Vista - Need help choosing good (AMD)processor

I'm planning on buying a new processor for my pc, but I don't reeally know which one to buy. There's so much choise out there these days. Does anyone maybe know a system scanner that gives good advice (like for example the one at www.crucial .com but for processors, not memory) or recommendation for one? Thanks

Amplid

Amplid,

I admit, I'm an Intel junkie. Having said that, here's a link to an Intel processor comparison tool : Intel® Product Comparison Chart

I hope you find what you're looking for.

Well, your board is a Socket 939, from what I can see. That's going to limit your options a bit. In fact, so much so that you've already got the best (unless you want to go with a server chip, which doesn't make too much sense).

I would recommend you look at motherboards as well and think about what you want in that as well. The Phenoms are actually starting to get good reviews. I've got a 6000+ and I'm quite happy. Helped someone else install a 6400+ today with extreme ease. You're right, there's a lot of choice. But the more you can tell us about what you want, the easier it will be to point you the right way.

If you have an AM2 motherboard and the bios can handle it the new AMD quad core could work, but you need to wait for the new unreleased version since the 9500 and the 9600 Phenom have problems with the 64 bit Vista OS. Another option would be the AMD dual core 6000+ processor for an AM2 board. If you have a socket 939 your choices are very limited. Check Newegg to see whats available.

I didn't realise AMD made a good processor :P

Compare CPU's here:- CPU Charts | Tom's Hardware

Oooh. You'll pay for that...

Oh, wait. You did when you bought your processor. And, as I understand it, you just got 2 dual cores. We AMD people get a true quad if we buy one.

Plus there's the way 64-bit words are handled which is superior. Hmm...

It may be 2x2 cores but at least it works.

Touche. Note, I just have a dual-core. Then again, there don't seem to be many times when I even use all of those.

Definitely time to upgrade your motherboard as well. Socket 939 is going out fast. Even the AM2 has hit the end of it's road stopping at the 6400+. The only thing that will keep the AM2 alive is the fact that AM2+ boards support the quad core as well as the dual core processors.
If I were you I would go with the GIGABYTE GA-MA790FX-DQ6 or similar and a AMD Phenom X4 9600 Quad Core Processor.
I will be upgrading to that board soon, but I might wait for better quad core processors to be released by AMD. I certainly dont have anything against Intel as I was using a P4 on an AGP board up until about a year ago, but I think AMD will crush Intel soon with new Quad Cores.
And yes, they are true Quad Cores.

tiltrotor22 unfortunatelly AMD already tried this with their new quad core Phenoms and it failed not only to crush Intel but also to mach it at least :-] This is not any hot news, so if you did not read anything about it yet, there is something here for example: First Phenom with B3 Stepping : AMD Phenom - A Second Try with the B3 Stepping
Amplid I would keep this computer as it is, because upgrade of CPU is not worth it. Opteron is a choice, but it probably wouldn't be better then what you have now. Or maybe I would give it to my parents and keep the graphics card (if it is PCIe) and use it to build another pc with some cheap Intel P35 chipset (less energy consuming then nForce) and some good dual core CPU (Wolfdale core). Or If you want the best performance for the lowest prize choose the dual core pentium E2140, because it can be overclocked to 3GHz with stock cooler, which is really not bad I think
Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2140 Overclocking results - Overclockers Forums