# 720BE or E8400?!



## F430 (Aug 1, 2009)

*720BE or E8400 or PII 955X4?!*

i need to know how is the best


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## CDdude55 (Aug 1, 2009)

I would go with the E8400, pair it with a nice board and you should get some nice clocks out of it.


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## aCid888* (Aug 1, 2009)

720BE is 3 cores (tri-core) and will clock to about 3.5 - 4GHz depending on your board/chip..you may also be able to unlock the 4th core.

E8400 is 2 cores (dual-core) and will clock to 4GHz (the C0 doesn't clock as well) pretty easily.


The 720BE is cheaper, the boards are cheaper and you get another core with the possibility to unlock another for a total of 4 (quad).....put all that together and you have a winner in my view.



I say get the 720BE..better value for money. :toast;


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## Assassin48 (Aug 1, 2009)

aCid888* said:


> 720BE is 3 cores (tri-core) and will clock to about 3.5 - 4GHz depending on your board/chip..you may also be able to unlock the 4th core.
> 
> E8400 is 2 cores (dual-core) and will clock to 4GHz (the C0 doesn't clock as well) pretty easily.
> 
> ...



+1 on the 720be 

Am3 is fresh so upgrading will be bigger then sk775


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## F430 (Aug 1, 2009)

720BE + 790XT GB look sweet :] how i can unlock the 720BE?


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## JrRacinFan (Aug 1, 2009)

They are sooo damn close IMO for the average enthusiast. I say the 720BE because in the end it would be cheaper.


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## Asylum (Aug 1, 2009)

Get the E8400 and a good P45 mobo.
You wont be sorry.


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## ShadowFold (Aug 1, 2009)

720, cheaper and you get an extra core


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## hat (Aug 1, 2009)

None of the above. Find 2GB DDR400, and install the dual-core optomizer. It may improve your performance as 939 dual cores can drop out of sync or something... screws performance over


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## aCid888* (Aug 1, 2009)

Intel fan boys will say the E8400, even though its more expensive as a package and it offers less performance.


Value is the key here guys, not bias opinions...the E8400 is more expensive, a good P45 board is more than a high end 790FX board and the 3rd core (maybe even a 4th) of the 720BE gives me relative performance than the E8400.

This is coming from a person who owns both the E8400 and E8500....I buy with value in mind and that's why I say the BE is better as its got the cost vs performance ratio on its side.

As it stands right now, the 720BE is the best chip in terms of value for money...$119 vs $167 for the E8400..the BE is a steal. :shadedshu

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649 - 720BE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037 - E8400


*Edit:*
If you want something extra spend another $12 more than the E8400 would cost and buy the PII 945 for $180, a true quadcore and will kick the E8400 in the nuts for decoding and other such things...not to mention in games that support more than 2 cores.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103675


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## F430 (Aug 1, 2009)

i sell it dod :] now i dont know which cpu i want for my new system that i will buy...


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## HossHuge (Aug 1, 2009)

With the extra core and the lower price the 720 is the way to go.  Plus the 3rd core will help with future games.


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## Darren (Aug 1, 2009)

I can not believe people still recommend the E-series, they are so last year, I'd only recommend a E8500 if one had an existing socket 775 motherboard and even then I'd advise that one buys an Intel quadcore for almost the same price as the E8500.

As for the issue at hand, the AM2+/720 BE is cheaper whilst offering similar performance clock for clock and is in a different league in multi-threaded applications too with an upgrade path! The possibility of unlocking a second core is just a bonus but I wouldn't base a purchase on that specifically but the processors other already mentioned benefits is enough to sway me.


Edit:


+1 golytelee,



golytelee said:


> It seems to me a more fair comparison would be a 7850BE Kuma to the E8400, as they are both dual-cores.



Except I'd say E8xxx is closer to the Phenom II X2 550


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## golytelee (Aug 1, 2009)

I know I don't have the chops, or the respect like some of the forum guru's but I'll throw my 2 cents in because I'm bored at work. 

It's almost an apples and oranges argument. 

The 720 is a tri-core with the potential for a quad unlock.

The 8400 is a dual-core with no room for improvement.

They OC to relatively similiar speeds, so overall between these 2 the 720 is gonna be the best bang for buck.

It seems to me a more fair comparison would be a 7850BE Kuma to the E8400, as they are both dual-cores.


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## golytelee (Aug 1, 2009)

Good call on the 550 Darren.


