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October 2025

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Chaos (40)
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Upcoming Birthdays: Chaos (40)

[Magathery]

Well Santa seems to think that I have been a very good boy. So consequently the upgrade I have been dreaming of is beginning to become a reality for me.

So here's what I already have:

Motherboard
Xfx nForce 680i LT SLI

RAM
Crucial x2 1Gb PC2-6400 CL4 DDR2

OS
Win XP Pro 32 bit



So here's the question. Is it better to have a duel core or a quad core processor?

I'm currently trying to choose between these two.

Intel Core2 Quad Q8200 2.33Ghz Socket 775 1333FSB 4Mb cache

or

Intel Core2 Duo E8400 3.00Ghz Socket 775 1333FSB 6Mb cache


In one hand the duel has faster processors, but is it better to have more processors? Even though they are individually slower. Or will there be less RAM per processor if I choose the quad over the duel? Or is that not a factor?

Damm! I'm getting confused. But then again I'm doped out of my skull on Paracetamol & Ibuprofen

[Zarf]

Right now, for gaming, the 3.0Ghz dual core is the better choice. If it's going to be years before you can upgrade again though, the quad core is probably your best bet, games are getting better and better at using multiple cores.
The ideal choice would be to buy a Q6600 (quad core 2.4, 1066 FSB) and overclock it by increasing the FSB. Most Q6600's will reach 3.0Ghz no problems on normal cooling.

RAM isn't a factor here, having more cores doesn't require more RAM.

[CruelCow]

Not much to add to Zarf's post, maybe except that overclocking always is risky, especially if you can afford no replacement afterwards yaddadiydaddadada.

Which graphic card will be in that thing? Maybe start thinking about getting an DX10 OS (vista, wait for windows 7?).

[PapaFade]

U won't OC a Q6600 on that board, hence why Rippy has it now I still think ur best bet it the E8400 m8. That cpu will OC on that board if u need more power and ur not likely to be short of cash in a year or so for the next jaunt into upgrade land.

[Finaldeath]

I'd also go for the fastest per-core speed, although I'd be tempted by quad core for other tasks, check the benchmarks for the two CPU's side by side on some site (there must be some out there), since if you're not going to be running that many programs at once, and if you're not running video encoding, I doubt you'd need slower running quad core compared to the faster dual core.

[Zarf]

U won't OC a Q6600 on that board, hence why Rippy has it now I still think ur best bet it the E8400 m8. That cpu will OC on that board if u need more power and ur not likely to be short of cash in a year or so for the next jaunt into upgrade land.

What's up with overclocking a 6600 on it? I was under the impression that if the board can handle up to 1333 fsb you shouldn't have any problems.  Just whack the Q6600 in and clock it up to 1333 fsb, and you're running at 3Ghz.
As long as you're not cooking the chip or meddling with voltage there shouldn't be any risk.

Or is there some weird compatibility thing with that board and certain chips?

[Chaos]

id go for the dual...
unless you wanna play crysis or unreal all day?
if its just for tf2 and the like stick to the dual... you dont need a quad..

[Magathery]

Awsome! Thanks for the feedback fellas

There is currently less than £15 between the duel and the quad. And considering that my desktop PC has desided to do it's lock up with high pitch "C" noise more frequently. The need to upgread is becoming more of a nesesity. So with that for-front in my mind, I'm begining to close down on what I presisly want.

So far the list is shaping up as follows.

Already got:

Motherboard
Xfx nForce 680i LT SLI

RAM
Crucial x2 1Gb PC2-6400 CL4 DDR2


Salvaging from the old PC:

OS
Win XP Pro 32 bit

Sound card
Creative Soundblaster X-Fi

DVD RW
Generic DVD re-writer on a SATA connection

Hard drive - Possable (reliability conserns)
120Gb SATA


Planning on spending money  on:

Graphics card
BFG 9800 GTX+ 512Mb

Power supply
Corsair 650W TX series

Processor
Still undesided some what. Either:

Intel Core2 Quad Q8200 2.33Ghz Socket 775 1333FSB 4Mb cache

or

Intel Core2 Duo E8400 3.00Ghz Socket 775 1333FSB 6Mb cache

Hard drive
Hitachi 320GB 7200 rpm 16Mb cache

Network card
Netgear GA311 10/100/1000

Data cables
x3 Startech latching SATA cable

Case
It appears that space may be an issue with the BFG graphics card. From looking at the size of the card currently in Fade's rig, I can understand why he has such a huge Antec case. So I started looking at what was avalible. One that has caught my eye is is the Cooler Master CM690, as it claims that it has the space required. But in the other thread, Junta has a Thermal Take Tsunami case going spare. But Twig has first refusal on that. But then there is a possability that if Twig doesn't want it, and I get it, then I'll have to get Dremill on it's ass so as to be able to fit in the graphics card. Another thing to consider is my total lack of self control and paitence whe it comes to gadgets

A world of possabilities lays before me.

