Gaming what processor to choose?

[scrtmstr]

allright, so here's the deal:

I've got a choice between:

• some intel core 2 duos and pentium dual cores (E6600 and so on, between 2.2 and 2.8 Ghz)
  an AMD Athlon II X2 220 (2.8Ghz),
  an AMD X4 630 (2.8Ghz)
  the new(er) Intel i3 530 at 2.93 Ghz.

I'm going to use it for heavy office work, a game from time to time and a lot of converting and internet. I've got 3GB of RAM, might get another gigabyte extra if needed. I've got a lot of programs running side by side.

So what do you guys think, which will suit me best?

 

[JonthanD]

allright, so here's the deal:

I've got a choice between:

• some intel core 2 duos and pentium dual cores (E6600 and so on, between 2.2 and 2.8 Ghz)
  an AMD Athlon II X2 220 (2.8Ghz),
  an AMD X4 630 (2.8Ghz)
  the new(er) Intel i3 530 at 2.93 Ghz.

I'm going to use it for heavy office work, a game from time to time and a lot of converting and internet. I've got 3GB of RAM, might get another gigabyte extra if needed. I've got a lot of programs running side by side.

So what do you guys think, which will suit me best?

Out of the list of CPU's I would recommend the X4 630 with the work load you describe.

For the Intel fans or AMD fans please note that if funds where a non issue I would 110% recommend some i7 monster

 

[Jasper07]

I agree with Jonathan. Or maybe you could use a 955 or 965 BE from AMD. But I guess that is out of the budget.

 

[Sephi]

core2 duo E8400 is a great choice if you can afford it. if not, something a little lower should suffice

 

[JonthanD]

core2 duo E8400 is a great choice if you can afford it. if not, something a little lower should suffice

Thats the CPU I use

lol it is very nice

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

If your going to use it for pencil pushing work, any of the CPUs will work. You only need lots of RAM depending on what version of the OS your trying to use. 32bit OSes will be able to use 3.5GB (4GB shows as 3.5 in XP) of RAM, 64bit OSes can use more than 4GB.

 

[Berthenk]

Go for the AMD X4 630. Quadcore, says it all really.

 

[Jotokun]

Go for the X4. Normaly I'm one of those who would always say Intel, but of those choices the other CPUs you listed just dont compare.

Now, if you could get an i5 or an i7, I'd recommend that over the X4.

 

[dysan]

from the cpus you list, X4 is the best for converting and office work...games will work fine on it as well(might have some compatibility issues sometimes though,but most can be solved)

get a 64 bit OS and at least 1-2 gigs of RAM as well...

more RAM=faster work

 

[madtamski]

This may help...

*edit* Forgot to add graphics card information...

 

[Originality]

As mentioned, for office work, any of the CPUs in the OP will work just fine. I myself use a E8400, levelled up to a E8600 (it's a BIOS tweak).

There's no point getting a quad core unless you really need the extra cores for multi-threaded applications or heavy multi-tasking. In fact, high speed/strength dual core CPUs work better in many games than the inherantly slower quad cores.

Lil fact: the E6600 is rated the best dual core CPU because of how well it overclocks.

 

[Joe88]

E6600 is the first in the core 2 duo line
they are outdated and use a 65nm die size where as the newer ones such as the E7### and E8### use a 45nm die size
reduced heat, less power consumption, and better performance

but of course now they are also outdated by i3,i5, and i7

 

[Velveteer]

from the cpus you list, X4 is the best for converting and office work...games will work fine on it as well(might have some compatibility issues sometimes though,but most can be solved)

get a 64 bit OS and at least 1-2 gigs of RAM as well...

more RAM=faster work

Could someone please bash him? There are no compatibility issues with AMD, a 64-bit OS and 1-2GB ram is pointless and more RAM does NOT equal faster work.

 

[Originality]

Trololol. General rule of thumb for forums - don't put much stock into anything said by a member that doesn't capitalize their sentences.

Anyway, it's true that it's mostly pointless to get a 64bit OS unless you're using more than 3GB of RAM. Theoretically 64bit is more efficient since it handles larger data-streams, but you really won't see any benefit from it other than some older applications refusing to work because, in a budget PC, you're not using parts fast enough to notice the difference in 64bit operation.

 

[FireGrey]

AMD Athlon II X2 220

 

[Berthenk]

Madtamski, why are you posting those screenshots? You do know that they say jack, if anything at all about hardware, do you not?

 

[Scorpei]

E6600 is the first in the core 2 duo line
they are outdated and use a 65nm die size where as the newer ones such as the E7### and E8### use a 45nm die size
reduced heat, less power consumption, and better performance

but of course now they are also outdated by i3,i5, and i7

The 65nm procs are easier to overclock though compared to the 45nm models. Regardless in this case take the X4 as it is overpowered for what you need and thus will be enough. And "heavy office work", or multi processing you're better off with the X4 (or a proc with hyperthreading and 4 cores, not sure which of the i line has that).

Anyway, as for the compat issues, there have actually been instances where that was true (NFS?) and patches had to be released. Generally though (have both several core 2 duo and an X2 250) there isn't much difference in the two when it comes to compat.

Oh btw for the converting, get a hardware based convertion card (ati HD5 series I know have the capability, not sure about earlier models). Takes quite some load of the proc and is also often faster.

 

[dysan]

from the cpus you list, X4 is the best for converting and office work...games will work fine on it as well(might have some compatibility issues sometimes though,but most can be solved)

get a 64 bit OS and at least 1-2 gigs of RAM as well...

more RAM=faster work

Could someone please bash him? There are no compatibility issues with AMD, a 64-bit OS and 1-2GB ram is pointless and more RAM does NOT equal faster work.

I didn't mean compatibility issues with AMD!I'm using an athlon as well lol
I meant compatiblity issues with four core cpus...at least that's what they were saying a couple of years ago.

64bit OS is faster for office work because they can manage RAM better...it's no secret!
but again,I've heard problems with some games on 64 bit OS which I guess might be resolved by now
concerning the "2 GB ram is pointless"-the more RAM you have the better your pc will respond,no?....unless I've been living a lie for the better part of my life...

 

[Trulen]

concerning the "2 GB ram is pointless"-the more RAM you have the better your pc will respond,no?....unless I've been living a lie for the better part of my life...

Well, I've been rocking 2GB of ram. I know it's 1/4th of some of the 8GB systems folks rock... But... I've yet to hit a bottleneck in gaming because of it.

I check system monitors, and any game I play only will use about 80% of it tops.

It's my GPU that limits me! Avast! Though I'm picking up a shiny GTX 460 later.



But, also on processor side, I've got a Core 2 Duo 2.93GHz intel processor that's pretty much amazing. It hasn't let me down yet!
I keep thinking to buy one of those shin core i5's... But... I don't need it!

Maybe folks saying you need 4GB+ and quad cores are just justifying their large purcahse

Or, maybe I'm saying what I'm sayng to justify my low purchase!
But I'm pleased, minus my GPU. But even then, I'm extremely pleased with it. I just can't hit 60FPS in maybe a handful of games.
That, and I needed an excuse to open up my computer and play with it.

 

[Hakoda]

Just throwin this out there in case you forget but make sure your motherboard supports which ever processor you choose.