Phenom II X2 550 BE

[trekiej]

I decided to go  quad-core. It seems Second Life Beta 2 is using both cores. This summer I do not think I will need SL beta 2.
I plan to go with an Athlon II X4 630 or similar.
I posted on SL forums and quad-core seems to be the way to go.

[koshman]

I'm thinking about buying the same CPU soon. I'm deciding between X4 630 and X3 435 - I know I probably won't use the 4th core, but I hate odd numbers...

[trekiej]

The three cores get me too.

[ElPolloDiabl]

The quad core runs quite a bit hotter than the triple core.

[trekiej]

What cooling system do you recommend?
I believe the Athlon II X4 runs 95w tdp.
My system had a 300 watt ps, then I went to 400 watt ps when I added a PNY Geforce GT 240.
Do I need to add a larger PS? I was going to go to 600 or 700 watts.
http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/processors/athlon-ii-x2/Pages/AMD-athlon-ii-x2-processor-model-numbers-feature-comparison.aspx

[ElPolloDiabl]

The 650W power supplies look like good value. Just avoid the one or two nasty ones only output 400W (read the fine print).

The stock cooler is always good quality nowadays. That's all you need.

[trekiej]

thanks, looking to get a corsair or antec brand 650 watt ps.

[jj]

Why waste your time on these rubbish processers. Why dont you spend you money paying people to port SLto amiga. Should run on all amigas including 500+. It will fly , everyone knows amigas are soooooo fast and PC are rubbish hardware and software

[ElPolloDiabl]

Why waste your time on these rubbish processers. Why dont you spend you money paying people to port SLto amiga. Should run on all amigas including 500+. It will fly , everyone knows amigas are soooooo fast and PC are rubbish hardware and software

Because starting up a multi core processor is like starting up jet fighter, the thing goes whizz, beep, shhhhh, whirrrrr!

[koshman]

You can invest in those higher end PSUs for stability and quiet operation, but as for power even 400W should totally be enough.

[trekiej]

This summer SL may no longer be a priority.
Upgrading may have to wait.

[KThunder]

Because starting up a multi core processor is like starting up jet fighter, the thing goes whizz, beep, shhhhh, whirrrrr!

I started up my amiga and agnus and denise were all pissed off because paula was making too much noise. Sweeeeet!

I wonder if anyone has ever made anime versions of the girls.

I wonder if I'm thinking about this a bit too much.

I need at least a dual core athlon II, but next purchase will probably be a new video card. preferably a geforce 9 series or better. I got most games required cpu but not the video card.

with psus its the 12v capability that really counts nowadays. I saw a 350watt a while ago (forgot the name) but it had 22 amps on the 12v line. The quality of the componants makes a huge difference in psus though. a cheap 500w might be worse than a 400w name brand, you get what you pay for.

[trekiej]

This might be an interesting project. Use a quad core machine to emulate 4 parts of the the Amiga. One for cpu and the rest for custom chips. I think this has been thought of before for multi-cpu system.

[KThunder]

There are some new emulators I think for wii and ps2 that multithread and can use multi cores. I think emulators are one app that should benefit from multicores alot.

[mikeymike]

I've built one system for a customer with a Phenom II X2 550 BE.  I wasn't particularly happy with the fact that the processor ran significantly hotter (~40C idle) than a Phenom II X4 945, a Phenom II X3 710 or any Athlon II X2 I've used (the rest about 30C idle).  In hindsight it seems almost unbelievable that the CPU fan span faster on that processor than any of the others I've used in system builds, yet the CPU temp was higher, but I definitely remember thinking "that's the last time I use that processor".  Every time I was using retail CPUs, which all have the same HSF.

Next time I'm with that customer's computer, I'll check the fan speed and temps.  Admittedly the fan speed wasn't high enough to be irritating (all the other systems run virtually silent, to the point that I can hear the booting beep echo inside the case).

I agree with koshman that pretty much any 400W PSU will be fine, though I tend to invest in the better ones because they're quieter, and because a failing PSU can sometimes take the board with it, and I believe a better quality PSU is less likely to fail.

[ElPolloDiabl]

This might be an interesting project. Use a quad core machine to emulate 4 parts of the the Amiga. One for cpu and the rest for custom chips. I think this has been thought of before for multi-cpu system.

You will have to wait for the UAE guy to get around to it. Or design something yourself.
What we need is new approach to programming for 4 or more cores. Burn all the old programming books and rewrite them with multicore CPUs in mind.