New CPU....but which one?

For once I'm going to be a little sensible and ask the experts advice. I've currently got an AMD 64 3700+ 1mb 939 etc etc. What I want to know is this: Is it worth me upgrading this chip to either the Fx-55 or FX-57 or even one of the AMD dual core chips. I've heard that the 3700+ can be overclocked to 2.8ghz? How easy is this to do and can I do it using a simple air cooled system? I don't want to spend potenitally £700 GBP if the performance gain will be very little. Just for your info I use the PC mainly for games/3d software (3DStudio etc).

 

Whoa! What a budget dude! If you do lots of gaming, then why not get another graphics card, what have you got BTW? The 3700 will cope with ANYTHING you can throw at it! Not sure if either of the processors would give you a massive performance increase. Again that is down to your graphics card. Lots of good memory never does have any harm either!
My 3200 copes with everything, my mates 2600 plays Doom3 with the greatest of ease, but he does have the same card as me!
Pulsar

 

Hey Pulsar,

I'm running 2x GeForce 7800 GTX in Sli mode. It's great don't get me wrong but even some games like GTR still stutter a little when everything is turned to max and you turn the draw distance to very far. Also Half Life 2 and Doom 3 got everything on High (not Ultra for Doom3) with 8x Sli Anti Aliasing, 16x AF and Vsync but it's still goes slightly jerky in places (lowest is 35-40 fps most of the time it's over 100). With 2 GPU's it puts more load on the CPU and some games end up waiting for the CPU no matter how fast your cards are (so I've read anyway). Maybe it's my RAM? I have one stick of PC2700 512 and one stick of PC3200 512mb. They weren't that expensive to be honest.

 

Makes you wonder if the dual core would be better for SLi systems doesn't it? Seems a lot of people are disappointed with the performance of SLi cards. Do you think Nvidia overhyped them a tad? I saw one guy with an FX55 get over 26000 on PC Mark 2003. Can't remember what card he had (think it was a 6800ultra)
I am not sure if the drivers are up to scratch yet for these cards.
Here is a link to a review that you may find interesting;

http://hothardware.com/viewarticle.cfm?page=12&articleid=701&cid=1

I take you have your Anti-virus turned off etc, etc. Sorry if I am stating the obvious!

What you say about CPU lag sounds right, How much memory have you got? Interested to know what scores you get on 3D Mark03. I get a rather measily 10571!

Pulsar

 

Well I'd say for optimal performance you may need more ram and a better CPU. It might be a very good idea to OC your CPU and just get better ram, in which case the upgrade won't be as costly. Yes, the 3700 is very overclockable, and stable while doing it. Of course you will need a good heatsink. What mobo do you have? I am not sure if a dual core CPU would be better for SLI, because the games are still single threaded, and are simply quicker with two video cards. Right now OCing your CPU is a very good idea if you haven't tried it yet, but make sure you have access to the internet from another computer, in case something goes wrong, and you need help from us.

Oh and if you overclock, and are not satisfied with the inadequate bump in performance you could get a 4000+ CPU and OC it to FX-55 speeds for half the cost of the actual FX-55

 

Thanks guys. Currently I have 1024mb of Ram but as I said they aren't the most expensive brands and one stick is 2700 while the other is 3200. I tried overclcoking my CPU but didn't really take it far enough as I was afraid of system crashes. With my current Sli card setup I've managed 28'000 on 3D Mark 2003 and about 9'700 on 3DMark 2005. I don't always remember to turn off Anti Virus to be honest. It's so annoying when it decides to update while I sending zombies/demons back to hell!!! P But surely If I buy an FX-55 I could OC to FX-57 speeds!! So maybe another 1024mb of decent Ram and OC the CPU more and see how I get on? It certainly is the cheaper option. Up until 3 weeks ago I'd never built a PC. I always thought it would be cheaper if I did it myself.....£1270 is not too bad for my setup. I've seen more pre-built PC's with not even a decent GPU let alone 2!

 

Very very very nice choice Dan!!. That is gonna be one crazy beast. I hope you keep him in a nice cage(CASE) . good luck

 

Thanks skidme. Sadly though my case cost about £30 and looks naff. It's like a 250bhp monster housed in the body of a clapped out Mini! I'll OC my CPU this evening and buy some more RAM at the end of the month (yes I actually have a limit on how much I can spend believe it or not P) and see what results I get. If you never here from me again I've fried my CPU, both GPU's and have moved to Kazakhstan to live in the wild. Wish me luck! Oh any last minute tips before I cook everything? I've only got one case fan and standard CPU fan and heatsink. Should I upgrade these before OC'ing the CPU?

 

LMAO!!!! I'm from Kazakstan...It's not as wild as you think...Highly polluted tho. When we came to America, I was told that the amount of Phosphorus in my blood was 5 times the normal level lol
As for the fans...the case fans should be adequate, but you're gonna need a better HSF, used along with Arctic Silver Thermal Grease.

Oh and also, as of now I don't think it's neccessary to OC ur VidCards. They're already insanely fast, and probably get very hot, no?

 

Thanks for the help skidme, I don't care what they say about you, I think you're OK!

Just kidding!!

Much appreciated, cheers mate.

Pulsar

@ Dan, kickass system, you in the UK by any chance? You really need matched RAM, to make the most & avoid possible conflicts, this could, and probably is, causing the stuttering. Along with the anti-virus being left on, that will not help at all!

 

NO WAY!! LOL!! Man............of all the places I could've picked!! I only chose it because I watched The Long Way Round where Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman rode their two BMW bikes 20'000 miles and went through your country. The bits they went to sure looked wild. Maybe they faked it!!P Anyhoo, the graphics cards only get upto about 65 heaty points (degrees/celcius I can never work it out) which seems quite cool really. And sometimes I'm playing for hours. Thermal grease you say....! Sounds kinky! And where shall I put his grease (he says worryingly P). Is it the stuff you put on top of the actual CPU before attaching the heatsink/fan assembly? It's already got some white stuff on it.

 

@pulsar
:0D
@ DAN
Yep it used to be a pretty wild country, up till they cut down all the trees...Wait 10 years, and it's gonna be a desert...Although i think part of it already is.

As for the thermal grease you're gonna need to remove the stuff thats already present, with an anti-static cloth most likely. Then are a bunch of manuals online on how to apply the stuff. Basically just apply a bit to the center, and then attach the Heatsink and fan. Hope this helps

 

@ skidme, I meant what I said as a term of endearment. Sorry for any offence caused. Mostly because I do not know what :0D means!

 

hehe don't worry pulsar, not offended, no harm done

oh and in the term :0D thats supposed to be a happy guy with a big nose.