Quad core or phenom dual core

[krazymate]

hey guys im sorta stuck on what chip to get best for gaming could you tell me which one would be best thanks these are the two
AMD 640 3.0 Quad core
AMD Phenom dual core 550 Black edition

thanks

 

[Ivan the SoSo]

I've got a 550 black....very good overclocker 3.8 on air stock cooler and voltage...your mileage may vary.
However more and more games are multi-threaded....why not a Phenom II quad or hex?

 

[krazymate]

its a certain budget i have so its those to are my only options

 

[YTBOY83]

I have a AMD Phenom II X4 955 @ 3200 MHz, which runs games brilliantly.

 

[Ivan the SoSo]

You might...if....you have the right motherboard....be able to unlock extra cores on the 550...if...nothing is wrong with them....I would run prime 95 a long time to test.
The Athlon is already a quad that works, so I would go with the 640. Clock speeds seem to be stuck around 3.5 anyway.....

 

[Charbroil57]

Choice is yours...

I have the AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition and it is fast, easily to overclock, and has given me no problems.

 

[stormy13]

You might...if....you have the right motherboard....be able to unlock extra cores on the 550.

Based on his listed specs,

System Manufacturer/Model Number -Compaq/HP

Not even if he tried real hard would that happen. Also is that 3500 socket 939 or AM2? Would help if you listed the actual model number of the computer, then we could tell you whether it is even possible to upgrade the CPU.

One more thing with upgrading in HP/Compaq computers, they have a bad habit of locking the bios (never mind the hidden settings in the bios) to a specific CPU despite the motherboard/chipset being able to support a higher/faster model. One of their little ways to stop people from doing exactly what you're looking to do so that they have to buy a new computer to get a faster CPU.

 

[Ivan the SoSo]

You might...if....you have the right motherboard....be able to unlock extra cores on the 550.

Based on his listed specs,

System Manufacturer/Model Number -Compaq/HP

Not even if he tried real hard would that happen. Also is that 3500 socket 939 or AM2? Would help if you listed the actual model number of the computer, then we could tell you whether it is even possible to upgrade the CPU.

One more thing with upgrading in HP/Compaq computers, they have a bad habit of locking the bios (never mind the hidden settings in the bios) to a specific CPU despite the motherboard/chipset being able to support a higher/faster model. One of their little ways to stop people from doing exactly what you're looking to do so that they have to buy a new computer to get a faster CPU.

I might be wrong...but it seems to be a budget new build with a +/-$100 cpu limit...his listed system is most likely maxed out.

 

[vierasniper]

ask yourself this: Would you prefer two naked girls or four? the choice is obvious

 

[archie123]

ask yourself this: Would you prefer two naked girls or four? the choice is obvious

tbh i couldnt even handle 2

that said if its foe gaming it has to be a quad

 

[vierasniper]

haha, but yeah if its for gaming quad is the way to go

 

[krazymate]

thanks guys
and im building a gaming rig its not going in my exsisting pc my profile is old

 

[vierasniper]

if you got any more questions we'll be here to help you out, good luck with the build.

 

[Wishmaster]

The Quad will only help in gaming if the game itself supports 4 cores.

A large majority of games only support 2, in which case a faster dual core would be better.

The Quad has other advantages outside of Gaming as well, although the same holds true in the sense the applications really need to support multiple threads to make the most of it.

More cores does not always mean better, unless you have applications or games that take advantage of it.
If the said Game or App is only coded for 1 or 2 threads, thats all it will use regardless how many CPU cores you actually have.


Having said that, I would still go with a good Quad. As more and more apps & Games are taking advantage of the multiple cores.

Just don't expect everything to be faster because of it.

I would also steer clear from "unlocking" cores TBH. They are locked for a reason. They were defective.