What to buy for hardcore gaming?
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SidVicious
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I think that you're looking at this the wrong way, although the CPU plays an important role, its the GPU that really makes or break a gaming 'rig.
Furthermore, AMD CPUs currently hold the performance crown as far as gaming is concerned, you'll also get more bang for your money by building your own computer instead of getting Dell'ed again.
The best way to go would be to come up with a budget and ask for suggestions.
Furthermore, AMD CPUs currently hold the performance crown as far as gaming is concerned, you'll also get more bang for your money by building your own computer instead of getting Dell'ed again.
The best way to go would be to come up with a budget and ask for suggestions.
borandi
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Do you want a system that plays todays games better, or tomorrows games better?
Todays games: single core, because games today aren't multicore enabled (well most aren't) because the programmers have to rewrite old code when to branch off new threads. I run lots of crap in my backgound, so I got dual core.
Tomorrows games (6mo/1yr/2yr): dual core, for the multithreaded yummyness, and the background crap.
And the best bit is, AMD still whoops Intel at the minute. So if you're going new system, get an opteron. If you're merely upgrading the cpu on your mobo, well its up to you.
And GPU makes more of a difference today, so invest in that X1900XTX or 7900GS or whatever instead
Todays games: single core, because games today aren't multicore enabled (well most aren't) because the programmers have to rewrite old code when to branch off new threads. I run lots of crap in my backgound, so I got dual core.
Tomorrows games (6mo/1yr/2yr): dual core, for the multithreaded yummyness, and the background crap.
And the best bit is, AMD still whoops Intel at the minute. So if you're going new system, get an opteron. If you're merely upgrading the cpu on your mobo, well its up to you.
And GPU makes more of a difference today, so invest in that X1900XTX or 7900GS or whatever instead
Im making a new system...not replace old cpu on dell, lol
CASE: CoolerMaster Praetorian 730 Aluminum Tower w/ 420W psu
CPU: Intel Pentium D 930 Dual-Core CPU @ 3.0GHz 800FSB 2x2MB Cache 64-Bit
MOTHERBOARD: Asus P5ND2-SLI nForce4 Chipset LGA775 DDR2/667 SATA RAID Dual PCIE w/7.1Audio, GbLAN, &USB2
MEMORY: 2.5GB PC5300 DDR2/667 Dual Channel Memory
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA Geforce 7900 GT 256MB 16X PCI Express
Anyone think the AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+ Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology would be better on this system?
CASE: CoolerMaster Praetorian 730 Aluminum Tower w/ 420W psu
CPU: Intel Pentium D 930 Dual-Core CPU @ 3.0GHz 800FSB 2x2MB Cache 64-Bit
MOTHERBOARD: Asus P5ND2-SLI nForce4 Chipset LGA775 DDR2/667 SATA RAID Dual PCIE w/7.1Audio, GbLAN, &USB2
MEMORY: 2.5GB PC5300 DDR2/667 Dual Channel Memory
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA Geforce 7900 GT 256MB 16X PCI Express
Anyone think the AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+ Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology would be better on this system?
SidVicious
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At first glance, I think that you would get more bang for your money if you went for a Socket 939 platform, obviously, a Socket 939 CPU like that X2 4200+ won't fit a LGA775 mobo.
Do you intend to overclock ?
Well, to start, ntel is slated to do a major price drop on April 23rd.
Then there is the question on june 6th, of how AM2, and Amds with DDR2 will perform. Shortly after that, we should see some benchmarks, by independant reviewers, That put AM2 and Conroe systems head to head.
Then we can wait to see if Conroe actually comes out at Intel's projected price. (Though the last may not be until September)
Interesting times.
Since I usually do a slight OC, I would probably try to get my hands on an oteron s939 170 chip. They are the cream of the A64s, other than the FX chips, but come at a more resonable price point.
Then there is the question on june 6th, of how AM2, and Amds with DDR2 will perform. Shortly after that, we should see some benchmarks, by independant reviewers, That put AM2 and Conroe systems head to head.
Then we can wait to see if Conroe actually comes out at Intel's projected price. (Though the last may not be until September)
Interesting times.
Since I usually do a slight OC, I would probably try to get my hands on an oteron s939 170 chip. They are the cream of the A64s, other than the FX chips, but come at a more resonable price point.
CompGeek
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Do NOT get a Pentium D right at this moment. Intel has a considerable price drop in plan,scheduled for April.
A Pentium 950 price will be down to ~320.
Also i sugest getting a mobo that might support Conroe(ask around)/
950 is overall better than the X2 3800 though x2 3800 is still a slightly better gamer.
A Pentium 950 price will be down to ~320.
Also i sugest getting a mobo that might support Conroe(ask around)/
950 is overall better than the X2 3800 though x2 3800 is still a slightly better gamer.
