X2 3800 Or FX 55? [Archive] - techPowerUp! Forums

JC316

10-09-2006, 05:58 AM

I am thinking about a processor upgrade soon and I am debating between the X2 3800 or the FX 55. Thoughts on which one is better? Don't say Core 2, cause I ain't getting a new mobo and ram to go with it. This would be used for nothing but gaming.

Azn Tr14dZ

10-09-2006, 06:00 AM

Well, there's an X2 4400+ Toledo that is Energy Efficient Version, only 89 w, and there are many of them that can go 2.9-3.0Ghz on air easily. So, for $240-$250, you can get that, and it would beat both.

JC316

10-09-2006, 06:24 AM

I am going to be looking in the price range of $150-$200.

ktr

10-09-2006, 06:40 AM

FX! because i have one ;)

AshenSugar

10-09-2006, 08:41 AM

3800+ and a freezer64pro, newer 3800's seem to be hitting 2.65-2.9gz on air with ease.

Judas

10-09-2006, 03:37 PM

if your on a budget go for the x2 3800

b1lk1

10-09-2006, 04:35 PM

AshenSugar

10-12-2006, 07:21 AM

X2 is the only logical choice. You won't need to upgrade again for awhile with a dual core whereas the single core will definitely show it's age in the next year or so once they start releasing games that are coded around dual cores. If you can get 2.4GHz+ out of the X2, it will easily outgame a single core at any speed.

depends on the game, i have some games that are multi core enabled, they dont run any faster on my buddys x2 4200(stock) or his 3800@2.5 desktop then they do on my 2.7gz singel core, video card and ram are extreamly important to game perf, hes only got 1gb in each of those systems i have 2gb ^^

most multi threded(multi core enabled) games eather have fallback modes for singel core OR if you got a fast singel core your chips not being thrashed anyway, fps games especly dont show huge advantages yet. but as i said x2 3800+freezer64pro, dont waist ur $ on the fx55 :)

trog100

10-12-2006, 07:59 PM

Azn Tr14dZ

10-12-2006, 08:01 PM

But then again games will be multi-threaded in the future, and single-core won't have a performance benefit.

Go for the X2 3800+!

cjoyce1980

10-12-2006, 08:17 PM

X2 3600+, with good ram and mobo you can overclock to X2 5000+ speeds and it does perform like a X2 5000+

AshenSugar

10-12-2006, 09:21 PM

yeah cjoyce and thats just as far as they took it, it can go farther for sure, that was just a so/so overclock :/ they didnt even really try :(

AshenSugar

10-12-2006, 09:42 PM

dont waste money on an FX.. if u want a fast single core chip buy the 4000+.. mine runs okay at 3.2 gig if i want it to.. and game-wise it will piss all over any dual core at a lesser speed..

and the belief that games are gonna get coded any time soon for dual core is just a belief.. it has no foundation in fact..

trog

http://www.unreal.ie/forum&c=showthread&ThreadID=1770

try knowing what your talking about b4 you spout faulse information.

also doom3/quake4/prey/cod2/halflife2(not as well done as it could be but it uses multi threds) all are multi threded, the doom3 engine is multi threded hence any game based on it is multi threded, source engine is smp enabled and from what i have read they are working to make it better, so any source engine based game is SMP

http://forums.tweakguides.com/showthread.php?t=3009
good talk about it there

multi threded games and apps arent really that much harder to program once you learn to do it, at least that what every programer i know says, and i know quite a few game and app dev's, the main problem is learning to do it properly, you dont need multi cores to use multi threding, its just faster with more cores as threds can run on diffrant cores.

also go way back to quake3 and starsiege/tribes, they support multi threding also called SMP so there are and have been games around that take advantage of it for quite some time, they are just starting to become more common due to the fact that multi core/cpu systems are now affordable for the common gamer, where as till fairly recently only rich people or programers where likely to have multi chip/core systems.

its hard to move from programing singel threded games due to learning curve and having to learn to do things diffrently, much like if you where to have a job putting carborators togather for years and the procedure was the same steps over and over then they deisde to change the order in whitch you are to assimble them so that insted of doing it 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 you have to do 3-5-2-1-6-7-8 takes some time to learn to do it the new way and in some cases a new way of thinking.

my buddy who worked for Id for years loves to say that when they went to SMP enabled it was the best and worst thing he ever went thru on a job, best because he learned ALOT and learned to SMP enable apps and games, worst because he had to constantly go back and re=write his code because HE kept doing it the old way.

smp offers alot of advantages, such as offloading AI to another core, in any good game AI(good game=decent AI) eats alot of cpu cycles to do its thing, moving that to a 2nd core makes alot of sence.

