What AMD CPU do you recommend ?

[scottrowland1441]

Hi, this is my first post so sorry if i make mistakes.

I need to know what cpu would be best. i recently purchased a saphhire HD3870x2 (not impressed as i should be due to the fact it sounds like a small car ticking over) and its bottlenecking as my current cpu isnt very good.

my current setup consists of: Athlon II x2 3800
2gb OCZ tit xtc
HD3870x2
2x 80gb hdd

i will be fitting another 2gb of ram soon so thats not a problem.

im also on a budget so the best cpu for the least money.

Thankyou

 

[unknown_13]

First off all, your mobo is? I suggest you're running mobo with an 939 socket?

If so, dude you need to get a new amd mobo if you wanna put in a descent cpu like the phenom 2 x2 or athlon x3/x4
But, to be sure post the full specs of your mobo

 

[scottrowland1441]

sorry for the missing specs . my board is an Asrock AliveNF6G-GLAN. its an AM3 socket, DDR2 1066, PCIE x16.

Cheers for the reply

 

[unknown_13]

Then it's good

Uh, now for the CPU
Here are a few recommendations:

Phenom II x2 555: really good cpu for $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103846&Tpk=x2%20555

Phenom II x4 810: excellent quad cpu @ $134
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103650&cm_re=x4_810-_-19-103-650-_-Product

or if you wanna one of the amd's top line procs: Phenom II x4 955 @ $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674&cm_re=x4_955-_-19-103-674-_-Product

 

[xtc28]

Phenom II 555 is the choice pick for a dual core (it will unlock to a quad with a 790 board) As for a quad the 810 is a sorry choice, the 955 would be much better.

 

[scottrowland1441]

the Phenom II x2 555 sound great. thanks for your help. also do you know about unlocking the cores on the Phenom II x2 555 so it will be quad. i know it can be done but iv never put it into practise.

 

[saint19]

Well I can't recomend ANY CPU without know your budget and the use that you want for the processor, so.

1- What is your budget? Exactly: $100 or $150 or $200
2- What do you want do with the rig? Games, video edition, surf the web.

 

[scottrowland1441]

my budget is $150 at the very most. i would use it for gaming. i have the SAPHHIRE HD3870x2.

 

[saint19]

Ok, and I can suppouse that your mobo is the Asrock AliveNF6G-GLAN that you say up right?

 

[bige420]

Make sure you get the newest stepping:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

 

[scottrowland1441]

Stepping?

 

[scottrowland1441]

and yes saint19 thats my mobo

 

[saint19]

Make sure you get the newest stepping:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

You don't rewiev the CPU support list of the mobo right? The C3 version of the X4 955 isn't supported by that mobo.

 

[bige420]

They might have just not updated their cpu support list yet. I dont see any reason why they wouldnt support C3. If you want to play it safe you can go for the old stepping I guess.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674&cm_re=phenom_II_x4_955-_-19-103-674-_-Product

Oh, and stepping are just updated versions of the same processor. The 955 has a C2 and a newer C3 stepping. The new C3 uses a little less power and has a higher overclocking headroom.

 

[scottrowland1441]

ok cool. good to know. i think ill go for the Phenom II x2 555 c3 and if its not supported ill shoot myself.

thanks your suggestions fellas

 

[saint19]

Ok, so.

Take a look of this options, my votes goes in this order.

1- X4 945
2- X4 620
3- X2 550
4- X4 955

 

[lauxenburg]

I have been amazed with how powerful my own CPU is. It's an AMD Athlon II X4 620 and it runs at about $90-100....stock clocks are @ 2.6GHz and its a quad. Been a great asset in 3D rendering and playing games.

 

[someguy7]

sorry for the missing specs . my board is an Asrock AliveNF6G-GLAN. its an AM3 socket, DDR2 1066, PCIE x16.

Cheers for the reply

By the way your board is NOT a AM3 socket. It can run some AM3 cpus but it is not a socket AM3 board. No AM3 board will run a x2 3800.

 

[xtc28]

OK for all those who dont know about the 550 and the 555 : These processors will unlock to the equivalent or better than the 955 BE (550x2) and the 965 BE (555x2.) They will unlock two disabled cores on the chip when an AMD 790 chipset is used. They become B50 and B55 respectively. The key to this seemingly magical process is actually very simple.... you enable ACC (Advanced Calibration control) and set it to "all cores" in Your 790 chipset motherboard bios. These chips are amazing in their overclocking potential and their quad core unlock. Give them a try with a good 790 board and get ready to fly. Do a search for unlocking 550 threads and you will find a couple by a few friends.

 

[someguy7]

OK for all those who dont know about the 550 and the 555 : These processors will unlock to the equivalent or better than the 955 BE (550x2) and the 965 BE (555x2.) They will unlock two disabled cores on the chip when an AMD 790 chipset is used. They become B50 and B55 respectively. The key to this seemingly magical process is actually very simple.... you enable ACC (Advanced Calibration control) and set it to "all cores" in Your 790 chipset motherboard bios. These chips are amazing in their overclocking potential and their quad core unlock. Give them a try with a good 790 board and get ready to fly. Do a search for unlocking 550 threads and you will find a couple by a few friends.

1. Not all of them unlock.

2. They will not be better than the 955/965. They will perform the same minus the temp sensors not working. The 955/965 are also the highest binned chips. They will overclock higher and use less volts.

3. It can be done with other chipsets besides the 790.

4. The board quality is irrelevant as far as unlocking goes. If it has the needed chipset and BIOS features it will work. Giving that cpu is unlockable. A better board will effect overclocking results but not the actual unlocking.

