Best Bang Per Buck Gaming Processors for August 2009

Choosing the right processor (CPU) proves to be a daunting task. The deciding factor is usually games, since we don’t *really* need a very powerful processor for surfing and creating/viewing documents.

Tom’s Hardware makes the task of picking the right CPU easier with their recommendations:

Top Picks:

• Athlon 64 X2 5200+ [Brisbane, 65nm, 2.7GHz, AM2] (US$55)
• Dual-Core Pentium E5300 [Wolfdale-2M, 45nm, 2.6GHz, LGA 775] ($70)
• Athlon II X2 250 [Regor, 45nm, 2.8GHz, AM2+] ($80)
• Pentium Dual-Core E6300 [Wolfdale-2M, 45nm, 2.8GHz, LGA 775] ($80)
• Phenom II X2 545 [Callisto, 45nm, 3GHz, AM2+] ($90)
• Phenom II X3 710 [Heka, 45nm, 2.6GHz, AM3] ($100)
• Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition [Callisto, 45nm, 3.1GHz, AM3] ($100)
• Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition [Heka, 45nm, 2.8GHz, AM3] ($120)
• Core 2 Duo E7500 [Wolfdale-3M, 45nm, 2.93GHz, LGA 775] ($120)
• Phenom II X4 945 [Deneb, 45nm, 3GHz, AM3] ($170)
• Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition [Deneb, 45nm, 3.2GHz, AM3] ($190)
• Core 2 Quad Q9400 [Yorkfield, 45nm, 2.66Ghz, LGA 775] ($190)
• Core 2 Duo E8500 [Wolfdale, 45nm, 3.16GHz, LGA 775] ($190)
• Core 2 Quad Q9550 [Yorkfield, 45nm, 2.83GHz, LGA 775] ($220)
• Core i7 920 [Nehalem, 45nm, 2.66GHz, LGA 1366] ($280)
• Core i7 975 Extreme [Nehalem, 45nm, 3.33GHz, LGA 1366] ($1000)

The budget processors picked were the Athlon 64 X2 5200+ and Dual-Core Pentium E5300, both having two cores, and a 2.7 or 2.6 GHz clock. These can be purchased for about $55 (X2 5200+) and $70 (E5300).

In the other end of the scale, is the Core i7 975 Extreme, which features 3.33GHz, LGA 1366 socket, and a ridiculously high $1000 price tag. Only for the extremely rich.

For the mid-priced processors, it would be a good idea to target the Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition or Core 2 Quad Q9400. These can be had for around $190.

Whatever processor you choose, keep in mind that the chipset of the motherboard or mainboard would also play an essential role for determining the overall efficacy and performance of your new system.

Happy choosing!

[Source: Tom’s Hardware | Best Gaming CPUs For the Money: August ‘09]

Technorati Tags: processor, gaming, cpu, best bang per buck

[Game] CrimeCraft Reviewed

CrimeCraft is a persistent online action game from Vogster Entertainment.

Story:

“It began with a disaster unlike any humanity had ever faced. The details of what exactly occurred remain unclear, but its results were rapid and widespread. In the aftermath of this global crisis, the world’s energy reserves were devastated. The magnitude of the predicament faced by humanity was amplified by a series of crippling natural disasters that occurred almost simultaneously with the energy collapse. Worse still, governments around the world drained resources like never before in reaction to these events, but the aid they offered came to little end. Instead of solving the crisis, this gargantuan consumption by the world’s governments exacerbated its effects, leaving millions homeless across the planet.”

IGN gave it a 5.6 out of 10 (‘Mediocre’) rating:

“There's not a lot about CrimeCraft that would encourage me to recommend it as an alternative to the wealth of cheaper alternatives in the PC catalog. Yes, it's true that most PC shooters don't have the persistent element found in CrimeCraft and, yes, even the upcoming persistent shooters like Combat Arms and Parabellum don't have MMO standards like crafting or guilds, but those additions are so irrelevant in CrimeCraft that it's hard to justify the cost of the disc, the vanity-driven micro-transactions, the in-game ads and the subscription fee. The shooter element may be fun in the short term, but it's ultimately forgettable and not nearly strong enough to make you ignore the unfulfilled potential here.” [IGN | CrimeCraft Review]

Probably a good idea to look at other Shooter or Action titles, although a good idea is to try out the game and see for yourself.

Technorati Tags: crimecraft, action, shooter, online, game

Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P: Budget AMD Socket AM3 / DDR3 Motherboard

Nowadays, DDR3 memory is slowly being the de facto standard of system RAM. One of the major hindrances of building an inexpensive AMD rig with DDR3 is the price of the motherboard.

