[Jfoster1]

Been reading some of the post here and found them very informative. I am hoping for some advice. Fixing to upgrade and get a gigabyte am3 board. I noticed the Phenom II X4 955 Deneb 3.2GHz was posted this morning on newegg for 255.00. After reading some of the post here though I am thinking of going with the Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor. If I understand this correctly I can easily overclock to 3.0 ghz and want to make sure I got this right. I can make this thing a quad core? Is that right.It is only 139.00 dollars and that is much cheaper than the 955 denab. Unless you guys think there would be a dramatic difference in the two processors. Was going to get the Xigmatek 120mm Rifle cooler. I have never oc'ed before but figure I can find a article on how. Guess my question is for over a 100 bucks different in the processors and if I can get the 720 to quad core and 3.0 ghz without shortening the life of the processor seems that would be the way to go, unless I am missing something about the 955 denab.
Thanks in advance

[BG-0]

It is not guaranteed in any way that the 720 BE will work with the fourth core unlocked. Not even at 2.8 GHz. Also some boards do not have the ACC feature needed to unlock the fourth core.
Still, it is pretty easy to get most of the 720 BEs to 3.0-3.4 with four cores, 3.8-4.0 with three cores. Bear in mind there is NO absolutely safe overclocking, OC only with parts you can afford to replace.

[mxthunder]

Depends on how much you want to spend. The top end of a 955 will allow it to smoke any other AMD chip, but for mainstream perf. and gaming the 720 will do just fine, with or without the 4th core. If you would like to try for a 4th core unlock, make sure you have the sb750 south bridge chip. As far as speeds go, you should be able to hit 3.2ghz easy on stock voltage, and 3.4-3.5 is almost guaranteed with a minor v core increase, which should be no problem given the cooler you have selected.

[Dolk]

For most basic users the Phenom II 720BE will be perfect for AM3 users. You can bring it up to 3.4 to 3.6 depending on how much you want to push the Vcore. The Phenom II 955BE is for people that want to really push their system or want that fourth core in their AM3 system. But if your looking for gaming and a bit of other powerful tasks but nothing to huge, the 720BE is a great pick. They are a popular chip for very many reasons and well worth each cent paid for it.

[burningcpu]

"OC only with parts you can afford to replace."

You don't have to worry about frying components unless you pump up the voltage out of spec or let the components get way too hot. Damaging a CPU through normal overclocking is extremely rare (really, who has this happened to?)

[ChanceCoats123]

Bahaha, I love how now we have gotten new members since amd released a new cpu! Amd should pop them out more often! And I agree with burning, I run my 5200+ which is like a $55-$60 cpu. So If necesary I can go back and get another. (or maybe something a tad nicer )