waiting for a good $200 quad

willmarth2

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I have read the quad vs core 2 duo threads. I have read the buyers guide. I have a core 2 duo 6300 right now. I can't play Crysis. I have a quad capable mb. I want an 3.0 HZ quad. I can't afford it right now. Hopefully there will be one by mid-summer. What do you think?
 
^What he said. Sure by mid of next year the older quads such as the Q9650 will probably hit around $200 but you can get a Q6600 now and OC to 3GHz on the stock voltage easily. Trust me I know I have one and it runs great.
 
What do you mean you can't play Crysis? I can run it on medium high (even if I lowered it to just medium in a few places late in the game) at 1024x768 on my setup just fine. What kind of video card do you have? If you want a good quad for less than $200 then I suggest you go with the Q6600 and overclock it.
 

zenmaster

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Crysis is NOT quad core optmized. A Faster Dual is better for Crysis.

#1 - Overclock your E6300 to about 3.2Ghz (Should not be too tough.)
#2 - What is your GPU?
#3 - How much RAM?
 

willmarth2

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Belarc Specs of my system.

Processor a Main Circuit Board b
1.95 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
2048 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5N-E SLI 1.XX
Bus Clock: 279 megahertz
BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD ASUS P5N-E SLI ACPI BIOS Revision 0307 12/25/2006


ST332062 0AS SCSI Disk Device (320.07 GB) -- drive 0 2046 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'DIMM_A1' has 1024 MB
Slot 'DIMM_A2' has 1024 MB
Slot 'DIMM_B1' is Empty
Slot 'DIMM_B2' is Empty
 

enigma067

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You'll be better off with a quad core processor rather than the Multi Chip Modules being recommended in this thread.

 

willmarth2

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I have one video card SLI capable.

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS [Display adapter]
DELL E228WFP [Monitor] (22.0"vis, s/n WT81481U1HRI, January 2008)
 

willmarth2

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I understand there are few applications and no games that use the capabilities of the quad now and a fast core 2 duo will give me the speed. The future is quad though. The real question is how fast of quad is the future. I thought the 6300 would be great for the long run but it isn't. The local shop who built the pc to my specs says overclocking ruins the warranty so he did something else.
The problem to all of us is two-fold. Core 2 duo will be outdated and a slow speed quad will be outdated. What to buy under $200?
 

evilshuriken

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You're right Willmarth2, overclocking will void your warranty. However this is an enthusiast forums, and overclocking is what we do. We recommend it because it's a fairly easy(once you understand it) and often inexpensive way to get more performance out of your hardware.

Sorry, but I can't really think of any quad core processor under $200 that will give you the performance you want without overclocking. If you where to change your mind about overclocking things would be much easyer I think.
 

jj463rd

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You're wrong as to games so far Microsoft Flight Simulator X and Supreme Commander are optimized for quad core CPU's and I believe AVG 8(security software) is optimized for quad core CPU's.
 

Zorg

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No brains no headaches.
 

zenmaster

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And It's not dangerous and will not damage your system if done properly and withing reason.
Additionally, in these cases it does not void the warranty because nobody knows you did it, including the "local shop".

In many cases, it's possible to increase the Speed of your CPU by over 50% via Overclocking but still keep it within the design specifications of the Chip. I'm oversimplifying, but Intel produces 3 nearly identical chips. The only difference is that one is set to a default of Fast, one to medium, and one to Slow. You can use your computer Bios to simply change Medium or Slow to High.
Since its the same chip as the "Fast " chip other than the default speed, you are not really endangering your system.
 

zenmaster

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Actually he is correct.
He said "Few".
He did not say "none".

Few applications, especially games, are currently optimized for 4 cores.
Are ther some? Sure.

But neither all or even most.
And the game with which he specifically is concerned is not.

That is not to say that Quads are not for some (My last CPU purchase was a quad), but not for everyone in all cases.

For Crysis, the OPs current CPU and is running too slow and the GPU is a little weak.
Knowing the Exact Motherboard and Power Supply Unit may further help suggestions.
It will let us know what options are avaialbe to optimize his current processor as well what Graphic Units may help.
 


Forgive me but I always thought that having 4 cores in a single package qualified as a quad.

And since when does this quad you speak of outperform a Q6600 or out OC a Q6600? Oh they don't? Sorry I forgot that.
 
OP I am sure the Q6600 price is what your looking for.

Overclocking the E6300 is also an alternative I would try first - lookup threads on overclocking the Asus P5N-E motherboard and your E6300.

There is tons of stuff under the "Overclocking" Section in these forums and people that will assist you there if you are courteous.

/stamps work order completed and knocks of for coffee break.

Good luck.



 


I agree 100%. But his CPU is already OCed. If he has a E6300 its stock speed is 1.86GHz not 1.95GHz. In fact there are no CPUs from Intel at 1.95GHz. The nxt step up is the E6400 @ 2GHz. His FSB is 279MHz which is higher than 266MHz.

There are not many games currently quad optimized but hopefully they come soon. It is the way its going anyways and I know VALVe is working on it for Source.

And you are right. It looks like his CPU may be limiting the GPU at that slow of a speed. A OC would really boost his Crysis performance a lot. That or he can just get a E8400 or so as his mobo supports all the newset CPUs. But if he wants a quad the Q6600 even at stock 2.4GHz will run Crysis better.
 

NewLCD123

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Quad core won't help in todays games nor most programs and they OC alot less and cost twice as much(obviously) I am going dual core myself and overclocking it above 3GHz. Im also getting an ATI hd4670 to run all modern games. Do that too and youll be rocking!

If you want to keep your warrenty, sell your cpu and get an e8400 3GHz for under $200. Otherwise your current cpu has great odds of hitting 3GHz overclock with safe volts.
 
^Heh. Thats true now but soon it wont be. A lot of gaming companies are going for multithreading. A good reason is it will allow them to do more with that extra power.

I think VALVe is planning it with Source with Left 4 Dead. They have rain in it that seems like their multicore benchmark they released a while ago. Then you have DMC4 which is and a few other games too. Soon we should see the major game engines multithreaded (Source, Unreal 3, Quake, CryeEngine 2) which would mean those already with a quad will fare better.