Hi Guys - Thank you for the assistance ahead of time...
I have bought several components for a first time build already and have been stuck on a processor for about 2 months now...
What I have:
HDD: WD 640gb 32mb
GPU: HD 4870 512mb ($164! + free ship)
Mem: g skill 4 gig 4-4-4-12 800
Mobo: ud3p (good OCing)
Case: Antec 900 ($99 + free shipping at the egg!)
Monitor: p.o.s. 19" x1024 (any upgrade suggestions?)
PSU: Corsair 650tx
I have already pretty much destroyed my $700 budget because I got greedy, but now the most important part is giving me the most flak...
I was initially set on the q6600 ($198) b/c of a good OC, but was not sure if I would get the most out of it... Then I went to e8400 ($165) because the gaming benchmarks were close to the q6600.. Then someone suggested the e7200 ($120) b/c of a good oc that was simliar to the e8400... Then I saw a ton of posts that the e5200 ($70) was the way to go because it could oc to the same performance of the e7200 for dirt cheap... But then I saw the cache was pratically nothing compared to the 8400 and 6600 so I keep thinking in a constant loop.
I am hesitant to spend a lot now on the q6000 because the true quad i7 should come down in price in a couple years when more programs and games are written for it... But I am also hesitant to go to the lower end CPUs because I have NO IDEA what difference the lower cache makes during anything???
Normal computer use for me includes a lot of gaming (strategy games mainly) and dvd ripping, decoding, encoding, and a lot of file transfers between my 2 externals and modded xbox.
Please help me cure my insanity... What difference does cache make? Will I actually use all 4 cores? Should I just pony up the money or am I falling victim to intel's marketing?
I have bought several components for a first time build already and have been stuck on a processor for about 2 months now...
What I have:
HDD: WD 640gb 32mb
GPU: HD 4870 512mb ($164! + free ship)
Mem: g skill 4 gig 4-4-4-12 800
Mobo: ud3p (good OCing)
Case: Antec 900 ($99 + free shipping at the egg!)
Monitor: p.o.s. 19" x1024 (any upgrade suggestions?)
PSU: Corsair 650tx
I have already pretty much destroyed my $700 budget because I got greedy, but now the most important part is giving me the most flak...
I was initially set on the q6600 ($198) b/c of a good OC, but was not sure if I would get the most out of it... Then I went to e8400 ($165) because the gaming benchmarks were close to the q6600.. Then someone suggested the e7200 ($120) b/c of a good oc that was simliar to the e8400... Then I saw a ton of posts that the e5200 ($70) was the way to go because it could oc to the same performance of the e7200 for dirt cheap... But then I saw the cache was pratically nothing compared to the 8400 and 6600 so I keep thinking in a constant loop.
I am hesitant to spend a lot now on the q6000 because the true quad i7 should come down in price in a couple years when more programs and games are written for it... But I am also hesitant to go to the lower end CPUs because I have NO IDEA what difference the lower cache makes during anything???
Normal computer use for me includes a lot of gaming (strategy games mainly) and dvd ripping, decoding, encoding, and a lot of file transfers between my 2 externals and modded xbox.
Please help me cure my insanity... What difference does cache make? Will I actually use all 4 cores? Should I just pony up the money or am I falling victim to intel's marketing?