$50 reward for help with picking components!
- Thread starter karder
- Start date
No need to offer cash for advice here. This forum is free to use and we generally frown upon cash incentive offers like this. 
For gaming, I think the E8400 would be better. Games are not currently coded to take advantage of all four cores, and the E8400 is faster at stock. Although if you're looking to "future-proof," the quad isn't a bad choice.
Which Case/PSU combo are you looking at? To me, cases are a personal preference, although I can tell you that some of the power supplies bundled with these cases are of a low quality. You may be better off buying each component separately. Are you interested in a mid tower or full tower enclosure? If you go with a different tower, I can recommend a good power supply.
The motherboard looks good, IMO.
For gaming, I think the E8400 would be better. Games are not currently coded to take advantage of all four cores, and the E8400 is faster at stock. Although if you're looking to "future-proof," the quad isn't a bad choice.
Which Case/PSU combo are you looking at? To me, cases are a personal preference, although I can tell you that some of the power supplies bundled with these cases are of a low quality. You may be better off buying each component separately. Are you interested in a mid tower or full tower enclosure? If you go with a different tower, I can recommend a good power supply.
The motherboard looks good, IMO.
Which games are you referring to? That's a bit of a blanket statement. Two cores? Yes. Four cores? Not yet.
mep916: Thanx, but some people might appreciate something for some of their time. Plus $50 aint end of the world, but still appreciated. I wont force anyone to accept it though
BTW this the case I am looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121002
bullzi: You basically have the setup i am considering... How is that treating you?
BTW this the case I am looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121002
bullzi: You basically have the setup i am considering... How is that treating you?
mep916: Thanx, but some people might appreciate something for some of their time. Plus $50 aint end of the world, but still appreciated. I wont force anyone to accept it though
BTW this the case I am looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121002
Looks like the hec Orion 585W. Not the best, but if you like the case, it's a decent bargain well within your budget.
bullzi
New Member
I play the following:
BF2
BF2142
CSS
TF2
HL2
COD4
Crysis
Crysis Warhead
Farcry 2
Red Alert 3
World in Conflict
Fallout 3
All of those utilize all 4 of my cores to some extent. While I'll agree, they don't natively support Quad they do use all 4 cores.
If you are playing those games, go quad no doubt, they are programmed for quad core processors. I also have a 4870 and I can play Crysis maxed, AA 2X and get between 20-40 FPS @ 1440x900. If you drop shadows one level the fps jumps to 30-50 (with a 1GB card, you would probably receive a decent performance increase over my setup).
For Farcry2, I can max it out 100% w/ AA 2X @ 1440x900 and receive 30+ FPS.
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They would perform better with the E8400, due to the faster clock speed. You could always overclock the Q6600, but you would need to get an aftermarket CPU cooler and I'm not sure if that's something (overclocking) that would interest you. Which P5K motherboard are you looking at and are you buying from newegg?
Yes, but the games aren't truly multithreaded, as far as I know. In other words, a dual core will perform just as well as a quad, clock for clock. In this case, the E8400 would be better because it's clocked faster at stock. If I'm wrong, provide some evidence that supports a quad performing better than a dual at equal clock speeds.
bullzi
New Member
Right, they aren't truely multi-threaded but they will utilize 4 cores. So, in older games performance between the two is essentially the same, no older game will completely use both E8400 cores or all of 2 Q6600 cores. For newer games that are truely quad core capable such as Farcry 2, Q6600 is the way to go.
Anyway, I've got to go to lunch
mep916: This is the motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131182
I have actually glanced at E8500 (same price as q6600) but I wish to get a system that will last for a while atleast. would E8400 or E8500 last any long?
bullzi: U have little better frequency on ur RAM but maybe that doesn't effect gaming too much?
I have actually glanced at E8500 (same price as q6600) but I wish to get a system that will last for a while atleast. would E8400 or E8500 last any long?
bullzi: U have little better frequency on ur RAM but maybe that doesn't effect gaming too much?
bullzi
New Member
Ya, 800 vs. 1066 isn't a huge difference, you might get a couple FPS, if that out of it.
If you want the system for a while, go quad.
Anyway, I've got to go to lunch
haha. Far Cry 2 is multithreaded...
All future mainstream games will likely take full advantage of four or more cores, so if you're interested in that - in future-proofing - then you could argue that the Q6600 would be the better choice. With the E8400 being the faster chip, I still think it's the better choice.
The motherboard is a bit pricey for a P35 chipset. In the future, would you like the ability to add a second 4870 for a Crossfire config? If so, I'd go with this. If not, get this. The only advantage to the Asus board you've selected is the onboard eSATA and Wi-fi. You can get a Wi-fi adapter for $20, if you need one.
tlarkin
VIP Member
I go to dive bars where beer is under 2.00 a glass, and I go to places where I am known, so my tab is never full price.
50 is a cheap night, and i typically eat at home
Yes, sorry about that. Well, the retail Gigabyte EP35 is out of stock at newegg, you don't want an open box item, so you could go with the Gigabyte P45. It's $104 after MIR and has an updated Intel southbridge. It's actually a really good deal.