Phenom Vs. Athlon

[StrangleHold]

Cache is a funny thing. Like said above. You have L1/L2 and L3. L1 is the smallest and fastest. Then L2 alittle larger and slower. L3 is the largest and slowest. All is alot faster then going to systems menory.

What ever game/program your using, if its data is repetitive, more cache will make a big difference. If its less repetitive it wont help that much (nothing in cache its looking for and constantly flushing data ) ends up jumping to system memory.

In general more the better. All depends if you want to pay for it.

 

[Kitsune]

If I can throw my 2 cents in here....
I used to be all googly eyed over the Intel Core I7 and honestly since I have built this AMD computer I am liking the Phenom II 955. So much so that if I were to do it again I would probably go AMD again, I dont have that OOOOHHHHH I7 mentality anymore, and am becoming more of an AMD fan and the 955 is well worth the money.

-Edit- Fallout New Vegas, and WOW Run excelent on max settings with the setup I have. The only lag I get is from the video card and that only shows up when running dual screen. I haven't tried Gothic 3 on it yet, which is said to be one of the most hardware intensive games out there.

 

[spynoodle]

One more thing: isn't the L3 unlockable on the Athlon IIs?

 

[StrangleHold]

One more thing: isn't the L3 unlockable on the Athlon IIs?

Some can, some cant. Alot of the first ones you could. But most of the newer ones cant.

In the stepping code.

If its a AD its a real Propus core, no L3

If its a AC its a Deneb core and has locked L3

 

[vieya]

So I guess there really isn't that great of a benefit in upgrading to Phenom when I have Athlon?

 

[TrainTrackHack]

So I guess there really isn't that great of a benefit in upgrading to Phenom when I have Athlon?

Unless you're getting extra cores, no, not really.

 

[vieya]

how what if I get x4? Would it make much of a difference if I get the anthlon or the phenom x4 then?

 

[2048Megabytes]

I would get the Athlon II Quad-Core if you want the best buy for your dollar. If you want something 20% faster and are willing to spend $50 more than the Athlon II Quad-Cores get a Phenom II Quad-Core Processor.

 

[vieya]

so essentially even though they have different names it's not that big of a difference performance wise? or is this the case for all processors and not just those from AMD? if so examples would be nice but either way thank you all for enlightening me on the subject matter.

 

[2048Megabytes]

What are you going to be using the system for that you want Vieya? If it is just normal Internet browsing it would just be best to go with an Athlon II Quad-Core processor.

 

[TrainTrackHack]

If it is just normal Internet browsing it would just be best to go with an Athlon II Quad-Core processor.

To be frank for just browsing he'd better off getting a Sempron or Athlon II X2...

 

[BurningSkyline]

To be frank for just browsing he'd better off getting a Sempron or Athlon II X2...

An Athlon Tri would be an even better choice, bundled with a motherboard that can unlock cores. If the 4th can't be unlocked, oh well. It is still fast.

 

[AcetheGamer]

So I guess there really isn't that great of a benefit in upgrading to Phenom when I have Athlon?

If you're talking about that "athlon" in your sig. then difference will be astronomical