What to get Q9400 or E8400?

[JrRacinFan]

Simple answer: Get the quad, more threads are always a plus.

 

[aCid888*]

As I said before, get a new PSU before you bother upgrading anything else.

Chieftec 450W.....if it even stays alive long enough to put out close to 450w I would trust it as the ripple will be stupid. :shadedshu

 

[francis511]

For games like gta 4 and last remnant , a dual core just isn`t enough. But i5 or phenom II are the obvious ways to upgrade to quad.

 

[JackAttack]

For games like gta 4 and last remnant , a dual core just isn`t enough. But i5 or phenom II are the obvious ways to upgrade to quad.

What a statement. "Just isn't enough"...lol) Where do you get your information from?
I just got GTA4 last night and it plays flawlessly on my rig. I have MORE than enough power to play that game (which is a childish game anyways, stinks so bad I gave it to my kid)
Yea...I'm overclocked, thats the benefit of the e8400.
I don't see the reason to go to quad when the software of today doesn't require it.

Heres COD Multiplayer maxed out because the game is capped at 91 fps max

Heres COD MW2 Singleplayer

 

[newtekie1]

What a statement. "Just isn't enough"...lol) Where do you get your information from?
I just got GTA4 last night and it plays flawlessly on my rig. I have MORE than enough power to play that game (which is a childish game anyways, stinks so bad I gave it to my kid)
Yea...I'm overclocked, thats the benefit of the e8400.
I don't see the reason to go to quad when the software of today doesn't require it.

Heres COD Multiplayer maxed out because the game is capped at 91 fps max
http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/uu299/Demcovich/Computers/iw4mpJpg2010-01-0211-41-46-00.jpg

Heres COD MW2 Singleplayer
http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/uu299/Demcovich/Computers/iw4spJpg2010-01-0211-56-28-18.jpg

When you start to jack the settings up in GTA4, a quad definitely becomes necessary, especially if you leave the instant replay feature enabled(forgot what it is actually called since I haven't played the game in so long). However, the game is definitely playable and enjoyable on a dual-core for sure, and still looks amazing, the insane settings that GTA4 allows are...well insane. They really go beyond what is necessary. The developers pretty much just unlocked the highest settings the engine is capable of, just as a sort of "hey, look at what it can do" sort of thing. While most game developers cap the max settings far lower than what the engine is actually capable of to make sure that the highest settings are playable on mid-range rigs.

I find that dual-core owners really like to defend the dual-core processor. And they tend to use a lot of false logic to do it. Yes, the E8400 can overclock, but so can the Q9400. Now, the Q9400 tends to hit slighly lower speeds, due to the lower multipler mostly, but 3.6GHz isn't a stretch on the OP's P45 board.

Most dual-core owners like to talk about how there isn't anything currently out today that they can't max out. And while that might be true, there are already games that come very close. So what happens in a year? Is the dual-core still going to be enough to max out games? No. It is barely enough now. So why not go with a quad? If you are making an upgrade, there really is no good reason not to go with a quad, short of price, which doesn't apply here since the E8400 and Q9400 are the same price. The Q9400@3.6GHz will last a lot longer than the E8400@4.0GHz. Really, there isn't anything on the market today that can't be maxed out with even a 3.6GHz dual, which the Q9400 is and then some. The games that will need the extra power in the future, will also be games that benefit from 4+ cores...

And as for the screenshots, COD4 and MW2 aren't really CPU intense games to start out with. On top of that, the single player one is in the training part of the game, where there are no computer generated players/enemies. Once you start to add those in, the CPU usage goes up. In your screenshots, the CPU is likely going mostly idle. Multi-player has not computer controlled enemies, and neither does the training section of the singleplayer. However, games like GTA4, with hundreds of computer controlled people and computer controlled cars, and physics with detailed destructable cars tend to really eat up the CPU.

 

[JackAttack]

And as for the screenshots, COD4 and MW2 aren't really CPU intense games to start out with. On top of that, the single player one is in the training part of the game, where there are no computer generated players/enemies. Once you start to add those in, the CPU usage goes up. In your screenshots, the CPU is likely going mostly idle. Multi-player has not computer controlled enemies, and neither does the training section of the singleplayer. However, games like GTA4, with hundreds of computer controlled people and computer controlled cars, and physics with detailed destructable cars tend to really eat up the CPU.

Most likely going idle? LOL, ok then

I think not...heres a different single player shot "IN ACTION" as you suggested. How's that.
Hmmm...the "future".
And when the time comes that a Dual Core doesn't keep up, I'll just go to an i7. For less than a thousand dollars I can get one up and running...chicken feed.
I just can't see wasting the money now when it's not necessary. Especially on a Socket 775 processor.
In his case though, the prices are the same, so it's a moot point. Hey, buy the Quad if you think thats faster. I don't think so.

