AMD athlon 6400 x2 black edition 3.0 ghz-still good?

It's been performing so well for me. At what point would you suggest that I upgrade to the quad cores? I am concerned mostly with gaming. With my new LG led-lcd 24" monitor, everything looks great! I am also running a 8800gt 512. Should this still last me for the rest of the gaming year?

Thanks

It's been performing so well for me. desmith1231

I have the same chip which i use mostly for gaming and am seriously thinking about upgrading to a

Just because they are so cheap, but i may wait for the next big chip to be released which would see them drop in price even further. But there really is no need to upgrade yet.

i would wait for the hexa cores

As long as you are happy then you don't need to upgrade. CPUs tend to hold out longer, and with that card I'd say you are still in a good spot.

Keep it. Athlon X2's are really something. Unless you play big RTS games with lots of AI or games like crysis it shouldn't bottleneck your gpu too much.

Keep it. Athlon X2's are really something. Unless you play big RTS games with lots of AI or games like crysis it shouldn't bottleneck your gpu too much.

shakmaster13

[QUOTE="shakmaster13"]

Keep it. Athlon X2's are really something. Unless you play big RTS games with lots of AI or games like crysis it shouldn't bottleneck your gpu too much.

swehunt

Anything that came out after and including the Athlon X2 6000+ will still play games fine for the most part. I would rather have a C2D, but the top Athlon X2's still perform well.

It's been performing so well for me. At what point would you suggest that I upgrade to the quad cores? I am concerned mostly with gaming. With my new LG led-lcd 24" monitor, everything looks great! I am also running a 8800gt 512. Should this still last me for the rest of the gaming year?

Thanks

It's been performing so well for me. At what point would you suggest that I upgrade to the quad cores? I am concerned mostly with gaming. With my new LG led-lcd 24" monitor, everything looks great! I am also running a 8800gt 512. Should this still last me for the rest of the gaming year?

Thanks

[QUOTE="Bigsteve3570"][QUOTE="desmith1231"]

It's been performing so well for me. At what point would you suggest that I upgrade to the quad cores? I am concerned mostly with gaming. With my new LG led-lcd 24" monitor, everything looks great! I am also running a 8800gt 512. Should this still last me for the rest of the gaming year?

Thanks

swehunt

I've had pretty good experiences overclocking on a couple of AMD 64 X2 processors. I had a 3800+ (Manchester) that I took from 2.0 to roughly 2.8GHz - I had water cooling on this setup which most likely helped me push it so hard.

The other one was the 5600+ (Windsor). Stock speed was 2.8GHz, I was able to take it to 3.15 on air. One of the two cores wouldn't stabilize over 3.15, no matter what I tweaked. The other core would run stable enough at 3.3 to allow me to boot the computer and do most tasks if I wanted to, but with the other core running with so many faults at that speed I couldn't do anything demanding - like gaming.

I don't see why you shouldn't be able to do something similar with a BE.

[QUOTE="swehunt"][QUOTE="Bigsteve3570"] Quick question, arn't the black editions like the intel extreme version of processors? You spend the extra money for the unlocked multiplier. Doesn't that mean you intended OC it?neatfeatguy

I've had pretty good experiences overclocking on a couple of AMD 64 X2 processors. I had a 3800+ (Manchester) that I took from 2.0 to roughly 2.8GHz - I had water cooling on this setup which most likely helped me push it so hard.

The other one was the 5600+ (Windsor). Stock speed was 2.8GHz, I was able to take it to 3.15 on air. One of the two cores wouldn't stabilize over 3.15, no matter what I tweaked. The other core would run stable enough at 3.3 to allow me to boot the computer and do most tasks if I wanted to, but with the other core running with so many faults at that speed I couldn't do anything demanding - like gaming.

I don't see why you shouldn't be able to do something similar with a BE.

As long as you are happy then you don't need to upgrade. CPUs tend to hold out longer, and with that card I'd say you are still in a good spot.

Sparticus247

quad cores are more noisy, so dont upgrade just hold on to your current one till you have a problem.dakan45

[QUOTE="dakan45"]quad cores are more noisy, so dont upgrade just hold on to your current one till you have a problem.04dcarraher

Lol, exactly my thoughts. Processors don't make any noise... :P

[QUOTE="04dcarraher"][QUOTE="dakan45"]quad cores are more noisy, so dont upgrade just hold on to your current one till you have a problem.ravenguard90

Lol, exactly my thoughts. Processors don't make any noise... :P

What?04dcarraher

Lol, exactly my thoughts. Processors don't make any noise... :P

[QUOTE="dakan45"][QUOTE="ravenguard90"]

Lol, exactly my thoughts. Processors don't make any noise... :P

04dcarraher

Well there is such a thing as a out of sync fan which will make more noise. The change in fan brands that AMD uses may have happened too. Fan speeds depend on cpu temps also. Every Phenom 2 that Ive seen runs cooler then my X2 6000 did with its stock cooler. If the cpu heatsink isnt seated right or there too much or not enough thermal compound will cause the cpu to heat up more which in turns make the cpu fan spin faster to try to cool the cpu. Theres a couple of ways to control your cpu rpm speeds. one this through the bios setting the fan controller to be on a silent mode . Or just get a fan controller and hook up your cpu fan to it and control it manually.

