CPU Question.

[Tc3er]

Well, from the excellent responses I recieved regarding another question I had, I have again come seeking direction.
I have a friend you is building a computer and was originally looking at purchasing the AMD Athalon 64 4000+ w/San Deigo core. However, I am trying to convince him that the AMD Athalon 64 3700+ is just as good (though slightly slower). The difference is price is significant (around 100.00) and the only difference in the performance of the two chips is the speed, 2.4 vs. 2.2. Just was wondering which CPU people on here would go with, thanks.

[odannyboy000]

I would DEFINITELY go with the Athlon 3700+. Unless money is no object to your friend, you won't notice any significant performance increase. Plus, he could easily overclock that bad boy to 2.4 ghz if he wanted, and with sufficient cooling he might be able to get it up to 3.0Ghz......tough for that though.

[saphalline]

It depends largely on what the system will be used for. If this is a standard gaming system, you'll always get better gaming performance by getting a slower & cheaper CPU and putting that money into the vid card(s). Don't argue with your friend, just tell him/her that $100 would be much better spent on the vid card vs the CPU. For instance, a 3700+ w/7800GT will easily outperform a 4000+ w/6800GT.

[Tc3er]

Well, is wasn't really an arguement, it was more me just trying to persuade him to do exactly what you said saphalline, and he did end up purchasing the 3700+ with a 7800GT, thanks again.