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advice on cpu for gaming pc build

C

cannondale06

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Nov 27, 2007
Messages
16,180
well Im still trying to put together exactly what I need and I have a few questions. I was going to go with a Q9550 but I have run into slight budget problem. Newegg sold out of the power supplies while I was in the middle of paying for the the $84 Antec case combo deal. the 500 watt Earthwatts psu is now back in stock but the price went up $40 plus the $25 combo special along with free shipping is over. also the case went up $5 in other words thats well over $90 more for the same deal that was in my cart. grrrrr

now I need to go with something a little cheaper unless I wait a few weeks. so should I just go with the E8400 and be done with it or wait? this pc is just for general usage(;)) and gaming. it seems that even the games that do take advantage of quad core can be compensated by a little higher clock speed on the dual core. then again I dont want to be regretting saving a little money now if any games come out next year that really utilize multi cores.

Im sure most of this dual vs quad stuff has been discussed to death but Im really tired of waiting and my budget has got to stay under $850 for cpu, motherboard, OS, memory, case, hard drive, psu and dvd. Im getting the Antec three hundred case and WD 640gb but everything else has not been decided on.

any advice before I pull out all my hair is appreciated.
 
I'm making the same move next week...
here is what I'm getting...and I use my pc for same thing ..general pc usage and some games..

Intel Q6600 (hopefully oc'ing to the magical 3.6Ghz)
Xigmatek 120mm Rifle CPU cooler (with lga775 retention bracket)
Asus P5Q Pro P45
2x2 GB Gskil PC6400 Memory
WD 640Gb 6400AAKS
Samsung Sata DVD Drive
Samsun Floppy drive(i know, i still prefer bios updates trough floppy plus formating etc etc)
Antec 300 Case.
3x Scythe Ultra Kaze fans for the case..(its ok, i dont care about the noise because the pc is not in my room)
Windows Vista Home Premium 64Bit

I already have an eVGA 9600GT videocard..its good enough for me since the only game i basically play is Counter Strike Source..so i can hold off on video

It all comes to around $775

ofcourse if you need a videocard, you will have to pay more..

thats it,hope I helped...
 
thanks for the replies and vict0r that looks pretty close to many of the options I have been looking at. the Q6600 does sound tempting but at stock speeds the E8400 already beats in most gaming situations. the Q6600 would require an after market cooler to overclock it up to E8400 speeds. also the Q6600 uses some serious power when overclocking and my room is already an oven in the summer months.
 
I would wait for the day after thanksgiving (Black Friday) sales. You can most likely get everything for less than the combo deal you were initially going for.
 
RamonGTP said:
I would wait for the day after thanksgiving (Black Friday) sales. You can most likely get everything for less than the combo deal you were initially going for.
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it seems I am always waiting though. thats why I was so pissed when I finally decide to pull the trigger the other day only to watch the deal disappear in front of my eyes. the stuff was in my cart, they had all my shipping and billing info and I clicked on the last button to finalize and poof.."out of stock". now that 84 dollar deal will cost me over 160 bucks. :mad:

I also doubt that most of the parts will be any cheaper than they are now. I might just go ahead and get the stuff thats on sale now and see what happens. I guess I will go with the E8400.
 
I understand the waiting game, but Thanksgiving is only a couple weeks away, and if you doubt parts are going to be cheaper, then you haven't been shopping after thanksgiving. In the end, it's your decision and your money. Just be sure you're confidant enough with the decision of going with a lower end system that you won't regret it if you see all the parts you initially wanted for less than you thought in two weeks.
 
If you can OC nicely go with the 6600, it's your choice.
wink.gif
 
the Antec 300 goes on sale a lot

Antec in general goes on sale a lot. Just keep an eye on the hot deals forum. I would get the Q9550 if I weren't so cheap. If you have your heart set on it, you won't ever forgive yourself for not getting it :)

wait a while longer, not for black friday though, because what you want may go on sale but there is no guarantee that the exact parts you are looking for will be on sale that day
 
RamonGTP said:
I understand the waiting game, but Thanksgiving is only a couple weeks away, and if you doubt parts are going to be cheaper, then you haven't been shopping after thanksgiving.
Click to expand...

