Processor recommendation

[[AK]Swae]

Nuts and Swae....

Here's the problem. With older Rigs, You have the limitation of AGP and the Motherboards socket. If I remember Swae you have a Dell right? Another problem, Dells don't like upgrades, their really propriatary machines.

Well, I had a Dell, and then Kidd got a hold of it. The only thing left from that system is the processor and the CD/DVD Rom Drive - I have a new hard drive, new video card, additional memory (can't remember if we kept the old and added or just replaced it entirely), new power supply, and a spiffy new large case with lots of fans. I know I will have to upgrade the motherboard when I get a new processor, but I'm hoping I can do so in such a way as to keep all the other components that are all < 6 months old.

Is it worth it to go with quad core at this point or would a dual core be sufficient? I know the faster the processor the better, but is there an arbitrary number that I should not go below?

[[AK]Bribo]

Is it worth it to go with quad core at this point or would a dual core be sufficient? I know the faster the processor the better, but is there an arbitrary number that I should not go below?

I recommend the 8-core!

[[AK]Brorlis]

Is it worth it to go with quad core at this point or would a dual core be sufficient? I know the faster the processor the better, but is there an arbitrary number that I should not go below?

A duel core CPU would be sufficient at this point but with prices the way they are its just a few bucks more to get a better chip. I wouldn't get anything smaller than the Q6600
Its a small quad core cpu but nothings small about it.

Couple it with this Motherboard

And this
Video Card

And you'll be a happy Gamer =)

[[AK]Nuts]

okay, so I'm putting together my new computer tonight (sent the wife and kids to the neighbor's). Since when in the hell did they decide to make 12v power connectors (usually 4 ports) into 8-port connectors? Because the motherboard still only accepts a 4-port connector. But the only cable I have is 8-port. Oh wait... what's that? Oh! Looky here! You RIP THE CONNECTOR IN HALF! Of course! How frickin' obvious! The cable supports either normal 4-port or new fangled 8's. DUR

Stupid computer.


Either way, I finally got it turned on and installing Windows Vista 64-bit now. I may just go ahead and jump up to 8gb. It's only another $98, right?

Also, based on what I've read, I can overclock the shit out of this chip. It's a an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W and word is that I can easily get it up to 3.6GHZ without worrying about any heat issue. 4.3 with additional fans. SWEET!

[[AK]Brorlis]

To hell with the fans go LIQUID!!!

Way Cooler than normal fans....No noise....and No dust in your Rig...You can't go wrong

[Katanas Blade]

To hell with the fans go LIQUID!!!

Way Cooler than normal fans....No noise....and No dust in your Rig...You can't go wrong

Maintenance on water setups can be a royal PITA. Have to be super extra careful when moving the rig, if the cables are exposed to the outside to the heat-sink area mounted on the rear of the case, it's easy to get them tweaked and cause a leak. Don't get me wrong, water cooling is super sweet, but it all depends on how it's setup.

[[AK]Squidly]

For 90% of gamers, the whole overclocking scene is overkill and leads to more problems than it is worth.

If you don't have the time/interest to devote to slavishly studying all of the technical particulars, don't bother going down that road.

[[AK]The Beast]

Just bought my new components from a combination of TigerDirect and NewEgg. About $350 altogether, before rebates. Went with AMD instead of Intel because 200 mhz faster core was $40 cheaper that way.
Specs:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ Processor - 2.80GHz (dual core)
2 GB DDR2 800 Mhz (2x1 GB dual channel)
GIGABYTE AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard (open box for about $100 off)
XFX GeForce 8800GT XXX 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card (just one for now but the potential is there to add another down the road when it's cheaper).

I saved a little money by deciding to use my current case rather than buy a new case as part of a barebones kit.

Compare to my current rig:
Athlon XP 2800+ 2.1 Ghz
1.5 GB DDR PC3200 RAM
GeForce 6600 GT AGP

Someone's getting ready to kick some AoC arse!!