A little help in choosing a Phenom II cpu

[jalexb88 7]

Hello. I currently have a Phenom II 925 clocked at 3.5. I am searching for a Phenom II which has the best overclocking potential. ie. 4.0- 4.3 GHz range. I was looking at a review which compares the overclocking abilities of the AMD Phenom II X6 1075T & X4 970 BE & X2 560 BE Processors. : http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/reviews/processors/AMD_Phenom_II_X6_1075T_13.htmlIt seems the clear winner is the 1075T in terms of overclocking being stable at 4.2. Do the experts here think that buying an x6 cpu would be wise for FSX or should I go with the 970 BE x4?Fulls specs:AMD Phenom II 925 3.5 GHzASUS M4A87TD MotherboardHyperX 4Gb DDR3 1600GeForce 275 GTX 1796 MBAntec True Gamer 620WCoolerMaster V6Thanks! Alex

[MattSC1 4]

Hi Alex, I personally own both the Phenom2 965 BE, paired with an MSI FX790 GD70 with a Gigabyt 460gtx and a Phenom2 X6 paired with an MSI FX890 GD70 and an MSI 6870.Both of these models have an unlocked multiplier and within a few minutes I had both of them at 3.8ghz stable without having to adjust voltages. The main difference I've noticed between both of these chips is temperatures. At idle, my 965 BE is around 30C and will hit a max of 52C under load at 3.8ghz. The 1090T idles at 19-20C and under load at 3.8 have not had it get any higher than 45C Both of these are on air. I've used FSX on both of these machines and FSX works well with both of them. A huge thank you must go to ******* for all of his tweaks. I have all of my sliders to the right, except for traffic which I keep at 60%. I'm only running on a 19" lcd at 1280x1024 which I'm sure helps me a little FPS wise. I haven't seen the need to go any higher than 3.8 on either machine as they both work well for me as is, though I think that you'd have a little more head room to OC with the 1090T, as it seems to run a little cooler than the X4. Personally I like the x6. Hope it helps,MattThe 965BE goes for $159 1090T BE -$229I believe the 1075 goes for around $199

[Clutch Cargo 384]

I would go with:AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition Deneb 3.5GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDZ970FBGMBOX $185.00http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103894It's default speed is where you are right now. Plenty of room to OC. I Read where guys OC this easily to 4.2 -4.3 on air.

[jalexb88 7]

Thanks! It seems like a tough decision between the two. I like the fact that the x6 has lower temps, It must mean it has more room for OCing, but then the 970 is cheaper and as stated above can go high as well. However while some reviews state very good Ocing, others say it has average (3.9 max) OCing such as this one: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Phenom_II_X4_970/12.html Maybe because they had an older chip?Alex

[MattSC1 4]

I don't think you could go wrong with either chip, as they both will work well for you. One thing to remember regarding the AMD chip is that it's max recommended temp is 62C. Good luck and let us know how you make out. Matt

[jalexb88 7]

Well I decided to go with the Phenom II 970 BE. Lucky for me a friend of mine had also bought one so I helped him overclock his to 4.0 GHz with temps remaining at around 50c under load (with an aftermarket cooler) Very impressive! It was stable at 200x20 1.47 V. Thanks for the advice!Alex