I have seen lots of BF sales and like I posted above, only some things will be on sale and there is no guarantee that all the items he wants will be
 
cannondale06 said:
the Q6600 does sound tempting but at stock speeds the E8400 already beats in most gaming situations..
Click to expand...

Ehh, kind of. At lower resolutions, yes the E8400 does beat out the Q6600. However crank up the resolution and the performance between the two CPUs gets smaller and smaller. At above 1280x1024 you become more GPU limited with most games. Go to 1680x1050 and there's virtually no performance difference between the two CPUs now.

With that said though, I recommend getting the E8400 since you're on a bit of tight budget. There's a combo deal right now on a E8400 and Asus P5Q Pro for $250 (Scroll down to find it):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ubCategory=343&SortField=0&PageSize=10&page=1

The $30 off from that combo effectively drops the E8400 close to E7200 prices. Awesome deal. Add the G.Skill RAM for $50:
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $50

Add the OS, WD6400AAKS, and Samsung DVD burner and that's another $200 for those three items.

So the total of the above parts is now $500. That leaves you $350 for the video card, case, and PSU. Now add the Antec 300 and the Antec Earthwatts 650W PSU and that's another $125.

So now you have $225 leftover for a video card (I assumed that you left that out of your original post by mistake) and maybe tax and shipping if your budget is that tight. You can figure out the video card yourself.
 
Danny Bui said:
Ehh, kind of. At lower resolutions, yes the E8400 does beat out the Q6600. However crank up the resolution and the performance between the two CPUs gets smaller and smaller. At above 1280x1024 you become more GPU limited with most games. Go to 1680x1050 and there's virtually no performance difference between the two CPUs.

With that said though, I'd get the E8400 since you're on a bit of tight budget. There's a combo deal right now on a E8400 and Asus P5Q Pro for $250 (Scroll down to find it):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ubCategory=343&SortField=0&PageSize=10&page=1

The $30 off from that combo effectively drops the E8400 close to E7200 prices. Awesome deal. Add the G.Skill RAM for $50:
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $50

Add the OS, WD6400AAKS, and Samsung DVD burner and that's another $200 for those three items.

So the total of the above parts is now $500. That leaves you $350 for the video card, case, and PSU. Now add the Antec 300 and the Antec Earthwatts 650W PSU and that's another $125.

So now you have $225 leftover for a video card (I assumed that you left that out of your original post by mistake) and maybe tax and shipping if your budget is that tight. You can figure out the video card yourself.
Click to expand...
thanks. I will look over those things you listed. I have a 4670 for now that I will upgrade once I get this new pc up and running. for the HD Im going with the Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...AFC-hardOCP&cm_mmc=AFC-hardOCP-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA

actually in Far Cry the E8400 pulls away at higher settings and res. I guess pure speed beats out the lower clocked quad cores. http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,663817/Reviews/Far_Cry_2_GPU_and_CPU_benchmarks/?page=2
 
Danny Bui said:
Wow :rolleyes:, the E8400 has an extra 2.2FPS over the Q6600 at 1680x1050. Hardly noticeable and hence virtually no difference.
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you went from being helpful to being a jerk in 2 seconds? I was simply pointing out that they were the same fps at the low res but turning up the res and adding AA seem to favor the E8400. you had just said basically the opposite. also 2 fps when you are only talking about 40 fps to begin with is a big deal.
 
cannondale06 said:
you went from being helpful to being a jerk in 2 seconds.
Click to expand...
Oh relax. Let me explain my reasoning:

I said there was virtually no difference between the E8400 and Q6600 at higher res. Key word "virtually" meaning almost entirely or for all practical purposes. I never said there was NO difference between the E8400 and Q6600. There is a difference, as you pointed out, but it's so small that it's hardly noticeable. 2FPS is not that big of a performance increase, at least in my eyes. For all intents and purposes to most users, the E8400 and Q6600 perform the same.

I will say that the sarcasm was uncalled for.
 
