CPU thoughts

Okay so Im thinking of getting a new cpu, since my AMD Athlon 64 3700+ aint really cutting it. Im thinking between x2 4800+, fx57, and fx60. I can save my money up for it in no time, its just I really dont want to blow all my money away. Im a big gamer, so that can give you a clue to what Im looking for. And lastly, is there any chance I can sell my 3700+. Thanks in advance.

 

I'm sure you would have no problem selling your 3700. I would imagine you could get $150 for it at least.

As for the other chips, the FX60 would obviously be the best choice for gaming. Only you can decide if the $1000 price tag is worth it though. Personally, I would say no. The FX57 would be your next best performance, but the price tag is still pretty high, IMO. The X2 4800 would have better performance when running multiple programs, or multi-threaded applications. However, for gaming, it would be a small step down in performance from the 3700+. Probably not noticeable though.

Tom's Hardware has an article showing a comparison between all CPUs up to the FX-60:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html?modelx=33&model1=238&model2=212&chart=70

If it were me, I would stick with the 3700+ and not waste $700 (at a minimum) on any of the chips. I am nearly certain a different kind of upgrade would be better. If you post your computer specs, we could give you suggestions on which upgrade that might be...

 

Well thanks for the info and here are my specs:

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ 939 pin (OC to 2.4 ghz)
Asus A8N-SLi
1GB Kingston HyperX RAM (533 mhz)
180 Sata GB(dont know what kind)
BFG Nvidia Geforce 7800 GT OC
Turtle Beach Catalina Sound Card
Aspire ATX 500W P4 Aluminum Power Supply
Windows XP Home edition with SP2

I know I can upgrade my ram but theres a problem, the MOBO has two color slots, blue and black, organized in blue then black, then blue then black. And the ram cards wont go in the black slots. Now I know I sound like a noob, but building comps is something pretty new to me. Why is it that is wont fit right.

But other than that I do have another 7800 gtoc ready to be ordered.

 

Nvm!

 

Yeah I guess your right. I mean, I was all up for it but now I see the light. But I would still like my question about my ram and mobo compatability answered before I hit the hay.

 

Admitedly, I didn't look at all of the benchmarks, but I'm just not seeing how a 4800+ is a step down from the 3700+, especially considering that there are some multi threaded games on the horizon.

 

Actually, I went and checked all benchmarks you linked to. The 4800+ was faster in all cases, except winrar.

 

As another route plan why not invest in some cooling I run my 3500 at 2.62 24\7 totally stable with an xp-90 heatsink,that gives the chip the equivalent performance of around a 4100, for $2-300 you could get a half decent water cooling setup and push your chip to 3.00 which will put around the same performance as the 4800 in single apps and games and you will have a great cooling setup if you decide upgrade again in 12 months,in which time the 4800 will be much more affordable

 

"Actually, I went and checked all benchmarks you linked to. The 4800+ was faster in all cases, except winrar."

Adryn, you're right. I must have looked at the 3800+ instead.

The 4800+ is a small step up from the 3700+. If you want the CPU just for games, I still don't think it will justify the cost.

 

That I agree with. I bought my 4400+ for mutlitasking

I'm just not as big a gamer as I used to be. Of course, I do have a 7800GTX

In the end, the video card tends to make the largest difference anyway.