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Tri Core or Quad Core??

S

Supreme0verlord

Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
696 (0.12/day)
Location
Elkhart, IN
Ok, I need some advice here on my next upgrade. I was originally planning on getting the 720 BE with a new motherboard, but then I realized that I could get a 940 without the new motherboard and it would still fit in my budget, which is around $310.

But here is what I need advice on, should I get the 720BE + new motherboard or should I get the 940BE without the new motherboard? I'm just worried that my current motherboard could limit the OC'ing ability of the 940. I MIGHT be able to push the price a bit further, but not much more.

Here is what I was planning:
720BE (possibly the 710 due to budget constraints)
Gigabyte GA-MA790X
Xigmatek HDT S1284EE
Liteon DVD Burner

Total: $338.98 ($310.98 with the 710)

or

940BE
Xigmatek HDT S1284EE
Liteon DVD Burner

Total: $293.53

What are your thought's?
 
Opinions?!?! :D

Neither. Go i7. i7 920 from Microcenter for $229.99.
 
Pay more for the tri core... pay less for the quad core. I don't see why there's any question here. 940 is a BE chip as well
 
Binge said:
Pay more for the tri core... pay less for the quad core. I don't see why there's any question here. 940 is a BE chip as well
Click to expand...

Well I was wondering if my current motherboard would limit the oc ability of the 940........ does anyone think that it will??
 
Yeah your mother board is not very strong for overclocking. I think 940 is better if you can arrange your budget to 400$ or near it.

In other way 720 BE is good choice and I have read reviews that the performance difference is not very huge when it is compared with quad cores.
 
inf3rno said:
Yeah your mother board is not very strong for overclocking. I think 940 is better if you can arrange your budget to 400$ or near it.

In other way 720 BE is good choice and I have read reviews that the performance difference is not very huge when it is compared with quad cores.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I didn't think my motherboard would be very good for overclocking the 940. I don't think I could push my budget to $400, I'm really starting to push it at $338.98. You think that I should just go for the 710 and save some money? I should be able to oc it towards 3.8Ghz hopefully........
 
If you are on budget then get the 940 BE. In my opinion 3.0 GHz is fair speed, you don't look to be overclocking. Save your 40$ and buy yourself a nice Mobo after some time.
 
Hmmm, I just looked at Biostar's website and it says that my motherboard doesn't support the Phenom II's, so I'm not sure what to do now.....
 
Considering your current predicament I say to go with one of the following...

PII 710 + 790GX board (your pick)

PII 920 + 790GX board (again your pick)

Both of those chips will out of the box be leagues ahead of your current setup (which is great btw). Both chips will clock very nicely even with the locked upwards multiplier state. Both chips will cost you very little coin, and can be had in good deals at newegg.

I believe that the smartest option would be to go with the PII 710 for you since you've got a dual core now so EITHER option is an upgrade in cores. You don't sound as though you actually NEED a quad core at this time and a tri core will give you plenty of extra headroom anyway. The 710 can be had for peanuts and is already extremly fast even without the 4th core option.

Either of those processors will run very cool even on the stock cooling, they also don't need much voltage at all to run. Even at higher than stock speed you don't need much voltage which helps with heat as well as money savings.

As a matter of fact the processors run cool enough that this morning I disabled my 120mm rear case fan (yes turned it off) and I'm only using my top 80mm exhaust fan because the rear 67cfm fan was just too loud and I didn't need it anyway. Temps in the case are still just as awesome as before and I run my fan on the cpu cooler in Silent mode (less than 40cfm) at all times regardless of cpu speed (even 3.5Ghz doesn't go above 55C 100% load).

I'm using the Xigmatek HDT S-1283 cooler with a Scythe fan attatched to it for silence (max speed is 110cfm at ~ 2000rpm, I run it at less than 40cfm @ ~ 600rpm at all times).

Buy one of the PII's and a good board and be happy. If you buy the 710 rememer you have another upgrade path with the AM3 boards later on down the road if you choose. Either decision is a great one and you'll be more than happy with even the stock speed.

Kei
 
And another things....don't hate on the PII 810 processor either. It's cheap and damn fast as well plus you still get your 4 cores for less money if you want it. Again having the other upgrade path to AM3 if you want later on.

Kei
 
There was a combo deal with the 720 and the S1283, and with everything listed above, the price came out to $310.99. I just thought about getting the S1284EE because of the extra heatpipe, but due to my budget, I might just get the 720 S1283 combo instead.
 
Sorry to hijack but im sure he is wondering the same thing.

