7 replies to this topic

[Asudementio]

I'm looking for some insight into whether or not i would see worthwhile performance gains from purchasing a AMD Phenom ii x4 955 or 965 (black editions) to replace my current cpu, an AMD athlon ii x3 455. My current specs are as follows:

Amd athlon ii x3 455 (@ 3.3GHz)
pc power and cooling silencer mk 3 500W psu (single rail)
4 Gb G.Skill DDR3 RAM (@ 1600)
XFX radeon 6770 1 Gb video card
AsRock AM3 amd 770 motherboard

So the question is would the 955 or the 965 make much of a difference or is what little  money i have better spent elsewhere?

(To clarify GW2 is more than playable as it but i'm looking at gaining a bit more power for my system for WvW)

[Mortifer]

I have 965 BE (not yet overclocked) and it is pretty awful in WvW mass battles and PVE bosses - around 20 fps. I am planning to overclock that CPU a little bit to see a difference. If I could choose again, I would go for some 6 core, 4 GHz+ CPU... GW2 is much smoother with more cores (at least that is what I have heard from my friend...).

[Zerk2012]

Asudementio, on 28 December 2012 - 09:19 PM, said:

I'm looking for some insight into whether or not i would see worthwhile performance gains from purchasing a AMD Phenom ii x4 955 or 965 (black editions) to replace my current cpu, an AMD athlon ii x3 455. My current specs are as follows:

Amd athlon ii x3 455 (@ 3.3GHz)
pc power and cooling silencer mk 3 500W psu (single rail)
4 Gb G.Skill DDR3 RAM (@ 1600)
XFX radeon 6770 1 Gb video card
AsRock AM3 amd 770 motherboard

So the question is would the 955 or the 965 make much of a difference or is what little  money i have better spent elsewhere?

(To clarify GW2 is more than playable as it but i'm looking at gaining a bit more power for my system for WvW)

http://www.anandtech...duct/202?vs=102
Yes it would be better overclocks easy to 3.8 by just changing the multiplier.
http://us.ncix.com/p...MD&promoid=1033
http://www.amazon.co.../?tag=pcpapi-20

[Asudementio]

Thanks for the replies! How about using used cpus that haven't been overclocked? I would imagine them to be reliable if handled properly but are there any common issues to expect of them?

[Quaker]

In this case, a 'pre-owned' CPU would be a good idea. There are no specific issues with using a used CPU - they are essentially a lump of silicon with no moving parts to wear out. There is also no way to tell if they've been overclocked to death - but even then they should last for a few years anyway (if you don't oc them). Just be sure to get one really cheap at a flea market or local buy/sell site - or be sure to get some sort of guarantee if it's a pricier.

Edited by Quaker, 29 December 2012 - 07:57 PM.

[Just Horus]

Mortifer, on 28 December 2012 - 09:34 PM, said:

I have 965 BE (not yet overclocked) and it is pretty awful in WvW mass battles and PVE bosses - around 20 fps. I am planning to overclock that CPU a little bit to see a difference. If I could choose again, I would go for some 6 core, 4 GHz+ CPU... GW2 is much smoother with more cores (at least that is what I have heard from my friend...).

I have the 955 BE oc'd to 3.8GHz and I did not see any difference in performance from stock. General PVE hovers between 30-90, LA is around 20, and WvW zerg battles are essentially a slideshow. There is also the annoying issue of frame drops when turning.

Honestly, unless you have REALLY shitty fps right now, I would hold off buying it and wait till you have the money to invest in an intel cpu. Honestly, it seems as though GW2 runs better on intel over amd.

[typographie]

Mortifer, on 28 December 2012 - 09:34 PM, said:

If I could choose again, I would go for some 6 core, 4 GHz+ CPU... GW2 is much smoother with more cores (at least that is what I have heard from my friend...).

I wouldn't. The only cost-effective hexacore processors out there are AMD's Phenom II X6 and FX-6x00's, which are both relatively low-end these days compared to a contemporary quad-core i5. Cores do help in GW2, but architecture helps more.

[dhatcher1]

I upgraded a system with an AthonIix3 @ 3.5, 5770 (effectively the same as a 6770) and a 1680x1050 monitor with a PhenomIIx4 @ 3.6 and got a 5-10 FPS boost pretty much across the board.

Edited by dhatcher1, 02 January 2013 - 06:54 PM.