Noob requesting help in CPU and GPU combination

[rogueshah]

Hello, I am a noob , intending to build a gaming pc with some possible video mixing stuff.
I have some budgetary restriction, so I want to know if I should go with
INTEL DUAL CORE E5200 2.5Ghz (2MB CACHE - 800 MHZ FSB)

and 9800 GT
or

INTEL CORE 2 DUO E7300 2.66Ghz (3MB CACHE - 1066 MHZ FSB)

and 9600GT

(ram , mobo etc will remain same i.e atleast 2 gb ram)
I am form Pakistan, I will go to another city to get me the desired system
here is the website of the seller, as Ebay would be of little use for me

http://galaxy.com.pk/forms/cpu.htm
http://galaxy.com.pk/forms/bfgtech.htm
http://galaxy.com.pk/forms/hisfroce3d.htm
http://galaxy.com.pk/forms/inno3d.htm
http://galaxy.com.pk/forms/evga.htm
http://galaxy.com.pk/forms/xfx.htm

Thanks in advance
PS i wont be able to upgrade the system that I will purchase for around 3~ years

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,

E5200 & 9800GT > E7300 & 9600GT.

No contest. You want a gaming machine. Those two processors are so close in performance that it doesn't matter which you choose. But the 9800GT is much stronger than the 9600GT. Thus, no matter what you choose, the 9800GT and any processor will dominate anything with that 9600GT powering it.

Very best,

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

depending on what games you want to play, one might be better than the other (GPU/CPU)

what games are you interested in building this for?

 

[toyota]

Originally posted by: MalVeauX
Heya,

E5200 & 9800GT > E7300 & 9600GT.

No contest. You want a gaming machine. Those two processors are so close in performance that it doesn't matter which you choose. But the 9800GT is much stronger than the 9600GT. Thus, no matter what you choose, the 9800GT and any processor will dominate anything with that 9600GT powering it.

Very best,

not necessarily. the 9600gt and 9800gt are pretty close in some games. the e5200 and e7300 are also pretty close. yeah the 9800gt and e5200 would probably be the faster combo but it will be close in some scenarios for sure. I would go for the e7300 at the very minimum for a gaming rig since its already a compromise compared to the e8xxx cpus. the prices are pretty set on the cpus but good deals can easily be found on graphics cards. IMO the OP should get the e7300 and try to get a better deal on a 9800gt or similar card.

 

[rogueshah]

I dont have any specific games in mind but will play probably shooting games like crysis or call or duty 4, may be my younger brother plays some RTS games i dont know....to be honest.
I was expecting that each combination may have its pitfalls and advantages, but I just saw a VIA processor running crysis with 8600GT, which to my opinion implies that CPUs have considerably limited use than GPUs in games.

 

[toyota]

Originally posted by: rogueshah
I dont have any specific games in mind but will play probably shooting games like crysis or call or duty 4, may be my younger brother plays some RTS games i dont know....to be honest.
I was expecting that each combination may have its pitfalls and advantages, but I just saw a VIA processor running crysis with 8600GT, which to my opinion implies that CPUs have considerably limited use than GPUs in games.

well that would be slightly wrong because its all about having a balanced system. a cpu that can barely keep an 8600gt fed will deliver no better minimum framerates with a higher end gpu. the e7300 is a better cpu for games. in fact in most gaming situations there is a bigger gap between the e5200 and e7300 than there is between the e7300 and e8400. you could always just overclock the e5200 if money is that tight and that would overcome most of the advantage that the e7300 has.

 

[AzN]

The only difference I see from E5200 and E7300 is cache and FSB difference. If that's worth $40 go for it.

The better GPU combo would be no brainer if you are looking for better gaming experience. Majority of games are GPU limited for the most part.

Overclock the E5200 and get the 9800gt and wait for quad upgrade or get some more cash and get E7300 and 9800gt and wait for a quad upgrade.

 

[toyota]

Originally posted by: Azn
The only difference I see from E5200 and E7300 is cache and FSB difference. If that's worth $40 go for it.

The better GPU combo would be no brainer if you are looking for better gaming experience. Majority of games are GPU limited for the most part.

Overclock the E5200 and get the 9800gt and wait for quad upgrade or get some more cash and get E7300 and 9800gt and wait for a quad upgrade.

yeah if the e7300 was a cheaper it would be a better deal. with the 9600gt or 9800gt having an e7300 or e5200 wont make too much difference. the difference is if he goes with a better gpu later. at that point the e7300 would be a better cpu especially if he isnt overclocking. other than his best bet is to just oc that e5200.