E7400 vs Q9550

To me it would be worth getting the quad if you do not plan on any other upgrades for the next year or so.

If you are planning to upgrade sooner than that then save the money for the full rebuild.

I assume you have a good CPU cooler since you are already overclocking? If so I believe you can go over 3.4 on the quad easily.

Yes.....I dont plan on upgrading my computer for some time. So that is why I am considering this buy. Any other info is welcome, the more I get the better! Thanks!

IF you game at high resolutions then the quad will be a much better choice.
IMO You should get the quad.
Plus you'll get some money by selling that E7500.

Yes.....I game at 1920x1080 resolution. So if that would make a bigger difference than if I gamed at 1280x1024 or something then that is good. Thanks for the input! Please.....any other info would be great!

More and more game releases won't be able stretch their legs without a quad

+1 for going for it!

Quad is the future.More and more games will need quad.
Duals will not survive much longer.
And C2Q series match PhenomII's in performance.

Read these articles:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/multi-core-cpu,2280...

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-cores-performan...

Go for it under ONE condition, and that is if you plan to keep that rig for 2 years +, otherwise, if you're planning on getting a new machine over the next year, stick with the dual-core, it'll serve you well until then.

Yes.....I plan on keeping this rig for at least appox 2 years. I at least dont plan on upgrading within the next year thats for sure. If anything......I would only switch out graphics cards within the next 2 years. I would like to think that everything else would last for 2 years.

then i would go for the good deal on that Quad, it'll serve you well and is still considered a good chip. Also, it'll benefit you later down the road if you decide to upgrade to a batter GPU.

I am also thinking on picking up another 4gb memory while I am over there....what you think?

I don't think that you'll benefit much from an extra 4GB of RAM. The original 4GB that you have is more than enough for Win 7 64-bit, it would be like $60.00 for minimal gains. maybe invest in an aftermarket HS/F for extreme overclocking (if you don't already have one)

I know this may sound bazzar, but have you considered checking on ebay if you can pick the CPU up for even cheaper - used? Seen as the new line of i7 have come out, and new sockets... They tend to be way cheaper then retail.

Just my 2c's.

Yeah.....it is going to be $83 to order another 4gb kit (2x2gb) off newegg actually. I already have a really good heatsink though. Think you are probably right and I will probably just stick with the 4gb. Either save that money or put it towards something else that doesnt involve my computer.....lol

save the 83$$$ and use it towards a new video card when they come out or get an ATI 5870. That Quad should be able to handle any GPU solution out there... or get another Nvidia card and go SLI.

Don't buy anymore RAM.
DDR2 are expensive nowadays.

If you feel the need later just buy some cheap Second hand RAM.

Yeah, its good to go onto ebay and pick up used RAM, or new Generic RAM. I've seen a pair of Crucial Balisitc ram sell for $22 bucks on ebay, (2x2GB) with the heatsinks. I felt like crap.

^Wow!

Dang.....

Although if there's any major problems with the item, it maybe hard to get you money back...

Tell ME about it. I almost cried.

Well.....I got the processor but just put it in a couple of hours ago. Have only done some slight testing but I am happy with the performance so far. A couple of my games dont seem to have some of the fps dips they had with the e7400. I will have to do some more tests though to see how this baby is running!

I currently have it running at 3.4ghz (400x8.5) and that is where it is staying. I tried to get 3.6-3.8ghz but it wasnt stable and I dont want to spend the time tweaking to get it stable.....lol. My temps are a little higher then they were with the e7400 but I was expecting that. They overall are still really good for the OC I am running though.

I did pass on the extra 4gb ram from Newegg as well....I agree that it really wouldnt be worth it. Maybe sometime down the road for the hell of it. (tax return or something) But I think my system is pretty future proof for now.....if anything, maybe replace gfx cards in a year or so but I think everything else to do until my next build "X" years from now.

I want to thank all of you for your info that you gave, it really did help me in my decisions. Its nice I can come here and get advice that matters!

Thanks Again!


*On a side note, my Windows 7 performance index went from 6.8 on CPU and memory to 7.4 with the new processor! So now I am at 7.4 across the board except my HD is 5.3...(IDE drive but it gets the job done!)*

so who gets voted best answer?  

Why of course... Me. Who else? (me or you die.)

Now now... lets not kill anyone for best answer.  

Me of course....

I have bigger balls then you... Don't make me take them out and make yours shiver down to peanuts son.... just don't.

OP give the best answer to my frnd Godbrother....
He'll like it more than I will.

What is the spec on your HD?