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## aCid888* (Aug 1, 2009)

odameyer said:


> E8400+GA-EP45-UD3P+DDR2-800=WIN. No comment on the AMD because I'm too lazy to google it's performance but I assure that you simply won't be dissapointed AT ALL with the E8400.



You wont be disappointed at all moving to either one of these when you have a 4400+.

That being said, the 720BE is obviously a better choice. 

It offers every bit of performance the E8400 does (more to be honest, tricore vs dual) and the upgrade from his 4400+ is cheaper going wi the 720BE rather than getting the E8400.


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## Easo (Aug 1, 2009)

720 cause for future more cores will be needed,


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## lococol (Aug 1, 2009)

sorry, your question is what is the best , for what ? , i use my pc as a games machine and i run an e8500@4Ghz, it will play any game out there , however if i was starting from scratch today and i wanted a general pc i would go amd route, tri or quad core the seem to be much better value , be carefull of when people say they clock to the same speed , as it is generally accepted that intel processors do more work per clock tick , correct me if i'm wrong on this one , i've read this often though , good luck with your build


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## IINexusII (Aug 1, 2009)

definately get the 720. you can always upgrade to a x4 BE or the next gen amd cpus because they would almost certianly still be using am3, unlike i7 where you would have to then get another motherboard and ram


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## AltecV1 (Aug 1, 2009)

720BE best choice(thats comes from a guy with a E8400)


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## CDdude55 (Aug 1, 2009)

> I can not believe people still recommend the E-series, they are so last year, I'd only recommend a E8500 if one had an existing socket 775 motherboard and even then I'd advise that one buys an Intel quadcore for almost the same price as the E8500.



Cause your processor is so this year.. E8400 is still a great chip, great for OCing and can really show some muscle in games. Its not the matter of if it came out this year, last year or back in '06, it comes down to what the person would what to do with the chip and is very dumb to ignore a CPU just because its a little outdated, if that was the case half of the people on here would be throwing there systems out the window because it didn't come out last week.



> As for the issue at hand, the AM2+/720 BE is cheaper whilst offering similar performance clock for clock and is in a different league in multi-threaded applications too with an upgrade path! The possibility of unlocking a second core is just a bonus but I wouldn't base a purchase on that specifically but the processors other already mentioned benefits is enough to sway me.



I agree with you here, the 720 BE is great if you don't have much cash, it does have an extra core with will help a little in multi-threaded games. Now if your OCing the E8400 paired with a nice board should get higher clocks in general. Now if your really crazy about gaming, then sure the 720 maybe for you, as you may/should be able to get it to to 3GHZ(E8400 speed) or a little higher and the one extra core should help a bit in multithreaded apps.


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## AhokZYashA (Aug 1, 2009)

I prefer 720BE better...
because it's cheaper en probably faster in some applications...

E8400 is a fast dual-core..
get a nice cooler and you will end up @ 4GHz+ on air..

for 720BE you can unlock it's full potential by enabling the fourth core..

it's up to you.


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## Velvet Wafer (Aug 1, 2009)

get you a 720! you want a 4ghz dualcore or a 3.5-3.8ghz tri to quadcore? the additional 200 mhz are never worth the loss of cores...


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## Darren (Aug 1, 2009)

lococol said:


> be carefull of when people say they clock to the same speed , as it is generally accepted that intel processors do more work per clock tick , correct me if i'm wrong on



You're correct to a certain extent, although the core 2 architecture is more efficient in performance "per core" in most tasks its only by a small amount we're are talking about 1-8% at maximum which doesn't justify the E8400s   £117.42 price tag when the Phenom II 550 for £42 less for more or less the same performance. The X3 720 BE third core would make the it faster than the Core 2 Duo even in non multi-threaded applications as you'll see in benchmarks because the other core can be doing other unrelated background calculations and hence relieving  the stress of the other core/cores. In a truly multi-threaded application the X3 has no superior other than the Core 2 Quads. With the Phenom II 720 BE being only £91.73, its £25.69 cheaper than its E8400 contender.

To be really harsh, you could buy the Phenom II X4 810 for the same price as the E8xxx, and you'd be in a much better position.



IINexusII said:


> you can always upgrade to a x4 BE or the next gen amd cpus because they would almost certianly still be using am3, unlike i7 where you would have to then get another motherboard and ram



Indeed, even X6 processors, once the X6 desktop Opterons are released.


PS. CDdude55, the fact that the E8xxx was older wasn't my only argument.


