Computer parts question

[Shivorken]

Ok, I'm not very knowledgeable in the field of computer parts but i do know a few basics. My question now is, should I get a Intel Conroe (Core 2 Duo) E6850   or an Intel Conroe (Quad Core) Q6600?

They are both worth $325 and this is for a computer which will be needed to run Crysis. People tell me that quad-core is gonna future proof my comp, but others tell me that its one of the shit quad-cores available and its better of to stick with the E6850.

What advice can you provide soldatpeople?

[SadistAtHeart]

I would personally stick with a quad-core, Crysis makes great use of them. There aren't really any other games out now that support multiple cores, but there will be eventually.

[blackdevil0742]

Quad-core is probably the better pick for future stuff. Though I do not know how compatible stuff might be with them. The dual-core had/has problems with stability in some applications but it has gotten several fixes.

But i recommend quad-core if you want better performance in Crysis. And if you ever start modeling and doing 3D stuff them quad-core is the thing for you

[FliesLikeABrick]

If they're the same price, go with the quad core.... but I'd be surprised if you really could get a quad core for that cheap.

[Shivorken]

Thx alot for your help, I guess I'll stick with the quad core.

@FLAB: Yeh it is that price =] www.msy.com.au

[bja888]

It depends on the Ghz I would say. If you have a single threaded application running on a 1.2 Ghz core then the other 3 cores aint doin' shit and its only a 1.2 Ghz computer

[chrisgbk]

If they're the same price, go with the quad core.... but I'd be surprised if you really could get a quad core for that cheap.

Yes, the Q6600 really is that cheap; I can get one for $280 CAD, compared to $295 for the E6850.

It depends on the Ghz I would say. If you have a single threaded application running on a 1.2 Ghz core then the other 3 cores aint doin' feck and its only a 1.2 Ghz computer

Q6600 runs at 2.4GHz. It can also overclock quite easily with a high end aftermarket air cooler.

As for the question at hand, it really depends on what you are doing. The E6850 runs at 3GHz stock, so if your applications are mostly singlethreaded it will benefit you most for now, whereas in the future quadcore will really give you a performance boost. That quad core is actually a very nice one; not counting the QX6700(and it's rediculous price tag), the only one higher is the Q6700 currently. For the price, performance, and future proofing, it really can't be beat, and you should go with it.

[Shivorken]

Will do. Thx alot people.

I also have just one more question. Which one would I be better off with?

ASUS P5K 1394 $145 
or
Gigabyte P35-DQ6 $269

I've read that the p35 is a nice next gen piece but i have no idea about the p5k. I went on the site and got all confused with the load of technical crap.

[blackdevil0742]

I'd take the Gigabyte P35-DQ6. It has dual PCI-E x16 while the asus looks to have only VGA. Ypu want to have a GPU that uses the pci-e x16 and not the old vga.

[Amblin]

The P5K doesn't seem to have neither a serial or parallel port, which would be a deal breaker for me specifically.
Also, the Gigabyte board has 8 SATA connectors which is what I've been looking for when I searched for a mainboard.

Yeah, go for the P35-DQ6.

[chrisgbk]

The Asus P5K has dual x16 PCI-E slots; the blue one runs at full x16, the second black one is physical x16 but only runs at x4 max. It also has 5x SATA + 1x external-SATA. Supports 12 USB ports.

The Gigabyte also has dual x16 PCI-E; also runs at x16/x4 so theres no difference there. Supprts 12 USB ports as well, but has, as mentioned, 8x SATA. The extra SATA ports might make a difference if you have lots of drives, but a lot of the other features probably aren't going to be used by you.

They are pretty similar, so it's mostly going to come down to price unless you need those extra SATA drives.

[Shivorken]

Thanks alot for all your help people =]

I've taken all the information into consideration and made my choices =]

Now just for 1 final question:

Gigabyte       GV-NX88X768H-RH
or
MSI       MSI-8800GTX-OC

MSI one is not the watercooled version and they both cost the same.

[chrisgbk]

Thanks alot for all your help people =]

I've taken all the information into consideration and made my choices =]

Now just for 1 final question:

Gigabyte     GV-NX88X768H-RH
or
MSI     MSI-8800GTX-OC

MSI one is not the watercooled version and they both cost the same.