Again thanks for your feedback and input on this.

Right, I'd better continue getting dosed off my tits on Panadol and Ibuprofen Hopefully work will leave me alone and then I won't have to claim that I'm too sick to work this weekend. I hate being ill 

[Chaos]

i got a couple of hitachi deskstar 160s if you want them?
im never gonna use em... they have data on but must be wiped before i ship em... but yours for 30quid pair?

I would still for for the dual... but id deffo change that graphics card for a 1GB 4850... its faster and smaller than that 9800 you listed there unless you want to buy another for SLI later?
the 4850 is the BEST back for buck graphics card out there!

Also, id throw out that network card as your mobo has gigabit ethernet built in... and with a 3Ghz cpu you wont notice the fps dip!
that mobo CAN OC quads and duals.... but id go for a higher dual clock (can get to 4Ghz on the stock cooler with that e8400 chip)

As for cases, its mostly down to personal preference! just make sure it has adequate airflow!

[PapaFade]

I hate to be a party pooper but that board WON'T OC a quad. I know, I tried. The chipset doesn't like quads. It crashes and resets the bios settings to default. I spoke to alot of the guys on the CPC forum and at Overclockers.co.uk who have all confirmed that there is an issue. Hence why I swapped to my P5K and sold the mobo to Rip, who at the time was set on a dual-core cpu.

[Chaos]

Fair enough...
dual is still the way to go atm.... quad is useless unless your planning on playing crysis or alan wake(if it ever comes out)

shame that you cant oc a quad on that 680i... they were beasts for overclocking!

[Material]

Your processor choice depend on your usage patterns, if its just for gaming go with the faster dual core, if you also use the PC for video encoding or editing then the quad core will benefit you more. As someone mentioned earlier games are using quad cores better these days so there is the argument that 4 cores would be more 'future proof' but seriously if it gets to the point where a 3Ghz core 2 duo is the bottle neck in your PC when gaming then ill eat my hat. In addition to this Nvidia and ATI are doing all they can to get us to process physics on our Gfix cards and if they succeed then the bonus of having an extra couple of cores to your CPU could reduce.

I know how it is tho, funnily me n Harbi just had this whole debate about a month ago when he was upgrading his CPU and when the quad core is out there it seems like your settling for second best if you 'only' buy the dual core. We took some time looking at the interactive CPU charts on tomshardware which is a good tool but at the end of the day youve gotta be happy with what you buy. I know if i was in your shoes i'd get the quad core cus hell its cool to have four cores right? I'd know it was a slightly silly option and i'd be loosing out on a tiny bit of performance but i'd also know that if i'd have got the dual core i'd never quite be happy with it cus it was the 'sensible' option rather than the the run-two-games-a-virus-check-and-download-porn-at-the-same-time-because-i-can option....but maybe ive over thought this.

I'd also be tempted to agree with Chaos about the Gfix card but given that youve got a Nvidia board you probably want the option of running SLI. However if you dont intend to run SLI (in which case why havnt you got an intel based board) then the 4850 and 4870 are awesome value right now.

[Zarf]

It's actually pretty close performance wise between the 4850 and a 9800GT, 4850 was around 30 quid more for the 512 version though last time i checked, which is quite a hefty %. Enough that he could go up to 4GB ram which would be a solid improvement (If he also got Vista x64)
DX11 coming out in the near future, XP is on its way out the door.

[Chaos]

OcUK are selling that 9800 for around 160 quid... you can get a 1GB 4850 for less than that on the same site
and yes theyr close, but the ati is stronger and takes up half the space in the case so less dremmeling

[Zarf]

Nah, they don't cost anything like that, I got one for my housemate a couple of months ago, and it was less than 90 quid including VAT from Aria.co.uk vs the 115-120 quid of a 4850.