Please rate my new CPU

[stormus08]

Hello, I am new to these forums but I was looking for an indication on how good (or bad if that's the case) my new Computer is, and how it will stack up in the future. Please grade it on a 1-10 scale. It's worth noting the computer cost me right around (tax included) 900$.

General Basic Tower Specs:
(it is a Dell for what it's worth)

Operation System (irrelevant): Vista

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8300 @ 2.50 GHZ 4(CPUs), ~ 2.5 GHZ

Memory: 6078MB RAM

Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 3650

--------------------

Please let me know what you think. I believe the video card is fairly weak in comparison to the rest of the computer but any comments will be appreciated, thanks!

 

[aford10]

What is this being used for? It's not bad for multitask purposes, but it's not going to be real good in games.

That's a slower quad cpu
Is it vista 32 or 64?
^ makes a difference w/ 6GB of RAM.
video card is weak, but if your not gaming, it's fine

I'd give it ~7 for general use
I'd give it ~5 for gaming

 

[rewindlabs]

If your not gaming then its fine...if you plan on gaming money could be better spent on a different cpu/mobo/ram configuration

And hell no your system doesn't rate a "~5" in gaming....i would give it slightly above 0

Depending on what kind of work you are doing money could still probably be better spent....you most likely don't NEED to go intel and you probably don't need 6gbs of ram and you don't need a dedicated gpu...see what im getting at...

 

[stormus08]

It is Vista 64, and I'm not really gaming on it as much as multi tasking... I would however like to be ABLE to game on it when titles such as Starcraft 2 and Diablo III come out-- On what settings I could care less.

 

[rewindlabs]

I still don't see the 3650 being a low detail worth it card....why don't you just build your own machine...considering this is most likely pre built


what is your resolution?

 

[stormus08]

This was pre-built. Kinda a give away when I said it was a Dell no? (I'm not smart enough to build my own computer, at least from a financial perspective, if I was do you think I would be on here asking people for there advice ? lol). My resolution is currently set at 1360 x 786 -- It's worth noting it's on a widescreen LCD however.

 

[japps2]

Unfortunately you already bought the computer...you should of asked this question here before buying. Dell is way overpriced and makes a ton of money when you "upgrade" components. You could have build a better system (especially for gaming) for around $600. What resolution is your monitor? you could always replace the videocard with a better one (~$180 for 4870 1GB) and play games for the forseeable future.

 

[japps2]

Stormus,
there are numerous people on these boards and stickys that would have walked you through building your own. The big problem I've had with Dell in the past is they used to use proprietary motherboards and parts that would prohibit you from just walking into Fry's and buying another videocard and upgrading it yourself. I don'ty know if they are still doing that, but make sure if you want to buy a part to upgrade.

 

[stormus08]

Like I said previously, the new computer is not for gaming. I needed a computer for work and school, all I had previously was a laptop.

However, I was coming here to see if the computer showed any potential for gaming in the near future (wether that be by way of replacing the Video card or other components-- Which I have no problem with, considering this computer was bought FOR me as a late graduation gift) So this really wasn't by choice, Like i said I was given it. Just curious is all .

 

[rewindlabs]

You could have built a computer not aimed entirely at gaming for a cheaper price and the same performance...trust me there was no good reason to go prebuilt and there still is not don't try to fool yourself

And no you won't need to spend 180$ for a graphics card....good thing is you can spend around 70$ to a 100$ and get a graphics card that can MAX out games like fallout 3 with MAX and i mean MAX settings and get great framerates....so by the time these games you want to play are released just come on back here....your cpu should be enough for those games and you will just need a sub 100$ graphics card for that resolution...

 

[stormus08]

You could have built a computer not aimed entirely at gaming for a cheaper price and the same performance...trust me there was no good reason to go prebuilt and there still is not don't try to fool yourself

And no you won't need to spend 180$ for a graphics card....good thing is you can spend around 70$ to a 100$ and get a graphics card that can MAX out games like fallout 3 with MAX and i mean MAX settings and get great framerates....so by the time these games you want to play are released just come on back here....your cpu should be enough for those games and you will just need a sub 100$ graphics card for that resolution...

Alright, well thank you. I understand building your own computer is not only more economical but also more intelligent from a consumer's perspective. You are making it sounds as if I have (at least some) components around computer that (with the mildly-cheap upgrade of the video card) it can end up being a decent gaming-computer.

As a time table, a game I was also looking forward to (that actually has a set release date unlike all of Blizzards upcoming products) is BattleField 1943 , which comes out in early September. I also occasionally play Team Fortress 2 on maxed settings and run avg of 80 FPS -- which is fine for me, but outside of that I don't really game much anymore. Thank you for your assistance though!

