I5 or core 2 duo.

[yogman]

Hello, I'm trying to figure out if i should put a

(Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8500 CPU @ 3.16GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit

or a

Intel® Core™ i5-661 3.33 GHz 4M L3 Cache LGA1156

in my computer.

I use my computer mostly for gaming.

some of my concerns are; the i5 has less cache than the core 2 duo, and the the i5 has slower bus speed.

if you want to look the the specs here they are:

core 2 duo
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=33911&processor=E8500&spec-codes=SLAPK,SLB9K

i5
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=43553&processor=i5-661&spec-codes=SLBNE

please reply, to help me decide!

 

[shortstuff_mt]

But other than price is there really anything that wrong with cyberpower?
i mean you can customize everything.

Yes, you have to spend extra for a quality PSU and RAM. They also don't give you good specs on the hard drive, so it's likely not a very good one. Like I said, they cut corners anywhere they can. The PSU is the one place to NOT cut corners. A quality PSU is the key to a stable, long-lasting system. You're paying a company to build you an average system when you could build a very nice system for the same price.

 

[yogman]

Yes, you have to spend extra for a quality PSU and RAM. They also don't give you good specs on the hard drive, so it's likely not a very good one. Like I said, they cut corners anywhere they can. The PSU is the one place to NOT cut corners. A quality PSU is the key to a stable, long-lasting system. You're paying a company to build you an average system when you could build a very nice system for the same price.

one the hard drive specs are clearly listed (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)

and two whats the PSU?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Those specs on the hard drive don't tell you what brand the drive is. Not all 500GB SATA II hard drives are equal. The one I put in the build above uses a single 500GB platter and is much faster than older units that use two 250GB platters. I don't know how else to tell you this other than to say I've been building systems for years and you can't tell everything from the vague descriptions on websites like CyberpowerPC.

PSU = Power Supply unit.

 

[yogman]

If i5 is keeping you from getting a good GPU then maybe you could look into i3? If you're an overclocker the i3 is a superb CPU (4ghz on stock cooler/voltage is possible) for the price. If you don't play any CPU dependant games (FSX, GTA IV) then a dual core will be fine, especially if you OC it.

Your dad is right, most games will see zero benefit from a quad core, but more and more new games are seeing benefit, so quad is becoming the norm for gamers.

Fyi cyberpower is greAt, its Dell and HP and others you need to watch out for. Make sure you can pick a PSU brand on cyberpower however.

FINALLY SOME AGREES THE CYBERPOWER IS OK!

 

[geofelt]

Listen to your dad. Show him this post.

Your proposed system is not so bad, but I think you can do better. Do you need to add in a OS to your costs?

I3 is vastly superior to the Core 2 It will adequately power a graphics card as good as a 5850 in most games. FSX and a handful of games might be an exception. Read this article showing the i3-530 compared to X4-965, i7-870, and X3-720 in stock and overclocked . The net of it is, that the performance difference among all of them is insignificant.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i3-gaming,2588.html

I would not buy the generic psu that cyberpower or anybody else offers, you are just asking for trouble.

Tell your dad that you want to build one yourself. It is not so hard to do, and he should be supportive of researching and doing it yourself. The experience is priceless. Online prices are reasonable, and you avoid the cyberpower markup. Good vendors like newegg will take back any component that is defective. Past that, you get the manufacturer's warranty on components, and that will often exceed the cyperpower typical 1 year warranty.

Post the build list here for comments and a check for compatibility.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

You have to spend an extra $65 to get a good Corsair PSU on your CyberpowerPC build. The 700W XremeGear PSU that is selected is not a quality unit.

 

[yogman]

If i5 is keeping you from getting a good GPU then maybe you could look into i3? If you're an overclocker the i3 is a superb CPU (4ghz on stock cooler/voltage is possible) for the price. If you don't play any CPU dependant games (FSX, GTA IV) then a dual core will be fine, especially if you OC it.

Your dad is right, most games will see zero benefit from a quad core, but more and more new games are seeing benefit, so quad is becoming the norm for gamers.

Fyi cyberpower is greAt, its Dell and HP and others you need to watch out for. Make sure you can pick a PSU brand on cyberpower however.

also what do you mean by a PSU brand?

