E8500 or Q9400

[Philipps]

Hi, I would like to change of processor for my new gaming system that I am planning to do.
E8500 or Q9400
I dont live in the USA so I cant buy a Q9550 as it will cost to me so much
Here the E8500 and Q9400 are same price,
I play crysis warhead,FSX,GTA4,combat arms,AO3...
Thanks for advices!

 

[nocteratus]

Will you OC the CPU?

Games like FSX and GTA4 will play better on quad compare to a dual. They're more CPU dependant than GPU.

If you do some video/image editing you're better with a quad.

More games will start to use all 4 cores.

So to anwser your question I think that you're better with the Q9400 as it should last you longer and be able to keep you computer longer.

I'm thinking to switch my E8400 with my Q6600 (OC to 3.0Ghz) for my gaming rig.

 

[notty22]

The Quad , good luck.

 

[Philipps]

Will you OC the CPU?

Games like FSX and GTA4 will play better on quad compare to a dual. They're more CPU dependant than GPU.

If you do some video/image editing you're better with a quad.

More games will start to use all 4 cores.

So to anwser your question I think that you're better with the Q9400 as it should last you longer and be able to keep you computer longer.

I'm thinking to switch my E8400 with my Q6600 (OC to 3.0Ghz) for my gaming rig.

If I change of processor I will not OC the processor, the Q9400 is only 2.66ghz and I saw on some benchmarks that the E8500 is better from some fps more. but I understand that quad cores are also good choice for future. ``and I dont know if I will have to change of operating system because now I have an E4600 and if I go for the Q9400 do you know if I have to change of operating system..?

 

[Philipps]

by the way how is your E8400 ??

 

[nocteratus]

my E8400 is stock now but I OC it once in a while to 3.6Ghz, it's great now for games but I think than my Q6600 OC to 3.0Ghz will give me better gameplay, I currently play games like Ovlivion, FSX, Crysis, AOE3, civ4 ...

I should see an increase with FSX but I don't expect much for the other games.

I'm starting to see the limits for my Dual Core CPU with some of my video/photo editing software.

 

[Philipps]

my E8400 is stock now but I OC it once in a while to 3.6Ghz, it's great now for games but I think than my Q6600 OC to 3.0Ghz will give me better gameplay, I currently play games like Ovlivion, FSX, Crysis, AOE3, civ4 ...

I should see an increase with FSX but I don't expect much for the other games.

I'm starting to see the limits for my Dual Core CPU with some of my video/photo editing software.

Well as I cannot overclock with my HP product :S...I think that I should wait that the Q9550 price goes down because Q9400 seems not having enough GHZ and cache or only buy a E8500 because i do not really edit videos or multitasking...I only play newest games.

 

[nocteratus]

a Q9400 is better than a Q6600, 2.66 vs 2.4 .

If you play only the latest games then in a few months when you'll get a quad optimize game and look at the bench mark and see that even a Q9400 get more fps than a e8500.

Now the E8500 looks good and better than a Q9400 but what will you think in 6 months from now?

FSX and GTA4 are quad optimize and you'll see a nice increase in fps, not a lot but maybe enough to make a difference.

While a quad-core CPU is probably a better bet for multi-purpose use, this Wolfdale-based processor sports a low 65 watt thermal envelope, which makes the E8500 a good choice for a low-power gaming PC or gaming HTPC.

source: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu,2492-4.html

 

[nocteratus]

But if you can wait for the Q9550, it'll better.

You should think about how long you'll want to keep this pc because if you'll change your pc in 1 year then it doesn't really matter what cpu you get now.
But if you want to keep your pc as long as possible then wait for the Q9550 or get the Q9400.

 

[Philipps]

But if you can wait for the Q9550, it'll better.

You should think about how long you'll want to keep this pc because if you'll change your pc in 1 year then it doesn't really matter what cpu you get now.
But if you want to keep your pc as long as possible then wait for the Q9550 or get the Q9400.

The Q9550 has 6mb of more and about 200mhz more, is the cache that much necessar? what is it useful for?

 

[nocteratus]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cache-size-matter,1709.html

an old article comparing c2d and different cache size...