help with amd64

[koldapu]

im more of an intel person, so i know barely anything about amd64 . . .

anyways, a buddy of mine wants to build an amd64 based rig, and we were wondering what should be the minimum amd64 cpu for gaming (not INTENSE), just regular gaming

 

[ag3]

The minimum they sell (AMD64) is the 2800+ (1.8 Ghz) and that is more than enough if you are not going to be gaming with intensity. The two most important factors (for gaming) are the GPU and RAM.

 

[koldapu]

and what about the cores?

which is better? newcastle or clawhammer?

 

[koldapu]

is it like intel, with northwood and prescott?

 

[beedubaya]

Clawhammer is better, it features more L2 cache

 

[Northbridge]

is it like intel, with northwood and prescott?

No, its nothing like Northwood and Prescott , choosing these between Clawhammer and Newcastle is pretty much personal preference . Some have had both and say newcastle is better others have had both and say clawhammer is better .

 

[Apokalipse]

the Newcastle's are the later core's, and are apparently more overclockable

these days a lot of people spend more money on their graphics card than their CPU

I reccomend a 3000+ as the benchmarks show the 2800+ to be very crippled in performance compared to the 3000+

 

[slvrstang]

i agree 3000+ minimum and i would go with the clawhammer core
although rated slower it has twice as much LVL2 cache

 

[ThePCmaN]

yea go with the AMD Athlon 64 3000+ unless ur lookin to upgrade somethin else extreme too..
then u might want to get the AMD Athlon 64 2800+