Newegg has AMD Phenom II X4 945 Socket AM3 Quad-Core CPU + ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX ATX Motherboard for $246 - $15 Rebate = $231 with free shipping. Thanks proro1974

Good deal. +6 up and no one has bothered to post to bump for others. Thank you Deal Alerts!

Nice

Good deal! Is it true that the x2 550 with unlocked cores performs slimilar to the 945?

The Phenom II X2 550 has 512KB of L2 cache per core and 6MB of L3 cache total. The Phenom II x4 945 has 512KB of L2 cache per core and 6MB of L3 cache total. The only difference is the core count and clock speed. If you had an X2 550 and were able to unlock all four cores and they ran stably then you would probably be a little faster than a stock X4 945 (3.1 GHz vs 3.0 GHz).

That being said, unlocking cores is a crapshoot. You may be able to unlock cores but they may not be stable. Or you may not be able to unlock cores at all. And even if you can unlock the extra two cores, you're probably not going to be able to overclock them. The X2 550 is rated at 80W for two cores. If you go to four cores that's going to put you way over the 125W of this X4 945 (probably to 150W territory).

If I had to choose, I'd go for the sure thing (X4 945), especially with this combo and this price.

Anyone have any thoughts on this setup vs a dual core CPU and 780G board? I know they are totally different setups, but I am upgrading from a very, very old machine and wonder if it is worth spending a lot more when I am already able to get a decent setup that is way faster than what I have now...

The price difference should be the decisive factor when deciding on a dual or quad cores.

At about $50 difference, I'd stick with quad. Quad will also be more future proof.

Quote from M0T49 : The price difference should be the decisive factor when deciding on a dual or quad cores. At about $50 difference, I'd stick with quad. Quad will also be more future proof.

It is a much bigger factor, approximately a $125 difference. Though it is a big difference in power, 2.2GHz Dual vs. 3.0GHz Quad.

I am not the most computer savy, but learning what i can.

How does this compare to a I7 920?

Quote from goibhniu : The Phenom II X2 550 has 512KB of L2 cache per core and 6MB of L3 cache total. The Phenom II x4 945 has 512KB of L2 cache per core and 6MB of L3 cache total. The only difference is the core count and clock speed. If you had an X2 550 and were able to unlock all four cores and they ran stably then you would probably be a little faster than a stock X4 945 (3.1 GHz vs 3.0 GHz). That being said, unlocking cores is a crapshoot. You may be able to unlock cores but they may not be stable. Or you may not be able to unlock cores at all. And even if you can unlock the extra two cores, you're probably not going to be able to overclock them. The X2 550 is rated at 80W for two cores. If you go to four cores that's going to put you way over the 125W of this X4 945 (probably to 150W territory). If I had to choose, I'd go for the sure thing (X4 945), especially with this combo and this price.

Crapshoot? Maybe...
But I was able to unlock my phenom II 720 and then overclock it to 3.2Ghz...
It ran stable on a 16 hour OCCT test....

This is still a good deal for those of you who do not want to spend 16 hours testing stability

Quote from ninjachico : I am not the most computer savy, but learning what i can. How does this compare to a I7 920?

According to the PassMark benchmark [cpubenchmark.net], the i7 920 would blow the X4 945 out of the water. The i7 920 is #13 on that list and the X4 945 is #69 (hover over the color bars to see rank number).

Of course, this list isn't a magic genie that is always right; one CPU low on the list might be better than one higher up based on the way you use your computer. I don't know how PassMark measures performance so it might be biased in Intel's favor (I doubt it).

Still, it's a handy reference to get a feel for basic comparisons.

I understand that this one is faster, but how would this compare in the "bang for the buck" factor against the deal on the 720 BE?

http://slickdeals.net/forums/show...?t=1688225