Q9400 or E8500

J

jimmy01

New Member
Im looking at building a gaming computer within the next few months but need some advice on the cpu.

Q9400 or the E8500 are both in my budget. if need be i may be able to push up to a Q9550 but this would depend on how much this cpu would improve the computer. (over clocking is an option but i dont want to overclock to the point that i will need to spend big money on a cooling system).

I would like this computer to last me at least a year and i would like the cpu to be compatible with all the latest games.

Is a quad core necessary to play some of the latest games or will it be within the next year.

Thanks..
 
In gaming I doubt you could tell the difference beween the quad and the duo, though I think the quad will outperform the duo by a little in gaming, and of course more in multithread applications.

I upgraded an E8500 to a Q9650 with an 11% improvement in Mark06 and 9% in Vantage, so a 9550 would be under a 10% performance gain over an 8500, but at only $30 difference, (at Newegg), I'd go with the 9550.

I was able to overclock my 8500 to 3.7 with stock voltage and very little thermal penalty. My 9650 runs at 3.6 at stock V.
 
well here are the pros and cons of the E8500

pros:
- $30 less
- 30 watts less (little less electricty and heat)
- 300 mhz more

cons:
- half the cores
- half the L2 cache

It looks like most of the stuff that can use quad core right now are mainly editing software. If you use these alot then the Quad is worth it. If you only use them a little or not at all the Duo is probably equal to the Quad. The Quads have been around long enough that more and more applications will probably start to use them so if you don't mind the slightly higher power consumption and heat generation then the Quad is better if for nothing other then future proofing.
 
I'd say go for the quad :-D I have a q9400 and I'm very pleasantly pleased that I bought it instead of a dual core, The guy in the office next to mine has an e8400 and I think my machine is faster than his :p
 
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