Danny Bui said:
Oh relax. Let me explain my reasoning:

I said there was virtually no difference between the E8400 and Q6600 at higher res. Key word "virtually" meaning almost entirely or for all practical purposes. I never said there was NO difference between the E8400 and Q6600. There is a difference, as you pointed out, but it's so small that it's hardly noticeable. 2FPS is not that big of a performance increase, at least in my eyes. For all intents and purposes to most users, the E8400 and Q6600 perform the same.

I will say that the sarcasm was uncalled for.
Click to expand...
right. but you made it sound like at the higher settings that they would be closer than at the lower settings. that was the only reason I posted that link. the Q6600 is clocked much lower so clock for they would be almost dead even.


so do you like that Asus board thats in the combo? I hate reading the reviews on motherboards because they scare the shit out of me since I have never built a pc before. I dont really need most of those features like crossfire though.
 
Asus' P5Q series are some of the best P45 boards out there. Excellent boards, good OCers.
 
cannondale06 said:
right. but you made it sound like at the higher settings that they would be closer than at the lower settings.
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In FC2, there's very little difference between the E8400 and Q6600 at lower and higher res. But in many other games, there are performance differences between the E8400 and Q6600 below 1280x1024:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-scaling-in-games-with-quad-core-processors/

cannondale06 said:
r
so do you like that Asus board thats in the combo? I hate reading the reviews on motherboards because they scare the shit out of me since I have never built a pc before. I dont really need most of those features like crossfire though.
Click to expand...

That Asus mobo is a great choice. Stable, great overclocking capability and an onboard preinstalled Linux setup is useful for diagnosising problems.
 
Danny Bui said:
In FC2, there's very little difference between the E8400 and Q6600 at lower and higher res. But in many other games, there are performance differences between the E8400 and Q6600 below 1280x1024:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-scaling-in-games-with-quad-core-processors/



That Asus mobo is a great choice. Stable, great overclocking capability and an onboard preinstalled Linux setup is useful for diagnosising problems.
Click to expand...
why are there so many negative comments though? I guess thats pretty much what most mb reviews on the egg look like though. Im just being paranoid since I have never had issues like what I am seeing those comments. that is a good deal with the combo but I really dont need all the P45 features.

I was looking at this ASUS mb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131348&Tpk=9300 which seems to have nothing but positive comments on the egg and from all over the web. you are the expert here so what are your thoughts on that board? reliability and ease of use are my top priorities. I also would not mind onboard video as a backup. also fell free to make other mb suggestions to.
 
cannondale06 said:
why are there so many negative comments though?
Click to expand...
You're paranoid. Take Newegg reviews with a grain of salt. A good number of them are written by newbies, over-reactors, and idiots. In addition, it's usually the people who have problems with the product that are the loudest and more numerous posters in those reviews. So of course there's gonna be many negative comments since if you have a problem, of course you're gonna complain about it. The ones that don't have a problem don't post as much.

Another alternative if you don't need the overclocking capability of the Asus P5Q Pro:
MSI P43 Neo3-F Intel P43 Motherboard - $85

cannondale06 said:
I was looking at this ASUS mb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131348&Tpk=9300 which seems to have nothing but positive comments on the egg and from all over the web. you are the expert here so what are your thoughts on that board?
Click to expand...
It's a newly released motherboard so not much is known about it, yet. But early reports are very very promising. But the main issue/factor I'm looking at is whether or not that motherboard with its Nvidia chipset can OC well as their Intel chipset counterparts
 
Danny Bui said:
You're paranoid. Take Newegg reviews with a grain of salt. A good number of them are written by newbies, over-reactors, and idiots. In addition, it's usually the people who have problems with the product that are the loudest and more numerous posters in those reviews. So of course there's gonna be many negative comments since if you have a problem, of course you're gonna complain about it. The ones that don't have a problem don't post as much.

