i agree that amd may be the way to go for him. although, im one to not think its wise to buy into amd right now since the current am3 socket is about to be replaces, and since the athlon II and phenom II cores are a bit older, id say its not money well spent. but if that all the OP wants is something to get him by over the next year or 2, then a athlon II quad core would be nice. and the cpu and motherboard would be cheaper than an intel set up, but with a loss in performance.
Which CPU is better for medicore gaming?
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I would never recommend an Athlon II for gaming, the lack of L3 cache does make quite a significant difference with performance. I'd take a Phenom II triple core over an Athlon II quad anyday.
But staying within the price point, I'd take an I3 550 over any Athlon II as well. Plus the power consumption on the I3 is around 30 watts less at idle and 70 watts less at load (total system not just CPU)-
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/105?vs=143
But staying within the price point, I'd take an I3 550 over any Athlon II as well. Plus the power consumption on the I3 is around 30 watts less at idle and 70 watts less at load (total system not just CPU)-
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/105?vs=143
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You can get a Phenom II 955 for 120 bucks with a 10 buck card and free shipping.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808
Ahh they just lowered the price again. Was $140 just the other day.
Well a 955 will beat an I3 with games optimized for quad cores, but most games aren't....the I3 is still much faster with single threaded apps too. But the price coming down sure did narrow the gap on price for performance.
Well a 955 will beat an I3 with games optimized for quad cores, but most games aren't....the I3 is still much faster with single threaded apps too. But the price coming down sure did narrow the gap on price for performance.
Iceyn1pples
New Member
Well, you have to think about future proofing too.
The AMD x4 and x6 Cpus offer much better futureproofing for the average user than the i3 can. The i3 isnt THAT much faster. Comparision you posted is true, but you have to take into consideration the clock speeds of the 2 CPUs. The i3 was clocked 3.06ghz and the AMD was only 2.8. If the athlon was clocked the same, the results would be MUCH closer. Plus the AMD has more cores to use when the application can use it.
Edit: At newegg.com, the AMD 955 is only a dollar more than the i3 540. Hands down, the 955 will beat the i3.
The AMD x4 and x6 Cpus offer much better futureproofing for the average user than the i3 can. The i3 isnt THAT much faster. Comparision you posted is true, but you have to take into consideration the clock speeds of the 2 CPUs. The i3 was clocked 3.06ghz and the AMD was only 2.8. If the athlon was clocked the same, the results would be MUCH closer. Plus the AMD has more cores to use when the application can use it.
Edit: At newegg.com, the AMD 955 is only a dollar more than the i3 540. Hands down, the 955 will beat the i3.
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Heard they will get cheaper in the next few weeks. AMD clearing inventory out. I still would not buy one unless you get a AM3+ board. So you will still have some upgradeability.
Iceyn1pples
New Member
...and the OP is gone....
Meh, with socket 1156 you can always upgrade to an I7 860/870 which is stronger than any AM3 cpu anyway.
The clockspeed was relevent...swayed toward AMD even. Most athlon II quads will struggle to hit 3.8ghz as a daily overclock when pretty much every I3 540 or 550 can do 4.2-4.4ghz as a daily OC. So the comparision only showed a 200mhz difference when in real life it's a 400-600mhz difference.
I do not feel an Athlon II is more futureproof than an I3 in any way. The I3 is a very strong CPU. What I mean by that is by the time things are mostly optimized for quad or more cores, both CPU's will be LONG obsolete. So in the mean time why not get the CPU thats much faster at single and dual threaded things, pretty close with quad threaded things which is pretty much nothing the OP will do.
The I3 is also still easily stronger than a 955 is single and dual threaded tasks.
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Iceyn1pples
New Member
I agree with you. But it is hard for any of us to make a recommendation as the OP has not stated his budget. My point is that AMD is great value/dollar and tons of performance for all the non-gamers out there.