JonathanDeane
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If I was building a machine right now I would go with a LGA 775 mobo (keep an eye towards conroe compatibility) and for right now slap a Pentium D 805 in it.... they are cheap 133$ on newegg and they can OC to like 3.8Ghz air cooled. But if what everyone is saying about a price drop this month I would wait a week or two and see if it gets cheaper
CompGeek
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There was a pricing road map table.
The high end Pentium D will fall under 200$(if i remember corectly) once Core arrives.
Now if there are boards that support both CPUs it would make that particular Pentium D very attractive indeed since i very much doubt that
the very low end Core(that would be single core) can compete with a 3.4-3.6 ghz dual CPU. Also Intel plans to release the 960(if it hasn't already) clocked at 3.6GHZ,that will be sold at very cheap prices by the end of Q4.
Again i'm not sure. But at 3.6 Ghz the Pentium D should be the equivalent of a X2 4800 if not better.
The high end Pentium D will fall under 200$(if i remember corectly) once Core arrives.
Now if there are boards that support both CPUs it would make that particular Pentium D very attractive indeed since i very much doubt that
the very low end Core(that would be single core) can compete with a 3.4-3.6 ghz dual CPU. Also Intel plans to release the 960(if it hasn't already) clocked at 3.6GHZ,that will be sold at very cheap prices by the end of Q4.
Again i'm not sure. But at 3.6 Ghz the Pentium D should be the equivalent of a X2 4800 if not better.
gOJDO
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Depends on the games you plan to play. There are almost no games compiled for parallel processing, so faster singlecore is better than dual core.
Anyway, no matter what kind of games you will play, any K8 for the same money is much more faster and better than any Pentium4. Check some benchmarks before you make big mistake buying a Pentium4 for gaming....
"CPU matter in gaming, the MOST! "
Actually, he was and is quite correct....the gpu does indeed matter most in gaming.
Once at high res/settings, the way most people play when they have 7900GTX cards, the increasing cpu clockspeed causes severely limited gains to the tune of about 3-4%, as long as you have enough processor, around 2.2G (A64 types)....
Witness that fact that a relatively inexpensive processor like the A64/3500+ is outframed in FEAR by only 1-2 fps at 1280x960/4xAA when compared to an FX57, still the top-dog single core cpu. Once at 2.2GHz or so, the extra 200-600 MHz gains one only about 1 frame per second.
Which will outperform (i.e., produce acceptable framerates at high resolutions) the other in FEAR, COD2, BF2, etc...
An A64/3200+ ($160) equipped with a 7900GTX ($400), or an FX57 ($800)equipped with a 7600GT ($200)? (Still think the processor matters most?)
If you feel that is worth paying 4 times the price or OCing the crap out of your cpu for a single extra frame/sec...more power to you.
Actually, he was and is quite correct....the gpu does indeed matter most in gaming.
Once at high res/settings, the way most people play when they have 7900GTX cards, the increasing cpu clockspeed causes severely limited gains to the tune of about 3-4%, as long as you have enough processor, around 2.2G (A64 types)....
Witness that fact that a relatively inexpensive processor like the A64/3500+ is outframed in FEAR by only 1-2 fps at 1280x960/4xAA when compared to an FX57, still the top-dog single core cpu. Once at 2.2GHz or so, the extra 200-600 MHz gains one only about 1 frame per second.
Which will outperform (i.e., produce acceptable framerates at high resolutions) the other in FEAR, COD2, BF2, etc...
An A64/3200+ ($160) equipped with a 7900GTX ($400), or an FX57 ($800)equipped with a 7600GT ($200)? (Still think the processor matters most?)
If you feel that is worth paying 4 times the price or OCing the crap out of your cpu for a single extra frame/sec...more power to you.
DEEB0rider
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CompGeek
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Low end CPUs(i'm talking about mostly Semprons and Celerons) bottleneck the gfx card usually at low resolutions.
You'll be suprised to see a AMD 64 3000+ not slowing down a 1900XT at most resolutions.
Some older games do(Battlezone 2 anyone? when the AI overbuilds) but that's because poor optimisation/bugs mostly. CPUs calculate, gfx cards render. Rendering is more important in gfx games,much more.
That partially explains the small performance gaps in games between different CPUs.
Anyway, you can test it on your system. Play a 3D game lately released and check your CPU usage.
You'll be suprised to see a AMD 64 3000+ not slowing down a 1900XT at most resolutions.
Some older games do(Battlezone 2 anyone? when the AI overbuilds) but that's because poor optimisation/bugs mostly. CPUs calculate, gfx cards render. Rendering is more important in gfx games,much more.
That partially explains the small performance gaps in games between different CPUs.
Anyway, you can test it on your system. Play a 3D game lately released and check your CPU usage.
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