What should i look for in a CPU for gaming

[bonanza318]

Hello. I am currently new to the quad core and tripple core.

I've spent 2 days learning about the new technology that i have been behind. But I am planning on playing the most high graphic games aka "crysis" or "spore" And yess i know those require alot.

I am currently looking at a CPU's for now. I know that i will need a fast video card and a good 2GB ram.

But All this CPU info has cause a mess in my confusion of what to look for.
So really, What should i look for to play MMROPG/HIGH GRAPHIC GAMES.

Clock Core? Bus speed? perhaps L2 Cache ?

It be a great help also if someone recommend a nice CPU on top.


edit*

I found - Intel duel E7200,1066MHz system bus, 3MB L2 cache and 2.53GHz, 4GB ddr2
and - AMD Phenom%u2122 Triple-Core Processor 8400 System Bus 2000MHz, 3GB ddr2

both have a balance in some way. but which is better for gaming ?

 

[fatty35]

I would not go with amd if I was you. Are you going to overclock? The Intel E8400 would be your best bet for gaming .etc as it has 2x the L2 cache as the E7200 & a higher stock FSB hence being more future proof in games and apps at stock. Both chips however overclock like champs with good cooling.

 

[royalcrown]

what you should look for in a cpu is...transistors !

 

[dragonsprayer]

first you should overclock your cpu to max performance

next if you multi task get a quad

finally spend more on gpu's and psu the cpu really does not matter if you got 2 cd2 cores at 3.2-3.6ghz

 

[gamecrazychris]

Since you chose the e7200 your probably on a budget but I think if you can afford it get either the e8400 or the q9450(what I have) just don't skimp on the graphics card, if you had to chose between the extra $100 or so between the cpu and graphics card go for the graphics because you'll see more of a difference(in games) than with a faster cpu.

 

[darkguset]

Hello. I am currently new to the quad core and tripple core.

I've spent 2 days learning about the new technology that i have been behind. But I am planning on playing the most high graphic games aka "crysis" or "spore" And yess i know those require alot.

I am currently looking at a CPU's for now. I know that i will need a fast video card and a good 2GB ram.

But All this CPU info has cause a mess in my confusion of what to look for.
So really, What should i look for to play MMROPG/HIGH GRAPHIC GAMES.

Clock Core? Bus speed? perhaps L2 Cache ?

It be a great help also if someone recommend a nice CPU on top.


edit*

I found - Intel duel E7200,1066MHz system bus, 3MB L2 cache and 2.53GHz, 4GB ddr2
and - AMD Phenom%u2122 Triple-Core Processor 8400 System Bus 2000MHz, 3GB ddr2

both have a balance in some way. but which is better for gaming ?

You should check Tom's CPU performance charts as a first step to understand their performance.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/cpu-charts-2007/prey,387.html?p=1269%2C1308%2C1306%2C1267%2C1265%2C1274%2C1263%2C1240%2C1238%2C1255%2C1230%2C1303%2C1298%2C1293%2C1296%2C1292%2C1227%2C1223%2C1222%2C1280%2C1279%2C1287%2C1286%2C1314%2C1315%2C1311

Then you should probably get an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400, as it is very cheap, should last you until Nehalem is out and cheap , it is 45nm which means cool and overlocks to more than 4GHz easily.

 

[bonanza318]

haha thank you very much.

and i have just now got down learning about OC.

so i should really not worry about the cpu seed.

and i am on a budget >.<

a very low one. but since i know about OC. ill just get a duel core.

Any one recommend Cyber Power or New Egg ?

and i also read about the vista 64. I was thinking about getting a local store comp. but they all come in vista. will it suck in much of the juice when i play games ?

 

[bonanza318]

well I've chosen to stay with Intel since tipple quad has nothing to do with my use lol. And i will just Over Clock. :]

But help me choose. My budget is very tight here. Please help me decided which is best for the price I've picked from cyber with same case,psu,ram, etc.



AMD 6000+ hyper transport
Asus M2N SLI NVIDIA nForce 560 SLI MCP Chipset DDR2/800 SATA RAID PCI-Express MBoard w/GbLAN,IEEE1394,USB2.0,&7.1Audio
$440

INTEL E 8300 CPU @ 2.83GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit
Asus P5N-E nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
$540


-OR- should i get this full package and over clock it ? http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcmprd93700050005&skuId=999993600050005&type=product&childSku=8878798&count=1

Im going to have to consider that Intel is faster with its 6mb cache... ?
which Mobo is better ?

ahah sorry for all the questions but i want a relatively good comp to mess with xD

 

[mike99]

Don't buy the Dell!
You can't overclock, the BIOS is locked. The PSU supplied will probably not support a decent video card. Why do you want 64bit OS? Present games are 32bit and do not run better on 64bit OS.

Mike.

 

[bonanza318]

ooh thanks for the advice. AHaha well i guess im going to custom

is that E8300 Over clocked fast ?

 

[modtech]

E8400 + any midrange cooler --> 4.05Ghz = monster

 

[epsilon84]

ooh thanks for the advice. AHaha well i guess im going to custom

is that E8300 Over clocked fast ?

For a gaming CPU, if its overclocked to say ~4GHz it'd be just about as fast as is commercially available without going with a $1000 quad core.

 

[Wisecracker]

At what resolution will you be gaming?

