Better processor or better VGA?

[Malaga93]

So i'm planing to buy a new pc so here are the components:

mobo-asus p5n-e sli
cpu-intel core2duo e4300 or e6600
ram-a-data 1gb 6400
vga-asus 8800gts 320mb or 640mb

So my question is what will be better for me e6600 with 8800gts 320mb
or the e4300 with 8800gts 640mb, and this system is for high-res gaming.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[speedbird]

Flight Simulator X for instance is very CPU dependant. The majority of games however require a good CPU, but the GPU is more crucial for High Res gaming. I would choose the lower CPU with the better GPU since you did state that it's High Res gaming you are planing to do. Also it should be noted that with the right Motherboard that E4300 can be overclocked, so you can get bring it up to E6600 speeds or exceed it.

 

[Wonderwill]

Definately get the e4300 or 4400, which can be easily overclocked to 3Ghz or higher, especially with that board. The only diff between a 2.4Ghz e4300 and a 6600 is the 2mb of cache. As for the card, go for the 640 MB if it is truly high-res. What resolution are you thinking of?

Either way, your real bottleneck to gaming at all with those parts is the 1 GB of RAM. Go for 2 GB, period. The switch from one to two gigs of RAM for me was the difference between BF2 at medium-high settings to BF2 with 4xAA, 16xAF, and everything else cranked all the way up. It was like night and day, and on my 7600 GT I still get 60+ frames!

 

[Malaga93]

thanks for the replies, i'm playing at 1920:1200 resolution and i'l add up another gig of ram when having more money

 

[maximusakl]

Also, remember you can get the E6320 for just a few more bucks, which can then be overclocked.

 

[Wonderwill]

Also, remember you can get the E6320 for just a few more bucks, which can then be overclocked.

BUT it has a lower multiplier which means it's harder to overclock, although you just need a little fsb jump. It really depends on the mobo.

 

[maximusakl]

Maybe, but the extra 2MB of cache does help. Its always a tradeoff. (Like so many other things)

 

[Eviltwin17]

e6600 with the 320mb will be a great system, although at higher resolutions (1600x1200 +) youd want the extra video memory

 

[fidgewinkle]

thanks for the replies, i'm playing at 1920:1200 resolution and i'l add up another gig of ram when having more money

If you wait until later to get that second gig of ram, you might find that you have a cooling problem. It gets pretty tight in there with four dimms instead of two.

 

[Wonderwill]

thanks for the replies, i'm playing at 1920:1200 resolution and i'l add up another gig of ram when having more money

If you wait until later to get that second gig of ram, you might find that you have a cooling problem. It gets pretty tight in there with four dimms instead of two.

I mean add 1 1GB dimm now and one later...It's really the best way to do it.

 

[purdueguy]

For one thing, I would definitely wait another 2 weeks for the HD2900XT to come out. Then you can decide which card to get.

But if you must absolutely get one today, I'd just get the $270 PNY 8800GTS 320MB from Newegg, here. In most benchmarks, the 320MB version is just as good as the 640MB version.

Save the cost difference and then sell the 8800GTS to get a better DX10 card down the road when it will be needed.

 

[powerbaselx]

cpu-intel core2duo e4300 or e6600
ram-a-data 1gb 6400
vga-asus 8800gts 320mb or 640mb

So my question is what will be better for me e6600 with 8800gts 320mb
or the e4300 with 8800gts 640mb, and this system is for high-res gaming.

If i were you i'd choose the following:
E4300
2GB RAM
NVidia 8800GTS 320MB

The E4300 is a cheap and highly OC cpu.
I think more RAM it's really important for overall system, for latest games and OS.
320MB is more than enough for next games except if you play in very very high resolutions. (What monitor/display do you have? What resolutions do you usually play?)

Hope it helps.

 

[Wonderwill]

He said 1900 by 1200 that's high enough to need a 640 MB.