On the chance that my q6600 is kicking the bucket these are my options for a new cpu: e8400 vs q8300 The e8400 is 190$ the q8300 is 160$ I mostly game. so only concerned about which one is better for games and will overclock better? Thanks for any input!
If you are talking right now, the e8400 will be better in games - it will probably overclock better and it has a bit more L2 cache. That being said, I think that the days of getting away with dual-cores is coming to an end finally. Games are appearing that thread better, and DX11 promises to break up the threads in gaming, even if you have a DX10 card. We're not there yet, but it is happening.
read the article on bit-tech shows that 2 cores is enough for most games but the trend is 4 core and several of the tests show minor improvement over 2 cores as well. IMO grab the Q8300 as it will last longer if you overclock it a bit. although if you are a keen overclocker the E8400 performs better as it can reach higher clocks (4Ghz+). The Q8300 will max out around 3.4-3.6Ghz i think.
I was always under the impression that Q8300 were terrible overclockers. Unlike the famous Q6600 and later Q9xxx series. The dual core 8xxx series on the otherhand are usually 4ghz capable. The question is are you gonna overclock?
Are you still able to get the Q9xxx processors? How would they fit into your budget? As they would be a better choice for a s775 system.
Q9xxx chips still sell for £200+ (I have one and wanted to see how much money I'd lost over 2 years, answer is £10). So only go for one of these if you can find it second hand.
The Q9xxx are still crazy expensive for some reason so i'm not looking to get one. I will be overclocking, just on air. If the 8300 can get to 3.2 i'll be happy with that so maybe i'll just get it. Thanks!
I would grab a e7400 or e7500 off ebay.. you can clock either of those to 3.6 easy and they're half that (e7400 is only around 60 bucks new here).. if you have a nice cooler 4gig- it's the same with the e8400 but it costs a lot more the multi is a bit better on the 8400 than the e8300, that helps in trying to find the best fsb while still running 1:1.. if your gaming and know how to oc, the e7400 is still the best imo I seen the core thread in the article forum.. that's what I like about bit, at least they are honest- not trying to oversell because a lot of people don't know any better sure others will say otherwise.. but it's only because they've never played with the so called lower end chips.. if you can get it clocked, you will be running games as fast as the guy who spent 10x that not saying they're newbs or anything.. just not needed for gaming- you want to pour the money into the gpu instead (if your doing other work then you could use the extra cores- don't worry about the cache your looking for the best clk) I used to see that a lot.. new builders will overbuy the cpu and imo it's only a good decision for people who don't like to oc
Been looking at the e7400 as its really cheap and a 10.5 multi. So I bet that one can overclock really well? But it has 3mb chache compared to 6mb on the e8400. But the e8400 *only* has a multi of 9. And the q8300 only has a multi of 7.5. How much difference will the cache make? I think that the dual core is a better bet for the price and ability to overclock. I don't think I really take advantage of a quad with games. Edit: just found a Q9300 for 180$ so i guess that one is in the running too...
Also found an E6850 at 120$ only 4mb cache but a 9 multi. Ram is mushkin redline 8000 so its pretty good. I'm sure it can keep up with higher fsb. having a hard time finding benchmarks that directly compare all the chips that I have available to me. Quads Q8300 160$ 4mb 7.5 multi Q9300 180$ 6mb 7.5 multi Duals E6850 120$ 4mb 9 multi E7400 130$ 4mb 10.5 multi E8400 190$ 6mb 9 multi Thats the final list of what I can buy to replace my q6600 at 3ghz. I really like the duals for the higher multi. Just wish the 8400 was cheaper!
This might be helpful in comparing the CPU's: http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-desktop-cpu-charts-update-1/benchmarks,60.html
If you like to keep the cost down, then from that list I would probably go for the E7400. Unless you really want to go for a quad...
I got my E8400 when it was £100 Used to clock like a beast, I got 4.5Ghz on it, stable.. Then I blew it up. Great chip though, but like many people have said, dual-core's days may be numbered. Have you thought about getting another Q6600? I have seen people getting E7400's to 4Ghz+ though.
