Processor opinions.

[novacheck]

Hey guys. Look at my specs on the left, and you can see what I will have to work with. I should be picking up a new mobo here soon, hopefully a Neo2-FR. I plan to keep my processor for a while, but I will want to upgrade it down the road. Also going to get a new GFX card. A 9600gt. Now, I have a couple of questions for ya. I want to keep the e2140 for a while. And get an Arctic Freezer Pro 7. Overclock it, and when funds are right, pick up a new one. What would be a good inexpensive processor that would be good for a few games. Now keep in mind, I am NOT a hardcore gamer. I usually do a lot of filesharing and surfing. But every so often I would like to get a good game in. And, after I get the 9600gt(hopefully) I don't want my 2140 to be a bottleneck. Here is a list of games I usually play.

GRAW 1 & 2
COD 4
Crysis
Stalker
World in Conflict

I am afraid that, even overclocked, that only having 1mb shared l2 is not going to help in most of those games. But I really can't afford anything too expensive.

Also, I see alot of 9600's. I know some may have different clock speeds, but is it really worth the difference in price? Could you just get one on reference speeds, get some good cooling for it, and overclock it? Any opinions are well appreciated. Thanks again.

 

[calvary1980]

I don't think the E2140 would be a bottleneck it's been well documented that the Allendale can compete in benchmarks with the Conroe with the right board and cooling regardless of Cache. if you do want to upgrade to a new processor you should leap over Conroe and go to Wolfdale.

regarding Video Cards.

Perhaps I can help with the Video Card selection the good thing about nVidia is they have alot of Vendors (XFX, eVGA, BFG, Asus, MSI, Leadtek, Zotac, Palit etc) at first glance they all look the same but they are there to cater to your needs they offer different Warranties, Heatsinks, Memory and Bundles for example XFX has a double life time Warranty which means if you decide to sell the card to someone else the Warranty is transfered in there name this increases the resell value they also encourage volt modding and have excellent RMA so this makes them the Modders choice. eVGA offers quality but I think what they got going for them is the Step-up Program basically if you were to purchase a eVGA card like the 9600GT today you would have 90 days to upgrade to a 9800GT (assuming it's coming out within 90 days) you have to mail them your video card and invoice in resalable condition which means original packaging you then pay the difference between the 2 video cards so if a 9600GT is $179 and you want a 9800GT thats $299 you would pay $120 (I think thats how it works) they can also tax you for shipping and or if you fail to meet any requirements sounds great right? well for most people it is but alot of people complain about the stipulations in this program for one thing you can be at home videocard-less for months because you have to wait in line and even when you get the 9800GT it's going to be a stock card all in all eVGA is the Gamers choice. Maybe you don't want to go through all this and just want a good out of the box performing card Warranties and Rebates are not everybody's thing so you should look at Zotac they offer good Memory, Altered Single Slot Stock Cooler and Excellent Performance.

- Christine

 

[novacheck]

Thank you. Much obliged. So, what Wolfdale would be a good processor to pick up? I haven't really been keeping up to date on hardware, here lately.

 

[novacheck]

I don't really get into rebates, all that often. I usually forget to mail it in. lol. But I would probably upgrade the cooler on it, anyway. Unless it already came with a good one. The apt. I live in gets really warm in the summer, so I like to take extra precautions when it comes to that. And I am pretty sure a 9600 would be all I ever need. But I hate having to make choices. I do like to read reviews from different websites, so if you have any links for some of the better ones, that would be cool.

 

[calvary1980]

your welcome. E8400 $239 USD, one thing about the Wolfdale you should know is they are really 'meant' to be overclocked they were built for speed so if your overclock shy you may want to look at a Quad Core Processor for Muscle.

- Christine

 

[novacheck]

Nah, I don't mind overclocking, as long as I know my hardware is good, and I don't over do it. That is what I have you all for.Is that the cheapest of the Wolfdales?

 

[calvary1980]

the only Wolfdale that people seem to sell in America is the E8400, there is also the E8190, E8200, E8500.

- Christine

 

[novacheck]

I understand. lol. Well, I guess one would be as good as the other for me. I will just try to find a good enexpensive one, and see what I can do with it. I will keep you all posted. But may take a while.

 

[calvary1980]

The E8400 is the best because of the price to performance ratio.

