Easy cpu question concerning gaming

[tastegw]

what cpu from the 2 below would be better on a rig built for gaming only (with some web browsing on the side)

this Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz (dual core

or

this Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz (quad core


both are $189 and about cap's my budget, please post if you have an answer with an explanation

thanks

 

[eafshar]

personally i would go with the 8500. i dont no of any games that really takes advantage of 4 cores.. the higher clock frequency is a plus for gaming. E8500 can power an ati 4870x2.. so u wont need to worry about its performance and i know of E8400 overclocked to 3.6ghz which is sweet for gaming.

however if u want true multitasking then go with the quad..

i recently got a system with a e8400 and a ati 4850 graphic card.. its a pretty impressive system. the dual cores allows for good multitasking and the higher clock speed really shows when playing games.

what graphic card are u planning to get? cause thats where i'd try to spend my money..

 

[tastegw]

was looking @ a 9800gx2

you gave me the answer i was looking for "core speed > # of cores for gaming"

since this is the case, i may just keep what i have as for cpu and just upgrade my 8800gts for the 9800gx2. and save me alot of money

edit: do you have an answer for this question, :

would i benifit from ddr3 memory on a new mobo that supports it?

 

[k.jacko]

if you mean you may stick with the X2 6400 then yeah, that will be fine mate, it aint as good as the Intels, but its still a fairly decent chip and will be fine for gaming.
ddr3 is damned expensive and i'd only use it if you upgrade the rest of your rig as you'll see only modest improvements. Be better to get another 2 gb of ddr2 seeing as you're using 654-bit vista that will be yoru best performance hike imho.

 

[tastegw]

if you mean you may stick with the X2 6400 then yeah, that will be fine mate, it aint as good as the Intels, but its still a fairly decent chip and will be fine for gaming.
ddr3 is damned expensive and i'd only use it if you upgrade the rest of your rig as you'll see only modest improvements. Be better to get another 2 gb of ddr2 seeing as you're using 654-bit vista that will be yoru best performance hike imho.

thx for the help.
ya, ill just stick with my current setup and just replace the gpu for the 9800gx2
and grab another mem kit (they seem to be cheaper this year hehe)

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The E8400 should be your pick if you're going for a new CPU.

As for a video card, the 9800GX2 is not a good choice due to the SLI scaling being less-than-impressive on many titles. Go for an HD 4870 or a GTX280 instead.

 

[eafshar]

ya i would suggest the hd 4870.. ddr3 is not as expensive anymore that's why i went for 4gb ddr3 1333. a bit pricey but i think since it matches the fsb speed on the E8400 1333 it'd would optimize the performance. but i have no evidence to back it up just think the system would be a bit faster if fsb and ram have the same freq.

i don't think the extra expense is justified. adding another 2gb of ram would probably be a better option.

 

[LNCPapa]

Having a fairly similar system to what you're talking about I would recommend going with the E8500 and a GTX280 just as Rage did. I have the 9800GX2 and got it just before the 280 release, but had it been out already I would've gotten that instead. Most games (Crysis being the obvious exception) don't really take advantage of multiple cores - well, more than 2 anyway. I've been keeping my eye out for more games to come out that seem to perform better with quad cores (I have a few of those also) but it still seems the Wolfdales are at the top of the charts if you exclude the extreme series of chips.

 

[tastegw]

thanks to all the posters.

you guys have been a good help