Well there is such a thing as a out of sync fan which will make more noise. The change in fan brands that AMD uses may have happened too. Fan speeds depend on cpu temps also. Every Phenom 2 that Ive seen runs cooler then my X2 6000 did with its stock cooler. If the cpu heatsink isnt seated right or there too much or not enough thermal compound will cause the cpu to heat up more which in turns make the cpu fan spin faster to try to cool the cpu. Theres a couple of ways to control your cpu rpm speeds. one this through the bios setting the fan controller to be on a silent mode . Or just get a fan controller and hook up your cpu fan to it and control it manually.

04dcarraher

[QUOTE="04dcarraher"][QUOTE="dakan45"] Quad cores require more cooling, therefore the fans are more noisy.dakan45

[QUOTE="dakan45"]

[QUOTE="04dcarraher"] Actually they dont. AMD has used the same standard in cooling for their 125-140w cpu coolers to their 95w or under cpu's since the Athlon X2's. Each generation of cpu's get smaller and produce less heat then the previous cpu because they use less energy.Luminouslight

It's been performing so well for me. At what point would you suggest that I upgrade to the quad cores? I am concerned mostly with gaming. With my new LG led-lcd 24" monitor, everything looks great! I am also running a 8800gt 512. Should this still last me for the rest of the gaming year?

Thanks

desmith1231

Nice monitor btw....:).... I have the 23"

I would say leave it be and do something only when you start see major performance issues or if a part breaks down on you. If your wanting to upgrade just for the sake of doing it, them that's up to you, deciding if you want to spend the money on new parts when you have a system that still runs very well. There are a few more games that have been coming out that are being optimized for quad cores, but most are still made to utilize duel core cpu's...I would say there is still plenty of life in your AMD....Hell, I have a Athlon 64 X2 4400+ 939 running on my other PC and that thing is still a little beasty....;)

*+

[QUOTE="Luminouslight"][QUOTE="dakan45"] Really? Then why the hell my 5200+ 2.6ghz dual core is far less noisy than my 995 pehom ii 3.2 quadcore? Both using stock coolers and the 955 cooler is better than the athlon x2 5200+ Clearly either the phenom or the quadcores need more cooling. I dont know which one. But sure as hell the temps of the new cpus are higher and the max temp is lower.

dakan45

What case are you using?

[QUOTE="dakan45"][QUOTE="Luminouslight"]Just get an aftermarket cooler? They are only maybe $30 at most (my Mugen-2 was $32 FS on Newegg). And my Tj max on my i7 920 is 100C, and I don't see how that is lower than my old Athlon 64 4000+ which had a Tj max of 60C.04dcarraher

What case are you using?

[QUOTE="shakmaster13"]

Keep it. Athlon X2's are really something. Unless you play big RTS games with lots of AI or games like crysis it shouldn't bottleneck your gpu too much.

swehunt

You know what is pretty impressive about the Athlon 64 X2? The chip is going to be 5 years old in May, and they still run most games very well as long as you you have them clocked at 2.5-2.6ghz or higher. Pretty good investment for alot of people.

[QUOTE="swehunt"][QUOTE="shakmaster13"]

Keep it. Athlon X2's are really something. Unless you play big RTS games with lots of AI or games like crysis it shouldn't bottleneck your gpu too much.

hartsickdiscipl

You know what is pretty impressive about the Athlon 64 X2? The chip is going to be 5 years old in May, and they still run most games very well as long as you you have them clocked at 2.5-2.6ghz or higher. Pretty good investment for alot of people.

Agreed...you are absolutely correct Sir !..............

*+

Thanks for all the informative responses! I will hold on to this untill I really feel that an upgrade is absolutley necessary!

Thanks for all the informative responses! I will hold on to this untill I really feel that an upgrade is absolutley necessary!

desmith1231

I have the same chip which i use mostly for gaming and am seriously thinking about upgrading to a

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz

Just because they are so cheap, but i may wait for the next big chip to be released which would see them drop in price even further. But there really is no need to upgrade yet.

duderino_23

i know i saw a significant increase in just about all my games, when i upgraded from a 6000+ to a phenom II 940 (same pc) and up to almost 2 times the performance increase on some games.

and a good phenom II quad or any good quad will last you a few more years easily.

honestly i wouldnt get a hexacore when they first come out, id wait for the 2nd or 3rd generation of it. (plenty of obvious reasons, games wont utilize it then at much if at all, plus it gives them time to make it right, or to improve the quality, for instance phenom vs phenom II