X-bit Labs took a close look at the Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P (US$80) mainboard:

“According to the results of our test session, despite its modest price, this mainboard may become a good choice not only for inexpensive unpretentious platforms, but also for computer enthusiasts. It has adequate specifications meeting today’s needs, and flexible configuring options together with overall predictable behavior are just as good as those of more expensive Socket AM3 products. In other words, during our test session, we didn’t reveal any serious issues that could give anyone the reason to underestimate Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P. Especially, since it performs and overclocks just as good as Gigabyte MA790FXT-UD5P, for instance, that belongs to a much higher price range.” [X-bit Labs | Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P]

Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P Specs:

• AMD socket AM3 processors support (Phenom II X4, Phenom II X3)
• AMD 770 / AMD SB710 chipsets
• 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets, up to 16GB of system memory
• 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot
• 4 x PCI Express x1 slots
• 2 x PCI slots
• 1 x IDE
• 6 x SATA 3Gb/s,with SATA RAID 0, 1, 0+1
• 8 x USB 2.0 ports at back panel
• 1 x Gigabit LAN
• 7.1 HD Audio
• ATX form factor, 30.5 cm x 21.0 cm

If you are looking to build a new AMD rig with a socket AM3 processor and DDR3 memory, it’s worth looking for the Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P.

Technorati Tags: amd, socket am3, ddr3, 770, chipset

ATI Radeon HD 4890 Graphics Card Reviewed

The ATI Radeon HD 4890 is one of many graphics cards in AMD’s Radeon HD 4000 series. It features:

• 55nm fabrication process
• PCI Express 2.0 x16 bus interface
• 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface
• Microsoft® DirectX 10.1 support
• Shader Model 4.1 support
• 800 stream processing units
• OpenGL 3.0 support
• ATI CrossFireX™ Multi-GPU Technology

HardwareZone reviewed the PowerColor PCS+ HD 4890 Battle Forge Edition card, and gave it a 4.5 out 5 rating:

“To sum up, the PowerColor PCS+ HD 4890 BF Edition is a very capable card. It offers decent performance and its cooler does the job. What we don't like, however, is that the cooler isn't that much less noisy than the reference model, and also the high power consumption figures (which is to be expected since it's overclocked). Even so, it is still one of the better Radeon HD 4890 cards around, and is definitely great value for money if your heart's set on a Radeon HD 4890.” [HardwareZone | PowerColor PCS+ HD 4890 Battle Forge Edition]

If you are interested in looking at what Nvidia has to offer in competition with the HD 4890, you could take a look at the GeForce GTX 275.

Technorati Tags: amd, ati, radeon, hd, 4890, directx 10.1

Shuttle XPC SX58H7 – Core i7 in a Mini PC

The Shuttle XPC SX58H7 Pro Station (around US$867) aims to bring the Small Form Factor PC to the extreme gamers, demand enthusiasts, and mainstream PC users.

Features:

• Intel Core i7 processor support
• I.C.E Technology CPU heat-pipe
• Intel X58 and ICH10R chipsets
• 4 x 240pin DDR3 DIMM slots, 4GB per DIMM(Max 16GB), Triple channel DDR3 1066/1333/1600(OC)MHz support
• Realtek ALC888 7.1 channel High Definition Audio
• 2 x Realtek RTL8111C Gigabit LAN
• 3 x 3.0Gb/s bandwidth SATA (RAID 0,1,10,5)
• 2 x 3.0Gb/s bandwidth eSATA in back panel
• 1 x UltraDMA 133 channel master from JMicron JMB368
• 2 x PCI-E x16 slots
• 6 x USB 2.0 ports
• 500W power supply
• Dimensions: 325(L) x 208(W) x 189(H) mm

Register Hardware gave the SX58H7 an 80% rating:

“… you pay a premium of £200 for the privilege of building your Core i7 system in a small, compact, quiet chassis that's half the height of a regular mid-tower. That’s a high price to pay for a regular desktop PC but it’s worth considering as the end result is very smart and effective. LAN party gamers – yes, both of you – should form a queue here. … The Shuttle SX58H7 is brutally expensive but that’s a fact of life with Core i7 hardware. However, the price is offset by low noise levels, stylish design and excellent cooling.” [RegHardware | Shuttle XPC SX58H7 Core i7 mini desktop PC]

Do you want something small, yet powerful enough to go side-by-side with its bigger desktop counterparts? The Shuttle SX58H7 could just be for you! (Of course, you have to pay the price to get it.)

Technorati Tags: shuttle, sff, intel core i7, x58, barebone

GeForce GTX 295 Reviewed

The GeForce GTX 295 (around US$520) is a dual-GPU graphics card from Nvidia that features:

• 240x2 Stream (Shader) Processors
• 576 MHz Core Clock
• 1242 MHz Shader Clock
• 999 Memory Clock x2
• 1792 MB Memory
• HDCP support
• Two Dual link DVI

The Guru of 3D took a close look at the Point of View GeForce GTX 295 single PCB, and gave it the Guru3D Top Pick stamp of approval:

“Much like any of our GeForce GTX 295 reviews, we can only conclude that the GTX 295 single PCB graphics card pwns. Really it's a 480 shader processor encounting raw fricking compute monster, I liked the first model when it was released, and I like this version just as well. … Either way, we liked the GTX 295 ever since it was introduced, and this revised model does not make that conclusion any different. If you want to be a total freak and go quad-SLI, you can mix and match the old GTX 295 with this new one, not a problem either.” [Guru of 3D |GeForce GTX 295 single PCB review]

Great graphics card to have, if you’ve got money to burn! Need more down-to-earth gaming graphics card suggestions? Head on to cedled’s Game!

Technorati Tags: geforce gtx 295, dual GPU, point of view

[ad#adbrite-1]