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## aCid888* (Aug 1, 2009)

CDdude55 said:


> as you may/should be able to get it to to 3GHZ(E8400 speed) or a little higher



You WILL get it to 3GHz on stock voltage usually....3.5 - 3.8GHz is not uncommon on these CPU's either with a good board (anything at/around $100) and that will be enough for even the most avid gamer.


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## CDdude55 (Aug 1, 2009)

aCid888* said:


> You WILL get it to 3GHz on stock voltage usually....3.5 - 3.8GHz is not uncommon on these CPU's either with a good board (anything at/around $100) and that will be enough for even the most avid gamer.



Good to hear then, haven't used AMD since 3200+.


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## JrRacinFan (Aug 1, 2009)

aCid888* said:


> You WILL get it to 3GHz on stock voltage usually....3.5 - 3.8GHz is not uncommon on these CPU's either with a good board (anything at/around $100) and that will be enough for even the most avid gamer.



I heard a dud chip stops at around 3.2-3.3 which is still a good decent clocks for a tri. 

I had personal use with an e8500 previously, I will be honest, I was disappointed. Clock to clock, e1200 to e8500 both at 3.2Ghz 400x8 stock or close to stock volts on both chips, the difference was negligible. 3 seconds SuperPI difference, multitasking was only a very minute difference. Gaming was fun but the same, had an HD3870 paired with both.

IMO go with a 720BE!!! Has a definitely higher future due to it being based off a newer socket type.


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## aCid888* (Aug 1, 2009)

The E8xxx will start to shine when it gets to 4GHz and it will do that on fairly low volts..the E6xxx (aside from good chips) had a hard time getting over 3.7GHz with volts OK for 24/7.

The 720BE is DDR3 too....if you get yourself a AM3 socket board and some good clocking DDR3 RAM you will high really nice memory bandwidth as I do in the picture below and that's only DDR2. 







The E8400 cant match that speed until you push it to 4.76GHz with RAM @ 1271mhz and you should be able to OC the BE to a speed similar to my 945ES, coupled with DDR3 your memory bandwidth will be more if you pick some good sticks.


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 1, 2009)

I would go with the 720 only because its a newer socket. Also keep in mind DDR3 makes very little difference with an AM3 board. Its not like an i7.

With that being said I would wait for the i5. Learn the Intel sockets and plan for the future. AMD may make better use of the DDR3 in the future but the "i" series does it now. The price difference is VERY small between them anymore also. IMO its worth the extra cash.

If its going to be strictly a gaming machines the 720 hangs with the i7s now. Yes there are benches that prove that so no wars please. The only time the "i" series has a true advantage over the Phenom II is in multi threaded applications. Since most games are crappy ports of consoles now the extra threads are years from being utilized as a gaming CPU in the "i" series.

It all comes down to what you need.
720 for gaming.
"i" series for multi threaded applications.


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## IINexusII (Aug 1, 2009)

accordin to his specs hes already on amd, i think you should stay becasue ull know the ins and outs


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## F430 (Aug 1, 2009)

Phenom II x4 Quad-Core 940 Socket AM2+ 3.0Ghz 45nm Tray    

  ‏AMD‏ GIGABYTE

  MA790XT-UD4P AM3, 790FX, DDR3 1333, PCI-E, ATI CrossFireX, HDAudio, 

  DDR III 1333Mhz

   3x1GB OCZ Platinum XTC Triple Channel            

  ‏ CoolerMaster

   CM 690 Black With Window (No PSU)         

    2510
i mix it with my old system my 2900PRO and my Corsair HX520W andd my Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 750GB 

thanks all for the!  response!!!!


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## ShadowFold (Aug 1, 2009)

The 940 is not an AM3 CPU, it won't fit in a DDR3/AM3 board. Also, you'll want to get a dual channel kit. Having 3 sticks in will just give you single channel.


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## F430 (Aug 1, 2009)

and on 720BE its will be Also give me single channel?


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 2, 2009)

F430 said:


> and on 720BE its will be Also give me single channel?



3 Sticks = single channel unless its DDR3 ram. No matter the CPU.


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## erocker (Aug 2, 2009)

Triple channel is for X58 chipsets only. You need to get a dual channel kit.


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## IINexusII (Aug 2, 2009)

am3 is dual channel ddr3, dont get mixed up


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## F430 (Aug 2, 2009)

amm ok... this sis look good? 720BE + Gigabyte GAMA790XTUD4P +CoolerMaster CM690 + which memory sticks i need to buy dammm!!!


