SOLVED CPU Advice for ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3

[chuck4200]

Building 2 new boxes with the ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 mobo.
Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Mid Tower Case
Crucial 4GB memory.

Debating the Corsair Hydro Series H50/70 for cooling.

I'm not a gamer, and not an OC'er yet, but looking to unlock the cores and boost performance using an older, less expensive AMD CPU for now.

Any suggestions on which Phenom II to use to give me unlocked cores and faster speed without trying to optimize settings individually like some of you experts!

Any thoughts on the Corsair Hydro cooling versus heat sink fans is much appreciated. Would the lesser chip require the Hydro cooling?

Thanks
Chuck

 

[QuietIce]

to OCF!


The 555BE (X2) or 740BE (X3) are both good choices if you're looking for Phenom II's - and about the only choices, really. You should probably stick with BE chips if you want "easy" overclocking - but all real overclocking requires "getting your hands dirty" in the BIOS.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103846
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103699


A TRUE and some good fans will cool as good or better than the H50. No word on H70 performance as yet, though it looks to be very good.

Keep in mind if you unlock the cores it will no longer be a "lesser chip". A Phenom II X4 is a Phenom II X4 whether it started as an X2 or X3 doesn't matter as far as power requirements and heat output ...

 

[chuck4200]

QuietIce,

Thanks for the great information. Just what I needed.

Chuck