I will be building a new system soon, and I'm debating which processor to get. I use my pc for gaming, 3d modeling/animation, watching movies, burning dvds...you name it... Would I better off going with an Athlon 64 X2 3800 or the Athlon 64 4000? Also I was considering the ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Motherboard. Any thoughts on this? If I go with the X2 3800 I hope to overclock it eventually. Any suggestions on a heatsink(under $50)? Thanks for the help.
For the processor, it depends really on what you prioritise. Do you multitask a lot? If so, the X2 is for you - Windows is extremely smooth and you can surf the web while encoding a DVD etc. I have the X2 4400+ and it was really worth the money. On the other hand, if you want to concentrate on high performance in a single application without using any other programs at the same time, the 4000+ is probably a better choice. Keep in mind that you can probably overclock the 3800+ to an equal speed with a good heatsink. As for those - look no further than the Thermalright XP-90 (or the XP-120 if it will fit your board). They're acknowledged as being some of the best 939 air coolers out there at the moment
X2. And yes, you can fit any of the XP-series coolers onto the A8N-SLI family. Personally, I would reccomend the SI-120 and the A8N-SLI Premium. The Premium has a passive NB heatsink, and the SI-120 is just like the XP-120, but with more heatpipes.
SI-120 has just as many heatpipes (5) as the XP-120 and it actually performs a little worse (due to the middle fins not making direct contact with the base like in the XP-120). and btw, X2.
X2 without a doubt. The X2 3800+ hauls some major @ss, runs without a hitch on anything (if you've used a HT P4 system, think hyperthreading on steroids). Mine clocked to 2.5GHz without breaking a sweat, which should outperform the X2 4800+ that costs three times more. Even if you do nothing at all other than game, I'd still say the X2. Though games now aren't multithreaded, they will be in the near future. Did I mention they just totally own all?
I'm in the process of changing the mid-range and high-end video card benchmarking systems over to Athlon 64 X2's.
Tell me the high-end will have 2GB of ram... I mean in theory the high-end system should be about the equivalent to the top 5% or so of forum members (or, more specifically, gamers on the forum)
Thanks for all the responses...i think im going to have to go for the X2. The idea of dual cores is just sweet...is the ASUS A8N a good Mobo for overclocking? Thanks
Well, also X2 from me. Gaming performance will be lesser from lower FSB/Ghz, but higher because backround stuff won't cause any CPU usage on the core the games running on(it can go on the other). Also, the X2 3800+s are overclocking extremely nicely. TBH, I wouldn't bother with any X2 other then the 3800, since they seem to be overclocking to X24800 speeds for many people
My A8N-SLI-D has been a good overclocker. Not as tweakable as the DFI Lanparty boards, but then again I can watercool my chipset with ease.
Would the high-end ones not be better served by the top FX? I mean, I know X2's are spunky and lovely and we all want one But surely for ultimate performance and to ensure no bottlenecks in the latest cards, an FX would be more appropriate?
