Looking for a faster cpu at a good price range. I'm looking for an Amd Quad-core?

What I have currently,



AMD Athlon X2 250 Processor 3.01ghz(I was happy with this but I noticed there's a select few pc games I can not play at 1920x 1200 resolution) For some reason games like Gta IV, Saints Row 2, Jericho slow down dramatically when I try to max out everything at this resolution. Jericho is the worst of the three. And Saints Row 2 is damn near impossible to get working right. I either run Saints Row 2 way too fast or way too slow. I do believe that these pc games are the worst ported games ever.



I max out games like Cyrsis, Crysis Warheard at 1920x 2000 and get very playable fps. Basically I max out any pc game that isn't a crappy console port! If its a good console port I will max it out, if its a poor port like GTA IV, which I cant run above 30fps because it just doesn't like dual-core processors. Batman Arkham Asylum also runs maxxed out on my system with Physx on high.



The pc gaming industry is hilarious how if a game is ported horribly you're going to need a quad-core cpu. If the game was ported correctly a dual-core would be more then enough. My dad is going to flip when I tell him I want to update my dual-core that I just bought in september, he thought we weren't going to have to update it for years. But he was wrong, I mean I'm sure I could settle with my dual-core if I really wanted to but I really wanted to play Gta IV without any stutters and I just can't believe how poorly some video games get ported.





I'm 23 years old, but I am kind of a big kid at heart!





Specs:



Motherboard: It's an Asus brand thats all I know



Current Cpu: Amd Athlon II X250 Processor 3.01ghz(I wish I had tools to over clock it a bit more to get better performance but I'm too much of an idiot to overclock it, and I don't think I know anyone who could in Jersey)



Graphics Card: Gigabyte Nvidia Gtx 470 1280mb card, just updated last week to this graphics card from an old 8800gts 320mb card. I notice a huge difference when I updated! Card was pretty pricey though and runs kind of hot. I got it for like 383 bucks(listed at newegg currently for about 350, but plus tax and shipping it comes out to 383 bucks)



4 gigs of ram: 3.25gb usable though!



Hewlett packard computer







My original computer:





Amd Athlon 3500 (I updated to a Amd Athlon II X250 in September, I guess it was a mistake! I noticed huge performance gain from going from 3500 to X250 but I didn't know that some pc games basically require a Quad-core to run completely smoothy also Jericho pc game is retarded, I never met a game that says I basically need a Quad-core to run at 1920-1200 resolution)

8800 GTS 320MB card

4 gigs of ram

Windows 7



My current rig:



Amd Athlon II X2 250 Processor 3.01ghz

4gb

Gtx 470 1280mb card

windows 7





Gta IV: No matter what resolution I play this crappy console port at, I can't get above 30 fps, even if I lower settings and ****! Its for whatever reason stuck at like 26-27 fps at the max. And that frankly isn't fun to play at because every so often it feels like it gets stuck at a frame then unstuck



Saints 2: Has to be one of the worst ports ever, it literally will eithe run too fast making may character move like superman or the flash. Or if I set some options up in the game my character with move like a damn turtle with lots of frame stutters. This has to be the worst port ever



Jericho: Not as bad as saints 2 or gta but this piece of crap port won't let me max out and won't let me play about 1600x 980 resolution(I think thats the correct one)... Because if I run above this then it runs poorly. And I can't max anything out at 1600x 980... So I guess in ways, this is tied with Gta IV being a horrible port of a game.



Ticks me off that these games run poorly because honestly I seen youtube videos at 1080p resolution and none of these games are even that graphically great. I mean Jericho is nice looking but its no Crysis with an open ended beautiful world! Which leads me to believe that is was just ported extremely poorly!



And another game I max out is called Just Cause 2 which is basically graphically even with Gta IV except with a way better game engine!





Sorry for all this typing, I hope someone can help me out!Looking for a faster cpu at a good price range. I'm looking for an Amd Quad-core?
You are correct, GTA IV is simply a terrible port, extremely inefficient.



Since your current motherboard is socket AM3, it should support a Phenom X4 955 or 965, which are only $160.00 and $182.00 respectively on NewEgg. You'll have 4 cores which will help in those select games like (GTA, Supreme Commander and Far Cry 2) plus L3 cache...something the Athlon II lacks.



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as鈥?/a>

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as鈥?/a>



Update to the poster below:



I agree that in general, L3 cache doesn't provide major benefits for gaming, compared to video encoding. But there are cases where it helps:



http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/20鈥?/a>

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2901/13



The Phenom II X2 925 improves fps by 10% over the Athlon II X2 630, even though both are clocked at 2.8Ghz.



And no matter what, clock speed counts. Since the existing Athlon II X2 is 3.01Ghz, the Phenom II's look like an easy decision over the slower-clocked Athlon II X4's which max out at 2.9Ghz.Looking for a faster cpu at a good price range. I'm looking for an Amd Quad-core?
Well based upon you spending almost $400 (including shipping) on a video card, I'm thinking your willing to spend some money.



One thing I would suggest that you maybe look at, is the new Amd Phenom II 6 core cpu's. I just got the 1090t, which rates for 3 ghz, has an unlocked multiplier %26amp; I have my O/C to 4 ghz. However the cpu costs $300. They have a 1050t for $100 less, but the multiplier is locked, but people have been able to hit between 3.7-4 ghz alsoLooking for a faster cpu at a good price range. I'm looking for an Amd Quad-core?
Don't get a x6, it's absolutely useless for the everyday gamer, it's clocked lower than a 965 which is half it's cost, plus when benchmarked it did worse than the 955 BE. I understand it can be overclocked, but so can the 965, very very easily. My suggestion, get an AMD Phenom II x4 955 or 965 CPU Although not graphically intense, most high end or middle end games require cpu power, which dual cores can't really provide anymore. And to the answer above me, L3 cache has been tested and no significant performance increase occurs when going up from l2. So athlon x4 is viable as well.