CPU dilemma

[TechnicalFreak]

So, I'm thinking of upgrading the system with a better cpu. I do not play so much visual intense games (Crysis?), so I was thinking of going with the E8400.

A friend of mine has a Q8400, and he is selling that one cheap. However, I do not know if I will have use of all 4 cores and also the cache is smaller on that one.

The E8400 I will buy new (with warranty and so on), and I'll get it for 150US$/150€ or 1500:- SEK. And the one that my friend is selling he, wants like 140€ for that one.

Some people say that the E8400 will do perfectly well.


Any other opinions?



Thankful for any replies given.

 

[rizla1]

go with the quadcore if its cheap its well worth it. i can play any game now maxed out with my new amd 955 compared to my athlon 240 dualcore.

 

[TVman]

are you sure that your mobo supports it coz my P965 did not support wolfdale CPUs

 

[TechnicalFreak]

are you sure that your mobo supports it coz my P965 did not support wolfdale CPUs

That depends of if I'm going to stick with current BIOS version or flash it. However, if I manage to get my hands on an other motherboard - then I'll go for it directly.

 

[Tatty_Two]

For most gaming and general useage a decent Dual core will be fine. I would personally advise going with a quadcore if you wanted to add some future proofing however, most average users only use 1 or 2 cores for 90% of their PC activity. The good thing with the E8400 is that generally they tend to overclock well where as the Q8400 with it's lower multiplier is not quite as good.

Only you can decide ultimatly, I would take the quad...... but my point is that you will be OK with the duellie.

 

[Fourstaff]

My vote on the Q8400, its more powerful AND cheaper. Sure, single threaded games will not run as well with the Q than the E, but bear in mind that this is negligible and multithreaded games will be happier with the Q

 

[wahdangun]

go with Q9550

because Q8400 has less cache and clock-clock e8400 still faster, so if i was u i will OC that to 4 Ghz, OR buy at least Q9550 that way, u won't ever have to losse performance,


and if you want to get a new mobo, why not just go i7 or amd PII X6 ?

 

[driver66]

are you sure that your mobo supports it coz my P965 did not support wolfdale CPUs

http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

My abit AB9-pro supported an E8400 as did most socket 965 Mobos