I'm looking to upgrade my processor, which is an AMD 64 3500, to a Athlon 64 X2 dual core. Money isn't really a big problem, but I only get 210 a week, and I want the best processor for my computer.
XP
nVIDIA 7800 GT 256
2 gig RAM
I can't remember the name of my motherboard at the moment, I'm not at home so I can't find out but it's dual core ready and supports all the AMD chipsets.
Suggestions?
Ok, if money is not an issue...
There is the [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103544"]AMD 64 X2 4800+[/URL]. That one is pretty expensive though...
The best one for your money IMO would be the [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103546"]AMD 64 X2 4400+[/URL]. While this one is supposedly not as fast on clockspeed, IMO a .2GHz difference doesn't really matter. What matters is compared to the other models I found, this particular one has 2MB of L2 Cache (The first one has that too).
Plus when it comes to Dual Core, it won't have a higher clock speed than what you have now. Thats not the point though, the point is power, and I think I talked to you about this before.
So if you ask me, I strongly recommend the 4400+ (The second one).
So what exactly are you going to be doing on your computer that you're going to need a dual core system? Keep in mind what Protoman said. It's not going to increase your clock speed. Most PC games are single threaded right now so having a dual processor isn't going to help unless you need the other "half" for something else. Or do you just like having the best possible hardware?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it is my philosphy. But if you can afford it and think you could benefit, Protoman's choices are probably good. I don't know for sure myself because I never looked into them.