 

[Guest]

If you don't play any CPU dependant games (FSX, GTA IV) then a dual core will be fine, especially if you OC it.

Your dad is right, most games will see zero benefit from a quad core, but more and more new games are seeing benefit, so quad is becoming the norm for gamers.

I wouldnt take the risk, games are becoming more demanding all the time. You'd be better off not benefiting from a quad core for a year or so if it means in a year from now you're secure. You do not want to spend near enough a 1,000 on a rig and then in a year you are suffering.

Also, a side note, my friend and I play battlefield 2 bad company, He has a E5200 whilst I have a Athlon II X4 620 - his loading is about 20-30 seconds longer than mine.

 

[Guest]

also what do you mean by a PSU brand?

A PSU from a respected brand, i.e. Corsair, OCZ, Cooler Master, Thermaltake, Antec amongst a few others.

 

[yogman]

Ok well thanks for all of your help!

i see review the post and make my decision on what i want to do, but first i need to get the rest of my funds. so thanks again!

p.s. How do you Close a posting?

 

[yogman]

like close this tread?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I don't think you can close it, but you can mark is as solved by selecting a "best answer".

 

[yogman]

Best answer selected by yogman.

 

[yogman]

wait one more question.

will 2 NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 1GB 16X PCI Express provide pretty awesome graphics?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Nope, that's what I said earlier. The GT 240 is a low-end GPU that won't perform well, even in SLI. A single ATI 5770 will provide better performance.

 

[yogman]

Nope, that's what I said earlier. The GT 240 is a low-end GPU that won't perform well, even in SLI. A single ATI 5770 will provide better performance.

so two of those would provide pretty awesome graphics?

 

[yogman]

or since i have a buget of less than 1000 would two 5450s provide pretty awesome graphics?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Using two of any graphics cards right off the bat doesn't make any sense. A multiple GPU system uses more power, runs hotter, and completely eliminates the possibility of adding another GPU later. Some games also don't scale well at all with multiple cards. The best option is to get the best SINGLE GPU you can afford. If you have the money for two 5770's, then you would be better off going with a 5850.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

or since i have a buget of less than 1000 would two 5450s provide pretty awesome graphics?

No, using two low-end 5450's isn't any better than two low-end GT 240's. A single 5770 is about the best you can do at your budget. If you got my system I suggested above you could add another 5770 later. I chose a motherboard and power supply that would allow that upgrade path on purpose.

 

[Guest]

so two of those would provide pretty awesome graphics?

The GT240 isnt very powerful even in SLI its isnt great.

The 5770 is decent, it isnt "amazing" but is able to play most games well. I would still shoot for a 58xxx series if your budget allows.

 

[yogman]

Ok so is it better to get one higher end graphics card or two medium graphics cards?

 

[yogman]

You have to spend an extra $65 to get a good Corsair PSU on your CyberpowerPC build. The 700W XremeGear PSU that is selected is not a quality unit.

Ok so is it better to get one higher end graphics card or two medium graphics cards?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I thought I just gave my opinion on that subject. It's always best to get the best single GPU you can afford. Using multiple cards from the get-go isn't a good idea IMO. I still haven't seen you tell us what resolution your monitor runs at and what games you want to play. Those are the main considerations when choosing a graphics card.

 

[yogman]

I thought I just gave my opinion on that subject. It's always best to get the best single GPU you can afford. Using multiple cards from the get-go isn't a good idea IMO. I still haven't seen you tell us what resolution your monitor runs at and what games you want to play. Those are the main considerations when choosing a graphics card.

well, sense i haven't actually bought the computer or the monitor, so i dont really know what the resolution is going to be.
but what single graphics card would you suggest and ill tell you if i can afford it.

 

[Guest]

Ok so is it better to get one higher end graphics card or two medium graphics cards?

It depends on the medium card, it might be better to have two 5750s or 5770s in crossfire than a single 4870X2 or 5830/5850 for example. In some situations two 5750s or 5770s can be cheaper than a single high end card whilst performing almost the same.

But the GT240 isnt "medium" its low end by today's standards.