Phenom II X3 720 or X4 940?

T

tenchim86

New Member
Hi everyone. I'm new to the forums and I'm planning to build a budget gaming system this summer that will be able to play most games on maxed/high settings. Overall, I'm looking to spend $600-$700 on this system. I've narrowed my processors to these two.

Phenom II X3 720 BE: $120
Phenom II X4 940: $190

Most games today won't even use 3 or 4 cores, but I plan to use this system for the next 2-3 years. I think I may overclock the processor and get an aftermarket cooler.

Thus far, I think my rig will consist of: Geforce GTX 260 (Having second thoughts on this. Maybe I should get the HD 4870 512MB/1GB?) and 4 gigs of RAM (maybe crucial DDR3 1066?). Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
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Get the Phenom II X4 940..Quad core!

Most games today won't even use 3 or 4 cores
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But they will soon, Alan wake is supposed to use all cores, I know GTA IV runs better on a Quad core than a dual core.

Some of our current games such as COD5 are optimised for dual cores already so....
 
Thanks for your input Nevakonaza. I think I may have to go with the 720 BE so I can stay within my budget. I think the 3 cores should make be happy for the next 2-3 years.

By the way, would the 790Fx Mobo work for the GTX 260 and 720 BE?
 
tenchim86 said:
Thanks for your input Nevakonaza. I think I may have to go with the 720 BE so I can stay within my budget. I think the 3 cores should make be happy for the next 2-3 years.

By the way, would the 790Fx Mobo work for the GTX 260 and 720 BE?
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If you have not already purchased the GTX260, might want to look into a 4870 or 4890, as most of the 790 chipset boards support crossfire.
 
tenchim86 said:
Thanks. That's what I had thought. I'm now considering the HD 4870 1GB, but I don't know the difference between these two.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102815
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150394

Also, if I wanted to use the crossfire option down the line, would I just need to buy another HD 4870 1GB card? I was leaning towards the GTX 260 because the benchmark scores were better than the 4870 on this site.
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Yup, As long as your power supply is sufficient.
Great bang for the buck card that oc's well:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161276
 
Thanks for your help bomberboysk. I've change my mind many times today. It's hard deciding on components for a computer. I'm worried about the graphics card running too hot, so I may stick with the HD 4870 over the 4890, but I'm gonna do some more research.
 
tenchim86 said:
Thanks for your help bomberboysk. I've change my mind many times today. It's hard deciding on components for a computer. I'm worried about the graphics card running too hot, so I may stick with the HD 4870 over the 4890, but I'm gonna do some more research.
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4890 is based on a smaller process, so it actually runs about the same temperatures as a 4870, if not cooler.
 
The 4890 does seem to be better than the 4870. I'm not sure about the HIS brand. I've heard about XFX's double lifetime warranty. The HIS is $170 after rebate and XFX is $195 after rebate. I'm gonna have to think about this one for a bit.
 
tenchim86 said:
The 4890 does seem to be better than the 4870. I'm not sure about the HIS brand. I've heard about XFX's double lifetime warranty. The HIS is $170 after rebate and XFX is $195 after rebate. I'm gonna have to think about this one for a bit.
Click to expand...

Really the only difference between the brands is the warranties they offer, XFX has a wonderful double lifetime while the HIS i believe has a 3 year.
 
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