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060906/monkkonen_01.shtml
thats an intresting artical you may injoy reading, about Multithreaded Game Engine Architectures

good stuff to read specly for those who dont think smp enabled games are gonna show up, when the fact is they have been around for YEARS(since the 90's :O )

cdawall

10-12-2006, 10:12 PM

x2 3600 sounds like a good choice

JC316

10-13-2006, 12:45 AM

There is no such thing as an X2 3600. If there is, I damn sure can't find it. Linky to one?

Azn Tr14dZ

10-13-2006, 12:50 AM

There is an X2 3600:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/athlon64-x2-3600.html

10-13-2006, 01:20 AM

There is no such thing as an X2 3600. If there is, I damn sure can't find it. Linky to one?

i think a 3500+ will do a better job than a x2 3600+, but it looks great for overclocking :D

AshenSugar

10-13-2006, 03:35 AM

pt stock they are all of 200mhz diffrant, thats a SIMPLE overclock for a 3600+ x2, currently its HARD AS HELL to find them in the states, but ausi's and the like have them at good prices.

the chips a 3800+ with 1/2 the L2 cache, overclocks like a demon and runs coooool(they are Energy Efficent cores afterall)
2.6 isnt even touching what i have see them do, the 2 i have seen in person(ordered OEM from a us shop that had them for all of 24hrs b4 they ran out) have hit 2.9 and 3.2gz diffrent boards same cooler(freezer64pro) the boards are the reasion for diffrent clocks from what we can figuar, 2.9 is on an asus board that gets wonky at higher clocks, and 3.2 is a biostar tforce590 board(he got it cheap, 85bucks new unopened)

they excist and easly do as well or better then my current 3500+@2.7, i would get one but they are still very hard to find in america.
check ocena(however u spell that regon where ausitrilia is) they are readly avalable from what i have seen of ausi hardware sites(i got alot of ausi game buddys, every shop that carrys amd down there has the 3600+, some miss lable it as a 1.8gz 512k part insted of 256k 2gz part, but thats due to stupidity of those listing the items, the morons cant read ;)

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=x2+3600%2B&btnG=Search+Froogle&lmode=online&scoring=p

http://www.xpcgear.com/ado3600cubox.html
$133 for an x2 3600+

@JC316: google/froogle is your friend ;) (sorry but i had to, so many people just cant seem to learn to use such easy tools. )

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=x2+3600%2B+amd&btnG=Search&lmode=online&cat=1368&scoring=p

JC316

10-13-2006, 04:45 AM

I tried google, I couldn't find anything on it. They are practicly impossible to find.

AshenSugar

10-13-2006, 04:59 AM

as i have said, they arent readly avalable in the states/canada yet, but froogle found a bunch, froogle is googles price/shoping search side if its avalable normaly u can find it on froogle ;)

JC316

10-13-2006, 08:58 AM

What about an Opteron 165? They seem to be cheaper than the FX and the X2.

10-13-2006, 10:47 AM

What about an Opteron 165? They seem to be cheaper than the FX and the X2.

opterons are good :D a 175 would be a great choice

ps:Ashensugar, i was talking at stock settings for someone who isnt in overcloking ;)

AshenSugar

10-13-2006, 11:17 AM

never understood people who dont oc there amd chips i mean its so easy and truely safe these days :)

10-13-2006, 11:20 AM

never understood people who dont oc there amd chips i mean its so easy and truely safe these days :)

some ppl just doesnt know, and are afraid of doing it

AshenSugar

10-14-2006, 12:32 AM

yeah, had a guy tell me overclocking would make you cpu die very fast on another forums, then he used an artical writen by intel from the 90's to prove it.....ROFL

my overclocks
386dx40(with math unit) @50mhz(changed clock crystal)
486dx4overdrive 100@150(easy as pie)
5x86 amd133mhz@166
cyrix/ibm cpus all got overclocked, to many to list.
idt winchip 240@450(board limited not cpu)
amd k6 166@233
k6-2 450@550
k6-3 450@550
p3 500e@733
duron 600@866
athlon tbird 900@1.4gz(board limited)
axp 1700+@2.4gz
axp 2600+@2.3gz(2x this setup)

palimino=dont overclock for shit:P

a64-3000+2gz@2.55 newcastle 754
a64-3700+2.4gz@2.6 clawhammer 754

a64 am2 3500+ 2.2gz@2.7(can get more but have to drop ram to 2t timings)

i know i missed some of my overclocks there, but hey all those systems are still in use other then the 2 that died due to lightning strike(exploded the UPS and psus on 5 comps in the office they where setup at) the k6-2 and the idt winchip died early deaths.
the 386 is in use by a locksmith who uses them for record keeping(old dos based app with no windows version)
the others are in friends/relitives systems now all still overclocked and still crankin along happly.

