cpu. Particularily important for the two core 2 processors as someone with lga775 won't nessecarily be able to run the processors just because the socket fits. Same goes for older am+ systems hoping to upgrade to a phenom x3. Don't really expect this last request to be within the reasonable limits of what can be expected from a 'quick list of processors'
 

JohnMD1022

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In fact, while they do not carry every processor on this list, for the one's they do carry, they are usually lowest in price, often by large margins, e.g., i7 975 for 799.99.
 

neiroatopelcc

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If all processors they carry are cheaper than here, what's your problem? the ratios are still going to match up then.
Here in Denmark all the prices are higher, but since the ratios are similar the list is quite useful.
 

dertechie

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[citation][nom]p1n3apqlexpr3ss[/nom]Good to hear the i3s are becoming better value, but have yet to find a article comparing its performance to a true quad[/citation]

Check Anand's article on them. Particularly the launch article.
Short form:
1-2 threads they do great. However, it should be noted that an i7-860 comes within 5% of the single-thread performance of an i5-661 and beats the i3s. The i3s are comparable to a high-end C2D here.
Light multithreading they still beat the Athlons and show very well for themselves. In other words, they game very well with a good GPU.
At 4 heavy threads though, the limitations of HT start to show. It lets otherwise wasted cycles be used productively, that's it. Athlon X3s and X4s meet and beat them respectively. The PII quads and i5/i7 quads just eat them alive on heavily threaded benchmarks.
 

Rehnquist-

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If you are overclocking to ~4.0 ghz or less, the 920 will be about the same as the 930. That being said, the $10-$30 price difference isn't too hard to swallow for the newer chip...
 

killerchickens

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[citation][nom]Requiemsallure[/nom]Umm is it just me or do they still have the i7-920 up there? hmm it seems to me like that is a worthless recommendation unless you live near a microcenter. as the i7-930 has a higher core clock by about 200mhz and has a higher multiplier, for just $5-ish more. please change your list to reflect this or give a reason why it isn't on the list.[/citation]

He is right the i7-920 should not be recommended the i7-930 should be it over clocks better.
 

Lavacon

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[citation][nom]flyinfinni[/nom]Isn't the Phenom II 965 about even with the i5 750 as far as gaming goes?[/citation]

Only on CPU speed centric games like Fallout 3. Clock for Clock, the i5 750 beats it handily.
 
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