CPU suggestions for moderate SFF gaming rig

[Freezebyte]

Greetings all, trying to get as much information as I can to build my new rig, my first SFF. I plan on using either the DFI JR P45 J2RS or the Asus P5Q-EM as my mATX board.

This rig will be used for moderate gaming and the typical other uses. I do alot of multitasking and lately my old A64 just can't keep up with running multiple windows of firefox while watching movies, ripping music ect..ect.. so I need a CPU overhaul. I don't do much rendering or processing in photoshop or premiere nor encoding. I also no longer upgrade/replace my PC's like I used to back in my earlier days as I don't game heavily much anymore, so this setup will need to last around 2-3 years before its replaced. I"ll be recycling my 7800GTX OC from my Athlon 64 setup until I can decide what to replace it with a few months down the road.

I plan on intially building the system with 2 gigs of memory to keep runing Windows XP Pro for another few months before I make the switch to Vista, then i'll bump it up to 4gigs.

I've decided i'm going to pass on the Nehalem launch as the available CPU's will be premium priced and its unlikey there will be any decent mATX boards at launch and I want this build completed within the next month time frame wise and I figured a dual or quad Penyrn setup will blow away my old single 3700+ Athlon away.

That being said, I'm think I would like to do the highest FSB possible to give this rig lasting power for the next fear years unless the FSB jumps for these new Intels don't do much to justify the cost increase. I also WILL NOT be overlocking the CPU's as I no longer have the time, patience, will or desire to mess around with it. I value a stable and reliable PC setup now more then being the most lootzz OC badzzs on the web.

I've read the arguments in regards to dual vs quad. It seems the quads comes across as the more future proof CPU as its just a matter of time before more programs and games take advantage of it, much like the naysayers said about single vs dual cores just a few years ago.

Newegg has the 1333mhz FSB Q9400 for $275
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115131 Its a bit more then I wanted to spend, but its pretty close to top of the line without paying a huge amount.

But the popular core 2 duo's are going for screaming prices, but its two less cores and im worried about less future proofing
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115036

Thanks for your input and advice with what to do.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

The FSB doesn't make a difference on Intel processors.

The dual vs. quad debate is not the same as the single vs. dual core debate of a few years ago. No average consumer product really takes advantage of a dual core processor, and a lot of games don't fully utilize a dual core processor (but some do). The best way to get gaming performance is from the GPU. I think you should grab the Core 2 Duo E8500. It will be perfectly suited to play any game you throw at it for the next two (or more) years, and it will handle all of your daily tasks easily.

 

[Visual]

honestly, if i were buying now i would not consider the dualcores at all.
it's true that you don't find many, if any at all, apps that can make use of that much cores by themselves. but the general idea of having twice as much cpu power is good enough to persuade me.
and if you happen to do some rendering or encoding or compiling or just run a hell of a lot of things at once, it will be noticeably better.
the prices aren't all that different too... yeah $275 is kinda too much, but you can just go for a lower bin cpu, like q9300 - they should overclock roughly the same anyway. or for even lower price get lower cache like the q8000 series.
i would even take a 65nm 4mb cache q6600 before any dualcore, no matter if it is 45nm 6mb cache. 45nm might overclock more in theory, but i'd expect the q6600 to get near 3ghz just fine if you dont draw a short stick, and that's good enough.
but that's me.

 

[Denithor]

To each his own...

Personally I don't want a quad yet, they run hotter, consume more power (which adds to the cost of ownership over the years) and I haven't found anything out there that slows down with my (stock) e8400.

I suggest an e8400 + mild GPU upgrade (8800GT ~$100 or 4850 ~$150) as your best option. The newer video cards are much quieter, cooler, and faster than your 7800GTX OC and will consume less power.

 

[v8envy]

What Denitor said. There are a handful of games capable of fully using a quad right now (Microsoft Flight Sim X, WiC), but all the rest run better on a faster single core. You get a lot more bang for your gaming buck with a E8400 vs e.g. a Q9650.

A good quad OC in a SFF case is definitely not a given thing. SFF PSUs are typically engineered for quiet operation, not to be a reliable firehose of power. mATX boards don't necessarily support the kind of PWM that'll stand up to the current draw of an OCd quad, and getting rid of the extra heat from not only the CPU but also chipset and MOSFETs is a challenge.

I'd also like to second the video card upgrade idea as well. A 7800GTX may be too much power hog and dump too much heat for a reliable SFF, a newer generation card with more gaming power but much less current draw (ATI 4670 comes to mind) would be a better idea.

Building a SFF means you have to compromise. Trying to 'future proof' with one is going to be an expensive fail. Go mild and upgrade more often. Consider the 3800 X2 was $600 when released, and could be bought for $70 a bit over a year later.

 

[Machine350]

Hey Freezebyte, I was just in your boat about a month ago. Got tired of my sluggish A64 and geforce 6800. I went with the e8500 and picked up a pny 8800gt for $110 and I couldn't be happier. I agree with Denitor and V8envy, quad cores are a waste right now for anyone who isn't doing heavy duty tasks using programs that are optimized for those chips. 99% of games and your typical everyday programs get more benefit from the higher clock speeds of the dual cores.

 

[Freezebyte]

Originally posted by: v8envy
What Denitor said. There are a handful of games capable of fully using a quad right now (Microsoft Flight Sim X, WiC), but all the rest run better on a faster single core. You get a lot more bang for your gaming buck with a E8400 vs e.g. a Q9650.

A good quad OC in a SFF case is definitely not a given thing. SFF PSUs are typically engineered for quiet operation, not to be a reliable firehose of power. mATX boards don't necessarily support the kind of PWM that'll stand up to the current draw of an OCd quad, and getting rid of the extra heat from not only the CPU but also chipset and MOSFETs is a challenge.

I'd also like to second the video card upgrade idea as well. A 7800GTX may be too much power hog and dump too much heat for a reliable SFF, a newer generation card with more gaming power but much less current draw (ATI 4670 comes to mind) would be a better idea.

Building a SFF means you have to compromise. Trying to 'future proof' with one is going to be an expensive fail. Go mild and upgrade more often. Consider the 3800 X2 was $600 when released, and could be bought for $70 a bit over a year later.

Uh, theres plenty of mATX boards that are capable of running quad CPU's. My Antec Neo HE 500w will power everything just fine in my new SUGO SG01-F case as well it keep it realitvely cool.