Building a new rig - Is quad core still the best?

[SkScotchegg]

Hi there, when looking at the bundles of ram+cpu+mobo on OCUK website they all seem to come with "CPU: Intel Core i3 550 3.20GHz @ 4.00GHz" for example, and I believe that CPU is duel core, not quad core? am building a PC for a friend and just wondered does it really matter these days if its duel core or quad core or are some of the duel cores actually faster? whats the deal?

Thanks in advance.

 

[zebedeee]

the 6 core is the best now, that been the i7 975 or the 980x
shortly there will be the 990x but for now the i7 980x is the one thats topping the charts for the 6 core family as it's the better 1 to overclock

however that been said the i7 2500k seems to be a favourite atm in terms of speeds etc

 

[SkScotchegg]

Well its just, when I went to get my PC 2 years ago, and buy all the parts, I just knew at the time that everyone was raving about quad core, and so I bought a 2.2ghz quad core CPU, and now 2 years later, am just wondering do I just do the same thing, go and buy an intel CPU, and make sure its quad core?

Or can you get duel cores better then quad core?

the bundle I was looking at is this one: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-042-OE

Thanks in advance.

 

[zebedeee]

intels quad cores are the best yes, the i7 family has topped the market now.

you won't get a better chip than an i7, atleast not yet..

tho some i7's are a little loose round the waist if you know what i mean specially when it comes to over clocking, the i7 980x is the better 1 to overclock and is mainly used in the gamers community for the overclocking stability etc, but the i7 950 is 1 of the nicer ones to over clock that is affordable, the 980x tends to be rather high in the price range at £700-£800

but saying all this i'm told the i7 2500k is very nice on speeds etc and but you'll need to know what market you're going to aim for as they have different sockets, 1 been the 1155 socket or the 1156 socket and the other having the 1366 socket

The i3 processors are starting to be a little dated now but it is cheap from looks of it

 

[Blue160]

Obviously money no object a six core i7 is best. If you are on a budget though other considerations come in to play. The i3 has hyperthreading so behaves a lot like a quad core, clocks extremely well and is relatively cheap. For those willing to spend a bit more a quad core i5, or i7 or Phenom offers better all round performance. I reckon most people have quads at the moment because it's the best trade off between price and performance.

 

[welshdragon]

What will your friend be using the pc for? Quad core is definately the way forward as more and more games utilising it. If it is just gaming he intends I would go the AMD route!

 

[Blue160]

Dual core will be good for most games, Quad will be great for all games. Six cores if you are doing lots of rendering or encoding. For non gaming home PC's an Athlon II X3 is a great compromise.

 

[welshdragon]

This:

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £109.99

Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3 MA770 (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £59.99

Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £44.99

Titan Fenrir Evo CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1155/LGA1366/AMD K8/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £32.99

Something like this. The 955 will clock nicely and the cooler is very good. Total cost £250.

The above mobo does not crossfire so if that a potential option a different board is needed. Much better bundle for barely £20 more than the i3. The phenoms are easy to oc with the unlocked multi too!

 

[zebedeee]

This:

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £109.99

Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3 MA770 (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £59.99

Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £44.99

Titan Fenrir Evo CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1155/LGA1366/AMD K8/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £32.99

Something like this. The 955 will clock nicely and the cooler is very good. Total cost £250.

The above mobo does not crossfire so if that a potential option a different board is needed. Much better bundle for barely £20 more than the i3. The phenoms are easy to oc with the unlocked multi too!

and id you royr ****ed as a s skunkj the settle form an i7 1366 socket, they masy not be the fastest but thhey will beat the pants off an i5

edit- srry i'm i have just got home form a partyty and don'y understand too well atm/...... think i's better go sober up