Best bang per dollar AMD X2 and Mobo?

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Amish Marauder

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Hey guys, new to the site.

I've decided its time to upgrade. I want a new AMD 64 dual core CPU. I'm thinking the 3800+ or 4200+ and a 939 NF4 mobo.

Now what CPU would you guys rec. and what make of mobo?

I plan to use existing parts from my main PC (see below) and build as I go. (not sure if my AGP card will work with a NF4 mobo or not. I want to get a PCI express video card after the cpu and mobo as well as 2gb of PC3200 and a new 250 to 300gb serial HDD. also I will be buying a new sound card.

My specs for the last two years:

AMD 2500+ Barton @ 2GHz
Abit KD7
WD 80GB 8k (x2)
768mb PC2700 Kingston
Sapphire 9800 pro
Antec true control 550w PSU
Hercules GTXP (sound card)
 
well the 4800+ is a bit high in price for me at the moment. I use my pc for everything and if i'm home i'm in front of it, but I can't justify spending over 800 USD on a CPU.

I've always liked Abit and MSI boards. DFI pretty good I take it? I have noticed a lot of people using it so it must be. good over clocker?

does a chip with 1mb cache make that much of a difference over one with 512kb?
 
If you do get a Dual core make sure you get the Toledo chip instead of the Manchester. The Toledo has 2x 1mb L2 Cache and Manchester only has 2x 512k L2 Cache.
 
Yes it is a great motherboard. I am next in line to purchase one. I currently have Asus, will be switching very soon. This is also a good alternative to the X2 4800+ and is cheaper.

X2-4200+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103547

Will save you about $400.00.

X2-4600+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103545

Will cost you more, will put you close to $800.00

(But these are manchester) see above post.

This has a clawhammer core:

4000+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103497
 
Amish Marauder said:


does a chip with 1mb cache make that much of a difference over one with 512kb?


Yes it definitely makes a huge difference. That is my opinion..
 
again: is 1mb of cache really all that faster than 512k??
will it really make that much of a difference?

also are any of these chips unlocked from the factory?
 
Amish Marauder said:
again: is 1mb of cache really all that faster than 512k??
will it really make that much of a difference?

also are any of these chips unlocked from the factory?

As I said, It will make a noticeable difference...

Whether or not they are unlocked from the factory, that I do not know.
 
Why get 512k cache when you could get a full 1mb cache? Thats double the cache size, it has to help. I really dont know what processor cache dose for you, but id rather know I have the best then be kicking myself for buying something inferior when i could spend a little extra money and have the best.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz FSB 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail

Theres an X2 with the Toledo core. 560 bucks on newegg.

Price/clock speed Comparison: (NewEgg prices)

3800 Manchester 2.0GHz clock - $374
4200 Manchester 2.2GHz clock - $473
4400 Toledo 2.2GHz clock - $559
4600 Manchester 2.4GHz clock - $690
4800 Toledo 2.4GHz clock - $884

So... If your on a budget, but still want an AMD X2 processor, you could go with the 3800 Manchester, and im sure it would overclock fairly easy to equal or pass the 4600 Manchester or 4800 Toledo clock speeds, but your still stuck with 512Mb cache. But if you spend 184 more dollars you could get the 4400 Toledo, and overclock it equal to or past a 4800 Toledo, and then you get the nice 1mb Cache. So it really depends how much you want to spend. But you probably already knew that, lol. Just thought id put it in words for ya i gues. Either way, if you plan to overclock I would say get the cheapest Manchester or Toledo core and then overclock it to equal or pass the expensive Manchester or Toledo cores.

If someone could jump in here and teach us n00bs what processor cache is used for and how important it is, please do! Or if it has already been discussed, please drop us a link!!!

Thats my 2 cents.
 
what's best depends on what you actually do with it.
you might not need more than the 3800+ depending on what programs you run.

cache stores instructions that the CPU will start processing when it finishes processing what it is currently doing. it is a lot faster to get it from cache than from RAM, however, having 1MB doesn't always give you a huge increase. depending on what you do, you might notice a big difference, or you might not even notice a difference at all.

the DFI NF4 boards hold all the records for overclocking Athlon 64's. MSI's boards are pretty good too but the DFI boards are best for overclocking.
 
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