 

[Fishymachine]

so you don't think that people created a game that's severely bottlenecked by a dual core(unless it's cooler by LN2) and more importantly that they won't continue doing that in the next couple of months...by they way did you also defended FX when 8800GTX and Crysis just ruler out?

 

[newtekie1]

Most likely going idle? LOL, ok then

I think not...heres a different single player shot "IN ACTION" as you suggested. How's that.
Hmmm...the "future".
And when the time comes that a Dual Core doesn't keep up, I'll just go to an i7. For less than a thousand dollars I can get one up and running...chicken feed.
I just can't see wasting the money now when it's not necessary. Especially on a Socket 775 processor.
In his case though, the prices are the same, so it's a moot point. Hey, buy the Quad if you think thats faster. I don't think so.


http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/uu299/Demcovich/Computers/iw4spJpg2010-01-0217-36-15-56.jpg

Actually, the CPU is still probably going quite idle in the shot, or any COD shot you can show. Why? Because FPSers don't tend to use the CPU all that much, the exception being ones that have extremely high levels of physic.

The games that do need the power, will use the Quad, and it will be faster. The games that still play maxed out on a dual will play maxed out on a slower clocked quad.

You want something to really show something, how about the CPU usage while I was playing Prototype:

It is nearly maxing out all 4 cores. A dual-core, even at 4.0GHz, would not handle Prototype at max settings like my quad is capable of.

 

[Solaris17]

id get the quad. 775 doesnt matter. lets face facts. most 775 procs even when not OC'd can match or beat their amd counterparts. quad allows for better upgrade paths graphics wise. etc. i dont see 775 as dead as of yet. i see i5 and i7 as entusiest builds were as 775 is highend and can easily hold demand. Now i strongly disagree with the dual core statment. from my 6400 (3.9Ghz) 2x E7200's (4.5Ghz) my old brisbane x2 (3.0ghz) my 6400+ x2 3.2Ghz compaired to 2x Q6600's some amd quad to my i7 that more cores always helps. in games and other things. the desktop might not feel more snappy but everything else does. What do i honestly think? the people that are complaining are butt hurt because they are still running dual cores and athey are getting tired of seeing threads that say omg dual core is uber old upgrade the more the merrier and its needed. at which point their cliche response is omething like "no its not their are like 0 multi threaded apps and all my games run fine please disregard my chip had to be at 5ghz under ln2 with 4 295's to make it happen though" "and ya thats why i think dual core is te roxors because with no AA and medium detail at 1440x900 my mw2 rockz and i beat all the 14 yr/o's online. kthnx" -dual core fanboi.

 

[[H]@RD5TUFF]

OK i want to upgrade my CPU and i have a great deal on E8400 and Q9400 (both have the same price). So i was wondering which one to get - the Duo or the Quad, the 4 cores or the 2 cores?
I will be using the CPU with my current system in the specs. I use my PC mainly for gaming and Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. And i will OC the CPU.
Oh and will the PSU be enough

Having owened both, of the two I would recommend the E8400, it overclocks like a dream you can reach 3.8 - 4 GHZ with little effort and offten on 1.3625 voltage, the advantage of quad core is only atainable with multi threaded apps , and most games and regular programs only use 2 cores if they are multi threaded. If you use Photoshop, Illistrator, Maya, ect. You may be slightly better served with the quad core, but an E 8400 at 4 GHZ will easily slap the quad core around. As for over clocking the Q9400 it was temprimental in my experience. Also I had a hell of a time getting it past 3.3 GHZ and having it be stable if you really want to go quad core, I recomend just spending the extra money and grabbing a Q9550 or Q9650, the Q9550 carrys double the L2 cash, and costs only about 60 dollars more, and I have been able to push my Q 9650 to a rock solid 4.1 GHZ, and the difference between a Q9550 and Q9650 is rather minimal.
I would also for sure replace the PSU, with a more reputable brand preferably. Antec, Corsair, Cooler Master, Silverstone, Theramltake, Zalaman are all brads I highly recommend. Brands such as BFG, Gigabyte, Kingwin, OCZ, Rosewill, XFX, though make tempting offerings, I would recomend you stay far away from them.

A couple of good all around PSU's from a good reliable manufacturers I can recomend are:
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153052
SILVERSTONE ST56F 560W ATX : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817163112
COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS-500 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171031

Hope this is helpfull with your upgrades.

 

[EastCoasthandle]

That's some good info!

 

[[H]@RD5TUFF]

That's some good info!

I see you have an E 8400 if your interested in going past 3.6 GHZ check out this.