i have overclocked more systems for costmers , deaths are rare, mostly caused by user/owner error(like the athlon/duron systems that the owners took the coolers off of to clean then eather didnt mount the cooler properly OR at all b4 powering the system back on, MORONS)

i have a 1700+ in a server thats been running at 2.4gz for like 5years now, this is a critical server, the orignal athlon mp died(palimino core, cooler was retail and fan stoped, chip cooked itself....smelled bad) they havent had a singel problem with that system and infact have upgraded the scsi raid in it 2x since i installed the new chip(board was nice, very good clocking options, specly for a board made for server use)

a64, well i have yet to meet an a64 i didnt overclock, my buddys 1.8gz sempy64 wasnt overclocked till i showed him how to do it, i got it to like 2.5 and had to leave, 2 days later hes got it at 3.2gz with his freezer64pro, i about sh@ myself, thats insain, specly for a chip that when it was new on the market caust him 65bucks retail and a board that was under 75bucks retail(tforce6100 socket 754) its been being pushed with seti@home and compiling stuff(website and database stuff) and its been rock stable for around a year

overclocking is about finding balance and getting the true potential out of your parts, or in his case saving $ because he was soo pooor at the time, not that it matters, the thing performs on par with an fx55 or better and still never tops 54c on a warm day at full 24/7 load.

as i was saying, overclocking is about balance, gotta balance memory latancy with clock speed and make sure its all ROCK STABLE and running reasonable temps when doing so.

those old intel articals that made you think your pc was gonna burst into flames or start spewing hot magma if you overclocked still have an effect on some people today and its sad.

overclocking isnt what lessens life of a part, nore is voltege, its HEAT, keep the heat down at manageable levels and your parts will last you as long as you could ever wish overclocked or not ^^

Frick

10-14-2006, 09:18 AM

overclocking is about finding balance and getting the true potential out of your parts, or in his case saving $

Tr00 dat is. That's one of the reasons I really have second thoughts on going dual-core.. I think I should be able to push my 3000+ up to ~2.7 GHz.. I did that once @ 1.45V vcore, and I even was able to get inte BIOS! :) The entire thing looked like Mark Renton on heroin, but hey, it kinda worked. :) So with some modding I have great hopes. We'll see. The bad thing is that I don't really get anything from it. Nothing noticalby at least. I think my system i pretty balanced right now. :cool:

JC316

10-14-2006, 06:59 PM

cdawall

10-14-2006, 08:19 PM

here x2 3600s its called froogle ppl hell they have them @ buy.com

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=x2+3600&btnG=Search+Froogle

AshenSugar

10-14-2006, 08:47 PM

cdawall i had that same responce to a few people so far who claimed there eather was no x2 3600+ or that you couldnt get them and nobody was selling them.

if you live down under you can get them at almost any amd friendly shop, in the states you gotta froogle or ebay ;)

cdawall

10-14-2006, 10:37 PM

AshenSugar

10-15-2006, 01:24 AM

i listed 1 site that had them in stock AND froogle search that was all cpu 3600+ listings, 133bucks for a dual core that at 2.6 is at most 5%slower in rare apps(3dsmax7) and in some cases is FASTER then the 5000+(2.6gz) and is easly able to get to the 3gz range on a decent board.
thats a great deal, i mean damn, i may get one once the mir's are back for my ram and x1900xt cards, great buy from what i have been seeing, 3+gz out of them on air......sweeet

Frick

10-15-2006, 09:22 AM

Frick, you have the exact same setup that I do. There is a problem with the ASrock dual sata2, when you go over 275 on the FSB, it really messes up. Find the article on the sata2 voltmod and they have a beta bios that alledgely fixes it. I haven't tried it, so use at your own risk.

Asrock's own BIOS from like 1.80 or somethin should handle it.. I have 1.9, I think, and I can go well above 275. But, as said, I'll do some voltmods soon and then we'll see. :)
An interesting thought on memory: When I had 2*256MB the system was HIGHLY unstable @ 204Mhz. But now, when I have 2*256 and a 512MB-stick I'm stable @ 215 or so. Very odd indeed. Especially when I could OC the two 256MB-stick to more than 225Mhz on my NF7-S 2.0..:wtf: