x2 3600 better ?

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drdoom1337

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Nov 18, 2007
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Would an x2 3600 am2 be a HUGE improvement over my 2.6ghz northwood p4 ? I am building a new pc an already have just about everything but the motherboard and processor. I want to go with a new am2+ board and would this processor be good enough to hold me off until amd finally has a worth am2+ offering ?
 
It would make quite a difference in apps that are mulithreaded. It is also faster in single threaded apps but its not HUGE difference in them. It looks like you might be waiting quite some time for amd to have a solid am2+ offering. If you picked x4200 or something simlar it would be a pretty big improvement in everything. Or if your comfortable OC'ing you can always do that. Im not sure which x2 cores are the better overclockers so somebody can else could add that info.
 
Since you have to upgrade your mobo anyways i dont understand why would sit around and wait for amd to "fix" there cpus. Even when they are fixed they are going to be slower then intels offerings. I see the phenoms as a uprade for current AMD machines that will suport the cpus. I dont see why anybody starting a fresh build would use them now or sit around and wait for them peform better
 



The OP didn't ask for your opinion on Intel CPUs did he ? Why do the Intel zombies in this forum constantly go off on a tangent and recommend overpriced Core2 Duo processors all the time ? AMD solutions are fine for the low to mid range given the total cost of ownership is lower than Intel's offerings. The Intel zealots need to chill out and stop preaching the gospel according to Intel.

Faster CPU Performance is really not that important in the real world.



 
Yeah a low end X2 like you suggested would be much better than any P4 - this gives you a bit more cash to spend on a better graphics card - which will honestly make a bigger difference if your a casual gamer.

The 3850 ATI card is at a very good price point too ...

The 6400+ is about the best cpu AMD have until they sort the Phenom tlb issue - we are waiting for the B3 stepping here.

In the meantime the cheapest X2 cpu you can get will be fine.

I echo and support bitrate's comments above ...

Good luck.
 
Bitrate I am not a Intel zombie/fanboy or whatever you can want to call it. The OP asked would a x2 3600 be a HUGE improvement over his current p4 northwood 2.6. I told him the x2 4200 would be great. The OP then said in his next post he is going to build the am2+ platform just to hold him over until "new amd cpus are released" I assume he means new b3 phenoms. Which doesnt make sense so me at all. The price performance doesnt apply right now to them either. The amd quads are a tad overpriced for there performance right now. When i thaught the OP wanted to get a cheap improvment over his current system all i posted about was the X2s. But to purchase the entire platform right now and sit around waiting for amd to get its cpus together doesnt make sense. It is people like you that need to take off your fanboy glasses. Did i say anything about CORE 2 DUO birate? All i said was intels offerings. If you would use your brain that would mean a quad core since i was comparing it a amd quad. Also speaking of zombies what c2d's are overpriced? What the OP is going to do is huge loss in price peformance which you braught up. A new am2+mobo those aint cheap. then add a for a x2 cpu(which are great prices). plus whatever price the new b3s are going to be. That cost more and performs less then a p35 with a q6600 or a penryn in next month. Last thing hey Reynod, you support what bitrate said right? What did the OP say about a video card? Did he say he is a gamer? Why are you pushing ATI onto him you ATI zombie. The OP said he already has all the other componets.

I recamend both companies depending on what somebody needs. Need a nice cheap pc=AMD x2s. A overclocking machine C2D. A quad core a q6600.
 


No, but he did seek guidance on computers.

If he fully understood all of the different choices he could make, he would not be asking a basic question.
It does not server the OP to simply answer a question if he does not have sufficient facts to properly form a question to allow him to make an imformed decision. Rather, a more complete answe was given.

AMD currently is both slower than Intel Chips both Clock for clock as well as attainable clock speed.
This would be true even if the Phenom worked properly.

Even the very cheap E2xxx Chips can easily beat any AMD offering.

It makes absolutely no senese to buy a cheap AMD System and then also go through another upgrade to upgrade to a still slower CPU. This will result in a large cash outlay and much lower performance.

Heaven forbid, somebody helps a poster make an intelligent and informed decision.

If an "Intel Fanboy" make false and incorrect statements, Please direct the OP to reviews and facts done by professonal websites. The best way to counter a "Fab-Boy" is to provide facts.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/pentium-e2160_14.html#sect0

 



Confused? BitRage claims that CPU performance does not really matter.
Then you tell the poster to upgrade his CPU for more formance?

AMD would be far better served is folks just donated their money than having folks buying unneeded hardware.
http://www.saveamdnow.com/paypal.html
 
if you want a real nice budget build, find yourself an MSI K9A Platinum motherboard. newegg has them the cheapest, and they have a 30 dollar mail in rebate, if you wanna save some money. amazing overclocking board and it's got crossfire capability and it can handle a higher hyperthreading link than nvidia boards.

new: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130057&Tpk=msi%2bk9a

then go get yourself an f3 stepping athlon x2 3800+. it overclocks to about 3.2-3.4ghz on that motherboard with a tuniq tower which you can now get for real cheap with very little voltage increase. if you do go with that processor, the oem version is less than 60 dollars, but you have to make sure that it is the F3 stepping, otherwise you'd be lucky to get 3ghz out of any other kind of 3800. the f3 stepping part number is ADO3800IAA5CZ

amd cpu: http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=ADO-3800CZ
tuniq tower: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154001

if you dont have the ram yet, i recommend this super talent ram:
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=T800UX2GC4

overclocks to over 1000mhz at timings of 4-4-3-8, and even if you get a bad batch, they'll still push the mhz but your timings are gonna be 4-4-4-12, if you cared to know.

then if you can find some cheap 3850's, get 2, crossfire them, and you'll have a bad ass computer. 3850's in crossfire perform just as well and in some cases better than an 8800gtx. that should hold you over for at least a year. newegg has them in stock for 170 each. sapphire brand (reliable and reputable).

HD3850: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102714
 
Maybe it would help if I described the rest of the parts I bought? I am a HUGE ATi fan, and I bought an 8800gt. This was not because the 8800gt was better, it was because I found an 8800gt for less than I would pay for the 3870. I have a corsair 450VX powersupply and 2 gigabytes of A-DATA ram with a cas latency rating of 4-4-4-12. I also picked up an SATA DVD burner and I will be reusing 2 80gb hard drives that I already have. I don't need a lot of storage so these should be fine. In terms of gaming and such, the most demanding game I have is Counter Strike Source. I'm trying to just build a machine that gets good FPS in Source and TF2 at resolutions like 1024 and 1280. I have a 19" CRT and i'm sticking with this monitor. I really want to go AMD with this build because it's a path that i've been taking. My first build was Intel, second AMD, third (this one) Intel.
 
The x2 would be fine. The higher you get it clocked the better(either get a higher clocked cpu or do what lambo said). More cores arent going to matter for your games. Just dont get a x2 to hold you over for b3 phenom. Since your set on going the AMD route just get the highest clocked x2 you can afford and stick with it. Cause once the b3 phenoms are out getting one will actually drop your FPS in games unless the b3 K10s beform alot better clock for clock then a K8 or they get there clockspeeds up to make up for it. The next time you need upgrade AMD might have the K10 dual cores out that will probally be come out with higher clocks on the k10 quads which will help in games.

 


Oh boy :pt1cable:

The OP asked about buying an AM2+ board with an Athlon64 X2 3600+ with the point in mind of upgrading to a Phenom based Quad in the near future.

This doesn't make economical sense. Why buy a processor now and then buy a B3 stepping Phenom in February? That's like illogical.

What was recommended to the OP was to forgo the crappy Phenom purchase and instead opt for an equivalent Intel rig that he could have now (Mainly a Q6600) for less then his whole AMD venture would cost him (X2 3600+AM2 board+Phenom).
 
Would an x2 3600 am2 be a HUGE improvement over my 2.6ghz northwood p4 ?
Click to expand...
Noticeable? Probably. Huge? Not really. What do you expect of your computer over the next few years?

I tend to think you have to wait around 5+ years to notice huge gains over a current system. In addition, the difference between high and low end can be 1.5-2 years. The x2 3600+ and 2.6GHz P4 are separated by only ~3 years at most.

However, I realize you're using the 3600+ as a holdover for a better AM2+ part. There already exist such parts to make that close to a ~5 year gap - specifically the Phenom 9600, which after the erratum patch performs pretty much like an x2 4600+ with double the cores (and should be just as stable).

Some have expressed concerns about AMD's future and thus have advised Intel parts because AMD currently has not demonstrated a solid mainstream K10 part, and they keep changing their plans. If I were you, I'd try to hold off a few months for better K10 parts (and to reassess the situation), instead of wasting money on a 3600+ and depreciating motherboard that could be better spent on a higher binned Phenom or even Core 2.

