First Build- Which CPU for gaming

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fjp2552

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Building my first cpu for gaming and not sure if I should go with the 9550 yorkfield or E8500.. I've seen people say "just oc the 8500 and don't look back" but i've never oc'd anything besides my toilet bowl. I know games aren't really touching on 4 cores yet but should I even be worried about that? I mean how soon are we talking about that the dual core will be in the backseat? I can't totally break the bank here. Looking to spend no more than $1200-$1300 for quality/durability.

Also I'm a lil in the dark about cases and the cooling.. Thoughts?

So far I have:

Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R

GTX 260 Core 216

WD Caviar SE16 640GB 7200rpm 16MB

G.Skill PI Black 4GB (2x2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

Samsung 22x DVD + DVD Burner w/Lightscribe SATA

Vista Home Premium 64-Bit for System Builders 1Pk

Corsair 650TX

 
marcellis22

marcellis22

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Get the E8500 and don't look back. Google "Overclocking" and you'll learn all you need if you decide to OC. I'm running my Gigabyte P45/E8500 in an Antec 900 case, plenty of room, lots of fans and airflow. The 1200 is supposed to be larger, if you get the 900 buy a 120 fan to place in the side/door/window; it'll push more air right over the video card. I'm running a very simple OC, set the FSB to 400Mhz, PCIe to 100Mhz, and memory one to one. 3.8 Ghz from stock 3.16, the temps went from 46c to 49c with the stock cooler, couldn't be any easier! In two years, the I7 will be mature and prices will be great for building your next computer...
 
Lurker87

Lurker87

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A few comments to consider:

First off, how long are you planning to use this computer? Dual core will definitely get you by for a while with games, especially since most aren't optimized for quad core performance. The Exxxx series is especially good for OCing. You can easily OC over 4 GHz on air. The E8600 has been seen to reach 4.0 GHz with minimal tweaking. However, if you are going more future-proof, consider getting a decent quad core like the 9550 or even the q6600, if you want to save some cash and still have decent OCing capabilities. I am going i7 in anticipation of games becoming more quad core based later on, but that may not be in your budget, unless you make some very budget conscious decisions in other areas.

However, E8500 and E8600 will definitely keep you satisfied with its amazing performance. Also, what type of monitor are you planning to use, and are you planning to OC at all?
 
hairycat101

hairycat101

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If you don't have those parts yet and are only considering them, then STOP! Re-do this list with i7 parts in mind. If buiding from scratch and you have that much money, don't get last years tech when next years tech is already out.
 
hairycat101

hairycat101

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Forgot to put this in... what resolution are you going to be playing in? This matters because you have a lot of cash tied up in that GPU...
 
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fjp2552

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I totally agree with you. Let's say that i will be upgrading in 2 years. Will the 8500 give me more bang for my buck in that time period? Or is the 920 something that will become more powerful as time goes on (games use more cores)?
 
effel

effel

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I own that Gigabyte motherboard actually. Easy Tune 6 works like a charm. I clicked one button, restarted my computer, and had a 50% overclock on my e6400. Since I got this motherboard a few weeks ago, I've had 0 stability issues in games and web browsing, music encoding, etc. I even keep Intel Speed Step on and have no problems (I like to think it helps to save power when I'm not using it)

The rest of your parts look really good. In a couple years i7 and ddr3 ram, and the different motherboard sockets will be established, making a build a much easier choice. I'm confident a 3ghz Core 2 Duo will be fine for a few more years. Wait for more multithreading to appear in games.

And from the parts you picked out, it seems like you've taken advice from some other threads around here. The ones you parted out are great, I wouldn't of picked anything different actually :p.

As for the case, take a look at the Lancool K10 by Lian Li, its on newegg. I own it myself, and it's got everything I could possibly ask for out of a well made case.
 
Beitzel15

Beitzel15

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Oct 14, 2008
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I'd go with the E8500 & I just got my NZXT Tempest in the mail today and it's AMAZING for $110... Seriously, there's a lot more room in that case than the picture's show. Im replacing the back/side fan with Scythe 120mm fans.

As far as CPU coolers, go with the Xigmatek HDT and also buy the retention bracket for it & another Scythe 120mm fan to replace the one that comes with it and you should be set.
 
Beitzel15

Beitzel15

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Which GTX260 are you getting? EVGA?

The XFX GTX260 Core 216 Black Edition is the best 260 to get, it's a little more than the EVGA but it has a little more power & a WAY better warrenty.
 
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DanielCD

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Another build almost like mine.. anyways, I get the rest of the components for my new PC tomorrow. If you'd like, I can give you some benchmarks for my system and you can see if you like it (you'd have to find someone with a quad core to compare it though.)

My new system tomorrow (hopefully):
E8400 (3.0ghz at stock)
GIGABYTE UD3R
Mushkin 2x2gb DD2 1066
WD Caviar Black 640GB (32mb cache)
EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked
Corsair 650TX PSU
 
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fjp2552

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absolutely man, lemme know. hope it all works out
 
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DanielCD

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Finished it last night at 1am, so I don't have too many benchmarks ATM, but I do have one for Left 4 Dead. I get a steady 60FPS with everything at max settings at 1680x1050. This is with the old drivers, supposedly the new ones increase it even more. Everything is at stock, no overclocking yet. I'll try to come up with more benchmarks this afternoon.


Also, it gets a 5.9 in the Vista performance thing on everything except the calculations per second, where it still gets a good 5.6. That can easily be fixed by slightly overclocking it though
 
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fjp2552

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That's great news man.. It doesn't sound like you even need to overclock. I think that's supposed to be one of the games that does better in quad cores.. Even if it does, who needs more than 60fps??? Just makes my decision easier.. I went into microcenter and the guy was trying so hard to convince me to get an i7 and almost got me. Thanks dude lemme know how the rest goes!
 
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DanielCD

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Yeah, 60FPS is more than enough. (Killing zombies is) smooth as butter with this config. Also ran Far Cry 2 with it.. very smooth too at max settings (don't have FPS on that though). Installing 3dmark06 right now

EDIT: Finished 3dmark06, got 13025 3DMarks. Not the best of course, but then again it's all at stock. I think a system like this has a lot of potential for someone who likes to overclock (but even at stock it's pretty good).. I'm probably going to leave it at stock though. Way more than enough for me :)
 
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