Another alternative if you don't need the overclocking capability of the Asus P5Q Pro:
MSI P43 Neo3-F Intel P43 Motherboard - $85


It's a newly released motherboard so not much is known about it, yet. But early reports are very very promising. But the main issue/factor I'm looking at is whether or not that motherboard with its Nvidia chipset can OC well as their Intel chipset counterparts
Click to expand...
well the only requirements I have for overclocking is being able to do 400 fsb. that would give me a nice 3.6 for the E8400. do you think that simple oc would be a problem with that or any other non performance board?
 
cannondale06 said:
well the only requirements I have for overclocking is being able to do 400 fsb. that would give me a nice 3.6 for the E8400. do you think that simple oc would be a problem with that or any other non performance board?
Click to expand...

That shouldn't be a problem with the MSI and Asus mobo I listed. Though the Asus mobo will have a lot easier time hitting that 400FSB than the MSI.
 
Bman123 said:
Do you have a headache yet cannondale?
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yes and its a good thing that I am already bald too. :D

I havent even turned my tv on for 3 days because I have been over analyzing the crap out of every little detail. I am just so used to buying a complete pc and if I dont like it just exchange or return it. all these different specs for motherboards, cpus and memory never really mattered until now. the options out there are ridiculous and worrying about trying to get a good deal on every individual part has made me a nutcase.
 
I got lucky with my parts so I am grateful for not having to big of a headache.
Why dont you try to buy some used stuff from the FS section? You can save some money that way
 
cannondale06 said:
yes and its a good thing that I am already bald too. :D

I havent even turned my tv on for 3 days because I have been over analyzing the crap out of every little detail. I am just so used to buying a complete pc and if I dont like it just exchange or return it. all these different specs for motherboards, cpus and memory never really mattered until now. the options out there are ridiculous and worrying about trying to get a good deal on every individual part has made me a nutcase.
Click to expand...

If you pretty much get what people here are suggesting you'll be fine. If for instance someone is an ATI fan and trying to suggest a 4870 and then an nvidia fan says no that sucks get a GTX260. It doesn't really matter. They're both very similar and it comes down to what your gut tells you because look at it this way, either way you go you're gonna be better then how you are now not to mention whatever you choose i'm sure you'll love.

I say Q6600, GTX 280/260 or 4870, 4 gigs of ram, vista ultimate 64 bit, modular PSU, and a P35 or p45 mobo.
 
E8400.gtx 260,4gigs of ram,vista premium 64bit,earthwatts ea500d,p35mobo

I wont tell anyone cannondale if you go this route even tho you will be like me for 2 builds
 
MrHood22 said:
If you pretty much get what people here are suggesting you'll be fine. If for instance someone is an ATI fan and trying to suggest a 4870 and then an nvidia fan says no that sucks get a GTX260. It doesn't really matter. They're both very similar and it comes down to what your gut tells you because look at it this way, either way you go you're gonna be better then how you are now not to mention whatever you choose i'm sure you'll love.

I say Q6600, GTX 280/260 or 4870, 4 gigs of ram, vista ultimate 64 bit, modular PSU, and a P35 or p45 mobo.
Click to expand...
I have a 4670 that I will upgrade after this build is up and running. the Q6600 looks great for the price but the E8400 will beat it in gaming and sometimes really bad. I know the Q6600 can overclock okay but getting up to 3.0 will use over 100 more watts than the E8400. thats just to much more heat in the case for me to tolerate.
 
I hear a whisper from somewhere,I dont know where it is coming from but I can tell it is saying E8400
 
Danny Bui said:
Huh? Are you talking about the E8500 and UD3P combo? That's $304 whereas the E8400 and Asus P5Q Pro combo is $250. Or are you comparing the E8400 and UD3P together?
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yes I was just comparing the E8400 and UDP3 together. crap the Asus combo would be much better for the price I guess but no free shipping. factoring in everything the Gigabyte and 8500 would be right at 40 bucks more than the Asus and E8400.

TOO MANY OPTIONS. lol
 
E8400 + P5Q Pro combo from the Egg. Good stuff and Asus is a proven name, these boards are great.
 
the cpu is free shipping thw mobo should only be what $15 for shipping
 
$10 is nothing save some cash and spend it on the video card.
You know that you will be gpu limited once you upgrade so go [H]ard on the video card
 
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