Downgrading... need AMD help

[phanbuey]

Hey guys,

The recession has finally caught up to me and Im downgrading the rig...


Ive decided that this would be a good time to cross over to the AMD side! So I need to know what the best, cheapest budget:

AMD micro ATX board w/DDR3, and can unlock cores.

Best Bang/Buck AMD chip that Won't Bottleneck a single GTX 400+ Series card


Please help! I know nothing about AMD chips. Also, anyone selling AMD stuff, please PM me if you have something that fits the above description.


Thanks TPU!

 

[r9]

MSI 770-C45 and Athlon II x3 425. Unlocked forth core and L3 cache. Both cheap and well worth the money. The system from my System Specs.

 

[phanbuey]

MSI 770-C45 and Athlon II x3 425. Unlocked forth core and L3 cache. Both cheap and well worth the money. The system from my System Specs.

Thanks for that, but I really do need a Micro ATX board... but you're saying that the Athlon II X3 425 is a good chip?


Im looking to overclock the living **** out of these components also, so overclockability is a big plus too.

 

[JrRacinFan]

Coming from a Core chip would be best if you go Phenom II x4 9X5 ,cause its still a gamble with unlocking. You will notice a difference at first but clock the chip up to 3.4-3.6Ghz.

As far as boards go, a 790GX mATX or 785G. I depicted these chipsets because they are most successful at unlocking cores,m but just be careful when choosing a board.

Oh and check with theonedub. I think he has a nice Gigabyte mATX for sale.

EDIT:

As far as OCing the living sh**, take a peak at newegg's 880G lineup. Altho unsure if they unlock cores or not.

 

[phanbuey]

Coming from a Core chip would be best if you go Phenom II x4 9X5 ,cause its still a gamble with unlocking. You will notice a difference at first but clock the chip up to 3.4-3.6Ghz.

As far as boards go, a 790GX mATX or 785G. I depicted these chipsets because they are most successful at unlocking cores,m but just be careful when choosing a board.

Oh and check with theonedub. I think he has a nice Gigabyte mATX for sale.

Thanks for that, I will definitely hit him up for that... I definitely know that its a gamble with unlocking. Its a toss up between trying to go for a whole new setup, or just to keep the chip (its really nice) sell the WS board and the WC system and call it a day.

 

[mosheen]

what about an i3 530??
4.2-4.5ghz should be easy.
No AMD can beat Intel at overclocking, just my thoughts.

 

[JrRacinFan]

Have you thought about going this route?
ASRock P55 Extreme LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Mo...

It's a pretty nice board looking past the funky colors.

@mosheen

Good call, I think PP_mguire has a i3 530 for sale @ $80 but not too sure.

 

[phanbuey]

what about an i3 530??
4.2-4.5ghz should be easy.
No AMD can beat Intel at overclocking, just my thoughts.

Its a good idea, but I think that an AMD quad will be 'smoother' in games than a dual with HT, plus for some reason the mem bandwith on the i3's is really low compared to i5... if i stay with intel Ill prolly keep my i5 750 since it can hit 4.2ghz at 1.32v

Plus ive seen good things in terms of FPS when the NB is OC'd on AMD systems.

@jrracingfan - need MicroATX board... but yeah i dont know if it will be worth it to knock all the way down to a budget quad or keep the 750.

 

[JrRacinFan]

Why mATX? That's my question.

 

[mosheen]

Help save the planet

Edit: Check this

 

[phanbuey]

Why mATX? That's my question.

i got my hands on

But I know what you're saying... maybe ATX is the way to go... Is micro ATX really that much worse?

@mosheen - wow, that's really impressive, the only thing that bugs me about it is that its a Dualie - i used to have an e8500 (that Im selling now) at 4.13Ghz a while back - and it put up great avg FPS, but it was a bit jerky from time to time, especially at threaded games, like Dragon Age. Even more so than my Q6600 at 3.6... Maybe it was just my setup with the SLI, but ive heard similar things from other people that went from dual to quad.

 

[JrRacinFan]

Ahhhh!!!

Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, L...



Of course not but HIGHLY suggest if you go AMD to get a Black edition as most of the boards don't push past 270 (aside from the 8 series chipsets).

 

[cdawall]

what about an i3 530??
4.2-4.5ghz should be easy.
No AMD can beat Intel at overclocking, just my thoughts.

Saying no amd can beat an intel is kinda fanboyish while I agree the 530 is a great bang for the buck just kind of a rude way to say it

 

[mosheen]

Don't get me wrong, i prefer AMD over Intel.
AMD gives good value for money, but if you take overclocking into account...... Intel is just superior.

 

[cdawall]

Don't get me wrong, i prefer AMD over Intel.
AMD gives good value for money, but if you take overclocking into account...... Intel is just superior.

Depends what your doing on cold amd clocks higher current 6 cores seem to be clocking better I hit 4.5ghz on my 1090 already.

 

[r9]

Thanks for that, but I really do need a Micro ATX board... but you're saying that the Athlon II X3 425 is a good chip?


Im looking to overclock the living **** out of these components also, so overclockability is a big plus too.

I missed the micro part . If you are getting 425/435 look for cacyc stepping those are locked Phenoms II other steppings are Athlons II locked.

 

[phanbuey]

Yah that is true... ive been with intel for a long time because of this... Not OCing is just letting free performance go to waste.

 

[Fourstaff]

Question is, how much are you going to save by downgrading? If you downgrade, you will have to upgrade again in the future, which adds up costs. Depends how big is your need for money now.

 

[BraveSoul]

leave it as is, and invest ur time that u would spend researching and building this new pc into a part time job, that will make u some money, and u get to keep ur SLI 4.2ghz quad system
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[Kenshai]

I went from i7 920 @ 4ghz to i3 530 @ 3.6 and honestly I see no difference in games at all. They really are great processors for the money.

 

[phanbuey]

Question is, how much are you going to save by downgrading? If you downgrade, you will have to upgrade again in the future, which adds up costs. Depends how big is your need for money now.

Well thats the thing... I decided not to go to AMD and just keep the Quad. I will be selling off the GFX cards and maybe getting an open box 4890 for like $140.

The WC system and the motherboard alone will get me upwards of $250 and then the case probably another $100 or so.

The other reason Im downgrading is that Im getting so f*****ng tired of watercooling. Its just such a pain to fiddle with the tubes and fans and whatnot. So on one hand I am trying to get some cash and on the other I am trying to save time and effort spent on maintaining the system and more time actually gaming.

leave it as is, and invest ur time that u would spend researching and building this new pc into a part time job, that will make u some money, and u get to keep ur SLI 4.2ghz quad system
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Antec1200 filter project

Well I have TPU so the time spent researching is minimal since most people here know their s***. And the only way I could swing another job is if I don't sleep.

I have a nice job I just dont have alot of money due to student loans, new car, rent, etc etc. That stuff really eats away at the money... Plus I havent had AMD for a while and wanted to see if a Phenom quad system felt 'smoother' like everyone said or if that was a bunch of bs.

 

[Fourstaff]

The other reason Im downgrading is that Im getting so f*****ng tired of watercooling. Its just such a pain to fiddle with the tubes and fans and whatnot. So on one hand I am trying to get some cash and on the other I am trying to save time and effort spent on maintaining the system and more time actually gaming.

Sell it off and bolt in a cheap aftermarket cooler such as the Xigmatek 1283 and be happy

 

[phanbuey]

Sell it off and bolt in a cheap aftermarket cooler such as the Xigmatek 1283 and be happy

Thermaltake MUX 120 is waiting for me from PPCS at the apt