If you need something right away, the Core 2 Duos and Q6600 are price-performance competitive with the Phenoms, due in no small part to the crippling bug fix, and consume less power; additionally, they have more overclocking headroom, if you're into that.
 
well the way I was looking at it, the 3600 X2 is only $50 and the MSI 770 board is only $89.99 which would be less than me getting a dead (as of next winter) platform with intel. I don't have the money right now for a q6600 or a phenom. I'm just building this with hopes of amd getting a much better processor out sometime next year, if not than $140 won't kill me.
 


MSI 790X (K9A2 CF-F) is only $89.99 USD? Umm where? Lowest I've seen them is around $133 USD.

As for the X2 3600+ it can be had for around $48.99 USD at NewEgg.

Now, oddly enough for around $130 USD you can get an ASUS P5K-E board or for $99 an MSI P35 Neo2-FR both better boards and supporting Crossfire as well.

Still don't understand the logic behind your purchase.. just doesn't make sense especially since you can get a Q6600 for $260 USD now from New Egg.

Intel - $355 for board and CPU
AMD - $443 for board and CPU then Phenom.

Both to get around the same performance sometime next year. P35 also supports Yorkfield so it's not dead yet, and after current Phenom's AMD is moving to AM3 (new pinout).

No wether you go Intel or AMD, by next winter you'll need a new board. For the new Phenom from AMD or Nehalem from Intel.
 
Ah, so the goal is good stable FPS in CS Source/TF2 right now. The 3600+ is already a noticeable improvement and certainly hard to beat at that price while easy to overclock. However, I do suggest that you try to get a slightly faster (higher multiplier) x2 so that you won't stress the motherboard as much when overclocking.

It's unlikely in the next 1-2 years for you to encounter a game that doesn't play, or plays much worse, because you have 2 cores, not 4. In that light, it's fine to settle on a dual-core AM2+ or 775 for the next couple years.
 
The MSI board is only $89.99 on zipzoomfly and I can't afford to spend $355 on a processor motherboard, my budget is $650 for all parts. I am only 19 and a college student with a $350 car payment each month. Money is hard to come by, especially during the christmas season with a lot of gifts to give out. As a side note, I really don't want intel at all to be honest.
 


I thought so...

Fanbois irritate me to a large degree. I detected that from the onset of your post.
 
Yes, i am a fanboy, when I am currently using an intel processor and have 4 other computers that use intel processors. I am not looking at an intel because for the price, and the upgrade path, it is not worth it in my opinion. I do not play to overclock my processor at all, so the e2160 will just not work for me. I am not concerned about sli or crossfire either, I just want 1 video card. I want a little more performance than the current 30fps i have at 1024 on my aging radeon 9800 pro an 2.6ghz p4 HT. If that is too much to ask, then why would you even reply to my thread ?
 


The upgrade path is the same for both. Pretty sure I said that clearly.

As for your thread? I don't think you wanted help to begin with. You've changed your tune many times during this thread just to suit your already made up mind. You wasted everyone's time pretty much.

Next time you actually want advice ask.. if you come here with your mind already made up then don't bother asking for advice mmmkay?



Answer is yeah it can hold you off for a while. As for AMD having a worthwhile offering don't hold your breath on that.

PS.. you're buying into a horrible platform with an uncertain future... good luck 😉
 
"PS.. you're buying into a horrible platform with an uncertain future... good luck "

If that is not a fanboy statement, then I do not know what is. My mind is not made up, it is more unclear than you could possibly imagine. Why don't you just completely avoid my thread as you are nowhere near helping.
 


That's not a fanboi statement, it's a factual analysis based on the current data available. AMD's K10 has been moved to the 2nd Quarter of 2008 (fixed variants without the TLB bug).

AM2+'s lifespan is quite short. December 2007 to around Summer 2008. That's a horrible platform IMHO, especially since no CPU running on the AM2+ platform will hold a candle next to the Core2 uArch.

AM3 will bring about much needed changes for AMD. It's set to release in Summer 2008 (2H2008).

Therefore logically I do not understand your viewpoint of wanting future performance options yet choosing the AM2+ platform.

My statement isn't out of fanboyism.. it's made out of knowledge.
 
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