5. Yes. If you do a search you will see threads with people saying they couldn't unlock the chips as well. Giving that more posters will post when something doesn't work compared to those that have no problems.

In summary. They are good chips with a good chance of unlocking the other two cores which makes them even better. But there is a still a chance that you wont be able to unlock the cores. It is very simple to do with the right board/BIOS. If they do unlock you just got your self a x4 at a fraction of the price. Which is great. If they don't unlock you're stuck with a dual core. It is still a good chip for the price if it doesn't unlock but if your intentions was to get a quad core cpu....

 

[DarkMantle]

You need a Motherboard with AMD chipset SB750 or SB710 to unlock the cores and you might not be able to unlock them at all. This is all irrelevant as the OP have a Motherboard with Nvidia chipset.

My choise would be in this order:

AthlonII x4 620
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103706&cm_re=athlon_620-_-19-103-706-_-Product

PhenomII x2 550
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680&cm_re=phenom_550-_-19-103-680-_-Product

PhenomII x4 945
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103675&cm_re=phenom_945-_-19-103-675-_-Product

If your budget is 150$ get the AthlonII x4 620 and the RAM you wanted, you can Overclock that CPU to 3.2 ghz with stock voltage and the stock cooler, not sure with that Motherboard though but if you want a CPU easy to overclock, want the L3 Cache and don't really need 4 cores go with the PhenomII x2 550.

BTW... your moherboard does not support the PhenomII x2 555, for the CPU support list of your Motherboard go to http://www.asrock.com/mb/cpu.asp?Model=ALiveNF6G-GLAN

 

[scottrowland1441]

My board clearly states that it will run this CPU AM3

Phenom II X2 HDZ550WFK2DGI Callisto 3100MHz 2000MHz 512KB+512KB 6MB C2 80W P1.80

its 17th on the list. iv done the leg work to find out what it can handle as i cant afford at the moment to blow $100. soz if i sounded rude.

that said would this diffenitly be a good choice.

 

[saint19]

^IMO the 550 isn't the best option for you.

 

[xtc28]

1. Not all of them unlock.

2. They will not be better than the 955/965. They will perform the same minus the temp sensors not working. The 955/965 are also the highest binned chips. They will overclock higher and use less volts.

3. It can be done with other chipsets besides the 790.

4. The board quality is irrelevant as far as unlocking goes. If it has the needed chipset and BIOS features it will work. Giving that cpu is unlockable. A better board will effect overclocking results but not the actual unlocking.

5. Yes. If you do a search you will see threads with people saying they couldn't unlock the chips as well. Giving that more posters will post when something doesn't work compared to those that have no problems.

In summary. They are good chips with a good chance of unlocking the other two cores which makes them even better. But there is a still a chance that you wont be able to unlock the cores. It is very simple to do with the right board/BIOS. If they do unlock you just got your self a x4 at a fraction of the price. Which is great. If they don't unlock you're stuck with a dual core. It is still a good chip for the price if it doesn't unlock but if your intentions was to get a quad core cpu....

Every chip I have used has unlocked BUB! All of them have OCd better than the 955 965 we have here in stock. Yes I did leave out the temp sensor problem...... ooops!
I build about 6-10 PII 550 or 555 systems a week!!! All have done as specified .

 

[xtc28]

[:lectrocrew:9] [:lectrocrew:2]

1. Not all of them unlock.

2. They will not be better than the 955/965. They will perform the same minus the temp sensors not working. The 955/965 are also the highest binned chips. They will overclock higher and use less volts.

3. It can be done with other chipsets besides the 790.

4. The board quality is irrelevant as far as unlocking goes. If it has the needed chipset and BIOS features it will work. Giving that cpu is unlockable. A better board will effect overclocking results but not the actual unlocking.

5. Yes. If you do a search you will see threads with people saying they couldn't unlock the chips as well. Giving that more posters will post when something doesn't work compared to those that have no problems.

In summary. They are good chips with a good chance of unlocking the other two cores which makes them even better. But there is a still a chance that you wont be able to unlock the cores. It is very simple to do with the right board/BIOS. If they do unlock you just got your self a x4 at a fraction of the price. Which is great. If they don't unlock you're stuck with a dual core. It is still a good chip for the price if it doesn't unlock but if your intentions was to get a quad core cpu....

Every chip I have used has unlocked BUB! All of them have OCd better than the 955 965 we have here in stock. Yes I did leave out the temp sensor problem...... ooops!
I build about 6-10 PII 550 or 555 systems a week!!! All have done as specified . I think the 555 would be a better choice the stepping of this chip is much better. I hear this stuff about not being able to unlock these chips almost makes me luagh. Im not saying that there arent some chips that wont unlock I just havent come across any AT ALL! That is on my end anyway....... I was only saying something about this topic because the OP asked!!! [:lectrocrew:2]

ANother thing is that yes it can be done with only one other chipset than the 790/750 the 770/710. Now is where we get into processors that dont unlock (its the board in these cases).... I have only had a handfull of procs unlock on 770/710 boards/chipsets. Then we take the same proc and stick it on a 790/750 board and voila it unlocks. Board quality is a factor as well when it comes to this magical process. Lower end boards seem to be VERY unstable and will not hold the OC very well and sometimes will even caused you to crash while th 3rd and 4th cores are active.... Again remove the same proc and put it on a QUALITY 790/750 board and voila it works correctly!

As an answer to the 5th satatement you made :
" 5. Yes. If you do a search you will see threads with people saying they couldn't unlock the chips as well. Giving that more posters will post when something doesn't work compared to those that have no problems. "

More posters will post when something goes wrong but in many cases this is what we call P.E.B.K.A.C. = Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair [:lectrocrew:9]