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## newtekie1 (Aug 2, 2009)

Phenom X4 810


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## F430 (Aug 2, 2009)

why the Phenom X4 810?!


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## newtekie1 (Aug 2, 2009)

Well, it is a guaranteed quad-core, so no hassle of unlocking.  And it is only $20 more than the 720BE.  It runs almost identically, clock for clock to a 910, and is only a 95w processor...so it has some overclocking headroom.  They are not the best overclockers, but certainly decent.  3.5-3.6GHz isn't a stretch for them, and really with the 4th core it should be a solid future proof processor for any task.


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 2, 2009)

That and just because you can unlock the 4th core doesn't mean it will be stable. Take it from me. I know for a fact. :shadedshu


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## wolf (Aug 2, 2009)

In this situation it is obvious that the 720BE is the weapon of choice, use the $$ you saved not buying an E8400 to get a smick board and you'll be set.


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## F430 (Aug 2, 2009)

i can if i want to buy the 940 X4 but i want board for the future of DDR 3


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## F430 (Aug 3, 2009)

in the end i buy this  i believe thit you proud of me lol


Processor:	AMD 955X4   
Motherboard:MA780G-UD3H
Memory:2x1GB OCZ Reaper HPC Edition RC-690
Cooling: Freezer 64 Pro
2900PRO temporary Video Card
PSU: CORSAIR 520W HX SERIES
CM 690 Black


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## ShadowFold (Aug 3, 2009)

The freezer 64 is no good for quads. It wont do much better than stock.. Everything else looks fine tho. I'd try and get a 4gb kit of ram tho..


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## Darren (Aug 3, 2009)

F430 said:


> in the end i buy this  i believe thit you proud of me lol
> 
> 
> Processor:	AMD 955X4
> ...



Good build, a little disappointed with the ram, I wouldn't buy 1 GB sticks, 2 GB sticks would be better as it populates less slots and hence means in the future one can go all the way upto 8 GBs without having to throw your old 1 GB sticks away. The 2900 Pro might need replacing soon, other than that the build is good


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## F430 (Aug 3, 2009)

its a strong system? and i just need 2GB more? and all is good?


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## Dahaka (Aug 3, 2009)

The 720BE can reach 4.2ghz at 1.27vcore with low voltages and temps? I don't think so .


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## F430 (Aug 3, 2009)

you don't think so why dod?!


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## Meecrob (Aug 3, 2009)

Dahaka said:


> The 720BE can reach 4.2ghz at 1.27vcore with low voltages and temps? I don't think so .



oh, no, another person who thinks clocks are all important


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## Darren (Aug 3, 2009)

Dahaka said:


> The 720BE can reach 4.2ghz at 1.27vcore with low voltages and temps? I don't think so .



Who cares, a E8400 @ 4.2 GHz is still slower overall than the Phenom II 720 BE @ 3.9 GHz


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## F430 (Aug 3, 2009)

my first was Celeron from 1999 (Tomb Raider 2)lol  3000+ and 4200X2 i have the 955X4 YES!!!


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## erocker (Aug 3, 2009)

F430 said:


> its a strong system? and i just need 2GB more? and all is good?



Buy 2x2gb sticks of ram.


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## Darren (Aug 3, 2009)

^^ +1



F430 said:


> its a strong system? and i just need 2GB more? and all is good?



Your system is strong but not really balanced.

It depends what you do with the computer, gaming, browsing the web, watching movies?

Personally, I'd sell the 2900 Pro and buy the cheapest ATI 4870/4890 of you are a gamer.

I'd return the 2x1GB OCZ Reaper and buy OCZ Gold or Platinum PC8500 2GBx2 (2GBx4 if you want extra future proofing), then download Windows 7 x64 and use it for free for a year

If you are not a gamer I'd ignore my graphics card advice and just do the memory change.


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## bpgt64 (Aug 3, 2009)

If you game, then either one will do just fine.  And currently there have been queit a few posts about the unlocked core "bug" not going away, so if you're willing to tweak a bit, it might be a better option.  Either way is not going to matter anywhere near as much as your GPU.  My preference however is the Core 2, it's treated me very well, and runs amazing in games.  And lets be honest, "Future-proof" is a load of crap, for what 10 minutes? lol.   There is no such thing.  Go with whats cheaper, and does what you spend most of your time on your computer doing.  I could have done with a quad when I got me E8400, but the money was better spent, atleast I think so, on a HD 4870 X2.


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## Meecrob (Aug 3, 2009)

smart move if he did, IMHO thats one of the best choices you can make IF you have the money, Im looking at the 550 and that 790x gigabyte board myself!!!


