Duo - E8400 or Quad Q8300 - Q9400?

Ayrton

Ayrton

New Member
Hello there I have just recently built my computer (Budget i know) and as part of it i bought a very cheap Pentium Duel Core E5300 which i had to overclock to 3.90GHz just to get some performance out of it although now i have bought a decent cooler i am willing to upgrade. But i am on a extream budget! So i have selected 3 processors that i can afford in 2 months and i was wondering which would be best? I use my computer for hardcore gaming and video playback. Should i go for A: E8400 Core 2 Duo? It has a respectable GHz speed and has 6MB L2 Cache so it would have more cache per core. Or a Q8300 which is a Quad although only has a 4MB L2 Cache which is rather weak and low for a Quad or maybe i should splash a extra £10 for a Q9400 with a 6MB L2 Cache! Better then the others. Although if you have any ideas for CPUs (Duo or Quad) for a 775 LGA Intel socket i would be keen to know what they would be. :) Thanks! Budget is £160 by the way (Small i know but i am only 15 so do not earn alot of money :) )
 
Ayrton said:
Hello there I have just recently built my computer (Budget i know) and as part of it i bought a very cheap Pentium Duel Core E5300 which i had to overclock to 3.90GHz just to get some performance out of it although now i have bought a decent cooler i am willing to upgrade. But i am on a extream budget! So i have selected 3 processors that i can afford in 2 months and i was wondering which would be best? I use my computer for hardcore gaming and video playback. Should i go for A: E8400 Core 2 Duo? It has a respectable GHz speed and has 6MB L2 Cache so it would have more cache per core. Or a Q8300 which is a Quad although only has a 4MB L2 Cache which is rather weak and low for a Quad or maybe i should splash a extra £10 for a Q9400 with a 6MB L2 Cache! Better then the others. Although if you have any ideas for CPUs (Duo or Quad) for a 775 LGA Intel socket i would be keen to know what they would be. :) Thanks! Budget is £160 by the way (Small i know but i am only 15 so do not earn alot of money :) )
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Id get the E8400. I OC'd mine to 4gighertz on air. Of course I recommend a decent cooler, but you said you had one so....id go with that.
 
Ah thanks i heard that Duos would be better for gaming for obvious reasons. And duos should be better for Overclocking as they wont heat up as much. Thanks!
 
No dont get a Dual core,Get a Quad core and overclock!!!!

What they say about Duals been better for gaming isnt always true,alot of games now take advantage of Quad core.
 
Hmm I guess a quad would be best then as it would be 'Future Proof' as games become more quad compatible. So would you recommend a Q8300 OC'd? As apposed to a E8400 OC'd?
 
go quad or go home. i'd like to have an E0 stepping E84/85/86/8700 again, but i can't really justify it considering there's an amazing selection of mid-priced quads out there.
 
Stock Dual Core = better in single threaded apps

Stock Quad Core = slightly worse than dual in single threaded apps.

Overclocked Dual Core = Better pefromance, will suffer in games like GTA IV

Overclocked Quad Core = Gaming goodness!
 
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