AMD Athlon 64x2 3800+ vs AMD Athlon 64 3800+

[Lcole]

AMD Athlon 64x2 3800+ vs AMD Athlon 64 3800+

I'm about to build a new computer that can handle my gaming needs for the next couple of years and I have my heart set on the 3800+. The bad thing about it is when I was surfer in tigerdirect.com they had the dual core for about $40.00 more (still surfering other computer parts sites but I normally go to newegg and tigerdirect to get the feel of what's out there). Since it has been awhile since the last time I really researched alot of the new tech. for computers I started to try and see proformance wise the difference. From the gaming perspective on most sites (couldn't find too many sites that compared the x2 against the original), just the regular AMD Athlon 64 3800+ outperformed against the x2.

AMD Athlon 64x2 3800+
- Price about $40 more
- 400 MHz less
- "Dual Core"
- Runs using less energy

I built a AMD Athlon 64 3200+ for my sister awhile back and very impressed with the performance I got out of it with just stock configurations so I'm leaning towards the non-dual core processor.

This might sound REALLY noobish (been out of the loop for way too long /cry ) but most motherboards I have seen support only 400 MHz memory, but I'm seeing DDR2 memory @ 533 MHz or better. Will these mobos support it?

Would like some advice on which one I should choose. Money isn't a big problem right now but I don't want to buy the "fresh off the drawing board" processor for $800.00+ when in a year it will be half the price. Hoping to have a list of what I plan on putting in the computer by the end of the day to see how it stacks up. Thanks!

 

[Counter-Strike]

The dual core and 64-bit are the 2 most important features you can get out of a processor right now. Dual cores are absolutely great for multitasking, do not look at them in terms of frequency speed, but power.

Especially in future applications that will utilize 64-bit and both dual core threading. Go with the X2.

 

[Apokalipse]

the dual core 3800+ will perform a lottle bit slower in games, but much faster in multitasking things.
it all depends on what programs you will be running, and how many at a time

 

[Lcole]

Max. I do on the computer nowadays is surfer the web while playing a MMO...
Thanks for the tips so far.

 

[PZEROFGH]

i wuold say go with the 3800+(x2) cause you will be prepared for the future and only 40 dollars more thats a steal

 

[Lcole]

Another question. About how long will I start seeing the need for a x2? If it's going to be 2-5+ years down the road, I'll probably be upgrading to a better processor then.

 

[PZEROFGH]

soon enough i bet most games and apps will allow support for dual core, i believe only a handful of games and apps support dual core. i bet next year or maybe 2007 most games will support dual core. this will only happen if dual core sells goes up. so the game makers will see that most people bought a dual core and then they would want to support it to make more money cause the dual core people would buy the games sense it supports dual core, and then they can be laughing at the people who bought fx processors

 

[Lcole]

Wow. That's very interesting. Now I'm trying to get myself to maybe upgrade to a 4200+x2 now.
Do you have any advice on a good video card to go along with the power of the x2?

 

[PZEROFGH]

well how much are you willing to pay

if your on a budget 6800GT around 300 bucks

got a bigger budget

7800GTX

oh i see money isnt a problem 7800GTX woot woot!

 

[PZEROFGH]

oh yeah amd mobos dont support DDR2 only intel mobos, am i right?