AM3 cpu for gaming?

So I've spent the past few hours reading reviews of the different AM3 cpu's...

And each one seems to have something slightly different to say. I was mainly looking at the Athlon2 x4 620 as the price point it's at is very nice.

I'll mainly be using the computer for gaming at 1680x1050 resolution, so it's one of those in between cpu and gpu bound resolutions.



Seeing how every review seemed to say something slightly different I figured I'd see what you guys think? Athlon2 x4 620, Phenom2 x3 720, or something else entirely?

Thanks for any help!

for gaming on 22" x3 720 is better value than x4 620.

I have a P2 550 BE dual core and it unlocks to quad and ive never had an issue in cpu performance in gaming before or after i went to quad

but really any of the cpu's you listed should be fine for gaming depends on if u want to pay more or less and what else you will be using the computer for maybe go p2 for the L3 cache?

edit: the PII 550 BE is only 2$ more then the x4 propus and 17$ cheaper then the X3 720

Phenom 2 X3 works great for me at 1650x1050. Runs Fallout 3 maxed out with a HD 4830.

X3 720 since it has an unlocked multi so the clock speed will be higher than the 620 when overclocked. The X3 also has the L3 cache that is missing on the 620. Some X3 can be unlocked to quad core so if you are lucky you will have an unlocked quad core with L3 cache.

I have no complaints about my 720BE, even before it was unlocked it was fine, had no trouble running it at 3.7GHz with the settings that Bit Tech posted... Running Stalker complete 2009, Aion, and TF2 just fine @ 1920x1080 with everything turned up, couldn't be happier.

Originally Posted by lt_shiro

for gaming on 22" x3 720 is better value than x4 620.

This. Add in the unlocked multiplier and you can go nuts if you wish to OC for more power.

AMD's new cpu's are generally better at gaming than anything else.

I use a Phenom 2 945 for gaming and it works well. Don't expect AMD CPUs to be as good as the high end Core i7s though.

Originally Posted by lollerskater69

AMD's new cpu's are generally better at gaming than anything else.

yeah anything else from their own company.

Originally Posted by SonicBoom555

yeah anything else from their own company.

I think he meant AMD's strong suit is gaming in their performance.

and its not like if you go with an i7 you'll gain another 50 fps ...it'll be more like you'll gain between 3 and 5 fps more...

so basically if you're a gamer... the x3 720 is good enough !!

If you cannot afford a full cache phenom 2 x4, then the 720be is the best choice. Cache plays a large part in gaming performance, as well as at least 3 cores. Games are going to run better on the x3 720 than the cacheless athlon 2 x4, or the full cache x2 550.

Hope that helps!!

720be, definatley best choice..got 3 cores l3 cache overclocks pretty well and possibility of unlocking the 4th core..while if you get the 550 you might be stuck with a dual core and if you get the 620 no l3 cache

Originally Posted by Ghettobox

I think he meant AMD's strong suit is gaming in their performance.

Yes. check out anand/toms/other 965 reviews. The 965BE beats even the fastest i7's in some games, ties it in others, and loses by a very tiny % to others.

For gaming, there is not much reason to spend the dough on anything other than Phenom II. Woot!

I'm running a X3 720 BE @ 3.5 and with 4th core unlocked...... I play at 2560 X 1600 with two 4890's.

i've also been able to unlock the 4th core on my x3 720 and it was with a $100 gigabyte board.

I got a X4 955 BE last summer. I see they're down to $170 now. I really enjoy mine and while I realize its pretty easy to unlock the fourth core on the X3 720 I just didn't want to mess with it (and was willing to pay the $50 more).

Man the 720 is the best bang for the buck ever IMHO. Forget the notion of getting one that will allow you to unlock the fourth core, that batch is long since gone and the people who were lucky enough to get one that works, well, they were lucky.

Also forget the fools who compare the X3 to the i7 because it's so stupid to compare the two. Yeah duhhhhhhh you think? It's exactly like you asking if anyone likes their new BMW M3 and someone pipes in saying "Yeah dude well don't even bother, that's never going to go as fast as the new 1001-hp Bugatti Veyron." Thanks captain obvious, really? Wow truly you have a dizzying intellect.

Just be happy that the X3 720 is super inexpensive, has TONS of room for overclocking (I'm at 3.7, see my sig) and also as a bonus has slightly more level 3 cache than the quad core per core. The quads and the triples both have 6MB of cache, but the X3 splits it between three cores, and the quad splits it between four.

Also, it uses the latest DDR3 AM3 sockets. What that means is that at any time in the next two years I can buy any new AMD CPU I want and stick it in my computer without changing anything else and it will run awesome.

The caveat emptor part is that no, it's not going to be as blazing fast as a new X4 965 or an i7, but it is going to be good and the price is amazing.

Also, if you're wondering, the only difference between Athlon II and Phenom II is that Phenom II has Level 3 cache and Athlon does not.

Let us know what you decide!

I just built a phenom II 720 system with an HD5770, I'll let you know how it does in games, I know that the Phenom II's have the L3 cache advantage over the athlon X4 which doesn't make much of a difference in anything but gaming, but since you want gaming, go with the phenom II.