E8190 SLAQR 2.6Ghz 6MB Cache 8x Multi (No VT, TET) $163
E8200 SLAPP 2.6Ghz 6MB Cache 8x Multi $163
E8400 SLAPL 3.0Ghz 6MB Cache 9x Multi $183
E8500 SLAPK 3.1Ghz 6MB Cache 9.5x Multi $266

- Christine

 

[pepsi71ocean]

Get a 8800GT KO edition and then get the after market cooling, and over clock it it will outperform a 9600.
I have a eVGA 8800GT KO edition (see specs), and thats with stock cooling, but i recently put out for there after market dual slot cooling adapter that does increase performance and allows you to clock allot high than before. I have messed around with a friends 8800GT AkIMBO edition and stock it runs at 720's.

Calvary is quite right. A Quad core will outperform a dual core in terms of processing power. it may not clock as high but will have a big effect in being able to do multi tasking. I can play a game like Sim City 4, watch tv on my tv tuner (on desktop) surf the web, and im people all at the same time without any lag or slow down. and thats at 2.4 GHz stock.

 

[novacheck]

I guess I am looking for the multitasking aspect in a processor. What is the price difference between the 8800 and the 9600?

 

[pepsi71ocean]

I guess I am looking for the multitasking aspect in a processor. What is the price difference between the 8800 and the 9600?

the 8800gt ko edition is about 70 bucks more its about 270ish.

multitasking wise you can't go wrong with a quad. weather you go 65 or 45nm technology is up to you.

 

[novacheck]

::caution: noob question detected: lol. I'm not sure if I know the exact difference between the 65 and the 45nm.

 

[pepsi71ocean]

its how far spaced the transistors are or something like that, basically the 45 runs cooler than the 65 because it uses less power. But imo at this point i don't really think it makes much of a differance. Yes you can clock higher with a 45nm, but once your at 3.4Ghz you computer is so fast that it really does make any difference what program is running. They all run lightning fast.

If your into cars...
My quad is like a Cummins diesel engine, while a dual core is a 383cid V-8 it can run high and fast, but the diesel has more torque at low end. While a dual core comes out with its power at a higher overclock. My quad at 2.4 GHz can knock games out at 2.4, or at 3.0 or 3.4 It doesn't matter, unless your running dual gfx cards. I find my 8800GT really finds its own above the 3.15Ghz mark. Thats where the bottle neck ends on my system. When i go SLi in a few months im hoping that i'll see more of an improvement.

 

[novacheck]

Cool. I think the E8400 would be right for me. But being as it is kinda high priced for me, it will take a while to get. That being said, I think the same for the 8800gt. I think I would be better getting the 9600gt, as it is more so in my budget.

 

[novacheck]

That's cool. Hopefully by the time I can afford one, it will be a little cheaper. Low $$$ = me . I don't try to skimp on things, I just like to get a deal on something.

 

[calvary1980]

E8400 should go down soon I think they are having stock issues in America which is why it's so expensive. in Canada they sell the E8200, E8400, E8500 at a Fixed Price. do not be concerned about the fabrication process.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150277 $149
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150283 $164 (comes pre-overclocked)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150282 $179 (comes pre-overclocked, company of heroes, hdmi cable)

- Christine

 

[novacheck]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150277 $149

Whats sad, is that is only $20 more than I paid for this piece of **** 8500gt. Didn't know anything about them at the time. I could have bought (i think) a BFG 7300gs for $90. Not sure the performance difference, but I should have taken it. At the time, I was thinking that "Hey, this is a new generation card, this should be a good one." Boy, was I wrong. Oh, well. Hindsight is 20/20.

I think I like that XFX that comes with Company of Heroes. Not sure about the game though. But looks like a good card.

 

[pepsi71ocean]

It's cool took me along time to save up for my current computer, over 7 months of planning and i finally have it working(for the most part),

If your going to up your gfx card and such you might want to up your power supply as well.

Prices for the 8800GT series has dropped allot since i got mine, i paied over 300 for mine and now its in the 270's.

 

[pepsi71ocean]

I was surfing techpower up and found this, http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=53966

Im not sure if its true or not, but if it is then this makes the 9600 series worse thant the 8800 series in terms of heat issues, and other things.

 

[novacheck]

I am not sure if that would matter to me. The 9600 is barely in my price range, where the 8800 is way out of my league. If I could find a really good deal on one, I would seriously consider it, though. Thanks for the info, Pepsi.

 

[PartyLikeARockStar]

Nice procs you're looking at, tbh my Allendale e4400 is purring right along with both cores at a comfy 3.33Ghz