Recommend me an AMD CPU

M

Mac Cool

I'm a little out of touch with the current crop of CPUs and I'm hoping
someone can make some recommendations. A full list of compatible cpus is
at the bottom but the short story I can use about any AM2 chip. I have a
Sempron 3000 in there now. It is unlikely I will overclock, I don't game,
but I do use graphics programs like Photoshop and Illustrator (as a
hobby). Budget is $100 or less.

In that price range I see a 64 x2 5000 (2 different models, not sure of
the difference), an x2 4850e, an x2 be-2400 and an Opteron 1212. Found
these on Newegg.com. The Opteron is a server processor but has a big cache
and seems to be recommended for graphics apps.

Looking at the benchmarks here it is a bit confusing:
http://tinyurl.com/6qzpw5
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/cpu-charts-2007/photoshop-cs-
3,384.html?p=1244%2C1249%2C1247%2C1227%2C1230%2C1229%2C1310%2C1255%2C1293



Here is the full list of CPUs my MB can use:
http://tinyurl.com/6pnw7j
http://ecsusa.com/ECSWebSite/Support/CPU_Support_Model.aspx?detailid=685
&MenuID=69&LanID=9
 
P

Paul

Mac said:
I'm a little out of touch with the current crop of CPUs and I'm hoping
someone can make some recommendations. A full list of compatible cpus is
at the bottom but the short story I can use about any AM2 chip. I have a
Sempron 3000 in there now. It is unlikely I will overclock, I don't game,
but I do use graphics programs like Photoshop and Illustrator (as a
hobby). Budget is $100 or less.

In that price range I see a 64 x2 5000 (2 different models, not sure of
the difference), an x2 4850e, an x2 be-2400 and an Opteron 1212. Found
these on Newegg.com. The Opteron is a server processor but has a big cache
and seems to be recommended for graphics apps.

Looking at the benchmarks here it is a bit confusing:
http://tinyurl.com/6qzpw5
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/cpu-charts-2007/photoshop-cs-
3,384.html?p=1244%2C1249%2C1247%2C1227%2C1230%2C1229%2C1310%2C1255%2C1293



Here is the full list of CPUs my MB can use:
http://tinyurl.com/6pnw7j
http://ecsusa.com/ECSWebSite/Support/CPU_Support_Model.aspx?detailid=685
&MenuID=69&LanID=9
Click to expand...

The Opteron 1212 I see listed on Newegg, uses 103W of power. No processor
on the ECS list, uses more than 89W. Which suggests the motherboard
may have a Vcore power limit. In addition, the core clock of the desktop
alternative to the Opteron is 2.6GHz, while the Opteron is 2.0GHz.
Extra cache won't cover that large a difference. (There is a Windsor 5200+
with 2x1MB cache, and 2.6GHz clock, for $109.)

The 5000+ Black Edition, is multiplier unlocked. Which means it
can be overclocked by dialing the multiplier alone. (On the minus
side, the Black Edition product won't have a heatsink/fan in the box.)
Other retail boxes with have the heatsink/fan included.

The BE-2400 is lower power, but runs at 2.3GHz.

For each of the prospective choices, you should also try and get the
stepping info, to compare to the ECS chart.

(http://www.amdcompare.com and select desktop processors...) or this is a list of AM2's.

http://products.amd.com/en-us/DesktopCPUResult.aspx?f1=&f2=&f3=&f4=&f5=AM2&f6=&f7=&f8=&f9=&f10=&

What to take ? Whatever one fits the budget and doesn't require you to
purchase a separate heatsink/fan. Which means, to stay strictly under
the $100 number, this one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103211 $90

This one has double the cache, but that may not be such a big deal.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103767 $109

Paul
 
P

Paul

Also, the Tomshardware Photoshop results are suspicious, to say the least.

There is an accepted test method, called PSBench, for testing
Photoshop. It doesn't fit into the Toms charting style, which I
suppose is why it is a non-starter for them. When properly done,
PSBench returns a result for each filter, so you can see how
effective a processor is, versus the filter used. Some filters
are single core aware, and some are multiple core aware. Also,
I've seen a note suggesting that Toms may have forgot a patch,
because otherwise, some of their dual versus quad core results
may be hard to explain.

The various versions of PSBench.
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Cafe/4363/download.html

The custom test that Toms came up with, I cannot find a description
of exactly what is being done. So it is pretty hard to correlate
the results with some other site. To reproduce the test, you'd also
need their test image.

One page on Tomshardware, says these filters were tested on the image.

Crosshatch
Glass
Sumi-e
Accented Edges
Angled Strokes
Sprayed Strokes

And the latest revamp of the appearance of the CPU charts page,
makes it almost unusable.

Paul
 
M

Mac Cool

Paul:
The Opteron 1212 I see listed on Newegg, uses 103W of power.
Click to expand...

Good catch. When I was reading about the Opteron on AMDs website I misread
the chart at 68W, which was actually the processer below the 1212. After
reading some benchmarks the 1212 would be too slow anyway, which you
thankfully also pointed out.
The 5000+ Black Edition, is multiplier unlocked. Which means it
can be overclocked by dialing the multiplier alone. (On the minus
side, the Black Edition product won't have a heatsink/fan in the
box.) Other retail boxes with have the heatsink/fan included.
Click to expand...

Yeah this was confusing, I thought maybe it just came without a fan. I
didn't know retail processors came without a fan/heatsink.
The BE-2400 is lower power, but runs at 2.3GHz.
Click to expand...

Lower power consumption would be nice since I never turn my machine off
and the room tends to the warm side as it is. If the performance
difference is negligible then I would choose the lower power.
What to take ? Whatever one fits the budget and doesn't require you
to purchase a separate heatsink/fan. Which means, to stay strictly
under the $100 number, this one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103211 $90

This one has double the cache, but that may not be such a big deal.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103767 $109
Click to expand...

The big difference I see between these two is that one is a 65nm and the
second is 90nm.

thanks for the thoughts, they were very helpful.
-Rick
 
P

Paul

Mac said:
Yeah this was confusing, I thought maybe it just came without a fan. I
didn't know retail processors came without a fan/heatsink.
Click to expand...

The retail processors come with heatsink/fan, with the exception
of the Black Edition processors. The tradeoff for offering the
user an unlocked multiplier (intended for overclocking), is the
removal of the heatsink/fan from the box. Presumably, their thinking
is, if you are an overclocker, you're buying a separate $50
heatsink/fan anyway.

The OEM processors are generally delivered in a plastic tray, without
a heatsink/fan.

So any retail processor, which is not a Black Edition, represents
good value, as it includes the heatsink/fan.

Paul
 
M

Mac Cool

Paul:
The 5000+ Black Edition, is multiplier unlocked. Which means it
can be overclocked by dialing the multiplier alone. (On the minus
side, the Black Edition product won't have a heatsink/fan in the box.)
Click to expand...

If I went with the BE, is there a quiet, inexpensive but effective
heatsink recommendation?
 
J

John Doe

Paul said:
So any retail processor, which is not a Black Edition, represents
good value, as it includes the heatsink/fan.
Click to expand...

You bet. Properly installed, it's worth a lot.
 
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