Need Help chosing processor + Video card

nickrut

Distinguished
Nov 30, 2006
10
0
18,510
Ok so i found myself with a choice to make due to financials and i dont know which to pick so help out. Heres my choices...

Core 2 Duo E6400 + Geforce 7600GS

OR

Intel D 945 + Radeon X1900 GT

I can get both for around the same price but im wondering which will perform better. Thanks for the help ahead of time
 

Slobogob

Distinguished
Aug 10, 2006
1,431
0
19,280
Ok so i found myself with a choice to make due to financials and i dont know which to pick so help out. Heres my choices...

Core 2 Duo E6400 + Geforce 7600GS

OR

Intel D 945 + Radeon X1900 GT

I can get both for around the same price but im wondering which will perform better. Thanks for the help ahead of time
Perform better at what?

Superpi? Core 2 Duo E6400 + Geforce 7600GS
Gaming? Intel D 945 + Radeon X1900 GT
 

skyguy

Distinguished
Aug 14, 2006
2,408
0
19,780
Gaming is always more dependent on the vid card, not the CPU. Other apps are more dependent on CPU, so depends what you're using your comp for.

That being said, the 6400 is far more futureproof, runs cooler, uses less power, and is far FASTER. It simply outclasses the 945, hands down.

And since vid cards go out of style the fastest, your 6400 will still be great when you want to upgrade your vid card ;)


OR.....how about a happy compromise? Get the 6300 and a better vid card, at least the 7600GT. That setup will do wonders for you.
 

melarcky

Distinguished
Mar 23, 2006
766
0
18,980
Ok so i found myself with a choice to make due to financials and i dont know which to pick so help out. Heres my choices...

Core 2 Duo E6400 + Geforce 7600GS

OR

Intel D 945 + Radeon X1900 GT

I can get both for around the same price but im wondering which will perform better. Thanks for the help ahead of time
Before you even think about the D945 just remember it runs hot and is not the newest technology...

So if you are planning to lower the CPU so that you can get a better CGA
get a C2D E6300 with a GF7600GT and If you are in the US you can get a GF7600GT for around $100 from www.newegg.com
It will be better then the C2D E6400 + 7600Gs because the GF7600GT is much better and you can easaly over clock the E6300 to be an E6400 with stock cooling
 

nickrut

Distinguished
Nov 30, 2006
10
0
18,510
I'd be using this for everything....gaming included. the games i generally play are WoW and BF2 but ill probably be picking up something new for christmas to play. Will the C2D run most things smoothly or will i struggle?
 

melarcky

Distinguished
Mar 23, 2006
766
0
18,980
I'd be using this for everything....gaming included. the games i generally play are WoW and BF2 but ill probably be picking up something new for christmas to play. Will the C2D run most things smoothly or will i struggle?
It will run them fine ... if the C2D didn't run them smoothly the the d945 wouldn't at all... go for the E6300 + GF7600GT
 

leo2kp

Distinguished
I'd say yes you'd do well to get the 7600GT with the C2D. Upgrade that later on when you can because the video card is outdated much faster than the processor.
 

chaosgs

Distinguished
Sep 9, 2006
823
0
19,010
yes it is. And i wish people would stop critizing the pentium D's a pentium d 805 would own any game i have one plus the geforce 7600 and i play BF2 on max settings. my proceessor has yet to hit 100% and its not overclocked. in every thread people say the pentium D sucks, but they are idiots.
 

CaptRobertApril

Distinguished
Dec 5, 2006
2,205
0
19,780
yes it is. And i wish people would stop critizing the pentium D's a pentium d 805 would own any game i have one plus the geforce 7600 and i play BF2 on max settings. my proceessor has yet to hit 100% and its not overclocked. in every thread people say the pentium D sucks, but they are idiots.

Hi. I'm an idiot. And I'd like to express my humble opinion that the Pentium D sucks 100 year old rotten eggs when compared to C2D.

1) Architecture. No contest.
2) Heat. No contest.
3) Performance. No contest.

If I wasn't an idiot I'd ask you to present the benchmarks performed by reliable sources to prove your point. But I won't as I'm too idiotic to ask.

:lol:
 

chaosgs

Distinguished
Sep 9, 2006
823
0
19,010
1) i dont care if its netburst as it gets the job done 100%
2) it puts out little heat and i dont have a working heater in the house so i wish it would put out more heat.
3) it can do anything c2d can do.


and yes Mr. idiot i would send my scores of my cheap ass ($500) computer if i had the benchmark program.
 

