I'm half-heartedly looking for a quad core CPU for a video encoding box I could use. I have a motherboard, PSU, HDD and case, so I need a CPU and memory. x264 loves cores, but my board doesn't (yet/ever?) support AMD's 6-core CPU's.

I noticed that Newegg has the AMD Athlon II X4 635 for $99. Curious about the difference between the 630 and the 635, I checked out AMD's specs. Aside from the 100 MHz higher clock, the 635 runs at 5-12% lower voltage.

AMD Athlon II X4 630
http://products.amd.com/en-na/DesktopCP ... spx?id=594

AMD Athlon II X4 635
http://products.amd.com/en-gb/DesktopCP ... spx?id=625

Side by side:

It must be a typo, the 630 (ADX630WFK42GI) is 1.425V and probably 1.55V max.

http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K10/AMD-A ... OX%29.html

You should get a better cooler like the Scythe Mugen 2 and then get the 630 and overclock a little.

I don't know. I would say get the 635 and overvolt her a little, then get more MHz than the 630 could hope to do!

Isn't the 635 just an update to the 630? In the same way that the 640 has now replaced the 635. More efficient manufacturing process = more clockspeed and lower power.

Given that they are both the same price and the 640 is 30 bucks more, I would have thought the 635 would be the obvious choice.