Is the DDR3 performance worth it to loose a core?

Lets compare say an overclocked 720BE to a 940BE. 1100 DDR2 vs 2000 DDR3?
 
I doubt there's any real reason to go tri over quad, expecially since every multi-threaded ap uses pairs of threads. (ie dual/quad/septa/octa threaded)
 
Allow me to hijack your hijack :p

He's looking for DDR2 based systems not DDR3 as he's shoping for AM2+ boards with AM3 compatibility as well. Having the extra upgrade path is just a bonus if he was to go with the AM3 processors instead.

Either way he will very likely not notice the difference in any of these processors unless he's buying them for a very specific reason so he needs a certain processor. I very strongly believe that the 710 or 810 would still be more than enough for what he's looking for while saving him plenty of money.

If he goes quad I say 810 MAYBE 920 if the budget can be inflated which isn't really needed. If he goes tri then I say 710 MAYBE 720 if the budget can be inflated again which is completely not needed.

My advice is to spend the extra money on a great board, don't buy a great processor to put on an okay board....buy a great processor to put on an equally great board. The processor part should be easy to choose as long as you decide tri or quad, the board part is slightly harder.

Kei
 
OzzmanFloyd120 said:
I doubt there's any real reason to go tri over quad, expecially since every multi-threaded ap uses pairs of threads. (ie dual/quad/septa/octa threaded)
Click to expand...

Well I don't think I could afford a quad, plus I'm almost positive my motherboard doesn't support the PII's, and if it does, the ocing probably wouldn't be very good. And I don't have enough money to get the 940(or 920)+ motherboard+ heatsink.
 
If it supports Phenom I it has to support II. Too bad Biostar hasn't updated the TA560 A2+.. I just started looking for a PII bios and haven't come up with anything.
 
True, but i was asking for me too hince the hijack :roll:
 
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Supreme, I still haven't seen an actual REASON that you need a quad yet so why not just get one of the tri core processors and call it a day? I'm not certain on what heatsink they come with but for sure it's more than adequate (saving you money) like the 920 quads stock heatsink (which was like the 9850BE heatsink).

Save the money on the heatsink and use your Zalman 9500 you already have on one of the tri core processors, because if you get one I think buying a new heatsink would be a waste at this time. The AM3 chips run cooler than the AM2+ chips remember their stock TDP is 95W not 125W like the other PII chips.

Grab one of the tri core's and a great board and enjoy life. :)

Kei
 
Kei said:
Supreme, I still haven't seen an actual REASON that you need a quad yet so why not just get one of the tri core processors and call it a day? I'm not certain on what heatsink they come with but for sure it's more than adequate (saving you money) like the 920 quads stock heatsink (which was like the 9850BE heatsink).

Save the money on the heatsink and use your Zalman 9500 you already have on one of the tri core processors, because if you get one I think buying a new heatsink would be a waste at this time. The AM3 chips run cooler than the AM2+ chips remember their stock TDP is 95W not 125W like the other PII chips.

Grab one of the tri core's and a great board and enjoy life. :)

Kei
Click to expand...
What he said. I just got my 720BE running with my Zalman 9700 and its plenty enough for this cpu. Your 9500 should be good with some light OCing too.
 
Ok, thanks for the help everyone!:toast: I am ordering this stuff on Tuesday so I still have time to think about it and finalize everything.
 
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Last point on the cooling thing, as I said all of these chips run extremely cool which is awesome and they take little voltage to run.

Right now on my PII 920 I'm running in the following spec...

Stock 2.8Ghz @ 1.344v
Now 2.8Ghz @ 1.232v (runs fine at 1.200v but I like the extra insurance for a hot day, heck it'll run so-so at 1.184v ;))

I haven't setup my processor for the 3 cores setting at stock speed yet or the 2 cores setting at stock speed but obviously they'll take even LESS voltage. I own a quad core, but I'm well aware that I don't need to use all 4 cores all day long so I like to have different profiles to use to save power and prolong the processor life by shutting down a core or two without losing anything on speed at all.

Of course if you're feeling greedy you can shut down a core on one of those tri cores and run in dual core mode (still faster than what you have even if it's stock) and then.....clock it up even further. I did a quick test shortly after I got my processor and hit 3.92Ghz without even trying on two cores, air cooling, and a LOCKED multiplier. I'll let you know what setting I end up with for the tri core setting which is what I'll use mostly.

....enjoy :D

Kei
 
Alright Kei, what do you think about this combo? Do you think that I should save some money and get this instead?
 
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