Best bang for my buck

[kong132]

I know it's too early to know the benchmarks of the upcoming cards, but assuming the GTX280 is the performance king for now, which of these is the better use of cash:

Q9450 + DDR2 1066 + GTX260

or

E8400 + DDR2 800/1000 + GTX 280

thanks for your help

 

[jellyrole]

Well, if your a person that builds a new rig every 6 months, the second choice would be for you. However, if your the "average" enthusiast that keeps a machine for a year or two, the quad core build would be the way to go.

 

[Drsignguy]

Do you do a lot of multitasking or do you game or both? Multitasking, take your first choice, Game, take the second. BUT, <----------there is always a but. Are you really set on these combos? Not to say they arent great because they are. If you are then thats my opinion. There are other chioces for the best bang for your doller.

 

[kong132]

Any idea how much faster intense matlab computation would run on a Q vs an E? A great deal of the work I'll be doing at school involves SSHing into other computers, so there's not too much intense multitasking going on there.

 

[khurios2000]

best bang for your bucks is option# 1 if you folding@home

 

[n7]

Q6600 + 2x2 GB DDR2-1000 + GTX 280

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: khurios2000
best bang for your bucks is option# 1 if you folding@home

i don't see her mentioning that anywhere...

As for recommendations: E8400 + 4GB DDR2 800 (or even better, 8GB) + GTX 280 + Vista SP1 x64 edition.
Or an AMD video card if the new GTX200 series disappoints and the 48xx series shines. No way to tell until they are actually available for sale. but indicators point to the GTX280 being it.

 

[Tempered81]

E8400 + DDR2 800/1000 + GTX 280

1000mhz memory 2 sticks + 4ghz = you win

 

[nyker96]

I think the first option will gain you more on the long run, the machine can be incredible at gaming as well as general apps, video compression etc. Also as games move to more threaded, Q will gain on the E. Also the perceived difference between GTX 260 vs 280 aren't very clear at this point. If they are huge, then I'd consider option 2 if you game a lot. But if you do other things on this rig, that Q is ultimately going to save you loads of time also you can always go with better vid card later as they come. So the main thing is a) do you do other things besides gaming b) how much fater is GTX 280 vs 260. These two question is vital.

BTW, consider the GSkill DDR2-1000 kit. cheap and fast. A friend Bought a set couldn't be happier.

 

[Tempered81]

basically you would have to fold/DC or convert 10 hours of video on a daily basis to take advantage of 4 cores. like nyker says above, "as games move to more threaded, q will gain on e". Only, do you know when this will happen, exactly? Quads have been around for a long while now...