Intel CPU comparison help

[Hantheman]

Hi,

Shall I go for an Intel Core 2 Due E8500 (3GHz), or Quad 9400 (2.66GHz)?

Whole build is such-
Asus P5N-D SLI (nForce 750i chipset, Firewire)
4.0GB Corsair DDR2 800mhz XMS2 (2x 2GB)
500GB harddrive
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 896MB
700W power supply

 

[brakeinup]

What will you do with the system when its built? Gaming? Encoding?

 

[Hantheman]

Gaming

 

[jak731]

have you got any parts yet?

have you considered the AMD route if you dont have any parts

 

[Hantheman]

I've got no parts yet. What would you recommend for AMD then? I've got £700 to spend (inc. O/S)

 

[jak731]

try an AMD tricore based system, it will be more futureproof then LGA775

as a start
Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
OcUK Value GeForce GTX 260 "Core 216 55nm" 896MB GDDR3 Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail OcUK Value GeForce GTX 260 "Core 216 55nm" 896MB GDDR3 Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £149.99
(£130.43) £149.99
(£130.43)
AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720 Black Edition 2.8GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720 Black Edition 2.8GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £114.99
(£99.99) £114.99
(£99.99)
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (66I-01939) Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (66I-01939) £91.99
(£79.99) £91.99
(£79.99)
Biostar TSeries TA790GX 128M AMD 790GX (Socket AM2+) DDR2 Motherboard Biostar TSeries TA790GX 128M AMD 790GX (Socket AM2+) DDR2 Motherboard £78.19
(£67.99) £78.19
(£67.99)
Corsair VX 550W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-550VXUK) Corsair VX 550W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-550VXUK) £72.98
(£63.46) £72.98
(£63.46)
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD6401AALS) Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD6401AALS) £63.24
(£54.99) £63.24
(£54.99)
Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2 PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x2GB) Dual Channel Kit (TWIN2X4096-8500C5) Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2 PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x2GB) Dual Channel Kit (TWIN2X4096-8500C5) £39.99
(£34.77) £39.99
(£34.77)
Sub Total : £531.62
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £81.24
Total : £622.86

needs case

 

[ssmacc]

Sorry to jump in but does the AM3 CPU fit in a AM2+ moatherboard? (some PhenII state AM2+ and some don't)

 

[karl01]

If you are going to mainly game go for the E8500 its much better than the AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720 Black Edition.

 

[jak731]

the phenomII compete directly with the 45nm core2 range of CPUs, and since games are starting to use multicores slowly, the tricore is more then a match for the e8500. the other advantage is potentially how future-proof each socket is, LGA775 is nearing its end, while AM2+/am3 is still relatively new, this means that unless AMD changes sockets for their CPUs very soon, the cpu should still fit in upcomming MBs while upcoming AMD CPUs have a good chance of the MB

 

[karl01]

After reading this months edition of custom pc magazine one of the main articiles was a processor test on all current processors the intel E8500 came above the AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720 Black Edition on every test. Granted socket LGA775 is nearing its end but its still worth considing us i7 is very expensive.

 

[ssmacc]

After reading this months edition of custom pc magazine one of the main articiles was a processor test on all current processors the intel E8500 came above the AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720 Black Edition on every test. Granted socket LGA775 is nearing its end but its still worth considing us i7 is very expensive.

E8500 ~£170
AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720 ~£120

I'd hope its better...

 

[Hantheman]

So I guess I'll go with jak731's build (w case), are we sure it's all compatible?

 

[JonJ678]

Overclocking? I believe the gap between the tricore and the e8500 widens considerably (in favour of intel) when you do

 

[Hantheman]

I'm not planning on overclocking, I wouldn't know my arse from my elbow lol