If you are on a budget buy an $80-$90 cpu from either AMD/Intel and give it a reasonable overclock ... then pump the extra money into your video card

 

[kawininjazx]

Dude, on new egg the e8400 is $1 more than the e8300. Also get the artic cooling freezer 7 which is good and like $28. Also, G.Skill 4GB DDR2-800 is usually like $85 with free shipping. Make sure you post your final build before ordering, dont want to make any mistakes.

Also, the Q6600 is like $190 and you can get it to 3.2Ghz easy.

 

[modtech]

Highly clocked penrn/conroe dualies rule for now. Later when threading in games gets a lot more advanced Nehalem will have arrived to to the job.

 

[miketool21]

Personally, I would just do exactly what tom's hardware did in their sub-$500 system, adding the vista home premium for system builders OS for $109 and then picking up a cheap CRT monitor at a garage sale for like 10-20 bucks. It can't get any easier than copying tom's hardware. They even walk you through overclocking.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-graphic-game,1907.html

newegg is sold out of the e2160, but I was able to assemble a system for less than $600 shipped at http://www.ewiz.com/ the only thing I had to change was the ram (and I suggest getting windows vista at newegg for 109). This price includes the Geforce 8800 GT which I recommend over the GS since it has been reported to perform up to 27% better
see http://www.pureoverclock.com/story1672.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318 only 149.99 with 20 MIR brings it to 129.99 compared with

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130332 109.99 - 30 MIR 79.99

BUT I think it is worth the extra $50 since this is a gaming pc (only $50 extra when the whole thing is for games anyways and that's less than 1/10th of the total cost)

the key is the overclockability and price of the e2160 Price: $58.42 for 3.2GHz (overclocked) = untouchable value

 

[bonanza318]

can some one advice me on a desktop from circuit city.

I wanted to get a ful package. with an lcd screen.

And i found 3 good ones at a price range from 600 to 750

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-Pavilion-Media-Center-m8530f-Desktop-PC-KT334AA-ABA/sem/rpsm/oid/2136
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-Pavilion-a6554f-Desktop-PC-FJ464AA-ABA/sem/rpsm/oid/213650/catOid/-12962/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-Pavilion-a6530f-Desktop-PC-KQ496AA-ABA/sem/rpsm/oid/213889/catOid/-12962/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-Pavilion-Media-Center-M8430F-Desktop-PC-M8430F/sem/rpsm/oid/207307/catOid/-12962/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

can all those be overclocked ?

 

[bonanza318]

^ and they are all vista 64bit. Will they have the option to go to 32 so i can play my games ?

 

[miketool21]

I think you're at the wrong place asking for advice on a pre-built system. People in this forum are more accustomed to building their own. Overclocking is not a good idea on pre-built systems. Mike99 already told you that. And you agreed and said you would build a custom system. Now you are flip-flopping back to pre-built and still asking about overclocking. WTF? Some of them don't even allow it in the bios. And if you're on a budget then LCD is a waste of money. You can get a decent CRT for DIRT cheap. No you can't switch to 32-bit mode in vista 64-bit edition (don't get vista 64 unless you want aggravation for little benefit). Somehow I think you're still going to get one of those at circuitcity despite everyone's advice...

 

[bonanza318]

ohmm.. i see

well ill just wait and keep looking for a custom built somewhere else.
i was looking forward to overclocking with xp.

I apologize for wasting your time.
but the advices are much appreciated.

 

[miketool21]

I think you're confused. You've been talking to people about a custom build and then you reference a pre-built computer. That's a customized pre-built computer. Meaning, the company you order it from allows you to customize the computer that they ultimately assemble for you before they ship it to you. They often use cheap parts on everything you don't know about, you can't overclock these systems hardly at all, and if something goes wrong you often have to send the whole system back for them to work on it/inspect the problem.

Allow me to insert a wedge of separation between that and a true custom build. This means that you go to a store (online or retail) and actually pick out every single part (processor, mobo, case, etc) and PURCHASE THEM INDIVIDUALLY. You then go home (or they arrive in the mail) and you then have to actually BUILD your computer yourself (take apart the case, put the processor in the socket, read instructions, etc). This allows you to know every detail about your computer, overclock anything you want, return any one part that is defective while keeping the working parts, have fun doing it (if you enjoy building a computer like we in this forum do), learn about your computer, and no longer be at the mercy of suck ass pre-builds like dell and hp and all the rest.
BTW you're never wasting anyone's time but you have to listen to advice when you ask for it. And make sure you either know what you are asking or update your question when you realize that you were talking about the wrong thing.

 

[Gnyipw]

Is the E8400 worth getting if you don't plan on overclocking? Cause on Newegg it's still the most price efficient CPU...

 

[modtech]

The E8400 is a beast even at stock speeds. The stock cooler looks like a crappy aluminum celeron cooler and yet keeps the darn thing under 50c (Realtemp). Aftermarket cooling highly recommended.

 

[mikeny]

first you should overclock your cpu to max performance

next if you multi task get a quad

finally spend more on gpu's and psu the cpu really does not matter if you got 2 cd2 cores at 3.2-3.6ghz

What's a great powerful 1-2 combo for gaming but no OCing?

 

[cjl]

For no OCing, the E8 series are amazing - something like an E8400 or E8500.