the dual core and quad core here are similarly priced, i was wondering which processor would be more powerful in a mid-range gaming rig (not taking into consideration overclock potential)
Depends. For clock speed bound games go E8400 for CPU bound games that will benefit from Quad (like GTAIV) go Q8200. If using multi threaded apps (encoding, renderings,etc) go Quad.
Message edited by Shadow703793 on 09-20-2009 at 04:36:47 AM
+1 For the quad core.
If you need more speed out of it, you can easily overclock it to 3Ghz+.
------------------------------If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce today would cost $100, get a million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.
PSA
Reply to outlw6669
I read somewhere the Q8200 was lame at overclocking due to the already-high FSB speeds (limiting the max FSB overclock).
That is somewhat true due to the Q8200 only having a 7x multiplier.
You should still, however, have no issues reaching at least 2.8Ghz (7x400Mhz) on all but the most extreme budget (or MSI) boards.
An even better option would be the 2.66Ghz Q8400 for $169.99 (only $2 more than the E8400).
That chip will have no issues reaching a minimum of 3.2Ghz on just about every motherboard.
If you end up getting a better Motherboard and RAM your maximum overclock for either CPU will be quite a bit higher.
I would expect any current ASUS or Gigabyte P45 based motherboard to carry you at least to 450Mhz FSB with out to much coaching.
------------------------------If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce today would cost $100, get a million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.
PSA
Reply to outlw6669
At Q8400 price ranges there are solid Phenom II X4s (3.0 or 3.2 GHz) CPUs which offer better performance than the Qxxx series. That is, assuming you're getting a new motherboard.
For $200 you can't overlook the i5, tho..