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## Darren (Aug 3, 2009)

I think he has already bought the Phenom II X4 955?



Meecrob said:


> smart move if he did, IMHO thats one of the best choices you can make IF you have the money, Im looking at the 550 and that 790x gigabyte board myself!!!




Meecrob, you'll be happy the Phenom II X2 550 are gangster, The 790 chipset is good too but you can shave off money by getting the 780 chipset or Nforce 8200/8300 chipset. If you buy those chipsets it will increase your CPU budget allowing you to afford the Phenom II X3 710 or  720 instead. 

I'm waiting for the Athlon II X4, they are suppose to be priced below £100/$100


Edit:




Meecrob said:


> I actualy have a plan at the moment, the 790x board has the SATA ports i need(lots of hdd's) and i plan to use the 2nd sata slot for my 8800gts 512 for pure cuda use(probbly gonna get me a gtx260 c216) badaboom ROCKS but requiers cuda, I can encode video at 150-250fps on this current system, thats to h264+aac audio at full 720p res, its crazy!!!
> btw thats with 9% cpu use.
> 
> current system
> ...



In your situation I'd ignore the Phenom II X2 550 and go straight for the Phenom II X3/X4 or wait for the budget Athlon II X4, you'd notice a much larger boost when it comes to your encoding and whatnot.

The Phenom II X2 550 is a great gaming CPU, but for intensive tasks like encoding I feel it is at a huge disadvantage in comparison to X3s and X4s, although you'd be able to overclock it to squeeze extra performance out of it I'm sure the new Athlon II X4s will overclock just as well or better whilst benefiting from those four cores which I'm sure most encoding applications support.


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## F430 (Aug 3, 2009)

yes dod's i buy the 955X4 and i gamer i can play on day 3 hours and  i will buy a new video card THX


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## Meecrob (Aug 3, 2009)

Darren said:


> I think he has already bought the Phenom II X4 955?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I actualy have a plan at the moment, the 790x board has the SATA ports i need(lots of hdd's) and i plan to use the 2nd sata slot for my 8800gts 512 for pure cuda use(probbly gonna get me a gtx260 c216) badaboom ROCKS but requiers cuda, I can encode video at 150-250fps on this current system, thats to h264+aac audio at full 720p res, its crazy!!!
btw thats with 9% cpu use.

current system

biostar ta770a2+
Athlon 64 x2 6000+
6gb ddr2(2x2gb wintec ampx 800, 2x1gb dell hynix 667 all @ 1135 2.1v 5-5-5-18 127ns trfc)
8800gts 512mb

its not a bad rig, just looking at upgrading to am3 sometime fairly soon.

I was eyeing a 1gb 4870 but after trying badaboom and a couple other cuda based encoding apps and discovering nobodys got a stream based app thats even close out, well I do encode alot and cuda is so much faster then cpu based 

mediacoder even has cuda accelerated h264 support(and hes working on a full cuda implementation so that decode and encode/transform/filters are run on the videocard!!)


its an exciting time to be a geek


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## subhendu (Aug 3, 2009)

buy 720BE...three cores are always better than e8400.....


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## F430 (Aug 3, 2009)

F430 said:


> in the end i buy this  i believe thit you proud of me lol
> 
> 
> Processor:	AMD 955X4
> ...


its wasted system?


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## Meecrob (Aug 3, 2009)

Darren said:


> In your situation I'd ignore the Phenom II X2 550 and go straight for the Phenom II X3/X4 or wait for the budget Athlon II X4, you'd notice a much larger boost when it comes to your encoding and whatnot.
> 
> The Phenom II X2 550 is a great gaming CPU, but for intensive tasks like encoding I feel it is at a huge disadvantage in comparison to X3s and X4s, although you'd be able to overclock it to squeeze extra performance out of it I'm sure the new Athlon II X4s will overclock just as well or better whilst benefiting from those four cores which I'm sure most encoding applications support.



just depends on what i can get for my money when they come out, In all honesty the cpu has little effect on badaboom's h264 encoding speed, but it could be handy to have more power for when i gotta make something in xvid........not sure tho......


Im gonna keep my eye out, the 720 is tempting as well, just not sure yet whats gonna be the better buy when the money comes in.


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## F430 (Aug 3, 2009)

720BE for now its very sweet one... in sum place  people  say  thit my system is wasted


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## erocker (Aug 3, 2009)

F430 said:


> in the end i buy this  i believe thit you proud of me lol
> 
> 
> Processor:	AMD 955X4
> ...



