Processor choice for new build

Discussion in 'Building a new PC' started by weaksnyc, Aug 14, 2009.

  1. weaksnyc

    weaksnyc Member

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    Hey everyone... sorry for asking for help before contributing, but I ran across this forum and thought it would be the perfect place for some advice.

    The last build I completed was over 5 years ago and was a Pentium 4... components were a lot easier to compare back then..

    Anyway, I've been looking at a few Pentium configs, and I can't settle on a cpu. My problem is I keep saying "It's only $10 more to get the next step up... ok but it's only $10 more to get the NEXT step up..." It just seems never ending, and I have no idea what the difference between a "Wolfdale" and a "Yorkshire" processor is...

    Does anyone recommend anything for a moderately priced rig built for current gen (and beyond) games and some moderate multi-tasking? My issue is finding a median between wimpy and overkill - but if the cheapest processor will handle my needs, I don't need to go much beyond that. I should note that I plan to run Win 7 64.

    Some processors I've been looking at that seem to be in the range I'm looking for are (as listed on Newegg), with red text for the processors im leaning towards:

    Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz LGA 775 65W $109.99
    Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz LGA 775 65W $119.99
    Intel Core 2 Duo E7600 Wolfdale 3.06GHz LGA 775 65W $149.99
    Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W $167.99
    Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W $189.99
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz LGA 775 95W $159.99
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W $169.99
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Yorkfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W $169.99
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W $189.99

    Thanks in advance!
     
  2. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    E7400 or Q8400, really. Don't waste money on a top-end dual core.
     
  3. weaksnyc

    weaksnyc Member

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    Appreciate the info... what's the reasoning behind not spending money on a high end dual core?
     
  4. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    because you end up paying twice as much for 20-30% extra performance.
     
  5. KillerBug

    KillerBug Active member

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    ...And most software that would need more power than 2GHZ is capable of multi-threading, and therefor would run better on a slower quad core anyhow.
     

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