Legit Reviews

after much debate and contemplating i finally made the decision to go with the 4000+ san diego vs. the 3800 dual cores.
the chip is mainly for gaming and benching so i sure hope i made the right choice.
my budget was around 350 to 375 max and it will be water cooled.

I would probably have gone with the 3800+, but I do a lot more than just game. So, do you plan to overclock it?

Yuriman wrote:I would probably have gone with the 3800+, but I do a lot more than just game. So, do you plan to overclock it?

yes, as high as i can get it. which is why i chose the 4000 over the dual core.

ya the 4000+ wont dissapoint you. Very strong processor. Probably the better choice since there are no programmes/games really taking full advantage of dual core and there probably wont be any for a while.

So for gaming 4000 would do better. Though the 3800 X2 does have a lot of multi tasking power allowing you to do things like burn DVD's and defrag at the same time.

my personal opinion on dual core processors is "screw 'em"

yeah, they're sweet as anything for multitasking, but until i'm ever frequently in a situation where i'm burning a dvd, uploading movies, doing powerpoint, and playing the latest hardware-whoring game out there, i'd have to pass.

in the future, whenever games will fully utilize dual cores, i'll get one. for now, i don't see the point in sacrificing the gaming performance for the off-chance that i'll actually take advantage of it.

but, that's just me

i know there are lots out there who actually do multitask like......... something that multitasks a whole lot.

Congratulations have fun

I'm wondering at what point of multitasking does the dual core processors really strut their stuff? In other words, if I am using 2 applications simultaneously, does the X2 do better than the "regular" chip or are they roughly equal and it takes 3, 4 or 5 apps to really see a difference.

Well on my X2 i can play a video game and render live video effects on my secondary screen to music all at the same time and i dont see any performance hit in my games !

Vstrom wrote:I'm wondering at what point of multitasking does the dual core processors really strut their stuff? In other words, if I am using 2 applications simultaneously, does the X2 do better than the "regular" chip or are they roughly equal and it takes 3, 4 or 5 apps to really see a difference.

Depends on what the apps are. Some people like to listen to music while they play a game, but on a single core processor, that can drop your framerate as much as 20% in a worst case scenario. Also, if an application is made specificly to use both cores at the same time, it can be up to twice as fast (video encoding). The new nVidia drivers supposedly have a very large performance increase when using dual cores (and likely dual processors, but I can't say for a fact0.

Yuriman wrote:The new nVidia drivers supposedly have a very large performance increase when using dual cores (and likely dual processors, but I can't say for a fact0.

Yeah, I read that in the list of improvements for their driver. Apop has confirmed thier performance increase as well as numerous others!

The only reason you get a performance hit with the Dual cores is because you are probably comparing similar PR'd chips, not similarly clocked chips. If you had a Manchester and a San Diego head to head, clock for clock in gaming benchmarks, the San Diego may pull a very slight lead, but they should be pretty damn close.
Here's a review X-Bit labs did on the X2 4800 and they also threw a 4000 Clawhammer in there.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/di ... x2_10.html

I know the X2 4800 is WAY more expensive than the A64 4000, but I'm just trying to say that it would be pretty easy to get that X2 3800 running 400mhz faster to match the speed of the San Diego 4000 ;)

Hmmm...I got some thinkin' to do before I buy a new CPU in a few months.

Well, my ultimate goal and will is set: 3 GHz, X2 3800+, W/C with Exos2; I plan on listening to music while I game, cuz I like the sounds of Killswitch Engage, Metallica, or even HIM when fragging some mutha****ers, lol. Not to mention I plan on keeping a high-end firewall and antivirus running in the background. So when I decide to get an X2, I plan on using it!! lol

Yeah, we're fast approaching the point in time when you might as well make your upgrades around and focused on Dual Core because it's definately the future of processing. Especially when prices start coming down more, it will almost be a no brainer to choose a dual core platform over single core!
But I'm not complaining, I really like what dual core has to offer, as long as the prices can get under control. But it's to be expected that dual core prices will be outrageous right now because this is the first generation. Remember how expensive the first "64-bit" AMD's were during their first platform generation! I can see the same thing happening with dual core; it doesn't even make sense now to buy or upgrade a Socket A or even a s478 system anymore since there are is a full range of budget and high end components offered for s754 and s939, and LGA 775 on the intel side.
Dual core is the newest, biggest, and baddest rollercoaster in town and I think the name of the game right now is waiting in line for the platforms and architechtures to mature and then hop on the ride when the time is right and your turn is up

You hit it on the head Blake; and btw, the entry-level X2, the 3800+, has dropped down to $347 with free shipping. It was on up there when it first come out, now it's coming within range of what the 3700+ Sandi started at, so you hit the nail on the head.

killswitch83 wrote:You hit it on the head Blake; and btw, the entry-level X2, the 3800+, has dropped down to $347 with free shipping. It was on up there when it first come out, now it's coming within range of what the 3700+ Sandi started at, so you hit the nail on the head.

DAMN! It's always nice to see prices dropping!!!

Especially for a broke ass college student like me (I know you can relate, lol)

killswitch83 wrote:Especially for a broke ass college student like me (I know you can relate, lol)

mmm, yep
I now live off of Rice, Cream of chicken, apples, and carrots! hahaha
Gotta love it, LOL