It all looks good, except get 2x2gb of RAM.


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## F430 (Aug 3, 2009)

ah thanks dod now i am relaxeing :] and i now thit  my system rocks!


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 3, 2009)

Whatever you do. DO NOT UNLOCK THE 4th CORE on a 720. You will regret it.


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## F430 (Aug 3, 2009)

dod after all i buy the 955 X4!


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## erocker (Aug 3, 2009)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Whatever you do. DO NOT UNLOCK THE 4th CORE on a 720. You will regret it.



Well, unless he gets a good processor. It seems as if most motherboards have a bios that can unlock any x3, however most newer x3's seem to have unstable 4th cores. People have better luck with earlier stepping x3's. *And he got a 955. Awesome choice, I run mine at 3.4ghz 1.275v (stock is 3.2ghz @ 1.35v).


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 3, 2009)

erocker said:


> Well, unless he gets a good processor. It seems as if most motherboards have a bios that can unlock any x3, however most newer x3's seem to have unstable 4th cores. People have better luck with earlier stepping x3's. *And he got a 955. Awesome choice, I run mine at 3.4ghz 1.275v (stock is 3.2ghz @ 1.35v).



I didn't catch he got a 955. Good pick man! No excellent pick!  

Realistically you'll be good for a few years with that puppy.


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## F430 (Aug 3, 2009)

its ok thit you dropping down the volt?  below the normal? my Motherboard is no soo good...


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## erocker (Aug 3, 2009)

F430 said:


> its ok thit you dropping down the volt?  below the normal?



I had a couple of 720 x3's and one of them ran a stock voltage of 1.25v. The 955 runs stock at 1.35v and I found it overclocks with less voltage than my x3 720 did. That led me to think that there's no way this chip needs 1.35v for stock. It failed linpack at 1.25v, 1.265v passes 1 hour and I set it to 1.275v just to be safe. It's very much ok to run lower voltage. Less heat and less electricity being used.


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## F430 (Aug 3, 2009)

for sure...!? tell me if you have some problem.. :] yours 955 run on 3.2?


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## Meecrob (Aug 3, 2009)

they overvolt chips to make sure they are all stable, intel and amd both do this, I remmber back in the day i was able to undervolt and overclock a p75 i had(133 at lower then 75 volts!!!)


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 3, 2009)

Meecrob said:


> they overvolt chips to make sure they are all stable, intel and amd both do this, I remmber back in the day i was able to undervolt and overclock a p75 i had(133 at lower then 75 volts!!!)



I don't think thats true for all of them. For instance my 720 needs 1.44 to be remotely stable with a 600Mhz OC. I think they measure them to where they should be anymore and not undervolted. But more so it all depends on the chip as no two chips are the same.


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## 1Kurgan1 (Aug 3, 2009)

TheMailMan78 said:


> I don't think thats true for all of them. For instance my 720 needs 1.44 to be remotely stable with a 600Mhz OC. I think they measure them to where they should be anymore and not undervolted. But more so it all depends on the chip as no two chips are the same.



You have bad luck with chips  I am able to run my 720 at 2.9ghz with 1.21v. And I can run it at 3.5ghz with 1.4v (haven't tried lower). I even have my gf's 7750 running at 3.4ghz 24/7 at 1.375v.


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## Meecrob (Aug 3, 2009)

TheMailMan78 said:


> I don't think thats true for all of them. For instance my 720 needs 1.44 to be remotely stable with a 600Mhz OC. I think they measure them to where they should be anymore and not undervolted. But more so it all depends on the chip as no two chips are the same.



amd and intel DO set chips above what they need for the bulk of them to be stable, its a smart move, it means they can get higher yeilds of chips they can sell for higher prices.

I have seen chips come out that you can undervold DRASTICALLY (Sub 1volt) at stock, where others of the same model couldnt be undervolved by much at all, BUT they could be taken down  a tick or 2 minimum.

also they have to rate the chips higher then the chips really need in order to keep OEM's from cheaping out and using boards that have voltdrops below what the chip needs to be stable at stock, again smart move for volume sales, and its kinda fun for geeks as well when u can oc and undervolt a chip(if u get a good one)


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 3, 2009)

1Kurgan1 said:


> You have bad luck with chips  I am able to run my 720 at 2.9ghz with 1.21v. And I can run it at 3.5ghz with 1.4v (haven't tried lower). I even have my gf's 7750 running at 3.4ghz 24/7 at 1.375v.