 

[rewindlabs]

Alright, well thank you. I understand building your own computer is not only more economical but also more intelligent from a consumer's perspective. You are making it sounds as if I have (at least some) components around computer that (with the mildly-cheap upgrade of the video card) it can end up being a decent gaming-computer.

As a time table, a game I was also looking forward to (that actually has a set release date unlike all of Blizzards upcoming products) is BattleField 1943 , which comes out in early September. I also occasionally play Team Fortress 2 on maxed settings and run avg of 80 FPS -- which is fine for me, but outside of that I don't really game much anymore. Thank you for your assistance though!

I was looking forward to 1943 until i found out it was some damned console port 1942 isn't so bad if you have a friend over on lan and tack a modern mod onto it and go for some big bot matches....BF2 isn't the worst when it comes to running a 60 bot server with a friend either

Yeah you have a pretty good system for gaming although overclocking the cpu would definitely give you some more gaming performance...you should take a look into software overclocking considering you most likely have overclocking options locked in your bios....

Yeah just come back by the time that game is released and we will make sure your psu can support the upgrade and find you the best price vs performance card at that time

 

[stormus08]

How do I overclock my system or check if I have the options in my BIOs? This is something I'm quite unfamiliar with ...

 

[aford10]

It's unlikely you're going to have many OC options because it's a Dell. They tend to have very limited BIOSs.

You can go on their website and look through the forums.

 

[Helloworld_98]

well try setFSB first as it's probably the easiest way you're going to be able to OC.

 

[rewindlabs]

Yeahp i was trying not to go over your head...your dell is locked...but applications like SETFSB and Clockgen allow you to increase the FSB on your cpu to overclock it...google fsb if your not sure what it is...

Just be sure to compare temps as you don't want to burn anything up...but since you can't increase voltages you shouldn't have a problem

 

[stormus08]

I don't know what you mean by 'setFSB' -- I'm not even positive what overclocking entails, If I'm correct it has something to do with pressing your computer beyond it's designed limitations. Essentially, it's seeing what the top performance your cpu can run at safely ? I can read through DELL forums but any help here on how I "overclock" would be fantastic.

 

[Helloworld_98]

setfsb and clockgen are overclocking software.

 

[boulard83]

heres my brand new HTPC that im building...

Total cost : 600$ ( canadian )

E5200 ( will oc to 3.2-3.4 )
Asus P5Q
2x2gb G-skill DDR2 800
HIS HD4850 512mb
WD Caviar Black 640
500Watts PSU ( standard brand. not too cheap)

As few told ... you should have asked here BEFORE buying...

 

[aford10]

^ good point, but it's already been made. OP already purchased, so it's a moot point.

 

[stormus08]

heres my brand new HTPC that im building...

Total cost : 600$ ( canadian )

E5200 ( will oc to 3.2-3.4 )
Asus P5Q
2x2gb G-skill DDR2 800
HIS HD4850 512mb
WD Caviar Black 640
500Watts PSU ( standard brand. not too cheap)

As few told ... you should have asked here BEFORE buying...

Thanks for bringing a lot to the conversation with this post. I like redundancy as much as the next person but please, next time spare me. Did you neglect to read the post where I stated that I didn't buy it... It was basically a gift. So in laments terms you spent 600 more $ on your CPU then I did. Thanks.


Anyways, to these other post -- I'll do some research tonight about FSB and overclocking. Until then, have a good one and thanks.

 

[boulard83]

Agreed that a lil OC at this Q8300 is going to be a nice thing.

If you plan on playing newer games, a new GPU can help.

 

[rewindlabs]

Thanks for bringing a lot to the conversation with this post. I like redundancy as much as the next person but please, next time spare me. Did you neglect to read the post where I stated that I didn't buy it... It was basically a gift. So in laments terms you spent 600 more $ on your CPU then I did. Thanks.


Anyways, to these other post -- I'll do some research tonight about FSB and overclocking. Until then, have a good one and thanks.

Don't worry storm if you have problems just private message me and il walk you through it whilst keeping it simple and not throwing complicated terms over your head just keep it simple and to the point...

I use Clockgen for one of my gaming pcs...its a prebuilt like yours but its from lenovo....lenovo locked my motherboard just like dell locked yours but by simply downloading and installing clockgen and turning one little slider up and clicking apply my cpu went from 2.2ghz to 2.6ghz and my avg fps in games went up by 3 or more....loading times decreased and stutters became non existent...