DualCore E5300 vs Core2 Duo E8400

[picur8572]

Hi!

I'm about to get a really cheap desktop computer for some basic music production until I can put together a more capable machine possibly later this year. Currently I use a laptop with Core2 Duo T8100 and 3GB DDR2 and it is enough for smaller projects but I'm fed up with unplugging everything whenever I want to take the laptop with myself. I've seen two machines, one with an E5300 and the other with an E8400. Both are small form factor ones with 4GB RAM. The one with the 8400 is 40% more expensive but I don't know whether it performs 40% better. According to benchmarks, even the E5300 is better than the T8100 but I'm a bit skeptical. Isn't DualCore too outdated?

I wouldn't have the 8400 if the 5300 can do as well as the laptop with T8100. Which one do you suggest?

 

[Ubrales]

You are right about Dual Core being outdated, and the performance comparisons that you made are also right! The E8400 while being faster will not perform 40% faster than the E5300.

Your best option is to hold off until you can build the right desktop.

 

[Guest]

[PCPartPicker part list](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/v8Gbxr) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/v8Gbxr/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646g3258) | £51.22 @ Dabs
**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte GA-Z97P-D3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz97pd3) | £62.36 @ Scan.co.uk
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl7d8gbxm) | £60.29 @ Amazon UK
**Storage** | [Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex) | £34.45 @ Aria PC
**Case** | [Cooler Master K350 ATX Mid Tower Case](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-rck350kwn2en) | £23.99 @ CCL Computers
**Power Supply** | [EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100w10500kr) | £33.20 @ Amazon UK
**Optical Drive** | [Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/lite-on-optical-drive-ihas12414) | £11.16 @ Aria PC
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | £276.67
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-09 15:05 GMT+0000 |

 

[synphul]

The e8400's weren't too bad and overclocked fairly well. I also had a machine with an e5300 although didn't attempt to overclock it. Even so it wasn't a huge noticeable difference between the two. The e8400 was faster, but not night and day. Can't say for sure regarding music production since they weren't used for that but performance in other things like photoshop was pretty similar. If this is just a temporary or short term solution, I'd save the money and go for the cheaper option. The performance gained, especially given they're both older cpu's and have lost a lot of their value should only be around a $15-20 difference at most.

 

[sora]

OP, the Intel Pentium G3258 is pretty much the newest and decent Dual Core processor out there.

 

[picur8572]

Thanks for all the answers, the E5300 machine is really cheap, around $90, so I think I'll take it