CaptRobertApril

Distinguished
Dec 5, 2006
2,205
0
19,780
1) i dont care if its netburst as it gets the job done 100%
2) it puts out little heat and i dont have a working heater in the house so i wish it would put out more heat.
3) it can do anything c2d can do.
and yes Mr. idiot i would send my scores of my cheap ass ($500) computer if i had the benchmark program.

1) You're playing games. Most of the processing is happening in the GPU. You might not tell the difference if you were running a Celeron.

2) You are the first person I've ever met who wished to get more heat out of a Pentium D. Heating the house is a great idea. Of course, the temperature vs. longevity curve is of little concern if you're using your CPU as a space heater.

3) A 80486 can do anything a C2D can do. Just a whole lot slower.

Respectfully yours,

The Idiot.

:lol:
 

chaosgs

Distinguished
Sep 9, 2006
823
0
19,010
The pentium D is not a whole lot slower, slower yes just not a WHOLE lot slower. not to mention the dude who started this thread plays games so i am highly recommending the pentium D so he can get same performance at $100-200 cheaper. all conroe cpu's will be having severe price cuts soon being quad core is out so why not just wait half a year to a year (unless you gotta have it now).
 

CaptRobertApril

Distinguished
Dec 5, 2006
2,205
0
19,780
all conroe cpu's will be having severe price cuts soon being quad core is out so why not just wait half a year to a year (unless you gotta have it now).

There. A statement that an idiot like me can agree with. There is little doubt that C2D prices on specific models will be lower by next year at this time. However, by then, there will be lots of really exciting and faster CPUs out to fill out the line. There always have been.
 

nickrut

Distinguished
Nov 30, 2006
10
0
18,510
Currently i will be getting the entire system for about 700, with 1 gig of ram and a 250 HD...i think thats a pretty good deal but i could be wrong. I figure the processor is good for at least 2 years so i think its worth it.
 

chaosgs

Distinguished
Sep 9, 2006
823
0
19,010
the only new thing is gonna be 45nm right? octa cores arnt due till 2008 so i dont think alot of new stuff is coming out next year, now with amd thats different they have work to do.
 

chaosgs

Distinguished
Sep 9, 2006
823
0
19,010
processors are good till they no longer work my dads Pentium 3 and my pentium 2 make good internet surfing computers. best to surf net on a sorry computer than a good one for virus reasons (i dont have security so) $700 is pretty good if ram wasnt so high you could get more ram. i got lucky bought mine when 1 gig was $80.
 

CaptRobertApril

Distinguished
Dec 5, 2006
2,205
0
19,780
Currently i will be getting the entire system for about 700, with 1 gig of ram and a 250 HD...i think thats a pretty good deal but i could be wrong. I figure the processor is good for at least 2 years so i think its worth it.

E6400

WD 250GB

2 x 512MB RAM

Those add up to $370.17. If you've found a 7600GT for $100 then it's $470. Now it all depends what MB you're going with. They're about $60 and up. Also what case, PSU, etc. I take it there is no monitor with that price.

You could do this on the real cheap with a bottom-feeder MB and a crap case and PSU for $550. It's all on what components are in the box.
 

ethel

Distinguished
May 20, 2006
1,130
0
19,290
Seeing as you're only interested in games and have a tight budger, I would definitely recommend the Pentium D and a high-level graphics card.

The Pentium D will play all current games with no problems and if you buy the right mobo you can upgrade to C2D later when they are cheap.
 

-silencer-

Distinguished
Dec 7, 2006
173
0
18,680
$700 machine? No problem.. does that includue a monitor though?

If not.. you'll need the cpu, mobo, ram, video card, hard drive, dvd drive, case, power supply at a minimum. Get a cheap mouse/keyboard for now or re-use your current one. Reuse your current operating system & monitor too.

Now, there are a few directions you can take.. are you interested in overclocking much? Or SLI/Crossfire eventually? Or just low cost gaming with a current system?

