E5200 + 5850 = bottleneck

[anonemus]

Hmmmm. I guess if I do go for the Q8400 and be limited by my G31 mobo to only 2.8Ghz, it will result to loss of performance for most games vs my 3.5Ghz dual core.

If I'm able to OC the Q8400 to 3.2Ghz (400x8), will I be better off then?

 

[Mussels]

Hmmmm. I guess if I do go for the Q8400 and be limited by my G31 mobo to only 2.8Ghz, it will result to loss of performance for most games vs my 3.5Ghz dual core.

If I'm able to OC the Q8400 to 3.2Ghz (400x8), will I be better off then?

as far as most games are concerned, its still 300Mhz slower with no performance benefit.


You could always get the quad, and then save up for a better mobo and aim for 3.6Ghz

 

[anonemus]

^ That's also one move I'm thinking. Maybe sometime in the near future, I could buy a used but still in good condition P45 board...

 

[anonemus]

Opppsss.

Forgot to factor this is: Q8400 bus speed is 1333mhz, while my E5200 is 800mhz. Is this something major?

 

[Mussels]

Opppsss.

Forgot to factor this is: Q8400 bus speed is 1333mhz, while my E5200 is 800mhz. Is this something major?

no.

those are 333/200Mhz FSB chips (divide by 4) - its merely the one you start at for stock speeds.

the Q8400 has a higher FSB but lower multiplier, which is why its harder for you to OC.

 

[anonemus]

Does it apply as well with Q6600 vs E5200?

 

[Mussels]

Does it apply as well with Q6600 vs E5200?

does what apply

 

[anonemus]

I mean, Q6600 and Q8400 both are quads with low multiplier.

Q6600 on average OC up to 3.2Ghz.

So my 3.5Ghz will perform better than a 3.2Ghz Q6600 in most games?

 

[Mussels]

I mean, Q6600 and Q8400 both are quads with low multiplier.

Q6600 on average OC up to 3.2Ghz.

So my 3.5Ghz will perform better than a 3.2Ghz Q6600 in most games?

Q6600 has a 9x multiplier. they OC well past 3.2Ghz on better boards than yours, 3.6GHz is quite common on decent air cooling.

Q8400 is 8x
E5200 is 12.5x


if you're FSB limited (and you are) only the E5200 is going to clock well for you. NO intel quad on 775 has a multi that high.

 

[anonemus]

Got it. Thanks for the quick lesson, Mussel. Much appreciated

 

[anonemus]

Guys, is this a good mobo to pair with a Q8400? I found a cheap used one being sold locally

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2624#ov

 

[Mussels]

Guys, is this a good mobo to pair with a Q8400? I found a cheap used one being sold locally

http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/13-128-064-S07?$S640W$

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2624#ov

they arent that bad, should hit 400FSB fairly easily. I'd say capping out at roughly 450FSB at best would be about right (of course, thats going to need 900MHz from your ram to hit 450, FYI)

 

[m1dg3t]

I would say to try and find a p45 based board, on my Asus the multi is changeable from 6 - 12.5 IIRC


Using e5200 @ 355 x 10

 

[anonemus]

@Mussel -- my Kingston Value Ram can hit 900Mhz stably I'll see if the condition of this mobo's still good. Thanks as usual!

@M1d -- I'm scouring the local used market for something around US$45, max. If I do find a used P45 at this price, I'd buy it asap

 

[fausto412]

6 pages of comments and it boils down to this....if you have a game that loads your cpu to 80% or more on both cores and that is known to require a quad core then get a quad core...else you'll be fine. yes the video card will be bottlenecked by the cpu in some situations...more as time pass by but you don't have to run out the door to get a quad core cpu unless your primary game is BFBC2.

hope that helps.