Q8300 worth it?

[wARLORD246810]

I'm plannin to replace my:

Intel Pentium Dual Core E5400 @ 2.7 GHz

with an

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 @ 2.5 GHz

My current specs:
Intel Pentium Dual Core E5400 @ 2.7Ghz
9800 GT 1 GB
2 GB

My budget:
I live in the Philippines and my budget is around 7,000 PHP, the Q8300 is around 7,500 PHP(167 USD)....

Is it worth it? The sole purpose of doing this is to be able to run Crysis and Crysis 2 as well as well all the other modern titles comin out, I'm wonderin if Q8300(quad core) is a worthy upgrade from an E5400 @ 2.7 GHz....

 

[Acanthus]

It will help with certain titles somewhat (crysis, supreme commander, grand theft auto 4, metro 2033, and i believe starcraft 2 but dont hold me on that one etc...)

The problem is the lower clock speed will hurt you in older games that dont take advantage of the quad.

However, getting a newer graphics card would be a large bump in all games.

If you can get your hands on a cheap GTX460 or HD4870/HD4890/HD5770 you'll see a large performance increase.

Cliffnotes:

Yes it will help in some games, check benchmarks for games you play, a new video card will probably help more.

 

[WildW]

Isn't Crysis in particular limited to two cores only? If so, you'd see a drop in performance going to 4 cores at a slower clock speed. That said, there are a few games around that want a quad core to perform right, and going forward that's what you will want eventually.

Consider getting a semi-decent cooler and overclock that E5400 until you can do a bigger upgrade to a higher-end quad. My old E5400 hit 3.6GHz, and that was on a cheap cheap motherboard. I've built 3 machines with those Pentium Dual-Cores (an E5200, E5300 and E5400), and all have run easily at 3.3GHz. The E5300 and E5400 I got to 3.6GHz. They are awesome little chips for the money.

 

[nenforcer]

The new CPU will help with Crysis now but you'll probably need a new video card when Crysis 2 comes out in March 2011.

 

[wARLORD246810]

hmmmmm....doing a lil research after reading WildW's post, I think he's ryt...I used to think quad core is huge step in gaming but ryt now I think a videocard will help more...

I just hav another question....U think my E5400 presents a potential bottleneck?

If it does, do U think I shud buy another dual core but a lot high clock speed?

 

[betasub]

If it does, do U think I shud buy another dual core but a lot high clock speed?

Why are you so concerned about your processor? If it is holding you back, your first step should be to overclock it (to get performance similar to a high-end dual-core).

The above advice (to look at upgrading your graphics card for general gaming performance) is sound. There are a few specific games that will benefit from a quad-core, but unless you are addicted to one of these, you should hold off on a processor upgrade until you can get a full new platform of CPU(quad-core)/motherboard/memory.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

go get the pentium e6800 for $80, it just came out and is clocked at 3.3mhz. id rather have that than q8300

 

[wARLORD246810]

Why are you so concerned about your processor? If it is holding you back, your first step should be to overclock it (to get performance similar to a high-end dual-core).

The above advice (to look at upgrading your graphics card for general gaming performance) is sound. There are a few specific games that will benefit from a quad-core, but unless you are addicted to one of these, you should hold off on a processor upgrade until you can get a full new platform of CPU(quad-core)/motherboard/memory.

My mobo is Intel so I can't OC, I've been trying though LOL, anyways I decided not to OC bcoz of the risk of damage and the fact that I'd hav to buy another mobo

And I feel that my E5400 is being a bottleneck with Crysis, Prototype, Assassin's Creed 2 and Just Cause 2

EDIT*
and BTW, both E6500 and E6800 even E6300 are very rare here, so upgrading to another Pentium Dual Core is a no-go.....U guyz think Core 2 Duo's are worth it? I found the E7500 @ 2.9 GHz

 

[RavenSEAL]

E8500 is the way to go, if you got 200 dollars.

Again though...i agree with everyone else...you're better off upgrading your video card.

 

[Acanthus]

My mobo is Intel so I can't OC, I've been trying though LOL, anyways I decided not to OC bcoz of the risk of damage and the fact that I'd hav to buy another mobo

And I feel that my E5400 is being a bottleneck with Crysis, Prototype, Assassin's Creed 2 and Just Cause 2

EDIT*
and BTW, both E6500 and E6800 even E6300 are very rare here, so upgrading to another Pentium Dual Core is a no-go.....U guyz think Core 2 Duo's are worth it? I found the E7500 @ 2.9 GHz

all 4 of those titles would benefit from a graphics card upgrade more than cpu.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I would upgrade the motherboard before I would upgrade the CPU. Get a Gigabyte G31-ES2L board, they're common and cheap, and then overclock your CPU to 3.6Ghz. At that speed, they are nearly quad-equivalent, and much better for gaming than a slower quad, for games that only utilize two threads.

Or you could spend a little more while your at it, and get a nice P45 board. Unfortunately, Gigabyte seems to only make DDR3 P45 boards now, they've stopped selling their legendary EP45-UD3R/P boards. P is for crossfire. R is for a single video card.

 

[wARLORD246810]

fine then, I'll go for a videocard....u think an HD5770 will run with my Coolermaster EX390?

I tried a PSU calculator, the xtreme.outervision one and it says my PC only needs less than 350 or sumthin to run the HD5770 but the AMD website suggests 450w; so shud I upgrade to 450w and sell my 390w or keep my 390w?

BTW, optional question: how do u tell many amps agen? LOL I forgot, do u sum up all the rails or just the 12v ones?

bcoz I heard the HD5770 may need 40 amps

 

[Acanthus]

40A sounds very high for the HD5770 on a dual core.

To tell your amps you add together the 12v rails.

390w should be plenty for the system you specified as long as it isnt one of those generic PowMax suicide models.

The power supply numbers are basically guidelines, and they use safe numbers that even shittiest brand at that "watt rating" should have enough amperage to push the card.

Do you have a 6 pin power connector with the current power supply? I assume so since the 8800 series used one.

 

[wARLORD246810]

yeah I know I need a 6 pin but I'll just buy an adapter that converts two 4-pins to one 6-pin; I found some available somewhere

and BTW, http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5770-review-test/11 it says here that I need 40 AMPS

and unfortunately the box of my EX 390 says
12v=16
12v2 =18
-12v=1

and if u sum it up its only 34 amps, maybe I should sell my EX 390 and get a Coolermaster RealPower 550w

 

[Acanthus]

yeah I know I need a 6 pin but I'll just buy an adapter that converts two 4-pins to one 6-pin; I found some available somewhere

and BTW, http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5770-review-test/11 it says here that I need 40 AMPS

and unfortunately the box of my EX 390 says
12v=16
12v2 =18
-12v=1

and if u sum it up its only 34 amps, maybe I should sell my EX 390 and get an EX 500

They were overclocking which dramatically increases the power needed.

System with GPU in FULL Stress = 321 Watts

Even with overclocking and quad core and watercooling they only managed to pull 321 watts. You're likely fine with no PSU changes.

 

[wARLORD246810]

Ok thnx, I'll buy the HD 5770 soon problem solved