AMD Athlon 64 3500+ ...

[Platinum]

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ ...

I've got an athlon xp 3200+ ... a gig of ram ... and a radeon 9800 xt 256 meg ...

What have you guys heard about this processor, the AMD Athlon 64 3500+ ... Have you heard any good or bad things about it? I'm thinkin about buyin it ... How do you think this cpu will run all games including half life 2 ?

 

[FictiousWill]

yeah. blaaaaaa

 

[blahblahblah]

Why upgrade? You would have to get a new motherboard and processor. To top it off, your processor is still really good.

Either save the money or buy a 6800 GT / X800 Pro.

 

[Platinum]

but is it like a whicked fast cpu? THATS what I need to know hehe ... :cheers:

 

[Platinum]

I want a cpu that will run my video card at its FULL potential ... possibly then get an x800 xt

 

[FictiousWill]

Yes. The newest processors are usually the fastest ones. What do you want us to say? Considering HL2 runs on full down on a 2x00+ and whatever.

These threads are annoying.

 

[Platinum]

oh sorry fictious will you cool guy ... DONT ANSWER THEM IF THEYRE ANNOYING ... :flame:

 

[Synthos]

athlon 64+ 3500 is the best CPU on the market in my opinion. (apart from the 3800 that has a higher clock speed and the FX has been beaten by the 3800+ in some aspects)

features:
64 bit (obviously, valve has estimated that hl2 will run 30% faster on 64 bit cpus)
dual channeled memory controller, so you can now get the full benefit of dual sticks of ddr ram
hyper transport up to i think 6 gigabits/s i think both ways simultaneosly (correct me if I'm wrong) intel's chips can only go to about half that and not both ways simulataneosly
very high clock speed.

to be improved:
it only has 512 kb of L2 Cache, if they were able to double that, this chip would ****ing FLY. However, the dual channeled memory and hypertransport make up for the 1/2 mb of chache.

If you can afford it, get this cpu along with a nForce 3 Ultra motherboard.
you now have one of the best comp setups publicly available in a single-cpu setup.

HOWEVER
you will notice very little difference between the performance of the CHIP YOU HAVE NOW, and the Athlon 64+ 3500+

 

[charybdis]

If you have money to burn, then go ahead and grab it. It does seem to do well in benchmarks. You do realize that you would have to get a new motherboard with a 939 pin socket to take the cpu. You should be able to use your current ram though.

Here are some benchmarks.

http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20040601/socket_939-19.html

http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2149&p=7 <--- benchmarks of high end cpus running Doom 3.

If it was me, I would save the money for upgrades down the road, maybe a next generation processor or video card.

 

[charybdis]

With this cpu being the topic of discussion, I think it is appropriate for me to ask this question to the truely experienced hardware gurus here, especially Asus.

Which do you think would be a better upgrade for HL2 (and other games coming out).

I currently have this for my setup 2.08Ghz 333fsb amd xp2600+, 1024MB of PC2700 ram, and a geforce fx 5600 Ultra 128MB (Yes i know, I got it when it first came out and i didn't know of its "subpar" dx9 performance. I know now to do extensive research before buy computer parts).

I should have enough cash to do one of the two upgrades below, which should I pick?

Upgrade to a athlon 64 3500+ and a 939 mobo or just upgrade my gfx card to an x800 or 6800 (depending on how the benchmarks come out for running on HL2). Thanks for any solutions.

 

[bosox188]

Good question. Your processor right now is good, but a 3500+ and the new socket 939 is hard to say no to. I know the 5600 is bad, I have a 5200. But the Ultra isn't as bad, and like I said if you got a 3500+ and 939 mobo you'd be all set for Longhorn and stuff. I'd suggest getting the 3500+ and mobo, and getting one of the new cards later when they're cheaper and more available.

 

[Platinum]

athlon 64+ 3500 is the best CPU on the market in my opinion. (apart from the 3800 that has a higher clock speed and the FX has been beaten by the 3800+ in some aspects)

features:
64 bit (obviously, valve has estimated that hl2 will run 30% faster on 64 bit cpus)
dual channeled memory controller, so you can now get the full benefit of dual sticks of ddr ram
hyper transport up to i think 6 gigabits/s i think both ways simultaneosly (correct me if I'm wrong) intel's chips can only go to about half that and not both ways simulataneosly
very high clock speed.

to be improved:
it only has 512 kb of L2 Cache, if they were able to double that, this chip would ****ing FLY. However, the dual channeled memory and hypertransport make up for the 1/2 mb of chache.

If you can afford it, get this cpu along with a nForce 3 Ultra motherboard.
you now have one of the best comp setups publicly available in a single-cpu setup.

HOWEVER
you will notice very little difference between the performance of the CHIP YOU HAVE NOW, and the Athlon 64+ 3500+

In games I should ... Especially ones like Doom 3 and Far cry that just eat your cpu and gpu ... If i got an x800 to go along with it ... wouldnt i notice a HUGE difference between the xp 3200 and the 64 3500

 

[The Terminator]

Dude, I wouldnt upgrade at all. Wait like 6 months and get a new computer. Youll be much happier, plus your current rig is really good.

 

[AzzMan]

I wouldn't upgrade just yet, I have almost the exact same setup as you, except I only have 512 mb ram, which I will upgrade soon. First I'm gonna wait 'till HL2 comes out, and see how it performs, before I decide if I wanna upgrade or not.