With your low-cost needs, I'd go with something like this:

CPU: Intel E6300 $182
Mobo: Asus P5NSLI $107
RAM: 2x512MB Corsair ValueSelect DDR2-667 $107
Video: eVGA 7600GT $120
HD: Western Digital SE16 250GB (WD2500KS) $80
DVD: Lite-On 18x DVDR $30
Case/PSU: Antec Solution w/350W PSU $60

Total: $686

For $130, the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 would be a better motherboard option if you'd rather overclock your E6300 instead of having future SLI capability.
For $125, 2x512MB CorsairXMS2 DDR2-800 memory would be better for overclocking..
For $40, a Scythe Ninja CPU heatsink will be cooler and quieter than stock, with better overclocks available..
For $90, the SeaSonic S12-430 power supply is a great upgrade - www.silentpcreview.com

All items/prices are at www.newegg.com - usually best to shop at one place to save shipping costs..

It's much better to buy a few great components, then upgrade the others as you go, than to buy all new (but lower quality/performance) components. If reusing your current computer's components is an option,
consider this:

CPU: Intel E6300 $182
Heatsink: Scythe Ninja (120mm fan included) $40
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 $130
RAM: 2x512MB CorsairXMS2 DDR2-800 $125
Video: eVGA 7600GT $120
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12-430W $90
$687

Reuse your current hard drive, case, monitor, keyboard, mouse.. those are easy to upgrade later. Don't underestimate the importance of a quality power supply, especially when overclocking. With the Scythe heatsink, SeaSonic power supply, Corsair DDR2-800 RAM, and Gigabyte motherboard, that E6300 should be able to overclock to E6700 speeds (2.67GHz) without too much trouble. Although a high performance case (Antec P180) would really help keep temperatures down. The following items have instant rebates now, so they're great deals: Scythe Ninja, Gigabyte mobo, Corsair RAM, SeaSonic PSU. There's also a $20 mail-in rebate on the video card.

Now, you've got some solid & high-speed components for now.. with a few items you could upgrade in the future:
Western Digital SE16 250GB hard drive $80
Antec P180 Case $120
Another 2x512mb RAM $125
Geforce 8 series GS GPU when they come out next year.. $200-300.

Now, some are going to say to go with the Pentium D 805 for only $92. You're not getting a Geforce 8 series video card in combination with this anyway, so why not at least have one component of the CPU/GPU be near the best available? A $182 E6300 can easily overclock to E6700/X6800 speed with relatively inexpensive supporting components, so get the 7600GS/GT video card now, and upgrade to the 8600GS (or other 8-series mid-range card) when it comes out next year..

It doesn't make sense to me to spend more money now on a DX9 videocard when a few months from now you can have a higher performing DX10 card for $200. A 7600GS/GT is enough for now, especially if you don't have the high resolution monitor to require something better.
 

mrcmtl

Distinguished
Oct 26, 2006
9
0
18,510
yes it is. And i wish people would stop critizing the pentium D's a pentium d 805 would own any game i have one plus the geforce 7600 and i play BF2 on max settings. my proceessor has yet to hit 100% and its not overclocked. in every thread people say the pentium D sucks, but they are idiots.

it's impossible for a dual core to hit 100% while gaming unless the game is multithreaded.
 

skyguy

Distinguished
Aug 14, 2006
2,408
0
19,780
E6300 and 7600GT will kick @$$, plain and simple. 7600GT will handle your needs easily, and the 6300 will last FAR longer than any 805, 945, or whatever. Will also be cooler, draw less power, and be FASTER. Anyone that thinks otherwise is sadly mistaken.

Will the 6300 give you a much bigger framerate in games? NO.
Is the 6300 a better chip? YES.
Is it more futureproof? YES.
Is it a better investment/return for your money? YES.
Will it provide a better all-around system as you've asked? YES.
Will it make you feel warm and fuzzy 'cause your CPU kick @$$ and destroys a 805/945 when overclocked? YES.
Will it make you popular with the ladies? Only if she has a 6300 as well ;)
 

Talon

Distinguished
Apr 13, 2004
531
0
18,980
If you perform many tasks on your computer then definitely the 6400. Even if your main focus were gaming I'd still say go with the 6400 even tho for games the other setup might initially give you more gaming joy.

The reason for this is future proofing mainly. The 6400 you can keep for several years with good results. You can always upgrade the graphics card again at a later date.

If however you went the 945 route though you would end up wanting to upgrade both parts probably sooner than you'd need to upgrade the 6400 cpu.

On a side note, the e6300 can overclock very easily, even for the unexperienced, to speeds higher than the 6400. Why not take that course of action and drop the extra couple bucks on getting a better graphics card to begin with?? WIN-WIN ! yah! :)