Personally, I would say neither; The 8800GT performs a tad under an 8800GTX but costs a fraction of the price, and the amount of VRAM in the GTX is likely not going to be used in the time it's going to take for the card to become obsolete; the only problem is that finding it is difficult because it is such a good deal.

But the motherboards you are looking at support CrossFire, and ATI's HD 3870 or 3850, while not performing as well as NVidia currently, is a hell of a good deal price/performance wise especially since the shortage of GT cards is, at least where I live, causing it to cost $40 above MSRP.

Prices where I am are:

3850: $190
3870: $240
8800 GT: $290
8800 GTX: $540

2x 3870 in CrossFire should be able to perform at least as well as a GTX, offhand I don't have any tests but I would warrant that they outperform it by a decent margin (unless the GTX is in SLI, but that doesnt apply to you because your motherboards dont support SLI), and you save $60 on top of it.

A single 8800 GT will outperform the radeon card if you were to only use a single card, so that's also a great deal since you can't use SLI. Then in the future when the GeForce 9xxxx series comes out, you can use the money you saved to upgrade to a card that will outperform the 8800 GTX and likely cost less.

For myself, I can't justify the cost/performance of the 8800 GTX compared to the performance of these other cheaper cards, in particular the CrossFire solution due to the motherboards you are using.

[blackdevil0742]

The 8800GTX out performs the Gigabyte GV-NX88X768H-RH so go with it.

But I'd suggest that you go with dual 8800GT and use SLi if the price is what chrisgbk says. Even better if you OC them.

[chrisgbk]

The 8800GTX out performs the Gigabyte GV-NX88X768H-RH so go with it.

But I'd suggest that you go with dual 8800GT and use SLi if the price is what chrisgbk says. Even better if you OC them.

He can't go with SLI due to the motherboard he's chosen, which only supports CrossFire. Otherwise I would have told him to go SLI 8800 GT no questions.

And what you said first is lacking in sense; the GV-NX88X768H-RH is an 8800 GTX, so how can an 8800 GTX out perform itself; the only way for that to happen is if one of them is overclocked more than the other. You need to be more specific, if you instead meant the MSI card is better than the Gigabyte card, you should have said that. =P

[blackdevil0742]

lol. I must have thought of the new ATI card that had a strange name. He said:
"Gigabyte       GV-NX88X768H-RH
or
MSI       MSI-8800GTX-OC"

and i also didn't play attention of the full names.

[Shivorken]

Right now, the motherboard is a Gigabyte X38-DQ6 (SLI support?)

And the 3850 costs $300 whilst the 3870 costs $348. What do you think? Still go with the MSI 8800GTX?

Thanks for your help Chris =]

[chrisgbk]

Right now, the motherboard is a Gigabyte X38-DQ6 (SLI support?)

And the 3850 costs $300 whilst the 3870 costs $348. What do you think? Still go with the MSI 8800GTX?

Thanks for your help Chris =]

The X38-DQ6 only supports Crossfire as well, no SLI support.

What's the cost of an 8800GTX where you are at any rate? Based on the price of the 3850 and 3870 you gave, that would peg the 8800GTX at about $750-$800 AUD, but it's looking like the price on those ATI cards is severely over-inflated over what it should be.

I would still go 8800 GT over 8800 GTX, if you can find it. Otherwise, if the price of 2 ATI cards is less than the GTX, go with 2 of those in Crossfire. If the ATI cards really are that expensive compared to the GTX, and you can't find a GT, then you can go with the GTX but remember, soon there will be newer cards that are half the price you will end up paying, and they will outperform it.

[Shivorken]

The price of both 8800GTX's are $700 AUD.

There will always be newer stuff =[

Frankly, I'm just willing to pay for something good enough so that i can run games for a while until i can only play them on minimum everything and have a below average frame rate. Then I'll upgrade again.

[chrisgbk]

Then Crossfire will be the best solution; 2x 3870 in SLI will cost you $696, compared to one 8800 GTX that will cost $700, and the crossfire cards will outperform the single 8800 GTX, by virtue of it being 2 vs 1.