E7400, e7500, e8400

[123q]

So i have been doing a lot of research lately with these cores; reading reviews and look at benchmarks. Although i still cant come to a good conclusion. I was wondering if you guys can help me

So, im building a new computer; its for gaming (L4D, COD) and normal use like homework, internet; etc..

Anyways, the stuff i have picked up are

Gigabyte EP45-UD3R (i know UD3P has more funtions, but i dont need any of that cross fire or dobey sound)

G.SKILL PI Black Series DDR2 800MHz (PC2-6400) 4GB (2x2GB) Dual Channel Kit (F2-6400CL4D-4GBPI-B)

BFG 9600 GT 512 MB

btw, if theres anything wrong, or anything that can be better with the above, pls tell me!

So, i am on a limited budget, anything over $800 (computer only) is a bit too much. I do want to OC my cpu though (4ghz+) and was wondering if CPU (E7400, e7500 or 8400) would be the best

I have read multiple reviews and posts. Some say that e7500 is pointless and that e7400 is the best for the e7XXX series. But then i again. it does have a higher multi which would OC better right?

However, some say e8400 is simply better quality and better at OC to 4ghz+

So im asking you guys, anyone who has experience with OC or one of those 3 cores, which one is better? Or can you suggest a cpu even better but around the same price?

 

[Mousemonkey]

The E8400 is the better out of those three, although you may be able to get a Q9550 for about the same kind of money if you hunt around.

 

[123q]

well i live in Canada and the Q9550 seems to be $240+ everywhere. The closest quad i can get within the price in the Q8200.

Anyways, if the e8400 is better, would it not be even better to get the Phenom II x3 Black Edition for $168 compared to the e8400 @ $193?

 

[Mousemonkey]

The x3 Phenom II is supposed to be a good gaming CPU.

 

[kevin1212]

Um... just in case you don't know, you can't get a phenom on a p45 chipset, if that is what you were considering. I see you said u already bought the p45 motherboard. Outside of that, i would probably get the e7400, assuming it is reasonably cheaper than the e8400 (i dont know those canadian prices, but i do know its quite cheaper in the US) and just overclock it. The only difference is the 3mb of cache, which will not make that big a difference.

 

[123q]

better then e8400; im planning to OC either one

 

[123q]

Um... just in case you don't know, you can't get a phenom on a p45 chipset, if that is what you were considering. I see you said u already bought the p45 motherboard. Outside of that, i would probably get the e7400, assuming it is reasonably cheaper than the e8400 (i dont know those canadian prices, but i do know its quite cheaper in the US) and just overclock it. The only difference is the 3mb of cache, which will not make that big a difference.

sorry if i didnt make clear, i havent bought anything yet

 

[kevin1212]

in that case, i would go with the Phenom II X3 720 BE. I think its going for $120 on newegg, i'm assuming the price is not that far off in Canada. Clock for clock, the e7400 is actually a bit faster, but you can make up for that with some overclocking, then its 3 cores vs 2... given the price difference, the 720BE is certainly a better buy.

 

[123q]

yeah, i thought of that too; lets ignore the $800 budget i said I have decided to spend a bit more on my CPU; enough for a e8400

So now, should i get a X3 BE 720 or e8400 when im planning to OC both of them?

I havent got to see any benchmarks of a OC X3 720 vs a OC e8400

 

[kevin1212]

Well, i would go for the 720 mainly because of the extra core. But, there is a good chance you would be able to hit close to 4GHz with an e8400, and that would be an interesting contest, since you could probably get the 720 to 3.4GHz or maybe 3.6GHz. Assuming the game uses 3 cores, which more and more are doing these days, i reallly cant say which one is faster... but i'm leaning towards the 720. Plus the 720 is cheaper.

 

[10tacle]

The E8400 is easy to overclock to 4GHz. For most games (not all, most) a higher CPU speed means more than more cores. Just keep in mind you will need a decent aftermarket cooler because you will need to increase voltage which cranks the heat out exponentially. I got mine up to 4.6GHz for short term testing, but having it rock stable at 4.4GHz.

You can see the benefits of that in Tom's test of an E8600, which is the same chip just clocked higher at 3.3GHz stock:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-2-overclock,2316-6.html