Computer upgrade

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imunreal

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I have a choice between two intel processors.

Intel E8400 Core 2 Duo Processor - 3.00 GHz

Intel Q8400 Core 2 Quad Processor - 2.66 GHz

I mostly play WoW and rarely COD4, and from my knowledge these two only use 2 cores!

So would the Quad core actually help? or just stick with the dual core?

Sorry if this was asked before =/
 
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imunreal

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ALSO I am already running these games at max settings with 30-35 frames but I would like to upgrade for more frames and for future games as well! Although I spend about 95% of my gaming time on WoW ne way =/

FYI I am using a GTX 260 so if a graphics card will increase my WoW performance recommend one please :p (would prefer Nvidia cause I will be gettin 3D Vision soon)
 
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imunreal

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I am not confident on what I am doing in the BIOS to overclock, so i try my best to stay away from it :p

And my budget is at £180 willing to go to £200

BTW Thank you for the fast replies :)
 
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moody89

moody89

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Below is a good guide to the basics of overclocking the C2D and C2Q chips. It's not really all that complicated and will definitely prolong the life of your CPU. Often it will buy you another year or so worth of performance if you overclock well, and by that time you will probably want to go with a new motherboard RAM etc. as well.

As some of the folks above have said, for the games you play it may not be worth spending that much money on a new processor when you pay still be able to squeeze out more performance on your current chip. The other thing you have to consider is that the LGA775 socket that the Core2 chips use is now more or less dead. So do you really want to spend £150+ on a socket that won't have any more upgrade paths after the C2Q? Realistically, how long will it be until you want to upgrade your system again, maybe with DDR3 memory and a new motherboard?

It may just be worth you going for the overclock at the moment and when you do eventually decide you want to upgrade you can grab a new motherboard, memory and processor that will have upgrade paths in the future. You could go for an i5 or i7 system or if you're on a tighter budget then an AMD Phenom II X4 etc. would perform really well for gaming.

I know I've gone on a bit with those post but just another option to think about! Hope this helps!
 
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Raidur

Raidur

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Ah ic, well I'm from the US, and the best priced quad core here is the Q9400. WoW as you said is a dual core optimized game, and since that is your main game you might do better with a higher clocked dual core. The E8400 is an outstanding CPU and overclocker.

If you want to look into overclocking there is a C2D guide in the overclocking section of the forums. It is quite easy to get a mediocre overclock (with just 1 or 2 changes)

Wish I could be better help but I'm unaware of prices/deals in that area/currency.

Something of note: The Core2 series are a bit overpriced due to production and are on the 775 socket which is having zero new CPUs added. They still perform on par with newer CPUs for gaming so that isn't a worry, just saying. :)
 
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imunreal

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moody89 thanx for the info! Really helpful!

Main reason I am upgrading atm is that I will be gettin Nvidia 3D Vision soon and I want to up my performance so that I can play in 3D while sitting max with good frames!

I still wanna no which one is better incase the OC wont give me the performance boost that I need
 
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imunreal

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Thanx for the reply raidur, since saying that I may go for the E8400 after I try to oc my current processor!

But from previous google searches, I have found that I cna actually oc my processor to 3ghz easily! Would getting an E8400 actually be worth the £150 (roughly $229)

 
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moody89

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If it were me, I would attempt the overclock first. With a decent aftermarket cooler at about £30, you should be able to get your 2.4Ghz chip up to about 3.0GHz which would put it nearly on par with the E8400 you were looking at. The chip you have overclocks very well from what I've heard so I'd be tempted to try that.

See how long that gets you and then if you feel you need to upgrade again in the future then you can weigh up your options then and see whats best. Good luck whatever you decide to do!
 
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