Computer Upgrade Questions

[Gogan]

B) I don't know much about these tri-core cpus, but I'd bet money that a dual core 3.2 will still be marginally better than a tri-core 2.8 for WoW. Games in general aren't very well multi-threaded, so you're better off with whatever gets you a faster clock speed. I personally wouldn't waste the money on the new cpu.

C) Going from the 800/ddr2 to 1600/ddr3 may be worth it, though I'm not sure how big of a gain you'll realize from it. As for moving to 6GB, unless you're running 64-bit XP/Vista/7, the most your system will recognize and use is 4GB (it's actually a bit less than 4GB). As for the gains of triple channel vs dual channel, again the gains are pretty small and only realized when you can fully saturate the memory bus, which you won't do in something like WoW.

In summary, everything I've read and experienced tells me the biggest gains you'll see for gaming come from 1) fastest cpu clock speed and 2) best video card you can get.

[Nucholza]

Originally Posted by Asano

B) I don't know much about these tri-core cpus, but I'd bet money that a dual core 3.2 will still be marginally better than a tri-core 2.8 for WoW. Games in general aren't very well multi-threaded, so you're better off with whatever gets you a faster clock speed. I personally wouldn't waste the money on the new cpu.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't use my processor I don't think since it's an Athlon 64 x2 socket AM2 and the motherboard shows that it supports Phenom II X4 / Phenom II X3 ?

And thanks for the offer Jirou, I'll get back to you on it in a day or two.

[Tenzo]

Originally Posted by Nucholza

Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't use my processor I don't think since it's an Athlon 64 x2 socket AM2 and the motherboard shows that it supports Phenom II X4 / Phenom II X3 ?

And thanks for the offer Jirou, I'll get back to you on it in a day or two.

What motherboard do you have. Phenoms use AM2+ socket compared to the AM2. AM2 socket motherboards are *suppose* to be fully compatible with AM2+ socket motherboards. Basically, your cpu *should* be backward compatible but will not run at its full potential with an older motherboard (AM2). It should work fine, but you should double check your manufacturer's website, and you may need to update the BIOS.

On a side note, all quad-cores have little or no performance advantage while playing video games over their dual-core counterparts (1-6fps in difference). Triple cores numbers very similiar to quad-cores, so a triple core is a good low-cost choice for gaming if you are convinced you gotta have more than two cores because that was so two years ago. So if you are on a budget, its definitely something to consider.

If you are not on a budget and are not content with keeping your same motherboard, I would switch to Intel. Few years ago, high end CPUs were switching back and forth, but now AMD has changed their marketing strategies and have gone for more affordable CPUs while Intel is still pumping out high end CPUs and a good chunk of mid-level and "tweeners" along the way.

The best thing to do is just do the research on your own. In one hour of reading sites like tom's hardware, you can get a general idea of whats the best out there, and whats the best for you and your need. If all you do is play WOW, you definitely do not need a high end cpu.