What's better?

miha2

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i know core i7 is faster, but that's not what i'm looking for. i'm looking for a cpu that can play heavy games. and i'm leaning towards amd phenom ii, since it's cheap - 150 cpu, 100 mobo, ~100 memory. the core i7 with the same speed costs around 500 plus a mobo around 200. and memory. 100. i want it to be cheap but so it could play heavy games. i will copy different stuff, write on the cds/dvds, etc. i don't need much speed (well, of course i don't want it to be slower than pentium iii or stuff, but at least [much if possible] faster than my ic2d e7300), just so it could play heavy games, like world in conflict, at least most action games like assassin's creed (both) splinter cell conviction, maybe gta iv, and stuff. what do you say? will the phenom 940 make my e7300? or i'd better get ic2d/q? since i want it cheap but perfect. in all aspects. thanx
 

Raidur

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Like loneninja said, if you have a mobo already that supports 45nm C2Q then just stick with that. Your best bet would probably be a Q9450 or a Q9550. Those chips are made to overclock very well so you might want to look into that but its all up to you. :)

Btw, you might not notice much of an increase in performance in games if you are using an e7300 because of the fact that most games do not utilize all 4 cores. Although more and more games are getting multi-core optimization so hang in there if you don't see too much improvement.
 

miha2

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i'm not asking for the mobo. i'm asking for what's better. i told my friend today that it's cheaper to build computer than to get a new one. (he's new to the country, never built computers). now wants a new computer too. he's also a gamer. he wants a brand new computer, so plz reply if it's better to get 2 or 4 cores. if 2, then it'll be e8400, if it's 4, most probably it'll be phenom ii. again, both of us are newbies (i saw how to install a cpu on a mobo on youtube, so i'll be able to help him with that, but i need to know what's better and if possible why).
 

loneninja

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If you aiming for performance than it is cheaper to build your own computer than purchase one.

With most new games a faster clocked dual core will easily beat a quad core, however some games have begun to appear that show good performance gains when given more than 2 cores. Personally I would go with a quad core, it may still get beat in some of the benchmarks by the faster dual cores, but it's more future proof and will be out performing the dual core in the long run.
 

loneninja

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Phenom II and C2Q perform very similarly(C2Q is a little faster), however Phenom II tends to be cheaper. There is also the debate of socket longtivity, no one really knows what future plans AMD has for socket AM3, but we already know Intel is done making new processors for socket 775. There is also the I5 coming out within a few weeks, that is definatly worth looking into for anyone doing a new build.

Personally I would let the builds budget decide which processor you end up with, since the focus is on gaming, make sure you get the graphical power you need, than pick up the best cpu you still can that meets budget.
 

miha2

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so, you're saying that... core i5 will be better than phenom ii, right? graphics will be gtx 260, since it'll handle most games just fine, now about cpu. about the budget. well, how much does a brand new computer cost? let's build by about 600-665, not more. that excludes the budget for OS.
 

Raidur

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Wait till i5 releases and I have a feeling you'll be wanting that, and if that doesn't tickle your fancy Phenom II is a great option and will likely be cheaper by then for obvious competing resons. For future-ability stick with quad core.
 

Raidur

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Core i5 is quad core. Don't be fooled by the stock ghz they'll be overclock-able up to 3.8-4.0 it seems.

The mobos will be a lot cheaper than the i7 motherboards. That is one of the main pluses of i5.
 
Well, because of the reduced cache and FSB on some of the C2Duos the Phenom II is rather competitive. Of course models that don't have any such cache disabled, like the Q9550 and 9650, do rather well against higher clocked Phenom IIs.

Anyway as previously stated the i5 is gonna change things, so we'll have to see. Anyway since you already have an LGA775 board a good bet for you would be a Q9550 or an E8600 as just a CPU upgrade.
 

miha2

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well, i don't think duo cpu will be enogh for the conviction game. i think it'll need 4 cores. since everything is movable and stuff. and it's not like collapse devastated world. it's better. it's simply better. that's first. also, as i said, i'll be copying stuff, using nero (it eats up up to 500 mb and loads the cpu not like tetris!). also, i don't need the i7 965! if i were to buy the i7, i'd get only 2.66 since i can overclock it up to 3.06, right? but as i said, we don't need the speed as much as fps. also, he won't overclock it, so there's no need to get i7. the max will be i5, but as i said, i'm leaning towards phenom ii, since it's cheaper. or, if there will be cheap mobos for i5, i'll probably think about that.