A 600Mhz OC is 3.4Ghz 720  So you are right there with me.



Meecrob said:


> amd and intel DO set chips above what they need for the bulk of them to be stable, its a smart move, it means they can get higher yeilds of chips they can sell for higher prices.
> 
> I have seen chips come out that you can undervold DRASTICALLY (Sub 1volt) at stock, where others of the same model couldnt be undervolved by much at all, BUT they could be taken down  a tick or 2 minimum.
> 
> also they have to rate the chips higher then the chips really need in order to keep OEM's from cheaping out and using boards that have voltdrops below what the chip needs to be stable at stock, again smart move for volume sales, and its kinda fun for geeks as well when u can oc and undervolt a chip(if u get a good one)



Sorry not convinced.


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## 1Kurgan1 (Aug 3, 2009)

TheMailMan78 said:


> A 600Mhz OC is 3.4Ghz 720  So you are right there with me.



Right, but your 100mhz back, and your running 1.44v and I'm able to run 1.40v, and possibly lower, but I just set it at 1.4v and ran it.


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 3, 2009)

1Kurgan1 said:


> Right, but your 100mhz back, and your running 1.44v and I'm able to run 1.40v, and possibly lower, but I just set it at 1.4v and ran it.



Well sure I can run it at 1.4 or less. But is it stable? Further more will it blend?


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## 1Kurgan1 (Aug 3, 2009)

It's stable, had it run p95 for 8 hours while I was sleeping, woke up and it was chugging along just fine. Granted mines under water, but shouldn't matter a ton, you got a pretty good cooler.


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## Meecrob (Aug 3, 2009)

TheMailMan78 said:


> A 600Mhz OC is 3.4Ghz 720  So you are right there with me.
> 
> 
> 
> Sorry not convinced.



look up "CPU binning" or "Processor Binning" that should help clear up your clear confusion.


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 3, 2009)

Meecrob said:


> look up "CPU binning" or "Processor Binning" that should help clear up your clear confusion.



I know what that is and again no two CPUs are the same.


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## Meecrob (Aug 3, 2009)

TheMailMan78 said:


> I know what that is and again no two CPUs are the same.



yes, thats why they overvolt them all(not a huge overvolt in every case, but enough that they all will be stable in any board they are slapped into) 

Like back in the axp days, I went in with a few friends and we got a TRAY of 1700+'s, some overclocked crazy good at extreamly low volts and still ran cool, most didnt, but they all clocked to 2.3gz with a good cooler on a decent board, some took 1.8volts or more to get there tho 

but the same chips/cores where being binned at higher stock volts and sold as 3200+'s, the 1700's where only so good because the demand for such chips was VERY VERY high and forced amd to bin large numbers of perfectly good chips down.

blah, little OT on that, but still somewhat germane since it shows that you can get lucky or unlucky.

Oh and i got the same kinda effect out of the p3 550e's some could clock to 866 at STOCK VOLTS others needed a bit of a volt boost to get there  (couldnt undervolt them at the time, most boards didnt allow that :/ )


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## ShadowFold (Aug 3, 2009)

My 720 does 3.9ghz with 1.52v  I usually just keep it at stock tho. Plows through everything at 2.8ghz, why would I need it any faster? It's also one of the very first batches, and doesn't unlock.. It's actually a week behind the batch that does unlock successfully


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## Meecrob (Aug 3, 2009)

ShadowFold said:


> My 720 does 3.9ghz with 1.52v  I usually just keep it at stock tho. Plows through everything at 2.8ghz, why would I need it any faster? It's also one of the very first batches, and doesn't unlock.. It's actually a week behind the batch that does unlock successfully



you tried lower vcore and higher northy volts?  if not give that a go see what u can get without a huge volt boost.

1.52 apparently is safe on them tho, alot of people have been running more then that thru them since the day they came out without any problems :O


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 3, 2009)

Meecrob said:


> you tried lower vcore and higher northy volts?  if not give that a go see what u can get without a huge volt boost.
> 
> 1.52 apparently is safe on them tho, alot of people have been running more then that thru them since the day they came out without any problems :O



I wouldn't trust 1.5 for 24/7 use. I get nervous at 1.45.



ShadowFold said:


> My 720 does 3.9ghz with 1.52v  I usually just keep it at stock tho. Plows through everything at 2.8ghz, why would I need it any faster? It's also one of the very first batches, and doesn't unlock.. It's actually a week behind the batch that does unlock successfully



If you still had your MSI it would unlock


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## Meecrob (Aug 3, 2009)

TheMailMan78 said:


> I wouldn't trust 1.5 for 24/7 use. I get nervous at 1.45.
> 
> 
> 
> If you still had your MSI it would unlock



well i can tell you, people allover the net are doing it and have been, I try and stay below 1.5 myself, even on my 90nm chip i KNOW COULD TAKE IT.

3.4@1.44 out of a windsor is pretty good from what i have seen


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## ShadowFold (Aug 3, 2009)

TheMailMan78 said:


> I wouldn't trust 1.5 for 24/7 use. I get nervous at 1.45.
> 
> 
> 
> If you still had your MSI it would unlock



It doesn't unlock at all. I've tried it with 4 different boards.


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## F430 (Aug 4, 2009)

I did it on my 4200X2 1.1v  i dont know if it was exactly like 1.1v but it was below 1.2 on 2.4MHz


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## F430 (Aug 4, 2009)

how its look PII 955X4 vs 920 I7?


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## Darren (Aug 4, 2009)

F430 said:


> how its look PII 955X4 vs 920 I7?



Stop being lazy and use google

























Full review here: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3551&p=1


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## AsRock (Aug 4, 2009)

GRRR no E8400 Pssshhh,  heck they should of had that there too as seen as it sold so well too.


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## F430 (Aug 6, 2009)

http://www.coolaler.com/showthread.php?t=215576 sweets OC look on this!


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## jamesrt2004 (Aug 6, 2009)

man imo i'd get x2 550 and unlock it to the 955


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 6, 2009)

jamesrt2004 said:


> man imo i'd get x2 550 and unlock it to the 955



Maybe because unlocking cores is a gamble?


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## ShadowFold (Aug 6, 2009)

jamesrt2004 said:


> man imo i'd get x2 550 and unlock it to the 955



Not all of them will unlock


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## F430 (Aug 6, 2009)

show few pic of it :]


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 6, 2009)

F430 said:


> show few pic of it :]



Pic of what? a 720 unlocked? What for?


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## F430 (Aug 6, 2009)

yes the stability of this oc


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## Darren (Aug 6, 2009)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Maybe because unlocking cores is a gamble?



Indeed but apparently according to a lot of forums the 550s have a far greater success rate of unlocking cores in comparison to the 720, some people claim its a near 100% guarantee. I think they are exaggerating slightly.

F430,

This thread is getting ridiculous, its been a few days now and 5 pages, surely you've decided which CPU you are buying by now? Thought you were getting the X4 955 and now you are talking about the 550/720 to unlock cores, make up your mind.


Edit:




TheMailMan78 said:


> Unlocking the core isnt the gamble. I myself have done it. The gamble is the core being stable. Remember they were locked for a reason.



That is what I meant, owners of the 550 have a better likelihood of having a stable core after the unlock than the X3 owners, according to what I've read on forums like Xtreme Systems.


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## F430 (Aug 6, 2009)

you are right, i buy the PII 955X4 :] and i just interest in the 550...


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 6, 2009)

Darren said:


> Indeed but apparently according to a lot of forums the 550s have a far greater success rate of unlocking cores in comparison to the 720, some people claim its a near 100% guarantee. I think they are exaggerating slightly.
> 
> F430,
> 
> This thread is getting ridiculous, its been a few days now and 5 pages, surely you've decided which CPU you are buying by now? Thought you were getting the X4 955 and now you are talking about the 550/720 to unlock cores, make up your mind.



Unlocking the core isnt the gamble. I myself have done it. The gamble is the core being stable. Remember they were locked for a reason.



F430 said:


> yes the stability of this oc


Heres your proof....


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 6, 2009)

Darren said:


> That is what I meant, owners of the 550 have a better likelihood of having a stable core after the unlock than the X3 owners, according to forums like Xtreme Systems.



Ill take your word for it but I really doubt they do. Remember stable means different things for different people. For me its a solid hour in OCCT.


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## F430 (Aug 7, 2009)

i buy in end OCZ Blade 4GB DDR2-1066 CL5 kit [OCZ2B10664GK *instead of*  OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 Reaper HPC Edition, i see thit i able to draw it to 1330 the Blade 4GB kit but the  my motherboard GIGABYTE say  "DDR2 1200+ is supported with combination of AM2+ processors and qualified memory modules, please refer "Memory Support List" for detail memory support information." it possible to OC to 1300? someone know? i will get it on Tuesday...


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